Author: KMIZ

Melissa Houston

CAMDENTON, Mo. (KMIZ)

Camden County has opened its first Safe Haven baby box outside of the Mid County Fire Protection District station in Camdenton.

Community members and first responders gathered Wednesday morning for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially unveil the safety box and conduct a final inspection of its alert system.

The box allows parents in a crisis to anonymously surrender infants, who will be taken and cared for by first responders.

State Rep. Jeff Vernetti, R-Camdenton, helped spearhead the project after learning about and getting inspired by the organization’s efforts nationwide.

“I had heard the term, but I had no idea that the actual box function part of it was a thing people did,” said Vernetti. “I didn’t know that it saved as many babies as it did, and I knew that we just didn’t have a lot in Missouri, so I just thought it’d be a perfect fit for this community.”

Vernetti said he raised approximately $17,000 from local businesses to purchase and ship the device. Local contractors donated their resources to install the box at the station.

To meet program guidelines, the box must be installed in a fire station staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The unit is temperature-controlled and automatically alerts emergency personnel inside as soon as a child is placed inside. To protect the anonymity of the parent, no cameras are permitted to face the exterior door.

Vernetti said this baby box is a great opportunity to help out the community and plans to install a second device for the Lake of the Ozarks region at the Lake Ozark Fire Protection District later this year.

“This community is very inspiring,” Vernetti said. “People will always step forward here for families, people in need, but especially kids.”

The installation marks the 14th Safe Haven Baby Box in Missouri.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man pleaded guilty to manslaughter and other felonies on Monday in connection with a 2025 deadly crash in McBaine.

Donald Legleiter, 37, pleaded guilty in Boone County to first-degree involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, first-degree property damage and leaving the scene of an accident. He will be sentenced at 2:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 28. He is being held at the Boone County Jail.

He was previously charged with second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action, one count of first-degree property damage and a count of tampering with evidence.

The crash occurred on Allen Street in McBaine on July 14, 2025. Previous reporting indicates Legleiter had backed up in his SUV and run over a motorcycle with Jeffrie W. Cash on it.

Legleiter allegedly drove from the scene and abandoned the 2024 Toyota Highlander in a bean field, according to court documents in previous reporting.

Cash died from his injuries on July 17, 2025.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man was arrested and charged after he allegedly tried to steal a gun from the Grindstone Parkway Walmart on Tuesday.

James Zoeller, 30, of Columbia, was charged with first-degree burglary and stealing a gun. He is being held at the Boone County Jail on a $50,000 bond. A court appearance was held on Wednesday afternoon.

The probable cause statement says two employees saw Zoeller break into the gun case and take a hunting rifle. One employee stated they saw Zoeller use a red item to smash the glass case, the statement says. Zoeller allegedly held the gun and told an employee, “I’m going to be taking this,” the statement says.

Police wrote that video showed Zoeller using a red dolly to break the glass cabinet before grabbing the gun.

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Ellyse Edwards

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Thousands of University of Missouri students and their families are arriving in Columbia this week ahead of the start of the fall semester.

Wednesday and Thursday are two of Mizzou’s main move-in days. Most students moving into university residence halls are scheduled to arrive on those days, according to Mizzou Housing.

The university’s fall semester begins Monday, with classes starting at 8 a.m.

Before classes begin, families are making their way across campus with cars packed with students’ belongings, creating heavier traffic around residence halls and other parts of the university and the City of Columbia.

The University of Missouri Police Department posted traffic maps ahead of move-in showing temporary closures and traffic redirections for Wednesday and Thursday. Police said officers will also be on campus helping manage traffic during the move-in period.

Students living in university housing can schedule move-in appointments. Mizzou Housing says the designated time slots allow the university to know when students are expected to arrive and are intended to help students avoid long wait times during the process.

Drivers traveling around campus should expect heavier traffic as students continue moving in Thursday and should follow posted signs and directions from officers.

Move-in also coincides with MU’s Welcome Week activities. Events are scheduled throughout the week as new and returning students settle into campus before classes begin.

University of Missouri Police Department Public Information Officer Andrea Morrow-Coronin said about 2,400 students were expected to move in Wednesday, with slightly fewer expected Thursday.

Police have officers stationed at intersections around campus to help direct traffic and answer questions. Some roads were also closed or temporarily changed to one-way traffic as families moved students into residence halls.

“We do have some road closures, and we have turned some of the streets into one way, but everyone is, moving along very quickly today and very cooperative. And so we haven’t really had many issues with traffic today,” Morrow-Coronin said.

While police said traffic around campus was moving smoothly for much of the day, some students said they noticed a difference as they made their way into Columbia.

Mizzou student Nadiyya Carbaidwala said traffic picked up as she got closer to campus.

“For sure. I remember being on the exit ramp for like 20 minutes. It was really long, probably not that long, but it was really long. And then, yeah, all the roads felt busier and just like people not really knowing where to go, including myself,” Carbaidwala said.

The influx of cars can also create another challenge for emergency responders.

Columbia Assistant Fire Chief Zachary Grace said the department has been coordinating with the university ahead of move-in and takes changing traffic patterns into account when crews are dispatched near campus.

Grace said crews may avoid certain roads or take alternate routes when traffic patterns make it more difficult for large fire apparatus to get through.

“So routes, you know, are always a big thing. If we don’t have to, respond to, say, Rollins in the one way, then yeah, we’re going to avoid Rollins or, you know, we may go down to Stadium Boulevard and come around to Providence. That way, instead of making a cut through. So it definitely has the potential or the chance to add, you know, 30s to a minute to our response times,” Grace said.

Grace said the return of students also means more calls for the department. He compared the roughly 32,000 people coming onto campus during the school year to adding a city slightly smaller than Jefferson City to Columbia for part of the year.

Fire officials are asking drivers to keep fire lanes and hydrants clear and to move to the right when possible if an emergency vehicle is approaching.

Safety was also on the minds of some students and parents moving in Wednesday.

Carbaidwala said recent incidents in Columbia have made her think more carefully about trips downtown.

“It does have me a little bit worried. It does, kind of restrict how much I kind of want to go like downtown or like how late I want to go,” Carbaidwala said.

She said she plans to stay with groups when she goes out and make sure other people know where she is.

University of Missouri Police said the department is encouraging students to sign up for university alerts and use the Mizzou Safe app. Morrow-Coronin also said university police participate in a downtown initiative that helps patrol the area on weekends.

Move-in continues through Thursday before fall classes begin Monday, Aug. 24

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Matthew Sanders

ASHLAND, Mo. (KMIZ)

A box truck that was hauling items for the U.S. Postal Service crashed near Ashland on Wednesday after the driver suffered a medical emergency, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The truck went off the Route H on-ramp from Highway 63, between Ashland and Columbia Regional Airport. The medical emergency, which troopers didn’t specify, was the cause of death, not the crash, said MSHP Sgt. Gentry Pemberton.

An MSHP spokesman told ABC 17 News in an email that the driver is from California, Missouri, and next-of-kin have been notified.

A tow truck was on the scene to move the box truck.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The office of Attorney General Catherine Hanaway received a win Wednesday in the battle over gaming machines after a Cole County judge dropped a lawsuit against them. However, the group suing the office is ready to refile.

The suit was filed by the Missouri Licensing Advocacy Group at the end of June, with the group asking the judge for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to pause seizures of machines until a definition of gambling machines is determined.

Currently, during Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control inspections, any convenience store proprietor who operates a gaming machine is at risk of losing their liquor license. The ATC also considers “no chance gaming” or “gray” machines which pre-reveal the next outcome to the user free of charge against the law.

Missouri Licensing Advocacy Group argued that the state cannot make a blanket definition of what makes a gaming machine illegal, since gray machines often operate with different payouts and algorithms compared to a random number generator. They add that even the General Assembly had difficulty creating a definition for “gaming machines.”

“If the State’s position is that every machine with an electronic screen, customer payment, amusement value, and possible prize is automatically an illegal gambling device, then the State’s theory sweeps far beyond the machines now being targeted,” according to the lawsuit.

MOLAG’s goal was not for a judge to determine which gaming machines are or are not illegal, but instead to give all possible license violations due process.

“You’re the judge, you’re the jury, you’re the executioner, that’s another thing that we are fighting right here is that posture,” Samuel Trapp with MOLAG said. “One guy that has the power over your license  says ‘you’re breaking the law, and if you don’t, I’m going to take your license.’ What’s your choice?”

Trapp adds that some businesses who are a part of MOLAG had lost income and even had to shut down locations due to unplugging gaming machines.

“The label is these people are criminals, they’re not criminals, they’re business people and they’ve been in the business of this type of machine for a number of years,” Trapp said.

Ultimately, Judge Richard Green ruled in favor of the state’s motion to drop the case, claiming MOLAG’s argument had no standing since there was no local business owner whose liquor license was threatened or pulled.

“There’s a lot of people afraid to stand up, but if they come through MOLAG, we’re trying to make it where they don’t have to necessarily become a target and give their name, because targeting is real,” Trapp said.

MOLAG’s attorney, Travis Noble, later claimed Green saw the group’s argument, with the group now looking to refile with a key witness who has been affected.

Trapp adds that MOLAG plans to refile this week with several people willing to come forward by name.

The suit follows a sweep of lawsuits filed by the Attorney General’s office in February and March.

“Businesses that allow illegal gambling to operate under their roofs are making a deliberate choice to put profit over public safety,” Hanaway said in March. “My Office is committed to dismantling illegal gaming operations, ensuring they have no place in our communities. We will enforce the law and protect our neighborhoods in every county.”

At least two Mid-Missouri convenience store owners — Anthony Gier of Eldon and Keith Winscott of Ashland — have been charged criminally after video gambling machines were seized from their stores.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Video obtained by ABC News shows what happened when a deck on a Huntsville apartment building collapsed last month, sending eight U.S. Marshals and county deputies plummeting to the ground.

Seven law enforcement officers were hurt in the fall, including four deputy U.S. Marshals. None of the injuries were life-threatening.

The team was serving an arrest warrant at a second-floor apartment when the walkway collapsed.

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Alison Patton

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Constitution does not allow citizens to challenge congressional maps approved by legislators through a ballot measure, a Cole County judge ruled Wednesday.

That won’t stop People Not Politicians, the group backing the referendum to get the 2025 congressional map on the November ballot. Executive Director Richard von Glahn said he plans to file an appeal.

“Everyone knows Cole County is not where this is decided. I appreciate that Judge Green moved it along swiftly,” von Glahn said over text with ABC 17 News.

People Not Politicians went head-to-head with Secretary of State Denny Hoskins and an attorney representing the Republican National Committee in a Cole County courtroom Wednesday to determine whether a referendum challenging the 2025 congressional map can go on the November ballot.

Judge Daniel Green ruled for Hoskins and the Republicans a few hours later.

The state argued that state and federal law prohibits a referendum on a map, it’s too late to change the districts voters are tied to for the November election and that Missouri lawmakers were within their rights to redistrict mid-decade.

“Plaintiff Richard von Glahn’s Petition is, frankly, crazy,” the Missouri Attorney General’s Office stated in a pretrial filing. “Von Glahn says he cares about democracy. But then, his Petition alleges that approximately 3.3% of Missouri voters can temporarily repeal a duly enacted congressional map — even before the People vote.”

In court, Solicitor General Louis Capozzi argued that changing the districts after millions of Missourians voted in the August primary could be chaotic and confusing for voters. Especially when voters selected candidates using the 2025 map.

If the referendum is certified, it would have required the state to use the 2022 congressional districts until voters can weigh in on it. Capozzi argued that could open more cases where people try to overturn or freeze congressional districts.

“Every time Missouri redistricts, the minority political party will easily be able to freeze the redistricting map and force the state to temporarily use the old map,” Capozzi said.

Richard von Glahn is the executive director of People Not Politicians, the group that has backed the referendum on the 2025 congressional map since the special session on redistricting last fall. The Missouri General Assembly’s Republican supermajority passed the map at the urging of the Trump administration, seeking to flip the Fifth District held by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver in Kansas City.

The group is asking Cole County Judge Daniel Green to overturn the secretary of state’s rejection of their referendum. They’re also hoping for a speedy trial Wednesday, and with any appeals following, because the last day to add anything to the November ballot is Sept. 8.

In court Wednesday, their attorney Chuck Hatfield argued Missouri law allows a referendum on any act of the legislature, and House Bill 1, the law establishing the new map, calls it so.

“I don’t know how we can say that the Missouri Constitution doesn’t authorize a referendum on this act of the General Assembly,” Hatfield said.

The Republican National Committee, along with two other Republican political action committees, has also joined the battle, siding with Hoskins.

The trial was supposed to happen Tuesday, but it was pushed to Wednesday at 10 a.m. to allow the attorney representing the Republican PACs, John Gore, to come out from Washington, D.C., to make the trial.

Because the deadline to add anything to the November ballot is fast approaching, Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Brent Powell has asked Green to ensure he delivers a speedy trial. Powell expects this lawsuit to end up in the high court.

The state and Republican groups have made it a point to argue that the clock is ticking, and any changes to the November ballot or maps could be confusing to voters.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Fire Department responded to an apartment complex Wednesday morning after a dryer caught fire.

Fire crews were called to the Grindstone Apartments in the 3100 block of Old Highway 63 just after Midnight Wednesday.

Columbia Fire Shift Commander Shawn Noordsy told ABC 17 News that an appliance dryer caught fire and was extinguished within 20 minutes. Residents were evacuated and there were no injuries.

ABC 17 News crews saw four CFD fire trucks and EMS on scene, along with heavy smoke coming from the apartment.

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Euphenie Andre

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia is looking to expand designated rideshare and taxi zones downtown in an effort to reduce traffic congestion and improve pedestrian safety, according to the city.

The proposed ordinance would expand the amount of dedicated curb space downtown while giving rideshare drivers and customers more clearly defined locations for pickups and drop-offs.

Under the proposed ordinance, the city would:

Increase designated taxi and rideshare spaces from 34 to 66.

Start operating the zones at 9 p.m. instead of 11 p.m.

Include food and package delivery drivers.

Limit loading and unloading to 15 minutes.

Allow emergency-services parking to be designated in the areas while the ordinance is in effect.

The proposed zones would operate from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.

According to the city, the proposed rideshare zones would include several locations throughout downtown:

East Walnut Street: About eight spaces.

East Broadway: About six spaces in front of FieldHouse, seven in front of Pickleman’s, six in front of India’s House, and six in front of Wynsome.

Cherry Street: The entire block in front of Pizza Tree would be dedicated to rideshare pickups and drop-offs.

North Ninth Street: About eight spaces.

South 10th Street: About eight spaces.

The Columbia Police Department began looking at the issue in Aug. 2025 after noticing an increase in traffic violations and congestion involving rideshare drivers and customers during overnight hours.

Police said part of the problem was a lack of designated areas for rideshare pickups and drop-offs.

The Akerson sisters use rideshare services about twice a week to get downtown. They said they’ve experienced some of those challenges firsthand.

“Sometimes, like, it can be in the middle of the street when there’s no parking,” Ruby Akerson, a rideshare rider, said. “Then they try to drop you off on the street. That can be a safety concern with other cars around and stuff not being able to pull over to the side.”

Akerson said expanding the designated areas could make rideshare pickups and drop-offs safer and easier.

“I think it’s definitely a good idea,” Akerson said. “Just like they have places to park, and it’s easier for pickup and drop-off for them because so many people are using it. So expanding it would be more beneficial to the people.”

Last fall, the city tested out five additional rideshare locations in an effort to help keep traffic moving.

The city said they tested potential solutions during two Mizzou football weekends last fall.

In Sept. 2025, the city temporarily blocked off metered parking to create a rideshare pull-off area. In October, officials again restricted metered parking and worked with Uber and Lyft to test designated pickup and drop-off locations.

During the October pilot, Uber and Lyft directed customers to the designated locations through their smartphone apps.

According to the police department, both pilot programs resulted in a significant reduction in traffic violations and an overall improvement in pedestrian safety.

Officials also gathered feedback from rideshare drivers and customers. Police said the response was positive, with drivers reporting that the designated pickup and drop-off areas made it safer and easier to serve customers.

However, ABC 17 spoke with rideshare drivers who said navigating the area during that time was still difficult.

Police said the earlier start time reflects a change in how people use rideshare services. Officials said rideshare trips are increasingly being used to arrive downtown earlier in the evening, rather than primarily leaving downtown at the end of the night.

The earlier hours would also give police an opportunity to address parking violations sooner.

The Community Improvement District previously provided positive feedback on an earlier version of the ordinance, and a majority of the CID supports updating the current rules.

Police said the proposed changes are based on observations from officers, feedback from the pilot programs and heat-map data provided by Uber and Lyft.

One rideshare driver told officials that drivers primarily need clearer direction on how to operate downtown.

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