Author: KMIZ

Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A trailer northwest of Columbia was the scene of a fire investigation early Wednesday.

The Boone County Fire Protection District was called to the 5800 block of North Oneal Road at 5:45 a.m. Wednesday after a trailer was set on fire over a dispute, Assistant Chief Gale Blomenkamp said.

Boone County firefighters, along with deputies from the sheriff’s office, were at the scene.

No one was hurt.

Fire officials said no one was on scene when they arrived.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for more information.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

No one was hurt after a trailer caught fire in Boone County Wednesday morning.

Boone County Fire Protection District crews were called to a fire at North Oneal Road and West Fenton Road around 5:45 a.m. The road was temporarily closed, but has since reopened.

Boone County Assistant Fire Chief Gale Blomenkamp told ABC 17 News crews there were no injuries and nobody was on scene when fire crews arrived.

Law enforcement is investigating the scene.

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Matthew Sanders

Gov. Mike Kehoe gave his second State of the State Address before a combined session of the Missouri General Assembly on Tuesday.

Among the priorities stated by the Republican governor are budget cuts of about $600 million, along with a move toward ending Missouri’s income tax. Kehoe also issued several executive orders, including one that created a government efficiency group called Missouri GREAT.

You can watch his full speech here.

What do you think of Keheo going into his second year? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An underground stormwater project will require the City of Columbia to close a portion of South Rock Quarry Road at the end of the month.

A Tuesday press release from the city says the road will close between its intersection with East Nifong Boulevard and Telluride Lane to replace a failed stormwater pipe beginning at 7 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20.

Work is expected to be completed by 7 a.m. Monday, Feb. 2.

Road closure and detour signs will be posted.  

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Fulton mom has been charged with a felony and a misdemeanor after she allegedly put methamphetamine in her child’s backpack on Monday.

Alexus Peppers-Wright, 28, was charged on Tuesday in Callaway County with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and misdemeanor illegally possessing drug paraphernalia. She is being held at the Callaway County Jail on a $45,000 bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says police were called to Bush Elementary in Fulton at 12:40 p.m. Monday about possible drugs being found in a child’s backpack. The student allegedly told someone – described as a witness – that “mom accidentally put these in my backpack and I don’t know what to do with them they have drugs in them,” the statement says.

Three people described as witnesses found a “zipper pouch” that had two syringes and a substance that tested positive as methamphetamine, the statement says.

Peppers-Wright showed up to the school at 2:48 p.m. and allegedly claimed to have known what was in the backpack, but claimed drugs in the bag belonged to a friend, the statement says. The zipper bag had “Property of Lexi” written on the side with a black Sharpie, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Sedalia man has been charged with manslaughter in Morgan County in relation to a Sept. 16 crash that killed two people.

Ruvim Izotia was charged on Monday with two counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter, two counts of driving while using a phone, one count of second-degree assault and three misdemeanors: Driving while using an electronic device, following another vehicle too closely and speeding.

A warrant for his arrest was issued on Monday and a $100,000 bond was set.   

The probable cause statement claims Izotia caused the crash with his Mercedes. Previous reporting shows an 18-year-old Sedalia man allegedly rear-ended a 2013 Mercedes-Benz Class S a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt driven by a 48-year-old Cole Camp woman. The crash occurred on Highway 50 near Old Highway 50.

The hit pushed the Chevrolet into the oncoming lane, which caused another crash into a 2012 Mazda 3 – driven by a 38-year-old Russellville man, the report says.

The Russellville man was pronounced dead at the scene, while a 45-year-old Versailles man who was a passenger was pronounced dead at a hospital.

A Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper requested data from each vehicle, which allegedly showed the Chevrolet slow down from 57 miles per hour to 28 miles per hour, and then speed up again by 25 miles per hour after it was hit, the statement says.

Information from Life360 allegedly indicated there were 19 “distracted driving events” involving Izotia’s phone during the 21-minute trip, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Wellsville man was charged with two felonies after he was accused of sexually abusing a girl on Dec. 7.

Noah Smith, 18, was charged on Monday in Montgomery County with first-degree sodomy and sex abuse. He is being held at the jail without bond, though a mugshot was not immediately available. An arraignment was held on Tuesday and Smith appeared by video from the jail. A counsel status hearing was scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20 and an attorney asked for a bond to be set.

The probable cause statement says the victim was given alcohol by another person described as “Suspect 2.” Court filings show a woman, Elizabeth Mize, gave alcohol to the minor victim and other youth.

Mize was charged with two counts of misdemeanor providing alcohol to a minor and a summons was issued for her on Tuesday.

The statement says the victim allegedly had a blood alcohol level of .11, which is higher than the legal limit to drive. Court documents claim Smith assaulted the victim twice and the victim had to remove his hands from various areas of her body.

During the last occurrence, the victim allegedly kicked Smith and locked herself in a bathroom to avoid him, the statement says. Once a ride arrived for the victim, Smith allegedly refused to let her leave, the statement says.

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Haley Swaino

COLE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A late Cole County farmer owners’ land is set to be auctioned on Feb. 7, even though he intended it to become a county park.

After a large group of family, friends and neighbors of Lawrence Renn Jr. showed up to continue their fight to stop the sale of the Elston farmland at Tuesday’s commission meeting, commissioners voted unanimously to reopen talks with Renn’s trust bank.

Renn created a trust that stated 178 acres of his farm — located off Route T and Elston Road in Elston– would be leased to the county after his death for $1 a year. He died in 2021. But the county broke the 99-year lease after the bank told them how much money was available to develop and maintain the park.

“When we asked if there were going to be some funds available to help us develop this, we were told no,” Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman said. “The land was basically his gift and that would be like $15,000-to-$20,000.”

Bushman said taking that much money out of the county parks budget would not be doable.

“We did not have the funds to do it, so that is why we notified Hawthorn trust that we respectfully declined this gift,” Bushman said.

The county then went to court and withdrew from the trust, and the bank put the land up for auction.

But family and friends insisted millions was in the bank, specifically intended for the park.

“There’s some miscommunication between the bank and Cole County about the amount of funds available for the development of this park,” neighbor Tony Brenneke said.

Bushman said he reached out to the bank last week about the money available.

“It’s the same amount last week they gave me that they gave us in 2024,” Bushman said. “The $3-to-$4 million, I don’t know where it is or what it can be used for, but it’s not being offered for the park.”

And that’s the issue commissioners are hoping Hawthorn Bank will sit down and clarify for them before the land is sold.

“If they say, ‘No, this $3-to-$4 million is going to be used for this or something else and it’s not available for you,’ then so be it,” Bushman said. “A lot’s going to hinge on what conversations we can perhaps have with Hawthorn Bank before Feb. 7.”

Tony Brenneke said there is one glaring concern that could cost them the land.

“One big question that we’re left is is kind of why Hawthorn Bank not being 100% forthcoming with the county about what assets are available to develop this park,” Brenneke said.

The group at Tuesday’s meeting left clapping and thanking the commission, hopeful the bank will be receptive to talks.

“Conversations between the bank and grantor, Lawrence Renn, before his passing as well as certain language in the trust, mandated that the trust was not to be the sole source of funding for the development and maintenance of the park and that it be a collaborative effort between the trust and the county,” Hawthorn Bank said in a statement.

The bank said its worked over the past few years to exhaust all options, while still maintaining the language in his trust.

“Ultimately, both the Cole County Commission and Missouri State Parks declined to accept the gift of the conveyance of the land for the park, citing insufficient personnel and funding to undertake such a project,” the statement said.

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Lucas Geisler

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) –

The Supreme Court of Missouri upheld a state law banning minors from receiving gender-affirming.

The high court sided with a Cole County judge’s decision to uphold the law that bans children from procedures like sex change surgeries or prescribing hormone therapy to help with gender transitions. The law went into effect in August 2023.

Those challenging the law had claimed a violation of equal protection and due process.

The Missouri Supreme Court referred to a U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld a similar Tennessee law last year.

The court struck down the argument that the state’s SAFE Act discriminated based on protected classes, transgender status and sex, by ruling that the act only classifies by age and medical use, accoridng to the opinion.

The court also ruled the act does not violate parents’ rights to make decisions about their children’s health care.

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway celebrated the decision.

“By upholding the SAFE Act, the Missouri Supreme Court confirmed the legislature’s authority to safeguard the health and well-being of our state’s most vulnerable citizens,” Hanaway wrote in a statement.

The ACLU of Missouri, which fought against the law in court, called the decision “a harmful ban that singles out transgender Missourians.”

University of Missouri Health Care stopped providing gender-affirming care in August 2023.

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Ryan Shiner

JEFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Gov. Mike Kehoe during his State of the State address on Tuesday recognized the law enforcement officers who exchanged gunfire and killed a Ralls County homicide suspect last year.

Kehoe recognized Randolph County Sheriff’s Deputy Lt. Nathan West, Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Dustin Harrison and Sgt. Derrick Powell while promoting the “Safer Missouri” initiative.

Charles Armour was accused of killing Jonathan Floyd, 55, of Perry, Missouri in Ralls County. Lois and Patty Armour were accused of hiding Charles Armour in their home before his shootout with law enforcement on Oct. 12, 2025.

The probable cause statements in the women’s cases says that law enforcement went to a residence in relation to the homicide investigation on Sunday and spoke with both women. The women allegedly claimed Charles Armour was not at the residence, court documents say.

Law enforcement was given permission to search the home and found Charles Armour in a bathroom with a handgun, the statement says. He then fired at the responding officers and hit a Randolph County deputy, the statement says.

Kehoe said in his speech that West has since returned to duty after being shot. Kehoe said Powell drove West to the Moberly Regional Air Evac Helipad so he could be flown to a hospital.

West, Powell and Harrison were given a standing ovation by lawmakers on Tuesday.

Patty and Lois Armour are both charged with felony murder in the Monroe County case, and Lois Armour faces an additional charge of hindering a felony prosecution. Both women pleaded not guilty during hearings at Monroe County last week. They have a hearing scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 5.

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