Author: KMIZ

Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Supreme Court decided that a referendum challenging the 2025 “Missouri FIRST” map will go on the November ballot. That decision also means the general election must be held under the old map passed in 2022.

At least two lawsuits have been filed challenging parts of this decision and take it from the state’s highest court to federal court. Attorney General Catherine Hanaway filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, and she asks Justice Brett Kavanaugh to stay the decision and allow the November election to be held under the 2025 map.

In a separate lawsuit, U.S. Rep. Bob Onder, state Sen. Rick Brattin and two Missouri voters have sued the Secretary of State in the Eastern District of Missouri. This lawsuit seeks to change which map is used in November. Both lawmakers would represent different locations based on the map.

“When you put in all this blood, sweat, tears, the time, all of this campaigning, yeah, it’s really disenfranchising when you’ve done all that, and those people have believed in you and trusted you and cast their vote for you, to then say they’re going to go to the ballot box and be voting in a completely different district,” Brattin said.

Onder is running again for District 3, and Brattin is running for District 5 — which is currently held by Democrat Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. They claim the old map hurts their chances of winning because they campaigned in a different district geographically.

“Under von Glahn, they must now run in the general election in districts which include many voters to whom they did not campaign in the primary,” attorney Marc Ellinger wrote in court documents.

Ellinger argues that the referendum on congressional redistricting violates the U.S. Constitution, the election clause and the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.

The voters Pat Thomas and Debra Havens argue they are harmed by using the 2022 map in the November election because they already voted under the old map.

“Thomas and Havens wish to vote in the general election in the Fifth Congressional district as they did in the primary but must now educate themselves about new candidates and issues because they are forced to vote in the general election for the Third Congressional district and for nominees whom they was not given a chance to vote for or against,” Ellinger wrote.

The group is suing Secretary Denny Hoskins because he administers the election process, including the maps.

People Not Politicians, the group backing the referendum, will need to defend the ballot measure at the U.S. Supreme Court, too.

“It won’t take SCOTUS that long to understand that this case is not in their purview, is inappropriate to be there and dismiss it,” executive director Richard von Glahn said.

Justice Kavanaugh has asked People Not Politicians to file a response to the state’s appeal and request to stay the decision by Monday at 11 a.m.

In December, the state filed a lawsuit against the group in federal court with Judge Zachary Bluestone, who dismissed the case because the federal court didn’t have jurisdiction over the lawsuit dealing with state law.

Brattin said he is confident that the state will prevail at the Supreme Court.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has filed an emergency application to the Supreme Court of the United States over the Missouri high court’s decision to put the highly debated “Missouri First” Congressional map on the November ballot.

Hanaway is looking for a stay, claiming that the Missouri Court’s decision on Thursday violates the U.S. Constitution’s elections clause and claims “hundreds of thousands of Missouri voters” were disenfranchised.

“We have just appealed yesterday’s catastrophic ruling to the Supreme Court of the United States. We look forward to the Court’s prompt review of this critical matter, as our ability to hold timely and lawful congressional elections hangs in the balance,” Hanaway said in a statement.

Hanaway is looking for a ruling on Monday, a federal holiday, as the deadline to get something on the November ballot is Tuesday.

The Missouri court ruled in favor of “People Not Politicians” on Thursday, saying House Bill 1 — which Gov. Mike Kehoe signed last year – was unlawful. The decision also makes the 2022 map as the map used for this upcoming election.  

The appeal has not yet appealed on the SCOTUS’ online docket.

Check back for updates.

Hoskins-v.-von-Glahn-Application-for-Stay-FINALDownload

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Euphenie Andre

MARSHALL, Mo. (KMIZ)

The future of Fitzgibbon Hospital in Marshall is uncertain after a potential buyer backed out of a deal to purchase the hospital, according to federal bankruptcy court documents.

Fitzgibbon Hospital is suing Strawberry Fields and American Medical Administrators, seeking damages for costs, alleged harm and delays the hospital says resulted from the companies not following through with the agreement.

According to court documents, the hospital began receiving offers to purchase its assets in February.

On April 1, the hospital’s board approved Strawberry Fields’ $5.94 million offer to purchase The Living Center. The hospital said the deal would provide additional funding while it continued looking for a buyer for its acute care facility. On April 13, Strawberry Fields submitted an offer of $8 million to purchase the hospital’s assets.

The hospital also received interest from another potential buyer. However, according to court documents, that party had not submitted a formal purchase agreement or demonstrated that it could complete the transaction within a feasible timeline.

Court documents filed Wednesday show the hospital was eventually sold for approximately $10.4 million.

The uncertainty has raised concerns among Marshall residents who rely on Fitzgibbon Hospital for nearby medical care. However, Fitzgibbon Hospital CEO Angy Littrell maintained the hospital would remain open in a statement sent to ABC 17 News on Friday. .

“Fitzgibbon Hospital remains open and continues to provide care to our patients and community. While the situation remains serious and continues to evolve, there is no established date for a hospital closure,” the statement reads.

The closest alternative hospital is about 40 minutes away, while another option is approximately an hour away.

Jessica and Miguel Parada, who live in Marshall, told ABC 17 News they are concerned about what this could mean for residents.

“It’s really sad, especially since a lot of residents here can’t travel that far, and this is the closest hospital in the area,” Jessica Parada said.

Miguel Parada said some residents may have difficulty traveling to another hospital, particularly people with disabilities or those who rely on family members for transportation.

“Some of them are disabled. Some of them can’t drive there by themselves and need family members, and I just feel like it wouldn’t be in the best interest of the people in Marshall,” he said.

Jessica Parada also said she has family members who live and work at the living center and worries about the impact the hospital’s situation could have on local jobs.

Miguel said a closure could also leave people living at the facility without a place to stay and workers with fewer employment options.

“It’s a shame for the people that are currently residing there, that they’re going to lose their homes, and the people who have jobs there. It’s also a shame for them because there’s really not any good opportunities here in Marshall specifically to find a job that’s close and remote,” Parada said.

For now, the hospital remains open and continues to provide care to patients while the bankruptcy case and legal dispute move forward.

Patients in Marshall who may need to seek care elsewhere have several options in the surrounding area. According to travel times provided by mapping services, alternative hospitals and medical services include:

Carroll County Memorial Hospital: About 40 minutes away

Boone Health: About 1 hour away

University of Missouri Hospital: About 1 hour and 3 minutes away

Bothwell Regional Health Center: About 33 minutes away

Lafayette Regional Health Center: About 50 minutes away

Western Missouri Medical Center: About 1 hour away

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Demetra Alarcon

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

On Friday, the Missouri Supreme Court rejected the Attorney General’s attempt to appeal the high court’s decision regarding congressional maps.

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled the People Not Politicians successfully made their arguments and that Missouri voters will decide on the “Missouri First” map in November. The congressional map created in 2022 is in force for the upcoming November election.

The 2025 map, which split Congressional District 5 into three districts, was met with criticism, with claims that it was gerrymandered in favor of Republicans ahead of the midterms.

Dave Roland, Senior Analyst for The Freedom Center of Missouri, said that for this case to be taken to the Supreme Court of the United States, it has to be within its jurisdiction, and the attorney general will have to prove that there is a Constitutional question in the case.

“And so if the Missouri Supreme Court is taken at its word, then there is no US constitutional question to be appealed to the US Supreme Court. Now, that does not necessarily foreclose the court from accepting review of the case, but it certainly raises questions as to what justification the U.S. Supreme Court would rely on to accept a review of the case,” Roland said.

According to Roland, the jurisdiction of the U.S. Supreme Court is provided by federal law, involving federal questions. However, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that it was only addressing matters of Missouri law.

“And so if the Missouri Supreme Court is taken at its word, then there is no US constitutional question to be appealed to the US Supreme Court,” Roland said.

Roland does not think that the U.S. Supreme Court will get involved.

“It’s possible that the US Supreme Court could do something unexpected and fairly extraordinary. But at least if things are going to progress along the normal lines, I would be very surprised if the US Supreme Court said, ‘Yes, we actually agree that we have jurisdiction to hear this case,'” Roland said.

“So again, federal courts have been very clear that state courts are the ultimate authorities of state law. And unless there are extremely unusual circumstances, federal courts don’t second-guess what state courts say that state law means or requires,” Roland said.

Since the Missouri Supreme Court rejected the Missouri Attorney General’s attempt to appeal its congressional map decision, the Attorney General now claims that the votes from the August election are nullified and violate the U.S. Constitution.

Roland said that he does not think that it is a correct argument to make, and does not think the U.S. Constitution has been violated.

“So because none of those votes have been invalidated or made to go away, they still resulted in the nomination of candidates. I don’t think you can actually say anyone has been disenfranchised,” Roland said.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia has hired a Texas-based law company to help hire its next city attorney.

City documents show the city hired Strategic Government Resources, Inc.  for the recruitment project.

Documents say the pricing cannot exceed $30,419, with $ 25,919 being used for consultant services and $4,500 for ad placements.

The city is looking to replace Nancy Thompson, who is retiring from the city attorney role on Oct. 14.

SGR Professional Services Agreement City CounselorDownload

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ABC 17 News Team

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Week 2 of the Missouri high school football season kicked off on Friday night.

You can find scores from all of your Mid-Missouri teams below, as well as highlights in the video player above.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 22-year-old Rolla man was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash Thursday night on Phelps County Road 5280, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says the man was riding the 2021 Honda Rebel 300 westbound when he went off the right side of the road, returned to the roadway and the bike overturned.

The man wore a helmet, but was flown to University Hospital.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A dead body was found floating face down in the Missouri River near the Noren River Access in North Jefferson City, the Jefferson City Police Department announced in a Friday press release.

First responders were called at 3:17 p.m. for a report of an unresponsive person floating face down, the release says.

The fire department launched a boat rescue at 3:34 p.m. and found the body three minutes later, per the release.

JCPD is the primary investigator in the case.

Check back for updates.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City Police Department spokesman says someone crashed a pickup truck into the Auto Zone on Missouri Boulevard on Thursday night.

The driver was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, first-degree property damage and reckless driving. The driver’s name was not released by police and associated charges were not filed on Casenet on Friday afternoon.

The spokesman wrote in an email on Friday that an officer was patrolling on Stadium Boulevard when he heard a loud crash and glass breaking.

The truck went through a handrail before crashing into the building, the email says. The driver allegedly refused field sobriety testing and chemical testing, so a warrant was obtained to collect a blood sample, the email says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Board of Education unanimously picked Paul Wagner to become its newest member during its Thursday meeting.

Five people filed to hold the seat formerly held by  Jeanne Snodgrass, who stepped down in July because she is moving. 

The other finalist was Erica Perry.

Wagner will be sworn in on Monday, Sept. 14.

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