Author: KMIZ

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two 74-year-old people from Sturgeon had minor injuries after their vehicle hit a tractor-trailer near Centralia, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says the crash occurred on Route CC, west of Dinwiddie School Road. The report says the pair’s vehicle – a 2020 Chevrolet Equinox – was heading eastbound when it crossed the centerline and hit the towed unit of the 2016 Kenworth T680 that was heading in the opposite direction.

The Kenworth was driven by a 55-year-old man from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, the report says. All parties in the crash wore seatbelts and the Wisconsin man had no reported injuries.

The people from Sturgeon were brought to University Hospital by ambulance, the report says. The Chevrolet was totaled, while the Kenworth had minor damage.

That portion of Route CC was closed for roughly an hour.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Tuesday is the first day potential candidates for the Columbia City Council elections can file to run and voters should expect to see some familiar names.

Ward 1 Councilwoman Valerie Carroll announced on her social media that she filed for her reelection bid on Monday. Ward 5 Councilman Don Waterman told ABC 17 News that he plans on filing for reelection, but does not plan to file on Monday.

Petitions and instructions will be available at Columbia City Hall from 8 a.m.-noon and 1-5 p.m. on weekdays, excluding holidays. The deadline to file is 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. Election Day is Tuesday, April 7, 2026.

Candidates must obtain at least 50 signatures from residents who reside in the ward and are registered voters, according to a press release released by the city last week.

Potential candidates must be qualified voters and residents of the ward they wish to represent, the release says. They must also not hold “lucrative public office or any lucrative position in the City government during their terms,” the release says.

Check back for updates.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who was accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at the entrance of the Boone County Courthouse in January pleaded guilty to two felonies on Tuesday.

Nicholas Walters, 39, of Columbia, pleaded guilty to arson and resisting arrest. He was originally charged with first-degree assault, first-degree arson, armed criminal action, resisting arrest and drug possession. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and will get credit for time served.

Court documents in previous reporting say Walters was seen on camera walking up to the courthouse with a glass jar that contained gasoline and paper. He threw the Molotov cocktail at the front entrance that caused “an eruption of fire” under the door, the statement says.

Another person exiting the building was almost set on fire and ran away as flames ignited, the statement says. That person stated in court documents that they smelled gasoline.

Walters allegedly admitted to making the incendiary object and asked police to tell the court he was sorry, court documents say. Police also found him with methamphetamine and a pipe.

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Leila Willmore says she was first alerted to AI-generated content of her son at the end of September. Since then, things have only continued to escalate.

“They were seeing Zachary in articles coming to their Facebook, like popping up one after the other,” Willmore said. “When I would try to look up the sources, all of them were fake. Not a single one was was real, but the information was accurate.”

The AI-generated content in question stems from September 2021, when Zachary Willmore was crowned Rock Bridge High Schools first male homecoming queen.

“It also made it sound like it had just happened and said breaking news with all this kind of sensationalized text in red and bold to get your attention,” Leila Willmore said.

Zachary Willmore said he thinks the AI-generated articles started after other posts were made celebrating the anniversary.

“At first it was pretty similar to the story,” Zachary said. “The first couple of articles that were put out about it were still saying that it was four years ago, then it changed to this year.”

Many of the posts have garnered thousands of likes, comments and shares. After she was first made aware, Leila Willmore said the posts stopped for about two weeks. However, they started popping up again, this time a new issue followed.

“This past week, the pictures are not him anymore. Many of them are really feminine versions of him,” she said. “The information in the article may be true and not mean still or anything, but the image is not true and it also didn’t happen just now.”

In 2021, Zachary’s win caused a swirl of controversy when he chose the title of queen instead of King. Following his crowning moment, Zachary Willmore at the time explained a social media poll was behind the decision. Today, Leila Willmore said the resurgence of the her son’s 2021 win has stirred up a new wave of backlash.

“I’ll be honest with you I try to protect myself from it, but I do hear that and see that,” Leila Willmore said. “The people who say those hateful things, they don’t know him. Not a single one of them know him or his heart and how kind he is.”

In an email to ABC 17 News, Columbia Public Schools spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark said the district has received some “disparaging messages and phone calls” on the issue, but none have been direct threats.

“Nearly all of the messages are coming from outside the district and some from even outside of Missouri. A few  have posed as parents, but upon further investigation are found to not be parents in the district,” Baumstark wrote.

Baumstark also said the images being spread are not real and altered by artificial intelligence.

“It seems the intent is to create discontent and to cause harm by sensationalizing the event and misrepresenting what actually happened,” Baumstark said.

Zachary Willmore said it’s not the hateful messages or comments that worry him, it’s the AI content.

“If AI did decide to mass report on a different issue and flood Facebook feeds with different types of stories it could lead to a mass misinformation,” Zachary Willmore said.

He’s also concerned by his high school and hometown being listed on some of the posts that are circulating.

“If someone really crazy saw my article and was that upset, I’m not even at that school anymore,” Zachary said. “Its like a misdirected hatred that is going to put people that’s not even me in danger.”

Leila Willmore said she has contacted the Columbia Police Department about the posts and articles on social media.

“They just said to report it to whatever the platform was to Facebook or whoever it was putting it out,” Leila said.

Zachary said he is considering taking legal action if the posts continue to get worse.

Now, Leila Willmore and her family are left with questions.

“Why is it happening? Why is it happening now? Who’s doing it? Is it a person? Is it just an algorithm?” Leila said. “It is really concerning and it blurs the lines of reality so that none of us now we’re all questioning what is real and what’s not real.”

Baumstark said the ability to recognize the use and abuse of AI technology is important as it continues to advance. She is also calling for accountability from social media platforms.

“It is also incumbent upon the platforms hosting the content to flag and identify such posts as AI-generated if they want to maintain the integrity of the platform or to filter out fake content that presented as truthful,” Baumstark said.

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Ryan Shiner

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man was charged with multiple felonies after he allegedly broke into a Jefferson City Police Department vehicle on Monday night.

Andrew Zemke, 29, of Jefferson City, was charged with two counts of second-degree burglary, one count of first-degree property damage and one count of misdemeanor unlawfully entering a motor vehicle. He is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says an officer was called to another cop’s home in the 2100 block of Deer Trail for a reported theft and property damage. The officer saw the JCPD SUV with a broken window, along with a landscape block and shattered glass being behind the driver side door, the statement says.

An AR-15-style gun was locked inside the vehicle and the officer determined someone tried to steal it, but was unable to, the statement says. However, a 28-round magazine was missing, the statement says. Coins were also allegedly stolen from a cup holder.

A neighbor allegedly gave police video that showed Zemke walking toward the vehicle, the statement says. Additional video allegedly showed Zemke entering unlocked vehicle and checking the handles of other car doors, the statement says. Police found Zemke wearing the same clothes he was seen wearing on video, the statement says.

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Haley Swaino

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia is invited community members to learn about its snow removal process.

Part of the city’s new series of interactive sessions called Community Classroom, Tuesday afternoon’s session featured a presentation from city staff on how they approach snow removal.

Columbia Public Works engineering and operations manager Richard Stone, who is in charge of snow response on city streets, gave a presentation.

He said the department is more prepared for winter this year than in recent years.

“2022, as we were approaching winter, we had 17 vacancies and we were very concerned about that,” Stone said.

But after a hiring push and pay raises, a few years later, Stone said Columbia snow crews are nearly fully staffed with 45 workers and only four vacancies.

“There was a period of time this year where we were down one vacancy,” Stone said.

Crews will be using some new trucks this season, after the city decided to replace some of its aging snow removal equipment.

“We’ve got about 30 vehicles that we use for regular maintenance,” Stone said. “And then this year, November and January, we’re looking forward to to five new trucks coming in.”

When winter storms hit, Public Works’ primary focus is on maintaining heavily used and emergency routes first. Once those roads are cleared, the department will shift its focus to residential streets.

Like Jefferson City, Columbia works to clear roads to a “drivable” or “passable” level. This means that as long as a road is at least one car wide and can be driven on with a front-wheel drive vehicle, regardless of whether snow covers the roads, it is considered somewhat clear.

Snowplow drivers are responsible for specific sectors. Cleared sectors can be found on the city’s Street and Snow Priority Viewer.

Stone said third priority routes were added in 2017 as a way to reach deeper into neighborhoods. And right now, all routes are within about 1,000 feet of each other. He hopes to get that down to about 800.

“We do think with the south salt facility that we’re going to be able to get very close to that because we’ll have a little bit quicker response time for all of the community with that facility,” Stone said. “The entire community will benefit from that.”

Stone expects the south salt facility should be up and running by winter 2026-2027.

Tuesday’s meeting was held from noon to 1 p.m. in conference rooms 1A/1B of City Hall.

The Community Classroom series is hosted by the City’s Community Connectors program, which aims to foster dialogue and build trust between community members and the city government. Tuesday’s snow removal meeting was the third session.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A judge on Friday was assigned to a Moberly homicide case.

David Kip Heyde, 68, of Moberly, was charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Bailey Scott. Judge Robert koffman was assigned to the case on Friday and scheduled a trial setting for 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7. Heyde had pleaded not guilty on Oct. 15. Previous reporting indicates he is being held at the Macon County Jail.

The probable cause statement says Moberly police were called to a report of shots being fired in the 900 block of East Logan Street. Heyde allegedly claimed self-defense in the shooting when he spoke with police.

Heyde claimed Scott, 23, hit him during an argument after she alleged he was “attempting to kill birds at the front of his property,” court documents say. Neighbors had talked with ABC 17 News the week of the shooting about ongoing allegations that Heyde put bird feed in the street in front of his home.

Heyde allegedly told police he fired two shots at Scott, court documents say. Scott was found with a gunshot wound in her right torso, the statement says.

The statement says Scott “had no obvious signs of trauma or injury to either of her hands.”

Previous reporting says Heyde has an expired peace officer’s license, and City of Moberly records say he was once an employee there. 

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A dead man was found by police on Monday after he fell out of a hunting tree stand, according to information provided by the Columbia Police Department.

CPD spokesman Colin Imhoff wrote in an email to ABC 17 News that the man was found in a wooded area east of Grace Lane between East Richland Road and Interstate 70 Drive Southeast.

Imhoff wrote at 8:45 p.m. that next-of-kin for the man had not been notified, so identifying details are not yet publicly available.

Police wrote in a social media post that officers responded to a death investigation at 3:23 p.m. Monday near the woods. Police wrote online that the man’s death was determined to be accidental. Dispatch logs show police were called to the 6200 block of Interstate 70 Drive Southeast

“The scene is now clear and there is no need to be alarmed,” police wrote.

Check back for updates.

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Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia School District Policy Committee on Monday voted to clarify its tobacco and vaping policy, allowing for the immediate termination of employees after a single violation.

It’s one of 180 policies under review by the committee, which hopes to update and eliminate outdated ones. The goal is to complete the full review to make future evaluations easier, ideally every three years. So far, the committee has reviewed about 60% of those policies.

The committee noted policy updates often come from the Missouri School Board Association, which prioritizes changes based on urgency. Some revisions are required immediately to comply with new laws, while others stem from administrative requests, board input, or community feedback.

The current tobacco and vaping policy prohibits employees, students and visitors from possessing, smoking, vaping, consuming, displaying, promoting or selling tobacco or vaping products on any district property or during any district-sponsored event, even if held off campus. The rule also applies to district transportation and any leased, or contracted, facilities used for education, health care or early childhood programs. 

A recent study from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found youth tobacco use has declined in recent years, but is still prevalent across the country. According to the study, about 2.25 million middle and high school students — or 8.1% nationwide — reported current use of tobacco products, down from 2.8 million in 2023.

Board of Education Vice President and Policy Committee Chair Paul Harper said while CPS hasn’t had any issues with staff during his time in the district, it has been a recurring issue with students. 

“It’s certainly been on some of our discipline reports that we’ve received, and it still remains a problem,” Harper said. “I don’t recall seeing any employee disciplined. Certainly, we have students who are disciplined for it all the time.” 

Noelle Gilzow — a teacher at CPS and president of the Columbia Missouri chapter of the National Education Association – retired in an email to ABC 17 News that she had not heard of staff using tobacco or vaping products on campus.

The original policy reads: 

“Students and employees who violate this policy will be disciplined in accordance with applicable board policies and may be offered referrals to smoking cessation programs. Employees may be disciplined or terminated for repeated violations. Visitors may be excluded from district property.”

The proposed change from the Missouri School Board Association to the policy is to remove language that states “employees may be disciplined or terminated for repeated violations” and replace it with “discipline, including immediate termination, may result from a single violation or repeated violations.” 

However, after discussing MSBA’s interpretation of the change, board members expressed concern and confusion about whether the new wording would require administrators to fire an employee after just one violation.

“We always talk about judgment calls. Do we get into any issues where we terminate this person for the first violation, but we didn’t terminate that person for the third violation?” Board member April Ferrao said during the meeting. 

After about five minutes of discussion, the board voted to remove the proposed wording, leaving disciplinary decisions to administrators.

“The way it’s worded under MSBA, you get a free one,” Harper said during the meeting. “Just getting rid of that sentence means you don’t get a free one.” 

The policy voted on by the board now reads: 

“Students and employees who violate this policy will be disciplined in accordance with applicable board policies and may be offered referrals to smoking cessation programs. Visitors may be excluded from district property.” 

“The current policy really wasn’t that clear,” Harper told ABC 17 News. “It basically said that there had to be multiple incidences of violations in order to discipline a teacher or an employee for tobacco use. We  essentially made it so that they can be disciplined on the first instance.” 

The policy does not apply to nicotine pouches, only vaping and tobacco products. 

The stated goal of the policy is to “promote the health and safety of all students and staff, set a good example for students and promote the cleanliness of district property.”

The change will now head to the Board of Education for final approval.

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Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Health care will likely cost you more in 2026, as open enrollment for health insurance is just around the corner.

Open enrollment refers to the time of year when people are able to sign up for health care insurance, change their current plans, or cancel their plan all together. However, people may be hit with higher costs when it comes to signing up this year across the country, including in Missouri.

According to Health System Tracker, some insurance companies are attributing tariffs that are driving up the costs of medical equipment, some drugs and supplies. Enhanced premium taxes that make coverage more affordable will also expire at the end of the year, increasing out-of-pocket payments for people by an average of 75%.

The costs will hit Missourians especially hard.

According to data from the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance, several individual insurance companies in the state plan to increase their premiums by a sizable amount. Some companies worth noting include:

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield: On average premiums, are expected to rise 22.67%. The maximum percentage of change is expected to be 46.20%, while at the minimum, people will see a 20.98% change. In 2025, people on average paid $619.32, while that is expected to jump to $783.84 come next year.

United Health Care: On average premiums, are expected to rise 14.86%. The maximum percentage of change is expected to be 19.2%, while at the minimum, people will see a 9.33% change. In 2025, people on average paid $675.81, while that is expected to jump to $757.49 come next year.

Cox Health Plans: On average premiums, are expected to rise 30.40%. The maximum percentage of change is expected to be 38.10%, while at the minimum, people will see a 23.18% change. In 2025, people on average paid $663.36 while that is expected to jump to $841.07 come next year.

You can read a full breakdown of projected insurance costs below.

Missouri Insurance PremiumsDownload

Medicare plans are also expected to increase.

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