Author: KMIZ

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Veterans Day will now be considered a paid holiday for University of Missouri System workers following Gov. Mike Kehoe’s signing of House Bill 419 on Wednesday.

Local union LiUNA 955 released a statement in favor of the signing on Wednesday.

“This is a huge victory for our union and for all UM-System workers.” Representative for LiUNA Andrew Hutchinson said in a press release.  “Two of our longtime stewards, Mark Perrigo and Darrell Dillon, took off from work to speak at a senate hearing about the need for this holiday. We are so grateful that the legislature and Governor respected their service.”

The bill also the Missouri State High School Activities Association to waive the minimum practice requirement for all students who are active-duty military, which includes the National Guard and Army Reserve.

The bill also allows the Department of Health and Senior Services to approve more medical training programs for loan repayment.

It also allows military personnel and their families to be considered Missouri residents while being enrolled in a state college or university. The bill also states that it creates a separate custodial account with the State Treasure to deposit money from the UM seminary fund, which a release from the governor’s office says will support agriculture programs.  

The bill also creates the Public Safety Recruitment and Retention Act, which provides college tuition for some public safety personnel and their legal dependents.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Rothville, Missouri, man was charged on Wednesday with two counts of fourth-degree child molestation.

A warrant was issued for Ronald Winn — born in 1963 — and a $20,000 bond was set. A court date has not been scheduled.

Court documents say that Winn sexually assaulted the victim on June 30 and July 5. The probable cause statement says that Winn allegedly groped the victim and on a separate occasion walked behind the victim, pushed their head forward and made thrusting motions. The second occasion was caught on video and was seen by deputies, the statement says.

The victim allegedly told law enforcement that Winn constantly made comments such as, “age is just a number, they should be in his bed, and asking them to go to the bathroom with him,” the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Syracuse, Missouri, woman was charged on Wednesday after she allegedly stabbed a woman 18 times on Tuesday and punched another.

Grace Turley, 23, was charged with first-degree domestic assault, third-degree domestic assault and armed criminal action. She is being held at the Morgan County Jail without bond. A court date has not been set.

Deputies were called to a residence in Syracuse on Tuesday for a report of a stabbing, according to the probable cause statement. One woman was punched in the eye and deputies could see bruising. That same woman heard Turley screaming and was told by a second woman to call EMS as they ran out of the home, the statement says. Turley punched that woman shortly after, the statement says.

Another person brought the stabbed victim to an area hospital and law enforcement later learned she was stable, though she was stabbed 18 times, court documents say. Deputies found a pool of blood in the bathroom of the home, along with a 5-inch long knife, the statement says.

Turley allegedly told deputies that she stabbed one of the victims because they asked questions, which made her upset, the statement says. She allegedly told deputies that she wanted to kill the victim, court documents say. She also allegedly said she hit the other woman in her face because she hated her, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri House of Representatives have announced a number of informational hearings around the state about tax reform, according to a Wednesday press release.

The hearing will be held by a special interim committee and will talk about its “ongoing work to examine Missouri’s property tax system and recommend solutions that promote fairness, transparency, and sustainability,” according to the release.

“We look forward to hearing directly from citizens, local officials, and stakeholders about how we can improve the property tax system to serve Missourians better,” Rep. Tim Taylor (R-Bunceton), chairman of the committee, said in the release. “The goal of this committee is to work together to find common-sense reforms and solutions that protect homeowners, promote economic stability, and ensure accountability to benefit all citizens of our state.”

Hearings in Mid-Missouri are scheduled for:

July 16 — Jefferson City11 a.m. State Capitol, House Hearing Room 3

Aug. 27 — Macon5:30 p.m. Macon Comfort Inn, 1821 N Missouri, Macon, Missouri

Sept. 3 — Jefferson City11 a.m. State Capitol, House Hearing Room 3

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Workers at a south Columbia Starbucks have unionized.

Employees at the Starbucks at Nifong Boulevard and Buttonwood Drive voted 12-4 on Tuesday to join Starbucks Workers United, according to a Wednesday press release from the union.

The location is the 15th store in Missouri and the first in Columbia to unionize, joining more than 11,000 employees in 45 states and Washington D.C.

“I’m excited to join Starbucks Workers United to encourage change within the company, and hopefully beyond. Given the current political landscape of the country, I think anything we can do to give more power to the workers is worth fighting for. Fighting for better wages and staffing is not only beneficial to partners within the company, but also the customers who pay for quality beverages,” shift supervisor Devin Duffie said in the release.

Starbucks issued a response in an email to ABC 17 News.

“At Starbucks, our success starts and ends with our partners (employees). We respect our partners right to choose, through a fair and democratic process, to be represented by a union or not to be represented by a union, and will continue to work to make Starbucks the best job in retail,” the email says. “Since last April 2024, Starbucks and Workers United have held more than nine bargaining sessions over 20 days and three mediation sessions over five days with a federal mediator. We’ve reached over thirty (30) meaningful agreements on hundreds of topics Workers United delegates told us were important to them.”

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Holts Summit police said Wednesday that they partnered with Homeland Security agents to make four immigration arrests this week.

The arrests happened Tuesday, according to a Holts Summit Police Department news release. The operation was in cooperation with the Callaway County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security.

The four people were arrested by federal law enforcement “due to their immigration status and/or potential involvement in matters that remain under active investigation,” according to the release. Police gave no other details about the arrests, including names and specific allegations.

They were taken into federal custody but it was not clear Wednesday where the detainees were being held.

Holts Summit city administrator Brandon Ruediger referred questions to federal officials.

Federal officials did not provide information about the arrests in response to an email inquiry.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri River 340 heads into day two as the Jefferson City Carl R. Noren Access checkpoint opens Wednesday morning for the longest non-stop river race in the world.

Hundreds of racers are paddling the river in this annual race across the state that began at 7 a.m. Tuesday in Kansas City. The Carl R. Noren Access in Jefferson City is checkpoint number four along the race route.

There were a total of 535 racers that started in Kansas City and 379 boats. The number of racers is currently down to 508 as of Wednesday morning due to 27 that did not make the required cut time.

The MR340 is a race with non-motorized boats, kayaks and canoes heading 340 miles down the Missouri River to the finish line in St. Charles.

This race is four days long and there are some racers who will paddle throughout the night and skip checkpoints to reach the finish line by Wednesday evening, even though the finish line stays open until 9 p.m. Friday.

There are a total of 18 safety boats that will go downstream, staying alongside racers and at every checkpoint. If there is no safety boat around the racers at the time of an emergency, racers are instructed to call using a required phone and dial the dispatch safety number.

People are able to track the racers in their journey across the state here.

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Marie Moyer

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

An open lot in west Jefferson City is paving the way for affordable housing opportunities.

Several groups including members of the city government, the Missouri Department of Economic Development and Central Missouri Community Action broke ground Tuesday for the Stronghold Landing Project, an affordable housing construction project, at 5011 Old Lohman Road.

The project will add 40 total affordable apartments featuring two-bedroom and three-bedroom units. The complex will also have a community center and dog park. The plan costs around $13.7 million in total and is funded by a mix of state and federal funding, as well as Community Development Black Grant funds and low-income housing tax credits.

The project is part of the city’s larger “Race to 50” initiative, established by Mayor Ron Fitzwater in 2023 that set a goal to increase Jefferson City’s Population to 50,000 residents. Planning for the project was also directly tied to the 2019 tornado that destroyed around 152 housing units in the city, with 95% of those being rentals.

“Hitachi has grown substantially, Unilever is growing, Scholastic is growing, our small businesses are growing, but they have to have places for people to live,” Fitzwater said, “We knew that housing had to be a critical piece of that race if we were going to add 6,000 to 7,000 new residents to this community.”

Fitzwater added that the city has more than 600 units set to begin construction across the city during the next year, tackling both rental and for-sale properties of varying price points.

That total includes townhomes planned after the completion of the Wildwood Extension project, which is expected to wrap up this winter; 30 rental apartments across from Stronghold Landing, set for completion as early as January; and the controversial 230 single-family homes off Rock Ridge Road, set to break ground next year.

“There’s not enough housing for upper-income households and there’s not enough housing for lower-income households,” CMCA Executive Director Darin Preis said. “The low-income households are paying for housing that they can’t really afford and the upper-income households, they’re buying up that middle housing too.”

The Stronghold Landing Project will focus on low-income households, with two-bedroom units ranging in price from $480-$750 and three-bedroom units ranging from $450-$850. The exact cost of rent would be decided on a sliding scale based on the applicant’s income level. Applicants’ criminal histories will also be reviewed, similar to a traditional rental process.

“We all recognize that there’s a housing shortage here,” Jefferson City Ward 3 Councilwoman Treaka Young said. “[Residents’] concerns that they have is due to traffic, we’re conscious of that as council people, we’re understanding that we need to do a traffic study to make sure that it does not do more harm.”

Jefferson City Ward 4 Councilwoman Julie Allen was especially excited for the Stronghold Projects to be based in her ward.

“We have individuals coming in from the actual hospitals and executives, and they can’t find housing here,” Allen said. “We also have individuals in our industry and they say there’s nowhere to live here, from all levels, we need workforce housing.”

ABC 17 News spoke with seven residents living near Stronghold Landing. The majority of residents felt construction wasn’t an issue, one had no preference and one person voiced concerns that the apartment’s addition would bring down property values, adding that her family is planning to move once construction is completed.

Construction for Stronghold Landing is expected to be finished July 2026.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Missouri State Highway Report crash report gives a possible reason for why a trolley holding more than 40 people crashed in May in Gasconade County.

On Saturday, May 3, a trolley bus carrying 41 passengers veered off the road, injuring 32 people. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the accident occurred near Eagles Nest Drive at 10:45 a.m. after the driver — a 45-year-old Hermann man — overcorrected after leaving the right side of the road, causing the vehicle to crash into a ditch, according to previous reporting.

The driver allegedly told authorities that he hit a pothole, causing him to veer to the right, the report says. The driver also allegedly said that a rear tire went off the roadway, and he steered the trolley to the left to save it, causing him to overcorrect and travel off the left side of the road, the report says.

Multiple passengers in the report claimed the driver was speeding.

HERMANN TROLLEY Crash_Report_250222798-RedactedDownload

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Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Flashing flooding can happen anywhere within minutes and hours of intense rainfall posing a threat to life and property.

Flash flooding occurred in the early morning hours of July 4 in Kerrville, Texas, killing more than 100 people, according to reporting from CNN. Missouri Task Force 1 was deployed to Texas on Monday.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday afternoon 170 people remain missing.

The National Weather Service says flash floods can be caused by a number of things but most often is due to extremely heavy rainfall from thunderstorms and can occur during to dam or levee breaks or mudslides.

Marshall Pfahler with the National Weather Service said a warning is then issued when there is an immediate threat to life or property.

“A warning that means there is an immediate threat, so that means we’re looking at the radar the estimated precipitation n the rainfall amounts so we’re expecting flash flooding imminently occurring or already occurring,” Pfahler said.

It can happen when there is too much rain for the soil to absorb and can quickly catch people off guard and put them in danger.

The situation can turn dangerous quickly if someone encounters high, fast moving water child traveling, if people are in their or homes or business, the water can rise quickly and trap them and cause property damage.

A flood risk summary report done by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in 2022 found that 1.7% of land in Boone County is considered high-risk for flooding, while the state wide median is 2.9%.

The report also found 3,947 buildings are in high risk of flood plains and 3,617 residential structures are at risk. Several areas in Boone County are considered flood-prone, including the MKT Trail that suffered significant flooding in 2021.

According to the NWS, urban areas are also prone to flooding in short time-spans and sometimes rainfall in an urban area can cause flooding faster and more severe than in the suburbs or country side.

“Pavement asphalt, building so a lot of that has to get channeled off or run off into the drainage systems as well as rivers,” Pfahler said.

Creeks and rivers are first to feel the impact of flooding.

“Smaller rivers and creeks. so when that water is running off it thats usually its first stop it enters the river system so we can see quick rises and very swift flowing water,” Pfahler said.

The National Weather Service encourages using NOAA weather radios, a nationwide network broadcasting 24/7 weather forecasts, watches, warnings including flash flood warnings.

Director of the Boone County Emergency Management Agency Chris Kelley said weather radios can be crucial during severe weather as it will alert you whether power or cell service goes out.

“Have it coded for whatever county you are in so when those warnings come out you can receive them, we have areas in Boone County that have poor cell reception,” Pfahler said, “Its the redundancy and getting alerts and getting information,”

According to Kelley not all areas in the county that have poor cell service are near flood prone areas but there are some.

Local television and radio stations are also good information resources along with social media platforms and weather and emergency apps. The ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather App is also a useful tool and will send weather alerts straight to your phone.

Additionally, people in affected areas receive Wireless Emergency Alerts directly on their mobile phones these are short, high-priority messages sent without the need to sign up.

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