Author: KMIZ

Euphenie Andre

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia City Council is set to take up a controversial development proposal Tuesday that would bring 77 triplex buildings to an east side neighborhood.

Developer Troy Miller Properties is asking the city to approve plans for the project, which would cover more than 24 acres off East Broadway near the Brooks subdivision.

The development, called “Ashford Place,” would be built along Route WW–about a mile east of Highway 63– and would be completed in three phases. The first phase includes 23 buildings, followed by 36 in phase two, and 18 more in the final phase, along with upgrades to Sagemoor Street and El Chaparral Avenue.

Many nearby residents have voiced strong opposition to the project. In September, a packed crowd filled city hall, delivering more than two hours worth of public comments against the plan. Since December, more than a dozen residents have sent emails urging the city not to move forward.

Gail Hauswirth is one of the residents who emailed the city in opposition to the project. In her message, she said she has lived in the Brooks subdivision for the past eight years and that she and her husband bought their home there to enjoy their retirement.

Her main concern is safety. Hauswirth claims city radar gun data shows drivers are traveling 57 miles per hour in a 45 mile-per-hour zone on Route WW and Rollings Hills Road near the neighborhood.

“It makes it dangerous because our mailboxes are across the street, and we have to cross the street to get out mail,” Hauswirth said. “Those of us who are approaching our golden years in particular, have to be wary of speeding vehicles coming through.”

She also said her husband has had to warn children about their surroundings as cars pass through the area at high speeds. Hauswirth believes approving the development would only increase traffic volume and make the area more dangerous.

“It’s going to create a major traffic increase over on Sagemoor and they’re getting a new school over there that will be serving children with special needs,” Hauswirth said. “Those intersections are already busy, particularly at mornings and evenings.”

In response to residents’ concerns, CBB Transportation Engineers and Planners addressed traffic issues in its latest memo, stating that Sagemoor Drive and Hoylake Drive will be able to accommodate the additional traffic.

The CBB did a traffic impact study in 2017 for the Brooks Subdivision. At the city’s request, the firm analyzed traffic projections 20 years into the future, not just current conditions. That analysis assumed nearby vacant land to the north, west, and south of the Brooks Subdivision would eventually be developed.

As part of that study, the city also wanted to make sure the roads inside the Brooks Subdivision could handle traffic from future nearby developments. Due to that, the study recommended that Hoylake Drive and Sagemoor Drive be built as collector roads, meaning roads designed to handle higher traffic volumes than regular neighborhood streets.

The 2017 study also evaluated a worst-case scenario, assuming the land now proposed for Ashford Place would be developed to the maximum allowed zoning — 69 acres with up to 276 units.

Engineers then estimated how much traffic that development would generate. The results showed Hoylake Drive would have about 3,110 cars per day, which is still within the city’s acceptable range for a neighborhood collector road (1,500–3,500 cars per day). Sagemoor Drive would have about 1,910 cars per day, which is also within the acceptable range.

Despite those findings, residents said the study does not reflect real-world conditions.

“They used an IT model that measures only driveway traffic. It’s incapable of capturing the cut through traffic which is our major problem,” Hauswirth said.

Multiple neighbors told ABC 17 News they plan to attend Tuesday’s city council meeting to voice their concerns.

“My hope for Tuesday is that all of the homeowners concerns will be listened to and that it will be acknowledged that we’re not anti-growth,” Hauswirth said. “We are all hoping for us to live in a peaceful, livable community where we can be safe. We can go out and take a stroll without a fear of being ran over.”

The meeting has been moved from its usual Monday meeting date to 7 p.m. on Tuesday in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A representative for Columbia in Missouri’s state house has joined other lawmakers in the push to address the Missouri Department of Mental Health’s referral backlog.

Democratic State Rep. David Tyson Smith filed House Bill 2952 on Jan. 13.

If approved, HB 2952 will give the state 45 days to conduct a medical evaluation of a detainee, starting from the day of their arrest. If the person is deemed mentally unfit for court, the state has an additional 45 days to provide treatment to the person.

“No more languishing in County Jail,” Tyson Smith said in an X post announcing the bill.

No more languishing in County Jail. I just filed HB2952 which requires mental health evaluations to occur within 45 days and transfer and treatment to occur within another 45 days.

— David Tyson Smith (@dts4mo) January 13, 2026

When a person is arrested, the state currently has 30 days to give the detainee a mental health evaluation to determine if they are fit to stand trial. If the person is found unfit, they are referred to the Department of Mental Health for treatment.

The state has 922 beds available for criminal commitment. The average wait for a bed is 14 months, leaving hundreds of detainees stuck waiting for treatment.

Officials have also noted a decline in mental health for those waiting in jails since jails cannot force detainees to take medication.

Under HB 2952, the DMH or agency in charge of the detainee will also be required to provide a report to the court on the cause if there is a delay in testing or treatment. Courts will be able to approve delays as long as they are limited to 15 days.

Representative Brian Seitz (R-Branson) filed similar legislation in December with House Bill 1677.

Both bills have been read by the House.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Room at the Inn is keeping its doors open throughout Saturday night for people in need of a warm place to sleep as the frigid cold sweeps through mid-Missouri.

Manager John Trapp said the shelter regularly hits its full capacity of 110 people. The shelter opens at 6:30 p.m. and closes at 8 a.m.

He said people are grateful to have a warm space and a meal to eat.

“Well, if they’re here, they’re not outside,” Trapp said. “That’s our main goal, is to keep people from having to sleep outdoors during the winter.”

The warming shelter will be open Monday, which is Martin Luther King Jr Day. Trapp said that’s because the city buses won’t be running.

Many people won’t have any place else to go.

“With it being a holiday, it really doesn’t meet our criteria to stay open as far as the coldness goes, but we’re going to do it anyway,” Trapp said.

Audrain County Room at the Inn Executive Director Revae Moore said the shelter saw new people on Friday night.

“The shelter’s different every day, so I know last night we had more people than we’ve had in a while,” Moore said. “Several new faces were at the shelter last night, so it was good to see them come off the streets.”

Moore couldn’t tell ABC 17 News the exact number of people in the shelter Friday. Moore’s shelter can serve 16 people, and she saw eight people the last time she was in.

The shelter opens daily at 5 p.m., and people can come in and out of the facility until 10 p.m. The shelter closes at 7 a.m. on days when the weather is below freezing. The shelter will open early and stay open throughout the day, although Moore said she doesn’t think that’s necessary for Sunday.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Department of Education has until June to create a plan to implement a new system for grading schools in the state, following Gov. Mike Kehoe’s announcement of an executive order signed during his State of the State address.

“Missouri’s current accountability system places too much weight on administrative process rather than student success, and it does not give a straightforward picture of how schools are actually performing,” Kehoe said during his speech. “The real test of Missouri’s education system should be whether students are learning.”

According to the secretary of state’s office, public schools and public charter schools will be graded on a lettered A through F scale based on a 0 to 100 point scale:

A – producing excellent student outcomes

B – producing more than satisfactory student outcomes

C – producing satisfactory student outcomes

D – producing less than satisfactory student outcomes

F – failing to produce adequate student outcomes

Scores will be based on the annual Missouri Assessment Program, or MAP, results. High schools will also be graded on graduation rate.

Schools that fail to test at least 95% of students will drop a letter grade.

“The proposed framework shall ensure that accountability grade cards are provided in a standardized, clear, and easily accessible form, designed to be easily understood by parents, taxpayers, school personnel, legislators, and the media, consistent with all state and federal law,” according to the secretary of state’s website.

Schools will receive their score from DESE by Sept. 15 and will be required to publish it by Sept. 30 annually.

The point scale will also become stricter as school scores improve to promote growth. When 65% of schools earn an A or B, the minimum score required for each letter grade will go up by five points for the next year.

The Missouri National Education Association opposed the order as well as Kehoe‘s plan to eliminate the income tax.

“The Association opposes this type of grading scheme based primarily on state-mandated, standardized tests,” the MNEA said in a statement Friday. “The Association is concerned that elimination of the $9 billion in individual income tax will not be offset by any possible sales tax increase meeting this description and will result in a massive collapse of state support for vital public services, including education.”

Kehoe’s address also encouraged the General Assembly to pass similar legislation, including House Bill 2539 by Speaker of the House Jon Patterson (R-Lees Summit) and Senate Bill 1194 by Senator Ben Brown (R-Washington).

Both bills mention the creation of the “Show Me Success Program” to give financial awards to high-performing schools. Public and Charter Schools in the top 5% student performance statewide will receive $100 per student. Schools in the top 10% but below the top 5% of student performance can receive $50 per student.

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Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri law enforcement agencies continue to expand their participation in a federal immigration enforcement partnership more than nine months after the state first moved to align itself with President Donald Trump’s directive to broaden cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

A 1996 federal law allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to give state and local law enforcement limited authority to carry out immigration enforcement under ICE supervision, under an additional provision known as Section 287(g).  

ICE operates three models that law enforcement agencies can sign up to take part in: Jail Enforcement Model, Task Force Model and Warrant Service Officer Program. Agencies may participate in more than one model.

Under the Task Force Model, participating officers may identify individuals they believe are not U.S. citizens during routine policing, share information with ICE and, in some cases, carry out immigration-related arrests or serve administrative warrants, but only under ICE supervision.

Under the Jail Enforcement Model, jail staff, not patrol deputies, are trained to identify and process inmates who are in custody on local or state charges and may be subject to removal.

The Warrant Service Officer program allows ICE to train, certify and authorize state and local law enforcement officers to serve and execute administrative warrants on aliens in their agency’s jail.

As of Jan. 16, 2026, there are 39 law enforcement agencies across Missouri that have signed 287(g) agreements with ICE, according to federal records. Those agreements include 28 Task Force Model partnerships, seven Warrant Service Officer agreements and four Jail Enforcement Model agreements. Three additional agencies outside mid-Missouri have agreements pending.

In Mid-Missouri, several agencies have joined the program over the past year:

Missouri State Highway Patrol, Task Force Model, signed March 21, 2025

Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, Task Force Model, signed July 29, 2025

Phelps County Sheriff’s Office, Task Force Model, signed Oct. 17, 2025

Pettis County Sheriff’s Office, Jail Enforcement Model, signed Aug. 28, 2025

Callaway County Sheriff’s Office, Jail Enforcement Model, signed Dec. 2, 2025

The Missouri State Highway Patrol, which operates statewide, has taken one of the most expansive roles under the program. Patrol officials said 53 troopers and officers are now certified under 287(g).

From Sept. 26, 2025-January 2026, MSHP officers obtained ICE detainers on approximately 36 people, according to the agency. Patrol officials said the detainers resulted from officers’ normal enforcement duties rather than targeted immigration operations.

Federal agencies are not required to notify state or local authorities when operating within their jurisdictions, the patrol noted.

County sheriffs have emphasized that participation does not mean conducting immigration sweeps.

Callaway County Sheriff’s Office officials said the department enrolled in the program late last year, but is currently limited to the Jail Enforcement Model and remains in a holding pattern because of delays tied to a federal government shutdown in late 2025.

“At this time, there’s nothing going on except we are in basically a holding pattern as I have not heard from Immigration and Customs Enforcement since November 2025,” the Callaway County Sheriff’s office said in a statement. 

Callaway County Sheriff’s Office officials said their goal is to eventually send a small number of jail employees to ICE training so they can access federal systems to verify immigration status. The sheriff’s office also said it will not actively seek out people who are in the country illegally, but would assist ICE or other federal agencies if requested, “in whatever capacity allowed by law.”

Missouri’s growing participation follows executive orders signed in January 2025 by both President Donald Trump and Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, encouraging closer coordination with federal immigration authorities.

Nationwide, ICE reports 1,317 Memorandums of Agreements 287(g) agreements across 40 states. 

Nationwide, ICE reports 1,317 active 287(g) memorandums of agreement across 40 states. Those agreements include 147 Jail Enforcement Model partnerships in 31 states, 448 Warrant Service Officer agreements in 35 states, and 722 Task Force Model agreements spanning 34 states.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia on Thursday entered an agreement with Utah-based EnviroServe that involves cleaning out homeless camps around the city.

A city spokeswoman wrote in an email that bids were requested because the city will often not have the specialized equipment needed to deal with hazardous materials and other items left behind.

The contract shows that pricing is service-based, with a one-to-five-person crew costing $2,721.05 per hour, a six-to-15-person crew costing $5,973.46 per hour and a crew of 16-30 people costing $10,996.50. Cost is also added for 25% of materials used. Cleanups cannot exceed $50,000.

City spokeswoman Sydney Olsen wrote that there could be the potential of more companies being awarded a contract.

The city spent more than $8,000 on a clearing out homeless encampments in 2023, according to a previous ABC 17 News report.

60-2025 – Contract – CDownload

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City man was charged on Thursday with multiple child sex crimes.

Michael Minor, 48, was charged in Cole County with two counts of first-degree child molestation and two counts of statutory sodomy of a child younger than 12 years old. He is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond. An arraignment was held on Friday morning.

The probable cause statement says police became involved in a child molestation case on Jan. 8 in Jefferson City after a Missouri Children’s Division employee spoke with a child at an area school. Court documents claim the youth had stated they were sexually abused by Minor from July 2023-September 2025.

The victim allegedly described multiple instances of abuse to authorities, the statement shows. Court documents allege Minor has previously been investigated for sex crimes against children of a similar age as the victim.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia Public Works announced on its social media that it is activating a 16-person overnight crew at 7 p.m. Friday as poor road conditions could occur from the snow and cold.

There are scattered snow chances throughout the evening, according to the ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather Team. Isolated accumulations of up to a half-inch could occur with wind gusts reaching 30 miles per hour.

Slick road conditions could occur as temperatures drop. Boone County Joint Communications sent a notification at 4:07 p.m. saying roadways are beginning to “get slick” and warned drivers to give themselves “extra time to get to your destination.”

This weekend is expected to be cold with Sunday morning being declared a Weather Alert Day for wind chills expected to drop below zero.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who was wanted for murder and other charges in Michigan was arrested in Callaway County.

Maurice Harris, 20, was charged Friday in Callaway County with being a fugitive from out of state. He was arrested by the U.S. Marshal’s Office on Thursday for warrants out of Wayne County, Michigan. He is being held at the Callaway County Jail without bond.

Court documents state that he is wanted in Michigan on two counts of felony murder, two counts of first-degree murder and four counts of weapon felony firearm.

The Callaway County Sheriff’s Office said he was arrested in Fulton. He was booked into the jail at 11:05 p.m. Thursday, according to jail records.

Online court records from Michigan show he is one of three men charged in a Nov. 10 deadly shooting.

An initial court appearance is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Callaway County Courthouse.

ABC 17 News has reached out to the Department of Justice.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Boone County dispensary caught fire on Thursday night after a vehicle hit the gas meter of the building, according to Boone County Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Gale Blomenkamp.  

Firefighters were called around 8:30 p.m. Thursday for a fire at Greenlight Dispensary in the 4000 block of Ponderosa Drive and stayed on scene until around midnight. A gas leak was also reported and Ameren was called out to shut off the gas.

Blomenkamp said the fire started after a vehicle made a turn into the drive-through area, misjudged space and hit the gas meter. Fire crews were not able to shut off the gas line because it broke below the shutoff valve, Blomenkamp said.

No one was injured in the fire, Blomenkamp said. The building is secure, though the business will not be open on Friday, Blomenkamp said.

Gas was shut off to 37 Ameren customers in a nearby trailer park as crews worked to repair the gas infrastructure, an Ameren spokesman wrote in a Friday email. Some customers were still having their gas restored on Friday afternoon.

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