Author: KMIZ

Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

No one was injured following a fire in East Boone County early Sunday morning.

Boone County Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Gale Blomenkamp confirmed with ABC 17 News that crews were called to the 5800 block of Hawk Road at around 3:40 a.m. for a fire in a non-dwelling structure.

Crews found a 40-foot by 60-foot metal workshop with signs of fire.

Three engines, three tankers and 15 firefighters were used at the scene.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia City Council is expected to vote on a median ordinance on Monday. If passed, people would be prohibited from standing on medians that are on major roadways.

The ordinance was tabled at a November meeting and pushed back to February to allow all council members a chance to vote, hear comments and review additional information from city staff, according to a city council document.

council doc median ordDownload

The ordinance also requires pedestrians to use crosswalks or sidewalks on all roads. It would prohibit people from standing on medians on roads that are 35 miles per hour or higher, with 15,000 cars driving on the road daily and when the median is less than six feet wide.

After the November meeting, the Columbia Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission met to discuss the ordinance. Some members claim the ordinance is focused on panhandling, not pedestrian safety.

However, the city insists it’s about safety.

“This is supported by peer city examples where such regulations have proven effective, as detailed in the CBB study, without singling out any population,” a city council document reads.

The city also created a BeHeard survey, which received 264 comments with a range of support.

Some commenters argue the ordinance is much needed because people who stand in the median for extended periods of time, typically homeless people, can unexpectedly run out into the roadway.

Others argue the ordinance specifically targets panhandling and protests, like the Boone County Democrats’ weekly demonstrations at the intersection of Broadway and Stadium Boulevard.

Riley Hofeditz is a student at David H. Hickman High School. She said she regularly sees people walking down Providence Road, especially when sidewalks are covered in snow.

She said the proposed ordinance could make pedestrian safety decline.

“They can still be classified as more jaywalkers or just pedestrians in general, and that can pose more of a safety to them and other people driving by instead of them being able to just stand on the medians,” Hofeditz said.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

One person was hurt after a minivan rolled over on Rangeline Street near Blue Ridge Road in Columbia around 2:10 p.m. on Saturday.

Columbia Police Department Lieutenant Andy Muscato said a person was trapped in the vehicle after it rolled over and was treated on scene for injuries. The accident didn’t involve any other cars, Muscato said.

One lane of Rangeline Street was blocked around 2:15 p.m., according to Boone County Joint Communications.

At the scene, an ABC 17 News reporter saw a Boone Health ambulance, a Columbia Fire truck and multiple CPD vehicles. The minivan was on its roof and appeared to be on top of a flattened tree. The car had damage to the front end.

There was also damage to a green utility box. Muscato said CPD was looking for damage to any other infrastructure or utilities from the crash.

A tow truck arrived around 3 p.m.

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Haley Swaino

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An AMBER alert was canceled Saturday afternoon after a boy was found safe.

The Ozark alert was issued around 2:15 p.m. for a missing 4-year-old who was last seen in Texas.

Law enforcement took Raymond Isaac Carmona into custody around 2:25 p.m. after he was accused of taking Ephraim Juaquin Carmona around 2 a.m. on Friday in Mansfield, Texas. The 20-year-old is also the suspect in a possible homicide that took place there on Friday, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

MSHP said it was looking for a 2009 Toyota Corolla. When the alert was issued, troopers said Carmona was last seen driving the car Saturday morning near Business 65 at North Third Street in Ozark, MO. around 8:15 a.m. Saturday.

AMBER ALERT 2026-3 WEA: OZARK MO LIGHT GOLD 2009 TOYOTA COROLLA TX PLATE NJV5536 Updates will be posted as they are known. Refresh this page or click the following link to ensure that you are viewing the latest alert information: https://t.co/UoXX3KdhG2

— Missouri State Highway Patrol Alerts (@MSHPAlerts) January 31, 2026

The 4-year-old is 4 feet tall with black curly hair and weighs about 60 pounds. He has brown eyes and is White and Hispanic, the alert said.

The AMBER Alert was canceled about 10 minutes after it went active. MSHP said the boy was found safe and the suspect was taken into custody.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Jurors have agreed that a man found guilty of killing a Hermann police officer in 2023 should face the death penalty.

Kenneth Simpson, of Steelville, was found guilty on Saturday of first-degree murder, first-degree assault, two counts of illegal gun possession, one count of illegally possessing a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action. Jurors in Franklin County unanimously agreed on Friday that Simpson should be put to death, according to a Friday night press release from the Attorney General’s Office.

“Justice has been served. With grateful hearts, The family and The Chief Mason Griffith Foundation now begin rebuilding. We will move forward one day at a time, doing what Mason lived for helping others, serving with purpose, and choosing what is right,” Angela Koepke, Mason Griffith’s mother-in-law and operations director of the Mason Griffith Foundation, said in a text message to ABC 17 News.

Judge Craig Hellmann will issue Simpson’s formal sentence at a later date, the release says.

Simpson was accused of shooting and killing Sgt. Mason Griffith and wounding Officer Adam Sullentrup in March 2023. The trial started last week in Franklin County after it was moved from Gasconade County, where the shooting happened.

Simpson shot both men within 15 seconds on March 12, 2023, at a Casey’s convenience store in Hermann. The case was moved in 2023 from Gasconade County to Franklin County.

Police caught Simpson following a more than 12-hour standoff. The state of Missouri, on Sept. 14, 2023, filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Simpson.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Camdenton home was considered a total loss after it was destroyed in a fire on Friday morning, according to a social media post from the Mid-County Fire Protection District.

Crews were called at 6:33 a.m. to the 700 block of Dry Hollow Road and found the home engulfed in flames with the roof collapsing, the post says.

No injuries were reported in the fire and everyone inside the home was able to get out, the post says. The scene cleared at 10:08 a.m. and the cause has not yet been determined, the post says.

“The temperature at the time of the fire was in the low teens, which made control efforts more difficult due to the equipment and hoses freezing. Water was shuttled to the scene using MCFPD tankers,” the post says.

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Within the first month of 2026, Columbia has seen six shootings, two deadly.

Minors were involved in at least two of those incidents.

Columbia Police Department officers on Thursday found two victims, one with life-threatening gunshot wounds and one with minor injuries, after a north Columbia shooting. Officers investigated three locations: the Casey’s convenience store on Clark Lane, the area near Victory Church on Ballenger Lane, and the 4500 block of Alan Lane.

The violent stretch has led to renewed calls for immediate action to stop the bloodshed. It’s not the first time that a lot of violence in a short time has sent the issue to the top of public discourse in Columbia.

In 2019, Columbia hit a 20-year high with 12 deadly shootings, one of which was later declared justified. Six of those killings happened within a violent two-week time frame in September.

One of those killed was 23-year-old James Hickem. Police were sent to a shots-heard call on Sept. 25, 2019, in the area of McBaine Avenue and Duncan Street. Police found Hickem with gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead. Police have still never arrested his killer.

To try to curb the bloodshed, Mayor Brian Treece formed the Violent Crimes Task Force in 2020, with a law enforcement-focused strategy. It was made up of Columbia and University of Missouri police officers, ATF agents and Boone County sheriff’s deputies.

The task force recovered 55 guns from people who were prohibited from having them and made a number of arrests. It was disbanded in 2021 after the state of Missouri passed the Second Amendment Preservation Act, which created penalties for local law enforcement officers who enforce federal gun laws.

A federal judge in March 2023 determined SAPA violated the U.S. Constitution. Courts objected to SAPA’s language declaring certain federal gun laws unconstitutional, a provision that led to the entire law being struck down. However, the task force has not been brought back together.

And now, conservative lawmakers are moving a revamped SAPA through the Missouri General Assembly.

Multiple bills are being heard in Missouri Senate committees after a bill passed the House last year but fell victim to end-of-session maneuvering over other issues that stalled the Senate.

Law enforcement officials from across Missouri testified in opposition to the proposed legislation last session, including representatives from police departments in Branson, Rolla, Versailles, Columbia and other cities.

In late September 2025, Mayor Barbara Buffaloe agreed to create a task force to address crime in Columbia, after it was requested by University of Missouri System President Mun Choi, following a deadly downtown shooting that killed Aiyanna Wiliams and hurt two others. The shooting happened on Sept. 27, which was the weekend of MU’s homecoming.

About a week after her announcement, Buffaloe told ABC 17 News in an interview that she was no longer putting together a task force to address downtown crime.

Another cooperative effort to curb violence in Columbia is the Violent Crime Abatement Team, which was formed on Jan. 1, 2025. The team holds monthly meetings at the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Local agencies and prosecuting offices involved in the discussions are:

Columbia Police Department;

Boone County Sheriff’s Office;

MU Police Department;

Boone County Prosecutor’s Office;

Jefferson City Police Department;

Cole County Sheriff’s Office;

Cole County Prosecutor’s Office;

Callaway County Sheriff’s Office;

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives;

Federal Bureau of Investigation;

Drug Enforcement Administration;

Internal Revenue Service

The City of Columbia is now working with the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform to study violent crime in the city.

The city will pay more than $290,000 for the research, according to city council documents. The institute will also analyse which organizations are active in community violence intervention and how they serve people in need.

Office of Violence Prevention Administrator D’Markus Thomas-Brown said the study would use crime data from the past one to two years and show city leaders where violence intervention and prevention are needed. The results would be available within four to six months once the institute receives Columbia’s data.

In the meantime, the Columbia Police Department is ramping up enforcement of misdemeanor offenses downtown in an effort to reduce violent incidents in that area. The department is also redeveloping a full-time dedicated downtown unit, but Chief Jill Schlude said resources don’t allow for it until this summer.

Learn more about the James Hickem homicide case in “Mid-Missouri’s Cold Case Files: The Case of James Hickem at 6 p.m. Wednesday on ABC 17 News.

Previous Cold Case Files stories

CPD is investigating 17 unsolved homicide cases with 19 victims dating back to 1985. ABC 17 News has covered eight cases in our “Mid-Missouri’s Cold Case Files” reporting.

Antonio Houston and Danielle Marine

Michael Walker Jr. & Jeffery Jones

Garbrielle Rhodes

George Showalter

Virginia ‘Ginger’ Davis

Edmond ‘Ricky’ Randolph Jr.

Jamar Hicks

Bryant Wilks II

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Brent Hodge will be the next superintendent of the Boonville R-1 School District, the district announced in a Thursday social media post.

Hodge has served as the principal of Boonville High School since 2023 and was picked out of a national field of 18 candidates, the post says. Current Superintendent Mark Harvey will continue serving in the role through July 1, the post says. The district will begin its search for Boonville High School’s next principal, the post says.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve the Boonville R-1 community and excited to get started as superintendent,” Hodge was quoted in the release. “Boonville has a strong sense of pride and a real commitment to students, and I’m looking forward to building on that together. I’m eager to work alongside our staff, families, and community to support our educators, strengthen Pirate pride, and help every student grow and succeed.”

The post says Hodge started his career as a science teacher and has served as a high school assistant principal, principal, and superintendent in Missouri school districts.

Hodge has a bachelor’s degree in biology education from the University of Central Missouri, a master’s and specialist degree from William Woods University and a doctorate in educational leadership from Saint Louis University, the post says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Both parties in a lawsuit over charter school applications in Boone County asked a judge on Friday to vacate a hearing next week after Saint Louis University rescinded its application for Frontier Schools.

Columbia Public Schools filed a lawsuit last month, claiming the establishment of charter schools in Boone County is unconstitutional.

It focuses on one of two groups that want to create a Boone County charter school — Frontier. The Columbia Board of Education has written to the state board opposing Frontier, previous reporting shows.

Senate Bill 727 was passed in May 2024 and says charter schools may be operated only in counties “between 150,000 and 200,000 inhabitants.”

Friday’s motion says Saint Louis University and Frontier Schools plans to resubmit their application by the end of March. Saint Louis University withdrew its application after receiving guidance from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, court documents say.

The state had filed a motion to dismiss last week. An amended notice of hearing was filed on Friday for the Missouri Charter Public School Association’s motion to intervene on 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 23.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri attorney general on Friday sued the U.S. Census Bureau over its counting of undocumented immigrant populations for the purpose of drawing U.S. House districts.

Attorney General Catherine Hanaway filed the lawsuit Friday in federal court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Missouri is asking for an injunction to stop factoring in undocumented immigrant populations into congressional district counts.

“This case concerns whether the People still retain the right of self-government — or whether aliens who trespass into the United States can hijack control of our Republic’s system of representation,” Hanaway wrote in the legal filing.

Hanaway argues that the policy violates both the Constitution and principles of representative government. Undocumented immigrants should be treated like foreigners who are visiting the United States for the census — they are not counted.

The same applies to temporary visa holders, she writes.

Missouri census lawsuitDownload

The lawsuit claims that counting undocumented immigrants in the census has distorted representative apportionment, providing more political power to areas with larger undocumented populations.

“Including illegal aliens in the decennial Census and apportionment has unlawfully inflated the representation of States like California and New York,” Hanaway wrote. She claims undocumented immigrants make up about 10% of the population of Los Angeles.

Hanaway is also asking the court for a judgment that undocumented immigrant populations be stripped from the 2020 census count.

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