Author: KMIZ

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Law enforcement is still looking for a suspect on an ATV in Callaway County after chasing the man from Boone County into Callaway County fields around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Boone County Sheriff’s Captain Brian Leer updated ABC 17 News over email that the chase started near the intersection of East St. Charles Road and Demaret Drive.

The man was allegedly driving on the wrong side of the road and speeding, Leer said. When a sheriff’s deputy attempted a traffic stop, he sped off heading east toward Callaway County.

Leer said the man turned north onto Callaway County Road 269, before turning eastbound onto County Road 284. About halfway down that road, the person allegedly drove into a field and law enforcement lost sight of the suspect.

Leer said the search was broken up around 12:15 p.m.

According to a Callaway County Sheriff’s Office Facebook post, sheriff’s deputies from both agencies were using dogs and drones to follow the suspect near Callaway County Road 284, and Lt. Curtis Hall told ABC 17 News around 1:30 p.m. that the search was broken up at County Road 240.

The Callaway County Sheriff’s Office updated its original post at 2:15 p.m. and said deputies would stay in the area, as service calls allow.

The Callaway County post describes the suspect as having brown hair and wearing a black hat, khaki pants and a light blue shirt.

The man was driving an ATV and went south into a field from County Road 284 near Stephens, according to the post.

Residents in the area were asked to lock their homes and vehicles. It wasn’t clear whether the suspect was armed.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

With about a week to go before Election Day, former Columbia Utilities Director David Sorrell is still leading in donations given to campaigns.

Committees needed to submit finance reports to the Missouri Ethics Commission on Monday, eight days before the election.

Sorrell leads funding this cycle with $25,819 in contributions. Some notable donations made to this campaign since the July quarterly report include $2,500 from James Yankee and $1,047.91 from Fred Overton. Russell Duker has given $2,020 in total to the campaign, with the most-recent being a $20 contribution on July 2.

Attorney and lobbyist Sharon Jones has raised $22,115 this election. In the July quarterly report, she had raised just $6,555 compared to Sorrell’s $15,041.70.

That gap was closed thanks in part by a $10,000 donation by the Homefront PAC on July 10, $1,500 from James Yankee and $1,000 from Aaron Smith from the AW Smith Law Firm. Another notable contribution is a $250 donation from Scott Faughn, of Faughn Media, which owns The Missouri Times and the Jefferson City News Tribune.

Attorney Ryan King has raised $1,550, most of which came from his own $1,000 donation.

Sorrell’s campaign has $7,436.66 on hand, while Jones has $12,630.49 and King has $469.38.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Moberly JBS meat production line is still closed following a USDA notice of suspension in April.

On April 3, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a notice of suspension to the JBS Prepared Foods facility in Moberly, immediately suspending inspection services for its Fully Cooked-Not Shelf Stable processes due to producing adulterated product and sanitary failures.

Following a food safety assessment at the JBS plant from March 20-31, the EIAOs conducted an investigation of JBS’ written programs and records that included evidence of Listeria monocytogenes, along with observations of pre-operational and operational activities.

The investigation also found JBS failed to keep areas where meat is handled clean enough to prevent Listeria from spreading. Along with this, JBS did not properly carry out their required daily and periodic cleaning procedures designed to control bacteria, documents obtained by ABC 17 News through a records request say.

Additionally, when Listeria was found, JBS failed to figure out where it came from or update their safety plans to make sure it would not happen again, documents show.

According to the USDA Report, FSIS placed a suspension on all Fully Cooked-Not Shelf Stable production, which includes Bits Lines 1, 2 and 3, as well as Slice Lines 4, 5 and 6.

The letter noted the plant cannot resume normal operations until the USDA reviews that plan, finds it adequate, and agrees to lift or ease the suspension.

JBS followed up with a letter on April 12, stating that between April 7-10, the group worked to identify and correct the lines.

Some of those corrected items were: Inspectors must confirm that the new Bits line exhaust has been capped or removed and making sure a physical barrier keeps the Bits and Slice areas separated.

Additionally, it also mandated workers strictly follow daily hygiene rules—such as washing hands, cleaning boots and wearing designated frocks— and that these safety checks are properly recorded.

Following the first set of changes, JBS was able to reopen some of the lines, while others were ordered to remain closed for further repair. Due to redactions on the document, ABC 17 News cannot confirm which lines reopened and which lines stayed closed.

On April 20, another letter was sent from JBS stating that between April 14-18, the company made additional repairs on the lines that were still closed.

Some of the fixes made in the verification plan required that inspectors must observe employee monitoring and review records to ensure proper sanitation procedures, line run-time limits, and corrective actions for elevated test results are strictly maintained.

To make sampling more clear and accurate, JBS updated its environmental monitoring program and will collect food-contact swabs during every cleaning cycle for 30 days.

This document specifically lists that, after review, bit lines 1 and 2 were allowed to start production again, while bit line 3 remained suspended.

According to the documents, Bit Line 3 is still closed. JBS told ABC 17 News the facility is set to reopen soon.

“The facility remains temporarily closed as we complete necessary maintenance and construction-related updates identified through our comprehensive assessment and discussions with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). We are in the final stages of these repairs and updates, and anticipate resuming operations as early as next week,” the statement says.

JBS added that when the outbreak was detected, since operations were paused, no product has left the facility, and there is no recall associated with it.

“We remain in continuous communication with FSIS and are working collaboratively to ensure all required adjustments are addressed,” the statement says.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A group supporting the elimination of income tax within the state of Missouri has spent $12.9 million this election cycle.

Amendment 5, which would phase out Missouri’s income tax and and expand sales and use taxes, will be decided by voters on Aug. 4. Filings for political campaigns and committees were required to turn in a report on contributions and spending on Monday, eight days before the election.

Missouri Promise PAC – which supports the passage of Amendment 5 – has spent $12.9 million, according to its eight-day report.

Secure Missouri — whose mission statement says it supports Gov. Mike Kehoe — contributed $2.95 million on July 21, while Missouri Action contributed $6.5 million over three dates. America Advancement Inc., gave $1.2 million through a pair of donations, while the American Policy Coalition gave $1 million and the Revitalization Project contributed $900,000.

The committee has about $23,000 on hand. The bulk of spending for the group has been political media buys and purchases for digital advertising.

Missourians for Fair Taxation, the Missouri Realtors-backed group that opposes the amendment – has spent $2.795 million of its $2.84 million it received this election cycle. It has about $166,000 on hand.

The Missouri Association of Realtors contributed $900,000 to the committee on July 17. The PAC’s top purchases are media buys.

Another anti-Amendment 5 group called Missourians for has spent about $27,700 of the $37,500 it grossed.

Editor’s note: A line in reference to a song that was performed at the event has been corrected.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

One of Missouri’s state senators is looking into an LGBTQ+-themed story time event that occurred this past weekend at the Columbia Public Library.

The library hosted the event on Saturday morning even after Secretary of State Denny Hoskins had threatened Daniel Boone Regional Library’s funding if the event occurred. Sen. Rick Brattin (R-Harrisonville) announced in a Monday press release that he is requesting records relating to how the event was organized.

Another release was sent later on Monday stating that Brattin and Hoskins will hold a joint press conference at 2 p.m. Tuesday to address “their proposed investigation.”

The event included readings of “Rainbowsaurus” and “Big Wig.” “Rainbowsaurus” is about two dads and their three children following a rainbow to find the rainbowsaurus. Along the way, they meet animals of all different colors, according to Simon and Schuster’s website.

“Big Wig” is about youth dressing up in drag to compete in a costume competition, and finding confidence in dressing out of the norm, according to Simon and Schuster’s website.

“I hate that these elected officials are trying to make this a political moment for them because our library is a fantastic example of serving our community and the needs and the interests of our community. And this programming is not of concern,” Rep. Kathy Steinhoff (D-Columbia) said. “It is nowhere near the allegations that they are making, it is not any infringement of our law, it is just good literacy and community engagement happening in our local library.”

Steinhoff adds that she was confused on Hoskin’s threat of pulling funding.

“Money that is spent has to be appropriated through us [the General Assembly],” Steinhoff said. “I serve on the Budget Committee and I know that the General Assembly, along with the governor, we are allowed to appropriate money, I don’t know how the Secretary of State thinks that they can withhold that money that’s been appropriated.”

Brattin wrote in his press release that he requested records about the event, including advertising, materials, personnel and expenditures. The release also says he requested documents “showing whether age-appropriate notices were used and what steps library officials took to comply with laws protecting minors.”

Reporting from over the weekend shows in addition to the readings, singalongs of “Old MacDonald” and “Pink Pony Duck,” a song that is played using the melody of Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club,” occurred and attendees received rainbow scarves and bubbles.

Both books can be viewed below.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A majority “yes” vote on Amendment 5 on Aug. 4 would allow lawmakers to lower and eliminate the state income tax over time, but for people on fixed incomes, it could mean tightening their budgets.

“During the legislative session, I looked a it and thought this is going to be bad for Missouri retirees. There’s just no question,” AARP’s advocacy director Jay Hardenbrook said.

Lawmakers have suggested expanding what sales tax applies to, including services, and raising the sales rate, which could mean Missourians pay more at the register. Hardenbrook said retirees typically have to pay for more things after retiring.

Currently, Social Security is exempt from income tax, along with many public pension benefits and some private pensions, Hardenbrook said. Capital gains are also exempt from income tax.

“The vast majority of retirees in the state of Missouri pay little or no personal income tax in the state, so they won’t see really any benefit from that being eliminated,” Hardenbrook said.

State Rep. Bishop Davidson (R-Republic) said how the income tax is eliminated comes down to four factors: Timeline, sales tax base, sales tax rate and the state revenue.

“The Constitutional framework of Amendment 5 creates a predictable place for us to operate within, and so it’s just about kind of tinkering with all of those numbers,” Davidson said.

He was the bill sponsor of HJR 173 and 174, the law behind Amendment 5, which was passed in the spring.

Davidson claims passing Amendment 5 would close loopholes in the current law that restrict what can be included in sales tax. By expanding the sales tax base to include services, it could keep sales tax down while still phasing out income tax.

“If we could only get rid of those loopholes, we could literally eliminate the income tax and lower sales taxes at the exact same time,” Davidson said.

Research director at the Missouri Budget Project Lindsey Baker said if lawmakers rely solely on increasing sales tax, it could jump from 3% to 10.7%. Sales tax could be even higher than that when combined with local sales tax, and the sales tax rate could go from 8% to 16%.

“In order to fully replace the income tax lawmakers would need to dramatically increase the sales tax rate, greatly expand the sales tax base (what is taxed) which would increase net taxes by over $500 for the average Missourian,” Baker said.

Davidson said some things are exempt by law, like real estate, healthcare, groceries, gasoline and nonprofits. Those exemptions aren’t written into the law.

The law also doesn’t have a timeline, which Davidson said would give lawmakers more flexibility, but he’s hoping for it to be phased out between 2032 and 2036. Those details would be determined by the 2027 legislators, and Davidson said it’s likely that the construction of the following laws would be outsourced to “other people to figure out what the best policy would be for our state.”

Previous reporting shows many people are hesitant to back the amendment, mostly because there isn’t a solid plan. Davidson said he talks to Missourians during town halls on the ballot measure, and many people come in hesitant but leave feeling confident.

“I think there’s a lot of skepticism coming into the town hall,” he said. “If that room would vote [on the measure], it would pass.”

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A former Miller County deputy was sentenced to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to first-degree child molestation on Friday.

Kyle Carroll was previously charged with five counts of first-degree child molestation.

Court documents in previous reporting say law enforcement officers were called to Carroll’s residence in September 2025 after he sexually assaulted a minor.

Law enforcement was allegedly told Carroll molested the victim in April or May of that year, court documents say.

Carroll allegedly admitted to having sexual encounters with the youth on several occasions, court documents in previous reporting say.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Department of Revenue has delayed the second phase of its FUSION system, which goes in hand with vehicle sales tax and temporary tags.

Missouri Senate Bill 28 was signed into law on July 2, 2025, with its main focuses being changes to vehicle sales tax and temporary license tags.

The biggest change Missourians will see is that they will have to pay vehicle sales tax at the dealership instead of at a licensing office. The law requires a sales tax to be paid at the dealership at the time of purchase, which includes the temporary tags. The new temporary tag expiration date is extended to 90 days.

This change ensures that state and local governments collect sales tax revenue that otherwise would have gone unpaid, according to Department of Revenue Director Trish Vincent.

To implement this change, the DOR came up with its new FUSION system and the second phase will be completed in February 2027. It has not gone completely in effect because the systems are not yet in place.

“Because we’re impacting so many people that are going to have to use the system, we wanted to make sure everything was going to be working properly,” Vincent said.

Vincent then expressed how the department is using the time to educate people on the new changes.

“So we wanted to, again, give ample time, because if you roll something out and you have a lot of problems, that just causes really bad customer service and we want to improve customer service,” Vincent said.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The son of late State Sen. Carl Vogel is hoping to make his mark in the Missouri Capitol come January.

Jake Vogel believes bringing his unique business experience to the Senate floor can drive positive change for the Show-Me State.

He is one of the six candidates seeking the Senate District 6 seat after Senator Mike Bernskoetter’s term is up in January 2027. The state senate district covers several Mid-Missouri counties, including Cole, Camden, Miller, Moniteau and Morgan.

Vogel’s opponents are Amber Buckles, Derrick Spicer, Todd “Ike” Skelton, Lisa Thomas and Rudy Veit.

HALEY SWAINO: What would you like voters to know about you as a person and also as a candidate?

JAKE VOGEL: Well, as a person, I was born and raised in Jefferson City, Missouri, graduated high school, Jefferson City High School in 2001. Went to college, St. Louis University, and freshman year was 9/11. So that had a profound impact on my life, and therefore, that stuck with me through college. And afterwards, graduating college, I chose, I wanted to enlist. So I enlisted in the military, U.S. Army, and I got a first, I became a first Ranger in the 75th Ranger Regiment. I did two combat tours as an assault sniper. So, therefore, what my job was, is I protected the ground force on the ground. And they trusted their lives with me. So, God willing, I made it back. 

And I was blessed to come back. I was, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I was actually given this contract to work overseas. Money dried up with the [defense contractors] Triple Canopy and Blackwater. So still looking for adventure. And then I ended up coming back and very blessed to be in family business. I’m a fifth-generation Coca-Cola franchisee, and I say that with pride because we must be doing something right here. We take care of our people. We have a lot of good tenured employees and a good team that keeps the lights on.

For me, I can serve the community. I consider myself a community servant. We actually cover a swath of Central Missouri, and four out of these counties, four out of five of the counties we’re running in, which is Cole, Miller, Moniteau, Morgan and Camden, we service four out of those five. So we have relationships with nonprofits, charity organizations, and a lot of school districts. So I built those relationships. Our guys have built those relationships, and I want to carry those on. And if I can get back to not only Senate District 6 and bring the mentality of taking care of people and building relationships, I think that’s what the Missouri Senate needs more of. I’m looking forward to doing that — making Missouri a better place to live, work, and raise a family.

SWAINO: First, thank you so much for your service. Next question here. What do you see as some of the top issues facing Senate District 6? And then what specific legislation would you introduce or support to help those issues?

VOGEL: Some of the top? Affordability’s a problem. And you go around talking to people, everything’s so expensive. Yes, obviously that’s a problem. I cannot blow smoke and say, ‘Oh, gas prices.’ There’s a lot of factors play into gas, but we did have a gas tax that I wouldn’t have voted for back in the day. People need relief where we can give them relief. I’m a small family business guy. I don’t like bureaucracy and regulation. I think sometimes our legislature has made it too complicated to start a small business. Business and competitive competition is good and helps. Just like supply and demand. It lowers pricing; it helps the consumer have options. Everything is so corporate now, including our industry. So if we were to stop, they close this place down tomorrow, and it’d be run from a big city. So anything I can protect those people to thrive, be prosperous without over licensure issues, that’s what I want to do.

SWAINO: How will you balance economic growth here in Missouri while also preserving the quality of life for people who live in Missouri communities?

VOGEL: Well, it’s a fine line, right? With the budget, it’s tough. I’m a fiscal conservative. So I want to go up to the Missouri Senate and legislature, and I want to look at it from a business lens. I’m the only business guy in this field that knows how to sign both sides of a paycheck. I think we need more business people. How to balance the budget? You can’t just send money out the door everywhere. We have to be fiscally responsible. After all, the COVID money’s dried up. We need to get back to pre-2020 spending.

SWAINO: How would you work with legislators from both parties when your constituents’ interests are at stake?

VOGEL: That’s another thing I take pride in, that skill set. So yeah, I’ll talk to anyone. I run this campaign on being respectful, honest and accessible. I know I’m in it. You know, primaries can be very cutthroat to get to the finish line. It’s unfortunate our politics has become this. I think people are tired of doom and gloom out there. We have, that’s another one of the things I always speak about. We have a statewide majority since 2012 in the legislature, or no state majority since 2012 in the legislature, statewide, since 2018.  My job is to go out there and build relationships so we can maintain that conservative majority. But we spend so much time inter-party fighting, and I think we need to get along. That’s how stuff is done, building relationships in the Capitol. And if we go up there and just I’m not about ego grandstanding — if you go up there and throw sand in the gears, you’re about yourself. And that’s not what I think the people are electing you to do.

SWAINO: Next question here. How will you stay accountable to the people of District 6, if elected? How will also constituents expect to be able to keep communication with you?

VOGEL: Good question. Obviously, social media is free, but I’m old school. I’m a boots-on-the-ground guy with being a former military guy. I want to be present throughout the five counties in the district. I want to show up to the parish picnics, or church fundraisers, or events, or historical society. Every which fundraiser, fairs, everything. I like to be there in person because face-to-face is always better than text. And what we see every day — text and a lot of people hitting the keyboard. Pick up the phone and be accessible. That’s what I’m all about.

SWAINO: Awesome. What should Missouri do — this is a question I’m asking everybody — to maybe address the cost of living? It’s a compounded question, but.

VOGEL: First we, it’s a tough thing. I understand once the money’s out of the bag and special, all the big money is gone. Everybody expects the same amounts of revenue. We are, it is a budgetary crisis, but that doesn’t affect, our constituency doesn’t care about what the internal workings are in the Capitol in the budget. We have to, again, we have to bring money back to the people in the most fiscally responsible way we can do it. And I’m not about making promises and saying, ‘Hey, if we’re going to do it up there, let’s have some backbone.’ We say we’re going to give, whether it’s education formula or certain entities or nonprofits, if we’re going to say we’re going to give money, we need to be honest, try to get the money, instead of, ‘Oh, we’ll get you,’ and cut, cut, cut. We just have to practice what we preach. And be honest there.

SWAINO: And what is your position on state taxes? Would, are you against lowering them? Raising them? What’s your stance on that?

VOGEL: I’m about lowering cutting taxes in every which way. Therefore, I’ll speak to this. I spoke to some folks last night at a forum, and I know it is a bold plan, but currently the Republican Party in the legislature has worked the income tax down. I know it is bold, but I, it’s a plan. And everyone, all of my constituents, they’re hurting out there.

Property tax. A lot of people say we don’t trust the legislature. And I say, and carte blanche, open taxes. And I say, ‘Well, we’ve had the income tax for 100 years. I don’t trust them either. I’ve never been up there, but fine to go up there.’ And in this bill, “Hancock” is protected, and there is guardrails. It is a chance. And you know what? It forces every county in the state of Missouri to drop property taxes as the tax system diversifies and is modernized to consumption tax, which I think is more of a fair tax.

Now, I would also say it’s political suicide. If you’re going to go out, slap taxes on everybody, that’s not my intention. Seniors, health care, real estate and agriculture — exempt. So it is a plan. And if the plan doesn’t work in the five years in a responsible fashion, in that five years, we’ll go back to the income tax. So I’m about chance; I’m taking the risk to move our state forward because it has been stagnant growth. We went from 16 congressional seats to eight… I’m about the future. And what we’ve had for the past hundred years, I think, is antiquated. It hasn’t moved us forward.

SWAINO: Gotcha. Why are you the best candidate for this seat?

VOGEL: Just my background, I believe. I consider myself a community servant, being engaged in the community, giving back through our products, and everything we can do to help out the schools, whether it be scoreboards. And again, I’m, I sell Coca-Cola for a living, so it’s an open, happy refreshment. So that’s how we survive in the community with the relationships that we are proud that we have built. And then my military skill set, again, people trusted their life with me, and that was my job. So I parlayed that, and taking care of the guys here, I have worked with all types of guys from every walk of life here in business and in the military. I served with people from all different types of backgrounds all over the country, so I have a knack for building relationships and taking care of people.

SWAINO: Getting to the end of the campaign trail here, you’ve obviously been to a couple of candidate forums, of course. What may be something that you don’t get asked to talk about often, that you wish voters knew about your stance, or just headed to the, headed to the ballot box? Something you wish they knew.

VOGEL: You know, I’m kind of an old school. I’m not a, I’m not an activist, not a bureaucrat, nor, everyone uses the word career politician. I’m not one; I’ve never held office. My father held office back in the day. I say that with pride for the folks who may have known him. I run the campaign. It’s me we’re talking about. He’s passed away, but he was my largest mentor of how he operated. I don’t need to grandstand, put my name on all the bills, and I want to get things done quietly. Or if I have to put my name on, I will. But he did things the quiet way. I want to do more of this and less of this. I see a lot of politicians now, and that’s kind of one of the reasons why I wanted to run; we’re lacking these community-oriented people. People yell. They always say the word fight. I don’t even like to use that word … I have fought overseas, so I just want to get things accomplished. And I’m just, I like to be called a community servant.

SWAINO: Awesome. And then last question here. Just if you want to talk to the viewers directly, what is one last thing, just message to them as they’re, if they’re maybe not sure how they want to cast their vote when they’re headed to the ballot box. What do you want them to know?

VOGEL: Well, like I said, I’m basically like your next-door neighbor. I’m a family man. I’m a husband, father. I’m a veteran, and I’m a small businessman. And I believe that an open dialog, being respectful, honest and accessible, and that’s how we drive as a communities, long as we respect each other and keep in touch. I’m a face-to-face person.  I’m available anytime, and I look forward to making Missouri a better place, too. And bringing growth to the state of Missouri. A rising tide lifts all boats. I will do everything possible to bring more economic development or opportunity for people, so we can retain jobs, better job opportunities for our younger generations, so we can retain our children and our grandchildren for the future. Any type of opportunity or plan, I’m willing to entertain it and take the movement forward. I’m looking at now and forward.