Author: KMIZ

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An 18-year-old Columbia woman was charged with a felony and a misdemeanor after she was involved in a chase with a Boone County deputy on Tuesday night.

Jacquelynn Pruitt was charged on Wednesday with aggravated fleeing and reckless driving. She is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond.

An arraignment was held on Wednesday and Pruitt appeared without counsel. A confined docket hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday, May 12 and a preliminary hearing is set for 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 17.

The probable cause statement says the deputy saw Pruitt speeding in a silver Chevrolet Impala on Scott Boulevard near Millbrook Drive. The deputy tried to pull the vehicle over, but Pruitt continued to drive and speed allegedly reached 100 miles per hour, the statement says.

Pruitt allegedly drove the vehicle the wrong way through the roundabout at Vawter School Road and Country Woods Road before turning north, the statement says. She eventually crashed the car into a mailbox and drove through the yards of two residences, the statement says.

Pruitt allegedly told law enforcement that she did not pull over initially because she did not want to go to jail, court documents say.

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Boone Health will have its new cardiology clinical practice open and operating starting Monday.

Boone Health announced the split with Missouri Heart Center at the end of March and filed a lawsuit alleging breaches of contract, misuse of confidential information and plans to engage in unlawful competition.

Roughly 20,000 patients are expected to be affected by the transition, according to previous reporting, but Boone Health officials claim there will be little interruption. All of the Missouri Heart records will be transferred to the Boone Health system and the location of the clinics will remain the same.

In Columbia, cardiology patients will be seen at 1605 East Broadway, Broadway Medical Plaza Building 2, Suite 300. Clinics in Mexico, Macon and Moberly will continue operations in their same locations, as well. Boone Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lana Zerrer claims connecting with patients will now also be easier because Boone will be the singular point of contact.

“I think once we’re up and operational, there’s one place to call which is Boone Health Cardiology Clinic. So I think it’ll be much smoother,” Zerrer said.

Due to the quick turnaround, Boone’s Cardiology clinic will only have about half of the staff Missouri Heart Center had at the start. However, Zerrer claims it will still be actively hiring for the next year and a half to eventually have more care providers than the Missouri Heart Center.

“We’ve already hired five physicians and four advanced practice nurses. Missouri Heart Center had 12 physicians and they had six advanced practice nurses,” Zerrer said.

Zerrer wants the cardiology clinic to eventually have 14-16 physicians on staff.

Two physicians from the Columbia area will be staying with Boone cardiology – Dr. Jerry Kennett, Dr. John Boyer. Four advanced practice nurses – Kathi Lutz, Lauren Lenauer, Hillary Burks and Patti Kean – who were formerly with the Missouri Heart group also will join the Columbia location. Dr. Charles Tillman will also remain at the Mexico clinic.

Two additional cardiologists, Dr. John Best and Dr. Rai Shahjehan, will be joining the clinic in the coming weeks. Boone Health officials said they have several offers out to cardiologists who have applied from across the country.

If patients don’t hear from Boone Health or need prescription refills, they are encouraged to call the clinic at 573-815-LOVE (5683).

Zerrer said all services offered will remain the same for patients.

“If patients have a heart attack or chest pain or any kind of rhythm disturbance they can still come to the hospital and get full care. We still have full imaging capabilities for echocardiogram, nuclear medicine studies, any kind of EKG or Holter monitoring,” Zerrer said. “In the clinic, we will have providers and physicians there to see patients and also to do testing.”

Zerrer also touched on the financial impact to Boone Health amid taking over operations.

“We have bought furniture and equipment from Missouri Heart Center so that all stays in the space. We are paying some money for the medical record transition and then we’re hiring people, which always cost money, but those are good investments,” Zerrer said.

As for the lawsuit between the two corporations, a jury trial has been requested. Boone Health is asking a judge to rule the noncompete agreements that MO Heart signed are valid, as well as having MO Heart return or destroy confidential information, and delay starting a competing practice until May 2027. 

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission has picked a contractor for the Improve I-70: Truck Parking project, according to a Wednesday press release from the Missouri Department of Transportation.

KCI construction Team was picked for the projects in Concordia, Boonville, Mineola and Wright City, the release says. The truck parking project is a part of the Improve I-70 Project, which aims to make the interstate a three-lane highway on both sides across the state.

 About $33 million of the project in grant funding is to be used for expand truck parking along Interstate 70, the release says. MoDOT claims all of the public truck parking areas along I-70 are over capacity and 75% of private truck stops are also over capacity.

According to the release, the proposal for the contractor includes:

Pavement improvements and parking expansion at existing Concordia, Boonville, Mineola, and Wright City rest areas.

255 additionaltruck parking stalls, totaling 506 available public truck parking stalls across the I-70 corridor.

195 car parking stalls and five RV parking stalls.

Bathroom remodels at the Wright City and Concordia locations.

Lighting upgrades at all locations.

17 acres of pollinator habitat planting spread across multiple sites

The project is expected to be completed by Dec. 1, 2028, the release says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An Audrain County man is accused of sexually abusing a child younger than 12 years old.

Caleb Claggett, of Mexico, Missouri, is charged with first-degree sodomy. He is being held at the Audrain County Jail without bond. A confined docket hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday.

The probable cause statement says Claggett allegedly admitted to sexually abusing a child to his case worker in February. The child was interviewed at the Child Advocacy Center on March 4 and described sexual abuse by Claggett, the statement says.

Claggett was interviewed on April 23 and allegedly admitted to law enforcement that he sexually abused a child in 2019, court documents say.

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Marie Moyer

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Both houses of the Missouri General Assembly took up the state budget Wednesday, with contention over whether the legislature would properly fund K-12 education.

The budget bills are due on the governor’s desk by Friday.

After several days of deliberation in a conference committee, the total operating budget comes to around $48.7 billion — about $3 billion less than recommended by Gov. Mike Kehoe.

“It’s a budget that balances and starts to take a critical look at making sure Missouri state government is living within its means,” Budget Chairman Rep. Dirk Deaton (R-Seneca) said during a news conference.

The education funding bill, House Bill 2002, drew heavy debate. The 2027 budget has a little under $4.3 billion set aside for the state’s Foundation Formula. The program helps fund districts and private schools based on enrollment.

While around $13 million more than last year’s Foundation Formula budget, the funding falls short of what the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requested by around $190 million.

Supporters of the budget argue that education has consistently been prioritized. The House also voted to approve a $15 million fund for school transportation.

“We did put, again, half a billion dollars in last year, fully funded the transportation line that goes up every year,” Deaton said. “I would challenge anyone to look at anything else in the state budget and tell me where we’ve done more, where we have prioritized more.”

“I don’t recall a whole lot of ‘atta-boys’ for fully funding the formula the previous years, it wasn’t enough then,” Rep. Darin Chappell (R-Rogersville) said.

Opponents argued that the funding request was calculated to continue underfunding public education. Budget committee member Rep. Kathy Steinhoff (D-Columbia) reported that for the current 2026 fiscal year, the state has been $245 short of the Missouri State Adequacy Target for each K-12 student, or the baseline per-student funding foundation formula.

“Just because we are spending a hefty amount on schools, which we are, it doesn’t make it our priority; if it were our priority, we would fully fund it first and then work out the rest,” Steinhoff said.

Opponents also called out the sources of funding for education, including a projected $106.5 million from the Lottery Proceeds Fund and $6.8 million from the Sports Wagering for Education Fund. These are annual proceeds from the state lottery and sports betting that go to education.

“Fully funding educational opportunities for kids in classrooms is my number one priority, so I am uncomfortable using dollars that may or may not be there later on down the road,” Budget Committee Ranking Minority Member Rep. Betsy Fogle (D-Springfield) said.

Stienhoff added that current lottery earnings have not met expected funds.

“People aren’t playing the lottery as much as we banked on, the sports wagering wasn’t coming in like predicted, the shortfall has been passed on to the children of this state, we are underfunding this current year’s expenses,” Stienhoff said.

Deaton adds that the projected numbers are based on numbers from previous years.

“Is House Bill 2 [2002] based on projections of lottery? Yes, just like the whole state budget is,” Deaton said.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Sedalia police officer shot a suspect during a chase Wednesday morning, the Missouri State Highway Patrol stated in a news release.

The suspect suffered injuries that were not life-threatening and was taken to a hospital. The officer was also injured and hospitalized, though the injuries were not life-threatening, the Patrol stated.

The chase started with a domestic violence call a little before 10 a.m. in the 1000 block of South Garfield Avenue. The suspect backed his truck into an officer’s vehicle at a stop sign during the chase, the release states, and the officers shot at the suspect.

The chase continued until the truck stopped, at which time officers noticed the suspect was shot, the Patrol says.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is investigating the suspect’s shooting. The Sedalia Police Department is investigating the original domestic assault call.

The patrol posted the information on social media and said the shooting took place near 16th Street and South Garfield Avenue.

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Matthew Sanders

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri House Republican leaders spoke with reporters Wednesday morning before the full chamber was set to work on the state budget. Democratic leaders took questions after the House adjourned.

Watch the news conferences here.

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Matthew Sanders

Both the Columbia City Council and Boone County Commission are considering, or soon will, sales taxes on upcoming ballots to help pay for public safety.

The City of Columbia’s proposal is already out there — a 1% sales tax for police and fire department staffing, new equipment and new facilities.

Boone County Auditor Kyle Rieman brought the issue up last week with a letter calling on the governments to coordinate their tax-increase asks to voters.

Do you like local sales tax as a way to fund public safety? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia Regional Airport on Tuesday announced a new record month for March 2026.

Airport Manager Mike Parks told ABC 17 News on Tuesday that the airport had 29,837 total passengers that month, which included 14,773 people getting on a plane at the airport and 15,064 getting off a plain.

Parks said the total is about 500 more passengers than the airport’s previous record from October 2025.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia City Council on Monday night decided that a special election will be done to find the replacement for its Fourth Ward representative.

Councilman Nick Foster announced last week that he intends to resign from his position on June 12. Nomination packets will be available at the city clerk’s office on Wednesday.

Candidates can begin filing on Tuesday, May 12, and will have until 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 2 to file, city documents show. Election Day is Tuesday, Aug. 4.

Sharon Jones, an attorney who is on the Planning and Zoning Commission, announced her intent to run in a Sunday social media post.

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