Author: KMIZ

Euphenie Andre

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

After two months of closure, a portion of Clark Lane at Hanover Boulevard in northeast Columbia is expected to reopen Friday afternoon.

Missouri Department of Transportation Improve I-70 Program Director Eric Kopinski told ABC 17 News on Thursday that the road is scheduled to reopen around 3:30 p.m. Friday.

The improvements include a new roundabout, pavement and retaining walls.

“The roundabout will better allow traffic movement in the area for when we connect the westbound entrance and exit ramp that will kind of exit in that area,” Kopinski said.

Kopinski said crews had to work carefully as they reconstructed the area because of extensive drainage work, elevation changes and existing utilities.

“Anyone that travels that route tomorrow or in the future will see that there’s some walls in that location,” Kopinski said.

During the closure, drivers were detoured along Ballenger Lane, St. Charles Road, Mexico Gravel Road and Vandiver Drive. According to previous reporting, access to businesses west of the intersection was closed during construction, but drivers could still reach them through Hanover Boulevard.

“With the improvements to the Highway 63 Interchange and I-70, the roundabout will help traffic flow more efficiently and improve safety in the area,” Kopinski said.

Some of the detours directed drivers through residential neighborhoods, raising safety concerns for residents.

Ceara Houston, a Columbia native who lives along Rice Road, said she is looking forward to the roundabout opening, particularly because of concerns about speeding in her neighborhood.

“I’m extremely happy that it’s opening so that the people from up top can stop speeding through this neighborhood where all of our children play,” Houston said.

Houston is interested to see how the new roundabout will affect traffic in the area. However, she said she does not believe roundabouts will solve every traffic problem, adding that she thinks the city has too many of them.

The city announced Thursday that Go COMO’s Blue Route will return to its normal route on Saturday.

The reopening comes as the City of Columbia moves forward with plans to improve a 1.32-mile stretch of Clark Lane through a $10.5 million grant agreement with the Federal Highway Administration.

The planned corridor improvements include lower speed limits, four additional speed limit signs, eastbound and westbound bicycle lanes, four vehicle lanes, a six-foot-wide sidewalk on the north side and a 10-foot-wide multi-use trail on the south side.

John Ogan, a spokesman for the city’s Public Works Department, told ABC 17 that the grant agreement has been finalized and the city is now waiting for the grant funds to be released.

Meanwhile, drivers traveling between Boonville and Kingdom City could see additional changes next weekend. MoDOT plans to demolish two bridges in Kingdom City that officials have described as being “at the end of their life.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Data from Boone County shows the amount of money seniors saved from this year’s property tax exemption was similar to last year’s amount.

Eligible seniors are able to apply for an exemption by each summer.

Boone County Collector Brian McCollom said the total amount of tax credits in 2026 was similar to 2025. This year is not a reassessment year.

Data shows this year saw Boone County seniors save in total $ 2,214,411.24.

In 2025, $2,219,785.05 in total credits were recorded, according to previous reporting.

To be eligible taxpayers must be:

62 years old or older by Jan. 1 of the initial credit year; An owner of record of their primary residence or has a legal or equitable interest in such primary residence as evidenced by a written instrument; and Liable for the payment of real property taxes on the homestead. Click here to follow the original article.

Melissa Houston

MONTGOMERY CITY, (Mo). KMIZ

A representative from Amazon told Montgomery County commissioners Thursday that the company plans to expand its data center footprint there.

Brian Bolton, the Amazon representative, said the company plans to add up to 15 new data center buildings on up to 890 acres at a site separate from one where a data center is already being built.

Bolton opened the floor to questions during the commission meeting.

“My purpose here is just kind of out in the open form here, to introduce the potential expansion, if you have any questions, and really, this is more just the starting point,” Bolton said during the meeting.

Amazon is purchasing private land for the new data center buildings, but has not closed yet. The plan would be to build closer to Danville, while the current project is closer to New Florence.

Location of the potential new data centers from Brian Bolton, an Amazon representative.

Montgomery County has two data centers under construction, one by Google and the other by Amazon.

The announcement came as news to the residents and the county commission.

“That’s kinda where that stuff’s supposed to go, you know, original planning and zoning, they wanted that growth going along the interstate, figured it was coming one day, and I guess here we are,” Montgomery County Presiding Commissioner Ryan Poston said.

Poston said Thursday’s meeting might be the first of several to discuss Amazon’s plan.

Residents expressed concerns about Amazon’s work on the initial data center. One resident said she has been run off the road by worker trucks due to the terrain of the roads, the speed of the drivers, and the size of the trucks.

Another said she has tried to reach out to express safety concerns but has a hard time finding a point of contact.

“As far as an individual trying to email someone and say, ‘Hey, you know, this noise from this construction company is debilitating at my house,” Brenda Buechele said. “Or all your construction workers are tearing up my farmland where I farm on my farm because they’re turning around and creating huge ruts; there’s nobody to contact.”

Sharon and Bob Ridgley, local farmers who live behind the current Amazon data center site, said they only found out what it was through the local news.

“We found out that those were data centers coming in. We found that out because it was published in the local newspaper, and we had not a clue what we were going to deal with,” Sharon Ridgley said. “This is just a mile from our home, and all of this construction has impacted our lives so much.”

Sharon Ridgley said that their once-quiet roadway is now full of dust from trucks constantly driving through to build the center.

Ameren Missouri, the power supplier to the data centers, is asking the Ridgleys to add high-voltage power lines into their farms’ backyards. Bob said his farm has been there since 1961, and he shouldn’t have to change it.

“It’s going to affect my grazing systems for my cattle and my crop fields, and we’re going to have to try to fight that too,” Bob Ridgley said. “People call this construction. I call it destruction.”

Sharon Ridgley said that they found out about the power lines when they looked outside and saw workers in their yards putting up markers and taking scans with drones.

“We’re just little people, and they come in and push their way around without any consideration for what it’s going to do to us and our families,” Sharon Ridgley said. “They shouldn’t be allowed to take properties or to make you give up your property because they want to power data centers, which are trillion-dollar companies.”

Bolton said Amazon has no set date for when the potential new data centers would start construction, but he believes it would happen sometime between 2027 and 2029.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia police arrested a man on Wednesday who was found in a trash can after a chase in the northeastern part of the city.

Daniel Joseph Arnold, 30, of Columbia, was charged on Thursday with resisting arrest, aggravated fleeing and misdemeanor leaving the scene of an accident. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says Arnold sped out of the Schnuck’s parking lot on Clark Lane in his Chrysler Sebring and almost hit the officer’s patrol vehicle. Two people near a pick-up truck were allegedly seen pointing at the Chrysler while Arnold was driving away, the statement says.

Arnold then allegedly drove 55 miles per hour on Valley Creek Lane, a residential area, and eventually crashed the vehicle while trying to get back to Clark Lane during the chase, the statement says.

Arnold ran from the vehicle and police found him hiding inside a trach can in the backyard of a home in the 1300 block of Valley Creek Lane, the statement says. Multiple people reported seeing Arnold “running in circles” in the backyard of the residence, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Former Columbia Fire Department Chief Clayton Farr Jr. was appointed by Gov. Mike Kehoe on Thursday, according to a press release from the governor’s office.

Farr worked with CFD for more than 25 years and retired as chief in 2024, according to previous reporting. He worked in the fire service for nearly 32 years.

The release says he is a licensed emergency medical technician “and has held or currently holds certifications as a Missouri fire inspector, instructor, and investigator, and Missouri hazardous materials technician.”

He is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the National Fire Protection Association.

“Chief Farr has a superb management record and broad experience across the fire service, starting as a firefighter and working his way up through the chain-of-command to lieutenant of emergency services division, battalion chief, division chief, fire marshal, assistant chief, and chief of a large and growing department with almost 200 team members and a $34 million budget,” Kehoe was quoted in the release. “His responsibilities have included code enforcement, fire investigations, fireworks and explosives enforcement, firefighter training, and fire safety public education. He brings the skillset, collaborative spirit, and practical experience that will guide the Division of Fire Safety team into the future.”

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Collin Anderson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Battle blocker Nadine Ira went “Beyond the Game” with ABC 17 Sports Reporter Collin Anderson, after the Spartans had their best regular season in school history.

You can find a full transcript of the interview below.

Collin Anderson: “What is up, everyone? Welcome back to another edition of Beyond the Game, where we are at Battle High School, joined by Spartan Volleyball superstar Nadine Ira. Nadine, it’s been kind of a very good season for you guys so far. Can you kind of give me your assessment of how the year’s been going?”

Nadine Ira: “We started a little bit rocky, but we played a new team. We’ve never played this team before. Troy. We went there, was two hours away, and it was a battle, definitely. But we were left with the win, and I feel like it was a great start to the season. And yeah, ever since then it’s just been good.”

Anderson: “What do you think has contributed to your single-season success so far?”

Ira: “I think definitely my teammates. My teammates are very positive, and like if anything happens on the court, they’re always like there with positive feedback and always helping me get back up and game that confidence back up.”

Anderson: “Where are you so dangerous? What makes your game so dangerous?”

Ira: “I wouldn’t say I’m necessarily dangerous, but I feel like I’m definitely one of the players. Like if I do anything, like I could hit a ball 10 feet out the wall, like, I’m definitely going to stay composed and like, okay, that’s fine. Like next ball, like set me right now, like I’m definitely one of those players.”

Anderson: “Building off of that, do you have a player that you have a lot of chemistry, that you’re like, they know exactly where I am.”

Ira: “Yeah, I do. I think Tristan, we connect a lot really well and I think Tyelle because we’re both blockers. She likes to set the block for me. I feel like we work so well together, and I feel like the chemistry there is just good.”

Anderson: “Why do you think that is?”

Ira: “I think for Tyelle it’s because we’re both tall. And I just like to, you know, bond with her when she gets a block. I’m like, ‘Oh, my gosh, that looks so good. I want one too.’ It’s just definitely fun playing with her.”

Anderson: “It’s a little back and forth, you get one, I get one.”

Ira: Yeah, we like to share. Like it’s your turn now since I got one, you have to get one too.”

Anderson: “Why do you think having two players that are as dynamic as you, that like to be as flashy and dominant as you two, how do you think that gives your team an advantage?”

Ira: “I think it’s just fun to watch and it’s fun to play against, and I think it’s just a definitely an asset necessity to have.”

Anderson: “Well, Nadine, thank you so much, and for you guys, you just went Beyond the Game.”

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Demetra Alarcon

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Gov. Mike Kehoe was joined by state officials and U.S. attorneys in his office Thursday to announce the start of an anti-fraud crackdown dubbed “Operation Show-Me the Money.”

This operation is a collaboration between the State of Missouri and the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute individuals and entities that defraud state benefit programs. The collaboration will bring together state and federal resources to identify potential fraud and strengthen oversight, officials said.

“We’re bringing all the full force of state and federal law enforcement together to send a clear message. If you’re stealing from Missouri taxpayers, we are coming after you,” Kehoe said.

This operation is a collaborative effort between the Kehoe administration, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office and the DOJ, bringing staff together from the Missouri Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the DOJ.

The initiative relies on a three-pronged strategy that starts with tips from frontline staff and referrals from ongoing state investigations. Investigators will then launch targeted reviews of specific benefit programs to spot suspicious activity, while also cross-referencing data across multiple agencies to uncover hidden patterns of abuse and emerging trends.

“One of the other new things that we’re talking about today is that we have a cooperation agreement with the federal government, so that assistant attorneys general are being sworn in as special United States attorneys to assist in the prosecution of these crimes at both the state and federal level,” said Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway.

Matt Price, United States attorney for the Western District of Missouri, said this initiative builds on the momentum of a summer of fighting fraud in Missouri. Price said the U.S. attorneys’ offices in Missouri prosecuted cases accounting for $62 million in “actual and intended fraud losses.”

In an interview with ABC 17 News, Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick said this operation is a state government approach to reducing waste and eliminating fraud.

“Fighting fraud and waste in government is what we [the auditor’s office] do all day, every day. And so, you know, we’re obviously happy to have Gov. Kehoe and his commitment to participating in that in a larger way, as well as the attorney general’s office,” Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick said although this is the start of an official partnership, an unofficial one has existed, but this allows more focus on the topic.

“So the governor, I think, is just taking it very seriously and wants to partner in ways that maybe they hadn’t received as high-level attention as he’s wanting to give it in prior administrations,” Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick said the first meeting for this group is set for Nov. 5.

A focus on fighting fraud has taken priority for the Trump administration, as Vice President JD Vance leads an anti-fraud task force. President Donald Trump this week introduced a federal fraud whistleblower program.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMI)

A Cole County man was charged with felony stealing, fleeing a traffic stop and other felonies after a chase in an allegedly stolen car Wednesday afternoon.

Travis Adamson, 35, was charged Thursday with one count of felony theft of a motor vehicle, fleeing a traffic stop, felony drug possession, receiving stolen property, careless and imprudent driving, and one count of felony stealing for allegedly taking an e-bike.

He remained in the Cole County Jail on no bond Thursday afternoon.

A woman allegedly told investigators that Adamson stole her car Wednesday as he was at her home while she slept, according to a probable cause statement. Cole County deputies chased the Chevrolet Malibu until Adamson crashed it into a ditch on Highway 17 and ran, a Cole County Sheriff’s Office news release states.

Deputies found Adamson about 100 yards away in the wooded area, the release states. Schools in Eugene were locked down during the chase, the sheriff’s office says.

A separate statement says the chase started when Adamson sped by an ongoing traffic stop and through a school zone. The chase went down Highway 17 and other country roads in Cole and Miller counties until a tire blew out in a school zone in Eugene, according to the statement.

Adamson is also charged with stealing a rented e-bike from a Citgo gas station at 105 W. Dunklin St. on Tuesday.

No hearings had been set as of Thursday afternoon.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Boone County Jail is overcrowded, and it’s costing the county millions to house detainees in other county jails across the state.

Sheriff Dwayne Carey’s solution is to pass a 3/8-cent sales tax to build a new jail that would be more than twice the size of the current jail.

The current jail has 246 beds but can only hold about 200 people because of logistics, but there are about twice as many people as that detained. If Proposition L passes in November, it would allow the county to start building a 570-bed jail that can expand to 990 beds.

Proposition L and the proposed jail

Carey said the county expects to spend more than $4.6 million on housing detainees in jails outside of the county, a move that has climbed in cost over the last several years.

In 2022, the county spent $499,000 on out-of-county housing. Last year, the county spent about $2.5 million, a large jump compared to 2024, when the county spent $900,000.

2023: $800,000 2024: $900,000 2025: $2.5 million 2026: projected over $4.6 million

Carey said some detainees are sent to 14 counties in Missouri as far away as Carter and Greene counties — both hours away.

A “yes” vote on Proposition L would allow collection of the tax to start in March, and the county would be able to access that fund in June.

Carey said it’s estimated to bring in about $17 million annually, and the tax is set to expire at the end of 2042. It’s expected to bring in about $255 million over the 15 years the tax is in place, but the jail will only cost an estimated $90 to $100 million to build.

The county will have to borrow the money through a bond, and Carey said debt repayment is about $10 million. The county will also have increased operating costs for the new jail because of its size and capacity. Carey also said he wants to save some of that money in case an add-on is needed.

Funding will also have to come from the county’s general revenue fund. If passed, it will take about three to four years for the new jail to open.

“Actually, the $255 (million) might not even be enough, and people have a hard time understanding that, because they’re looking at a big number, but over a 15-year span,” Carey said.

Carey said the cost of materials, food and medical care could increase, making it an even more expensive project.

“We’re basing the $90 to $100 million price off of today’s pricing,” Carey said.

If Proposition L doesn’t pass, Carey said the county will have to cut budget.

“It’s going to be bad. We’re going to be looking probably at some budget cuts at the county level. Again, when you’re talking about $4.6 to $5 million coming out of general revenue to pay for that (out-of-county housing), all county offices are going to suffer from that,” Carey said.

Carey is also concerned about where to send people, as county jails across the state fill up or refuse Boone County detainees.

The new jail If approved, Boone County Sheriff Dwayne Carey plans to build the new jail on county-owned land just north of the current facility.

Carey is planning to build the jail near the current one at 2121 County Drive, between the Boone County Fire Protection District Training Center and the Robert L. Perry Juvenile Center. It will go on a 93-acre plot of county-owned land.

He wants to have medical, mental health and reentry wings. Those programs are stunted in the current jail.

“We have one exam bed for 200 people, which is basically a walk-in closet,” Carey said. “Being able to add some actual hospital beds, more ADA-compliant than we are now, but having them all in that one housing unit to where we can do therapy, we can do treatment, we can get them, for lack of a better term, regulated.”

The new jail was also designed to add three separate wings that each have 140 beds if maximum capacity is reached. The new jail has the capacity to add 420 beds after the main 570-bed building is built.

There would also be a mental health and reentry service building that is offset from the main jail.

The proposed plan for a new Boone County Jail. Courtesy of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office. Opposition forms as county stresses need

Susan Maze, a member of the group No New Jail, said she’s against the new jail because there have been no answers on why the number of detainees has increased, causing the overcrowding problem.

“The sheriff says that there’s a variety of things, but in the county commission meeting originally, they said it was mental health issues and the state taking longer, or the courts taking longer to get cases pushed through. Well, the new jail will not fix either of those things,” Maze said.

The new jail would expand the limited services that are already in place. Mental health manager Anita Kiessling-Caver already has an idea of what an expansion of services would look like in the new facility.

“What I would like to see happen as that program becomes developed, is that there’s a program that is specific to meet the individual needs of each person who is mentally ill, that we’ll be able to have programs or programming that is specific to their needs,” Kiessling-Caver said.

She said services in the current jail are the best given the space and resources.

“I don’t think the general public realizes how hard we work to help those folks,” Kiessling-Caver said. “I think that there’s concern that we’re not treating people well that are mentally ill or have emotional problems that are severe that lead them to get in trouble, and that’s just not true.”

People who are struggling with severe mental illnesses need to be separated from other detainees, and they can take up one cell that has two beds in it. In the new jail, there is a wing that will have single-bed cells for people who need to be kept alone.

Reasons for increasing inmate numbers

In July, the Prison Policy Initiative looked at how the Boone County Jail population changed between 2022 and 2026 after a request from No New Jail. The group ran the study at no charge.

The Prison Policy Institute is a national non-profit that researches criminal justice reform and over-criminalization, according to its website. The organization works with local advocates to stop elected officials from building or expanding jails or prisons.

The institute suggested the growing numbers are related to more people being detained without bond.

Only a judge can set bond, and Carey said he has to accept detainees.

“I wish we had less people in jail also. I mean, because it would make our life a lot easier,” Carey said. “We’re a larger county, I think the fifth or sixth largest in the state, and it just ballooned on us, and we have to do something to address it, and the new jail is the answer for us.”

Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson addressed why there are more people being held without bond in an email to ABC 17 News. He said that serious cases have increased since 2022, which could be one factor.

He gave these examples:

A and B felonies: 163 charges filed in 2022, and 250 in 2026 Felony assualt: 477 charges filed in 2022 and 616 in 2025 Domestic assault: 449 charges filed in 2022 and 692 in 2025

Johnson said this, combined with a 2019 Missouri Supreme Court rule change that makes it more difficult to receive a high cash bond for dangerous crimes, has contributed to fewer cash-only bonds and more no-bond warrants.

The prosecutor’s office has also been more aggressively pursuing jury trials for violent crimes, Johnson said.

“We now try roughly three times as many jury trials as we did in 2022. Cases for trial take longer than cases resolved by agreement. To reverse that trend, we would have to make weaker recommendations, which would affect public safety,” Johnson said.

The Columbia Police Department’s role

Carey said the Columbia Police Department has also contributed to the rise in inmates.

CPD opened its police academy in late 2024 and added more officers to the streets. Carey said CPD increased the number of bookings at the sheriff’s department by 600.

“With increased number of officers, increased number of traffic stops, that means more warrants you’re getting, more drugs you’re getting, more guns you’re getting out of cars and the more criminal activity that you’re coming across while you’re doing that,” Carey said.

In August, Columbia voters approved a public safety sales tax that would generate about $38 million a year for the CPD and the Columbia Fire Department.

Carey is concerned that the current jail won’t be able to keep up with another increase in CPD officers if a new jail isn’t built.

“It’s going to create an issue,” Carey said. “We’re already in crisis, and they haven’t started hiring all of these cops, but when they do, it’s going to create a mess for us here. I mean, we’re already busting at the seams. We will rupture, and then I don’t know where we’re going to house at that point.”

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Matthew Sanders

Relations have become somewhat icy between the United States and Ukraine as the latter continues to defend itself against a Russian invasion.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticized Washington over issues such as reduced intelligence sharing, throttling down of crucial Starlink service and American purchases of Russian diesel as Russia continues its strikes on civilian areas and infrastructure ahead of winter.

Do you think American decisions are hurting the Ukrainian war effort? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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