Author: KMIZ

Melissa Houston

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia Police Department hosted a roundtable on Wednesday afternoon for downtown Columbia bar’s and businesses over downtown safety concerns.

Police Chief Jill Schlude said that the reason for this meeting was to reengage withowners and have a better line of communication between them and personnel.

“This is just kind of trying to revamp and revive the downtown bar meeting we used to have years ago, pre-COVID, back when the downtown unit existed,” Schlude said.

Schlude said she was happy with the meeting’s turnout, and it consisted of collaborative conversations among the people inside.

Columbia Fire Chief Brian Schaffer said that during the meeting many topics were discussed and it was great oppurtunity for diffrent perspectives to come together and talk about what they can do to make the town safer.

“There were discussions about bottom lines and economic impacts, and at the same time, some out-of-the-box ideas on how we may make it a safer environment for students, a safer environment for people that are out of the area,” Schaeffer said.

Owner of The Heidelberg Richard Walls said there were roughly 30-40 people inside, including business owners, council members, police staff and fire staff in attendance.

Walls said he appreciated the efforts from law enforcement to engage business owners to keep themselves and people in Columbia safe.

“I think it’s great seeing our community come together, working on making sure our public stays safe and people can enjoy coming to Columbia and having a night out,” said Walls. “The people that own the bars and restaurants in Columbia care about our community by showing up today with the crowd that we had.”

The roundtable meeting will be able to provide Columbia business owners with the same avenue when it comes to being informed according to Walls.

“It will provide everyone the opportunity to work together and keep people on the same page,” said Walls. “If something happens somewhere, they know that they can reach out to the police and they’re on our side and we’re on their side.

The main concerns Schlude said were brought up during the meeting were the lack of CPD staffing as well as people partying in their cars outside of the bars. She said not only were the concerns of folks tailgating brought up in the meeting, but these concerns have been consistent with other business owners outside the meetings and observations from CPD staff.

Due to buisness owners concerns, Schlude said there will be more enforcement downtown in respone to this to monitor safety.

“We’re going to modify behavior and we can do that through voluntary compliance or we can do that through citations and potentially arrests. So I would anticipate more enforcement downtown,” Schlude said. “We want to be responsive to what they’re asking for help with.”

Schlude said the invite list for this meeting was based on businesses that are open late and more geared towards bar and night clubs.

“If your primary revenue generator is selling liquor by the drink, then that’s how you got an invitation,” said Schlude. “If you’re just a retail business, if you’re a restaurant and you’re closing at nine or 10:00, that’s a little bit different animal. And not that we’re not going to have conversations with those folks because we certainly will, we really wanted to focus down on the bars and nightclubs and kind of the nightlife scene in downtown Columbia.

Schaeffer said with everyone leaning towards being on the same page about communication and safety concerns, the next steps are to use ideas bounced around during the meeting, and start working towards a safer downtown.

“Overall, it was just a focus on making sure that everybody understands the same situation. The environment or the operational environment that we have downtown, and then move forward with a couple ideas on how to improve,” Schaeffer said.

There was some confusion over who was invited to the meeting. Tropical Liqueurs — a popular downtown bar that has been in Columbia since the ’80s — shared a social media post earlier on Wednesday indicating they were uninvited.

“We RSVP’d immediately because we wanted to be part of the conversation. The next day, we were told the invitation had been sent to us by mistake and that we were not actually invited to attend,” the post says. “We were very disappointed. We’ve operated a bar in downtown Columbia for more than four decades, and we believe that experience gives us a valuable perspective on what’s happening in downtown and what might help make it better.”

The bar wrote that it supported bringing back the downtown police unit.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Eight men who were arrested during a week-long sting in Boone County over child sex crimes have had their cases moved up to federal court, the Western District of Missouri announced in a Wednesday press release.

Deputies arrested several men in June who attempted to meet with who they thought were minors for sexual contact. The accused men and their charges are as followed:

Daniel Walter Follet, 57, of Columbia: Charged with attempted child enticement and attempted sex trafficking.

Rollie Howard Pogue, 30, of Moberly: Charged with attempted child enticement, attempted sex trafficking and committing a felony involving a minor while being a registered sex offender.

Jose Alfredo Jimenez-Hernandez, 54, of Columbia: Charged with attempted child enticement and attempted sex trafficking. He is described in the release as illegally residing in the U.S.

Rifat Hasan Apurba, 30, of Columbia: Charged with attempted child enticement and attempted sex trafficking. He is also described as being a University of Missouri graduate assistant.

Ethan Schmidt Deimeke, 28, of Columbia: Charged with attempted child enticement and attempted sex trafficking.

Brice Leslie Morris, 35, of Columbia: Charged with attempted child enticement and attempted sex trafficking.

John Binu, 25, of Jefferson City: Charged with attempted child enticement and attempted sex trafficking.

David Allen Burres, 32, of Plattsburg: Charged with attempted child enticement and receipt of child sex abuse materials

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A crash on Interstate 44 involving a Missouri Department of Transportation truck has shut down the road near mile marker 179 near Doolittle, according to multiple agencies.

The Doolittle Rural Fire Protection District and Missouri State Highway Patrol confirmed a MoDOT truck was involved. The crash occurred in the westbound lanes and “multiple ambulances” were called to the scene.

A social media post from the Doolittle Fire Protection District says a semi-truck rear-ended the MoDOT truck.

Two MoDOT employees were injured in the crash and were brought to a hospital, according to MoDOT spokeswoman Marcia Johnson. The Doolittle Fire Protection District wrote in an updated social media post that the driver of the MoDOT vehicle had minor injuries, but did not describe the injuries of the other person in the vehicle. The driver of the tractor-trailer denied treatment.

The social media post from the Doolittle Fire Protection District says the semi-truck rear-ended the MoDOT truck.

The post says the MoDOT truck had a Truck-Mounted Attenuator, which “are specifically designed to absorb and dissipate the tremendous energy generated when another vehicle strikes the rear of a highway work vehicle.” That device had “significant damage.”

The road was closed for a few hours. Traffic was redirected to the ramps around the crash.

Crews then worked to remove oil that was spilled during the crash.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A truck driver who crash a semi carrying 42,000 pounds of paint on Tuesday in Montgomery County was charged with three misdemeanors.

Lonnie Britton, of Middletown, Delaware, was charged on Wednesday in Montgomery county with driving with intoxicated, having a BAC too high to drive a commercial vehicle and reckless driving.

The crash occurred just after midnight on Tuesday and Britton allegedly could not tell troopers how the crash occurred. A trooper brought Britton to a service station and Britton allegedly made odd statements” that “did not make sense,” according to the probable cause statement.

Court documents say a breath sample stated Britton’s blood alcohol level was .071, which is higher than the legal limit to drive a commercial vehicle.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo (KMIZ)

President Donald Trump approved Missouri’s request for a major disaster declaration on Wednesday, FEMA and the governor’s office announced in a pair of press releases.

The declaration approves FEMA public assistance for Bollinger, Crawford, Iron, Madison, Morgan, Reynolds, Ripley, Washington and Wayne counties for storms that occurred July 9-11. The estimated cost for recovery from the federal government is $19.9 million, according to Kehoe’s press release.

Gov. Mike Kehoe made the request on July 29. Trump approved a separate request for storm damage on Aug. 3 for the June 4-18 storms that hit Missouri.

“When historic flash flooding and storms devastated parts of south-central and southeast Missouri earlier this summer, our first responders, state emergency management team, and the Missouri National Guard were prepared and acted without hesitation as they rushed to rescue and evacuate flood victims,” Kehoe was quoted in the release. “I appreciated the opportunity to speak with President Trump and share with him the incredible stories of heroism witnessed that night and in the days that followed. We thank President Trump for approving our major disaster declaration request and for his continued support as Missouri families and communities recover and rebuild.”   

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Alison Patton

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments for two lawsuits from a group trying to get the mid-decade “Missouri First” congressional map Map on the November ballot.

This is the final attempt to get the map, which lawmakers passed during a special session on mid-decade redistricting, in front of voters.

People Not Politicians asks justices to certify their referendum

The first case Supreme Court justices heard from People Not Politicians concerns whether the Secretary of State acted within his authority in rejecting the referendum.

Secretary Denny Hoskins, with the Attorney General’s backing, said a referendum on a congressional map was unconstitutional at the beginning of August. People Not Politicians took this decision to a Cole County judge, who sided with Hoskins two weeks ago.

The group backing the referendum immediately filed an appeal.

People Not Politicians has been trying to overturn the map since lawmakers passed the map in September 2025. The map is expected to flip District 5 from Democrat to Republican. Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver currently holds the seat and is now running against Republican candidate and state Sen. Rick Brattin, of Harrisonville.

People Not Politicians argued that the referendum is sufficient because it has enough signatures and Missouri law explicitly allows it. Attorney Chuck Hatfield said Missouri law allows a referendum on any act of the General Assembly, and that’s what House Bill 1 is.

Hoskins argued the opposite, saying the Missouri and U.S. Constitutions prohibit it because there isn’t a clear statement allowing it. Hatfield argued the specific law only applies to Senate redistricting because that’s where the provision is found.

Chief Justice Brent Powell questioned the state at least twice about whether their arguments prohibit the right to a referendum because that’s the question the Supreme Court is charged with answering.

Three interested Republican groups have also stepped in, siding with the state. Their argument in court was very similar. John Gore, an attorney from Washington, D.C. who is representing the Republican groups, added it’s too close to the November election to change anything.

If the state’s high court sides with People Not Politicians and they get the referendum on the ballot, the congressional map for November would go back to the 2022 map. Gore said this could cause chaos and confusion for voters, especially those who are in different districts depending on the map.

Candidates have spent time and money campaigning in their new districts, and election officials might not be able to change the map files — which is what ties voters to districts.

There’s also a trial on when Hoskins should start counting referendum signatures

Following arguments on whether the referendum is allowed by law, justices heard a second round of arguments from People Not Politicians, the state and another interested party agreeing with the state — a political action committee called Put Missouri First.

The focus of this lawsuit is discussing if signatures that were gathered on a petition before a certain date should have counted.

Before starting his arguments, Hatfield acknowledged that this was less significant than the arguments heard earlier in the day.

People Not Politicians started collecting signatures soon after the general assembly passed the map and when it submitted the referendum for approval to the secretary. Hoskins said the group can’t collect signatures until he approves it for circulation, and that didn’t happen until after the governor signed H.B. 1 into law.

The state and Put Missouri First argue that this is moot because Hoskins has already declared the referendum unconstitutional on its face. However, if the justices decide the case has merit, then it’s still irrelevant because People Not Politicians has enough signatures.

Put Missouri First attorney Mark Ellinger said the group is asking for advice or a ruling that could potentially help the group at a later date.

“The court only addresses when there’s a live controversy. There is not in that case,” Ellinger said.

People Not Politicians argues that referendums can be done on any act of the general assembly–a case they have consistently used throughout numerous lawsuits in both low and high courts. The group has also argued that they believe they have enough signatures already, even without the 100,000 that Hoskins chose not to count.

People Not Politicians submitted the referendum for approval in September 2025, but Hoskins didn’t give it the OK to circulate until Oct. 14, and Hoskins said any signatures collected in that time frame are invalid. He also reminded potential signers that anyone who resigns a petition is considered election fraud.

Of the nearly 306,000 signatures turned in to the Secretary on Dec. 9; 100,000 of them were not processed.

Time is ticking

The Supreme Court needs to make a decision fast because the last day to add anything to the November ballot is Monday, Sept. 8. In the People Not Politicians lawsuit tried two weeks ago, Cole County Judge Daniel Green announced his decision hours after hearing arguments.

Powell didn’t indicate when a decision would be made.

People Not Politicians rallied outside the Supreme Court, and hundreds of people came in support of overturning the 2025 map.

Mike Dempsey and his wife drove two hours from Springfield to rally Wednesday morning.

“They’re trying to gerrymander the state, and divide up districts and give people less representation in the state,” he said. “They’re using Jim Crow tactics in dividing districts with minorities. Next thing you know, they’re going to have us counting jelly beans and taking literacy tests.”

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Demetra Alarcon

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Jefferson City Salvation Army says it is doubling the number of beds at its shelter.

According to a Facebook post, the Center of Hope shelter is undergoing a full renovation that will double its capacity from 31 to 62 beds. The project includes adding a new family wing, transitioning open bathroom facilities into private spaces and expanding the food pantry to five times its original size.

According to Melinda Jennings, Director of Development at the Salvation Army, this is a 6.5 million project that has been funded by private donations, government and community grants, and ARPA government funding.

“I’m really, so thankful to be a part of it into the Salvation Army for saying, we’re going to do this, we’re going to take this on and, the Salvation Army themselves has made a commitment to our campaign as well,” said Jennings.

The Salvation Army has been under construction since January and is expected to be complete by the end of December.

Last April, the Jefferson City Task Force on Homelessness called for more shelters, centralized resources and affordable housing. The task force recommended using federal and state grant funding to support coordination efforts and expand staffing.

In July, Jefferson City’s Public Works and Planning Committee met to discuss research on safety requirements for shelters.

A memorandum by the Department of Planning and Protective Services said more research was needed because current shelters have no safety regulations.

In an interview with ABC 17, Planning and Protective Services Director Dave Helmick shared that his department is researching local communities, existing shelters, and framework documents. This research will help guide the drafting of a comprehensive shelter safety ordinance.

“But we are working with the groups. We have met with some of them individually. Just to talk about the issues that we’re having, and then we’re expanding that into this shelter ordinance, which really covers everything from, you know, temporary shelters, emergency shelters, soup kitchens, overnight shelters,” said Helmick.

Drafts have been worked out for this ordinance and will be open to public comment in the next coming weeks.

Helmick said that this ordinance would be used to put rules in place, not restrict.

“This isn’t really, a we’re trying to restrict. It’s more if you’re going to do it. This is how you can do it safely and efficiently, and this is how to do it,” said Helmick

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A St. Louis County judge on Wednesday added Mizzou to a restraining order to keep a defensive tackle eligible to play.

Judge Ellen Ribaudo added the University of Missouri to a temporary restraining order that she previously granted to keep the NCAA from declaring Sterling Webb ineligible to play a fifth year. The move was largely procedural, according to a motion filed by Webb’s lawyer, because Webb already has a spot on the football team. However, NCAA rules say that teams, not the NCAA, declare players ineligible.

The order against Mizzou would keep the school from holding or reducing revenue sharing or name, image and likeness proceeds Webb could receive.

Webb filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in late July seeking an extra year of player eligibility, arguing that the rules state he should have a season remaining. The NCAA said its interpretation of the rules means he has none.

Ribaudo also denied the NCAA’s motion to throw out the case during a hearing Wednesday.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 23-year-old Columbia man arrested after a standoff that shut down a busy street was wanted for allegedly threatening a family member with a gun and leading police on a chase.

Ethan J. McCauley was arrested Tuesday after a standoff that lasted about two hours on Fyfer Place, just off East Broadway. Police closed a section of East Broadway near Boone Hospital during the response.

McCauley had been wanted on a warrant for felony fleeing police, armed criminal action, and felony resisting arrest, according to court records. The charges were filed after a May incident.

One of McCauley’s stepparents called police on May 11, saying McCauley had been banging on their door with a gun before firing a gunshot and taking off, according to a probable cause statement. Police say McCauley led them on a chase down East Gans Road and other rural roads, at times exceeding 100 mph in his Polaris Slingshot three-wheeled vehicle.

McCauley parked the Slingshot in a driveway and ran, but police caught his passenger, who told them McCauley had a gun on his lap during the chase. Officers also found empty alcohol containers in the vehicle, according to the statement.

Bond was set at $75,000. No hearings have been set.

Georgina Hovoni, 21, was also arrested Tuesday. No charges had been posted publicly against her in online court records Wednesday morning.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Three Missouri Supreme Court hearings are set to take place Wednesday regarding potential November ballot measures.

Respect Missouri Voters will be at the Supreme Court as the group continues to fight for Amendment 6 regarding the citizen-led petition to be on the November ballot. The group looks to add new rules for initiative petitions and make it harder for lawmakers to overturn things passed through that process.

Amendment 6 would:

Prohibit politicians from overturning or changing initiatives passed by voters without widespread agreement.  

Protect our constitutional right to the initiative and referendum process.

Require ballot summaries to be clear, unbiased, fair, accurate and easy to understand.

Last month, a Cole County judge ruled that Secretary of State Denny Hoskins was right to reject the initiative petition seeking to check the General Assembly’s power to change voter-approved policy.

Respect Missouri Voters will hold a rally following Wednesday’s hearing at 9:45 a.m. The group is also inviting supporters of Amendment 6 to hear opening arguments on the steps of the Missouri Supreme Court at 9 a.m.

The Group People, Not Politicians also has two hearings against Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in the Supreme Court on Wednesday. The group sued Hoskins to get their vote on the ballot between the new and old congressional maps.

The Cole County judge sided with Hoskins that the Missouri Constitution does not allow citizens to challenge congressional maps approved by legislators through a ballot measure.

The group also sued Hoskins in a separate lawsuit for refusing to check any signatures gathered in the initiative petition before Oct. 15. The judge also ruled that Hoskins was allowed to toss out signatures that were gathered on a petition before a certain date.

Both rulings were appealed and are expected to be challenged in court Wednesday.

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