Author: KMIZ

Nia Hinson

BOONE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two horses that were pulled out of mud near Harrisburg in late February are now back home, according to a social media post from the Boone County Fire Protection District.

The post states firefighters involved in the rescue visited the farm and horses on Sunday.

“It was a great opportunity to reconnect with the owners and see firsthand the positive outcome of the rescue,” the post says.

The horses were rescued from the 8400 block of Gray Road near Harrisburg in what was formerly an animal lagoon on Feb. 25. Firefighters worked for several hours in the conditions to save the horses.

The horses were being treated at the MU Veterinary Clinic for pneumonia, complications for hypothermia and ulcers, according to previous reporting.

The horses’ owner was working on setting up a GoFundMe to help with the vet bills.

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Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

No people were injured after a trailer caught fire in north Columbia on Saturday morning, according to a press release from the Columbia Fire Department.

The release says crews were called to the 1500 block of Vandiver Drive just after 8 a.m. Crews arrived and found heavy fire in the interior of the trailer and put out the flames within five minutes.

One person home at the time was able to safely evacuate the trailer before CFD arrived, the release says.

A cat was found inside of the trailer with smoke inhalation injuries and was treated on scene before being taken to an animal hospital.

The fire was ruled an accident.

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Euphenie Andre

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Members of the Columbia Tenants Union rallied outside City Hall on Sunday, stating problems with their landlord have continued despite raising concerns publicly a month ago.

Tenants said not only have their complaints gone unresolved, but some believe the situation has gotten worse.

“I wish the mayor and the people in this building would wake up to what’s happening in Columbia, Missouri,” tenant Bruce Ross said.

Tenants hoped city leaders could help address their concerns. However, the city’s Neighborhood Services department said its authority is limited.

According to the department’s website, Neighborhood Services focuses on code enforcement and strengthening neighborhoods.

The department’s manager, Leigh Kottwitz said, “The City does not take action on civil matters, including rent increases…We also have no authority for the relationship between the manager and the occupants.”

In response, Columbia Tenants Union spokeswoman Vee Sanchez said she believes the community can help in other ways.

“There’s more than one way to support tenants who are fighting back,” Sanchez said. “We do want absolutely all of the community support as they go up against a large corporation,”

Last week, marked the end of a 14-day period tenants gave their landlord to respond to their concerns. Tenants said the response they received did not resolve the issues.

“The only thing we got was one email that basically told us we weren’t allowed to talk to our neighbors,” tenant Logan Moore said.

The email tenants received from Regal Communities stated:

“Recently, many tenants have expressed concerns about tenants or guests trespassing, soliciting, or otherwise disrupting the quiet of communities. We want to remind you that if you invite guests to the community, they are to abide by the applicable community rules and guidelines, including no soliciting. If your guest violates those rules or regulations, or bothers the quiet of the community, they may be asked to leave or be escorted from the community.”

The message also addressed questions residents had about lease and account information.

“We want to remind you that if you have any questions or would like to request certain information about your lot, lease, rent, charges, utilities, or account generally, you can submit your questions or requests by visiting the Regal Communities website,” the email stated. “You should also have access to certain information concerning your lease and ledger through your resident portal in Rent Café.”

Some tenants said they are now facing additional financial pressure.

Columbia Tenants Union spokeswoman Vee Sanchez said new fees were added just before rent was due.

“She [Robin Bealler, project manager] decided to add fees just the day before rent was due. Didn’t even send notices, just emailed people the day before. Hundreds of dollars,” Sanchez said. “Most people can’t just come up with 3 or $400 dollars in one day.”

One resident shared an email exchange with ABC 17 News showing messages from property management.

In one email, management told residents their rent deadline had been extended to Feb. 15. However, another message sent days later stated payment had to be made by 5 p.m. on Feb. 12, that same day or the tenant could face eviction.

Tenants said the situation has left many residents feeling frustrated and uncertain.

“Here we are struggling to make our rent,” Ross said.

Under Missouri law, a landlord cannot evict a tenant without a court order. However, eviction proceedings can begin if a tenant fails to pay rent, damages property or violates the terms of a lease.

If an eviction lawsuit is filed, tenants must receive notice and have the opportunity to appear in court before any eviction takes place.

ABC 17 News reached out to Regal Communities.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Missouri Supreme Court judge is expected to hear arguments in a redistricting lawsuit on Tuesday that could give voters, politicians and election authorities a final answer as to which congressional map is currently in place.

This lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the law that enacts the map, House Bill 1. The judge’s decision could make several other lawsuits in lower courts irrelevant, along with a referendum to put the 2025 map on the November ballot.

“If she [the plaintiff] prevails in that case, then the referendum would be struck down, and all other cases relating to the referendum are no longer relevant because the law would be struck down,” said Richard von Glahn, the executive director of a group backing the referendum.

The general assembly passed a new congressional map in 2025 during a special session. The map, backed by President Donald Trump, could cut Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Kansas City) out of Congress and flip his seat to republican.

Time is critical in this case because local election authorities have about a month to update voter files before the August and November elections open.

“Those maps are locked so that people can participate in that, and for a number of days afterwards,” von Glahn said. “The maps do need to be finalized by the end of May.”

Spokesperson for the Secretary of State Rachael Dunn said voters will be tied to the 2025 congressional districts, and Secretary Denny Hoskins will let election authorities know what’s next when the April election is closed.

Cole County Judge Christopher Limbaugh denied plaintiff Merrie Suzanne Luther’s claims, ruling in the state’s favor on the basis that the Missouri constitution doesn’t expressly prohibit mid-decade redistricting.

Even if the high court sides with the lower court, the referendum still stands. The question then becomes, does the referendum stop the 2025 map from being implemented for the November election?

Plaintiffs Jake Maggard and Gregg Lombardi are asking a Cole County judge to provide an answer, and Von Glahn said he’s anticipating a decision this week.

People Not Politicians– the group backing the referendum– turned in over 300,000 signatures to Hoskins’ office in December. Local election authorities are currently verifying the signatures and will need to return them to the Hoskins’ office in the summer.

Von Glahn said the referendum has more than enough signatures required by law to get it on the ballot. He said the group sunshine requested the certified signatures from the Secretary of State’s Office, which is how they know the referendum is qualified to go on the ballot.

Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon told ABC 17 News in February that her office was nearing the end of verification, but many other clerks weren’t yet done.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man and a woman were seriously injured in a crash in Morgan County early Sunday morning.

The crash occurred shortly before 12:30 a.m. on Anchorage Road, just east of Coffee Road, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report.

A 46-year-old Gravois Mills woman was being driven west by a 29-year-old Versailles man in a 1989 Lincoln Town Car, the report says. The car went off the right side of the road and hit a tree.

Both passengers were taken to Lake Regional Hospital by ambulance with serious injuries. The man was not wearing a seatbelt. The car was totaled.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Missouri House Bill abolishing the death penalty is set to head to committee Monday for a public hearing.

Sponsored by Rep. Jim Murphy (R-St. Louis), House Bill 2153 will remove the death penalty as a sentencing option and have only life imprisonment without parole as the maximum punishment.

The bill adds that those currently sentenced to death will keep the sentence unless another law changes it.

Capital punishment is currently used for first-degree murder or other Class A felonies in the state. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 102 people have been executed since 1976, when the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty.

23 states, plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, have abolished the death penalty.

Murphy has also gained the support of the bill from the Archbishop of St. Louis, Mitchell Rozanski and Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman (R-Arnold).

The hearing is set for noon Monday in House Hearing Room 5 by the Corrections and Public Institutions Committee. The committee is accepting public testimonies.

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Nia Hinson

PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Dixon woman is facing murder charges for her alleged involvement in a deadly shooting on Friday.

According to a social media post from the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to Highway 28 near Dixon for a report of shots fired. Deputies found Steven L. Chapman, 66, of Dixon with a gunshot wound to the face. He was pronounced dead on scene, the post says.

Lea Ann Barba, 42, of Dixon, Missouri, was then taken into custody in connection with the shooting.

The post states Barba was charged with second-degree murder, although online court records were not available.

Barba is being held at the Pulaski County Jail on a $500,000 bond, according to the post. She was not listed on the jail roster as of Saturday night.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo.

The Columbia Regional Airport is expected to add hundreds of parking spots ahead of Allegiant Airlines starting services to Florida in June.

Airport manager Michael Parks told ABC 17 News in an email that the project would add about 250 new parking spots and pave about 175 existing spots. The project would be completed before June 1, and Allegiant flights would start June 3.

The airport currently has about 1,000 parking spots with a mix of paved and gravel, according to the master plan. Almost 600 of those spots are paved.

According to the master plan, the long-term goal is to have a total of 1,600 spots.

The Columbia City Council needs to approve the first project to go out for bid at its April meeting. Parks said the project would cost about $3 million, but that won’t affect parking rates.

“Parking will remain free. There is no immediate plan to charge for parking at COU,” Parks wrote.

The master plan notes that management has seen people storing their vehicles in the parking lot but not using the airport.

“This additional demand for parking means that at peak hours and weeks, COU’s parking lots are often completely full. To address this, COU will need to consider expanding their parking facilities in the short term or limiting access to parking by charging a nominal fee,” the plan reads.

Gary Scribner said he flies out of Columbia regularly for his job, and parking has always been difficult.

“It’s always a mess trying to find parking. Luckily, I got a Jeep, so I can park on the grass pretty easily,” Scribner said.

He said that added parking would be “a win for everybody.”

Elizabeth Jenkins said Saturday was her first time flying out of Columbia, and that parking was tricky.

“It was a little more difficult than I was expecting it to be, given the size of the airport. It was kind of hard to find a spot,” Jenkins said. “I was lucky that I found one not too far from the front, but I’ve come here once in the past, and had to park pretty far away.”

She said parking at larger airports is easier because there are more parking spots available.

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Euphenie Andre

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Fewer girls are participating in high school basketball across the country. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, participation in girls basketball has dropped about 21 percent over the past 25 years.

Missouri is among several states seeing an even larger decline, with participation down 34 percent. There were 8,321 players at 568 schools in 2024-25 compared to 12,646 players at 534 schools in 1999-2000.

The Federation, which relies on schools to self-report participation number, said student athletes are still playing sports, just less basketball. Experts point to a combination of factors, including rising costs and an increased interest in other sports.

Families are feeling the financial strain of keeping their kids active in basketball. According to the NFHS survey, the average sports family spent about $1,016 on their child’s primary sport in 2024, a 46 percent increase since 2019.

Parents told ABC 17 News that costs can be significantly higher, with some families spending up to $20,000 per season on travel, tournaments, uniforms, and training.

“You’re talking tens to $20,000 in a summer,” Mark Means said. “It just prices kids out. Basketball is not meant to be that way.”

Means was in Columbia on Friday to support his eleven-year-old daughter on the Troy Trojans. She started playing basketball when she was four years old.

“I’ve had three daughters go through AAU Basketball. Love the coaches, love what they’re doing. It’s way too expensive.”

Erin Dean, a mother to an eighth grader said it all adds up.

“I probably don’t want to calculate that number,” Dean said. “But it’s probably on an annual basis, probably about 20 to 25k with our travel.”

Dean’s daughter started playing basketball in third grade. Dean said she was surprised to learn that participation in girls’ basketball is declining, recalling that St. Louis, where she lives, has long been a “robust” hub for the sport.

“It’s competitive, it’s expensive, it’s time-consuming, and if you have other kids, other family needs, sometimes the prioritization of spending it on basketball, hotels, whatever flights. It’s a burden to a family. So I can understand,” Dean said.

Some programs, like Columbia Supreme, are working to make basketball more accessible. Founder Anthony Johnson said fees are cut roughly in half, ranging from $500 for younger players to $750 for older age groups.

“We make it affordable to make it more accessible. And we actively recruit girls from areas that typically don’t play,” Johnson said. “A lot of the kids, if we didn’t have this format, you know, they wouldn’t be on the team. That’s a very high percentage of the kids.”

The Columbia Supreme has been running since 2018. Johnson said he has not seen a decrease in participation numbers.

“We have a very high return rate,” Johnson said. “I don’t really see the kids that play competitive drop off, that is not something that I’ve seen.”

According to the survey, part of the decline is also attributed to shifting interests. Many girls are choosing sports such as soccer, softball, track, volleyball, flag football, and even girls wrestling, which have all seen a rise in participation.

Dean’s daughter also plays travel soccer.

“We are very busy” Dean said. “I committed to one year of the crazy madness before she goes to high school.”

According to the 2024 National Youth Sports Parent Survey, from the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, many parents feel pressure for their children to focus on a single sport. Nearly half of parents surveyed, 48% said they feel some or significant pressure for their child to specialize, and 53 percent said that pressure comes from their child’s desire to play high school sports. The survey also found that 21% of parents report their child plays their primary sport for 9 to 12 months out of the year.

Means’ daughter also plays soccer and flag football.

“At a young age you need to be playing all these kind of sports. We take our kids and we focus way too early, and they don’t get an opportunity to really kind of expand and see what’s out there,” Dean said.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, nearly 70% of kids quit organized sports by age 13.

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Jessica Hafner

The ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather Team has issued a Weather Alert Day for the likelihood of strong storms tonight. The threat for damaging winds and widespread heavy rain continues overnight as storms push ahead of a cold front.

A Tornado Watch is in effect for Morgan, Camden, and Benton counties until 4:00 a.m.

It’s been another warm and humid day as highs reached near records in the lower 80s along with dew points into the mid-60s. A wave of low pressure to our south will provide forcing for storms as moisture from the Gulf streams in and allows the atmosphere to build lots of potential energy during the day. We’ll have plenty of instability and wind shear to create strong storm updrafts late in the day, but it remains a question when will we be able to access it.

A weather balloon launched shortly after midday by the University of Missouri showed a weak “cap” in place, but little forcing for development as of early afternoon. MU launched another balloon around 3:30 p.m. that will give us a little better idea of what to expect for the rest of early evening as cumulus clouds begin to tower to our north.

If the cap, caused by a warm layer of air in the lower atmosphere, erodes, then development may start earlier in the evening and have more greater instability to use. This is the specific case in which storms would have the potential for very large hail and strong tornadoes. With later development, storms would still carry a risk for tornadoes, hail, and damaging wind but to a weaker extent.

Regardless of late afternoon or early evening development, storms are likely and will bring at least an isolated severe threat ahead of a cold front later in the night. The front will bring a sharp cool down by Wednesday, and an end to rain by lunch time on Wednesday afternoon.

Storms will pose the threat of all hazards, including large hail, damaging 60+ mph winds, and a few tornadoes. The large hail and tornado threat is largely tied to our late afternoon and early evening storms. This activity will pose the greatest risk if it can develop. The Storm Prediction Center has northeastern Missouri in a level 3/5 severe risk, where the best chance to see these early storms resides. However, a lesser risk does exit for all of Missouri for all severe threats.

Storms become more congealed with the potential of 1-2″ total rainfall through Wednesday. Isolated flooding is possible, especially along low water crossings.

Make sure you have multiple ways to get alerts through the evening and stay ahead of the storm timeline with our news and weather apps. Set the weather app to follow your location to get watches and warnings for your area.

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