Category: kmiz-local-news

Ellyse Edwards

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia residents will see higher utility bills beginning Oct. 1 after the Columbia City Council approved increases to electric, water and trash rates Monday night, while delaying a decision on proposed parking rate changes.

The council approved a roughly 6% increase to electric utility rates in a 4-2 vote. Council members Valerie Carroll and Christina Hartman voted against the measure.

According to city documents, the increase is expected to generate an additional $8.6 million to help cover higher energy procurement costs, expiring energy contracts, growing demand and deferred infrastructure improvements.

However, during the meeting, Councilwoman Vera Elwood said she wants the city’s communications department to do a better job engaging key stakeholders earlier in the process after several business owners spoke against the proposal.

The council also unanimously approved a 10% increase to water utility rates beginning Oct. 1.

City documents estimate the increase will generate approximately $3.4 million in additional revenue for maintenance, operations, capital improvements, reserve levels and debt coverage.

“As a part of Stantec’s water cost of service study, a 12% revenue increase was approved for FY 2026; the existing non-summer and summer tiered system usage was eliminated; a revised year-round tiered system usage was implemented; and the fire flow charges were combined with the monthly base charges to simplify the rate structure,” meeting documents say.

The council also approved new trash collection rates that take effect Oct. 1, but amended the proposal to keep rates for Classification 1 customers unchanged. Classification 1 includes residents using the city’s smallest curbside trash carts, while higher classifications cover larger cart sizes that will still see rate increases under the approved plan.

Jason West, communication and outreach supervisor for Columbia Utilities, said the proposed utility rate increases are intended to help maintain city infrastructure and equipment.

“Those rate increases are needed to help with infrastructure needs, maintenance on equipment, the trucks that are being driven to collect recycling and trash, the poles that we need to use and repair and replace for electrical needs, the pipes that are underground for the water system and the sewer system. All of those things require maintenance themselves… That’s where the bulk of these rate increases will go, is to help maintain and be able to stabilize and sustain service for everyone,” West said.

The council did not vote on proposed parking garage rate increases after members voted to table the ordinance and send it back to the Parking Commission for further review.

The proposal would have doubled parking garage rates from $1 every two hours to $1 per hour while reducing free parking from one hour to 30 minutes beginning Jan. 1, 2027. City officials said the additional revenue would help fund more than $1 million in elevator upgrades at the city’s older parking garages.

During the meeting, Niki Davis, executive director of The District, urged council members to reject charging for garage parking on Saturdays.

“We are very much against it,” Davis said. “ Very specifically starting Saturdays being paid in garages. It will hurt our businesses in multiple different ways. We hear about it all the time already. ‘I came in and bought a $10 pair of sunglasses, I got a ticket and now this $10 sunglasses cost however much. ’ “

Councilwoman Valerie Carroll echoed those concerns. Councilwoman Betsy Peters later proposed tabling the ordinance and sending it back to the Parking Commission to consider revisions, including maintaining free garage parking on weekends. Council members said they hope to revisit the proposal before Aug. 17 so any changes can be incorporated into the city’s upcoming budget.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

President Donald Trump has given his nod of approval to a candidate in the District 5 U.S. House Republican primary.

Trump on Monday gave an endorsement of state Sen. Rick Brattin (R-Harrisonville) on his social media site Truth Social.

“Rick Brattin has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Representative from Missouri’s 5th Congressional District — RICK WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” Trump wrote.

Brattin is one of several candidates in the primary for the newly drawn Fifth District, including Taylor Burks, of Columbia; Brad Patty, of Fayette; Brett Huffmeier, of Kansas City; Rick Brattin, of Harrisonville; Berton Knox, of North Kansas City; and Micah Beebe, of Lee’s Summit. Incumbent Democrat Emanuel Cleaver is running unopposed in his party’s primary. 

A breakdown of the race can be viewed on our website.

FULL INTERVIEW LINKS: Taylor Burks, Brad Patty, Brett Hueffmeier, Rick Brattin, Micah Beebe

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Cooper County prosecutor filed a motion on Thursday to give consent for the case of a “cult-like” Amish leader to be moved to Montgomery County.  

Sam Shetler, 42, of Boonville, is charged with three counts of trafficking for the purpose of slavery/forced labor, a count of first-degree sodomy, first-degree sex abuse, four counts of kidnapping and one count of first-degree involuntary manslaughter.

He is being held at the Cooper County Jail without bond. Shetler’s attorney filed a motion on May 26 to move the case. The defense requested the case be moved to either Montgomery, Monroe or Shelby counties. A judge has not yet ruled on the motion.

Shetler – who had been described in court documents as a “cult-like” leader of an Amish community –is accused of forcing teenagers to work at the Mercy and Truth-Amish and Mennonite Retreat without pay and rubbing oils on young females to “heal” them, court documents in previous reporting indicate.

Following his March arrest, more victims came forward and accused Shetler of posing as a doctor that gave a “lavender breathing treatment” to a baby who suffered from multiple viruses in 2025, including COVID-19, court documents in previous reporting say. The baby died on March 6, 2025.

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Melissa Houston

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A shooting took place at the Interstate 70/Highway 63 Connector and Conley Road on Sunday, and the Columbia Police Department is still looking for the shooter.

CPD is still looking to identify the suspect involved and is asking anyone with information to contact them for a reward.

A CPD spokesperson declined to provide more details about the case, citing the ongoing investigation.

At 11:47 a.m., CPD responded to a shots-fired call near Breaktime. A 26-year-old victim with a gunshot wound was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to a press release sent by CPD.

Boone County Prosecuting Attorney Roger Johnson declined to provide more details about the case because no suspects have been named.

ABC 17 spoke with a Breaktime employee, who said they were advised not to speak about the matter because it is still an active investigation.

This is one of many reported crimes that have happened on Conley Road this year, according to the CPD’s public crime map.

Near the connector and the 900 block of Conley Road, 21 various crimes have been reported, not including Sunday’s shooting, since January 1, 2026.

Less than a mile away, in front of the Conley Road Walmart, roughly 64 various crimes have been reported in that same time period.

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Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A major addition to Columbia Public Schools will officially be welcomed Monday afternoon with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Eagle Bluffs Elementary School.

The district’s newest elementary school is located on 5400 S. Sinclair Road next to John Warner Elementary School.

The new two-story, $36 million facility spans 76,5000 square feet was approved by voters in two bond issue elections — one in 2018 to purchase land as part of the planning for John Warner Middle School and one in 2022 to construct the school.

CPS broke ground on the project in 2024, and the school was completed on schedule for its planned fall 2026 opening.

The new facility can accommodate up to 740 students and approximately 140 staff members. During a tour of the school in December 2025, district officials told ABC 17 News they expected Eagle Bluffs Elementary to open with about 400 students and roughly 70 staff members, allowing room for future enrollment growth.

The school offers six color-coded learning pods, each with its own unique theme and color scheme. The names for the pods are Field, Lake, Cave, City, Prairie and Woodlands to go along with the Eagle Bluffs Conservation area located on the Missouri River south of Columbia.

CPS Superintendent Jeff Kelin said the learning pods allow students to collaborate with their work.

“Project work and a lot of movement and experimental type learning so we want our classrooms to be able to support that learning environment whether physical structures and the resources within those classrooms,” Kelin said.

“Classrooms are going to work together, everybody’s doors are open they can use the common spaces together it’s like you’re in a college almost and you have the dorm and everyone living next to each other,” Columbia Board of Education President John Lyman said.

Safety was a top priority in the school’s design, according to CPS officials. Eagle Bluffs Elementary features a secure vestibule with bullet-resistant glass at the main entrance to help control access to the building.

District officials said the school is also equipped with classroom safety features, including window shades that can be quickly deployed during a security emergency. If someone were to get past the secure vestibule, the shades allow students and staff to move to designated areas inside classrooms where they cannot be seen through the windows.

The school will also have the Raptor System that CPS has throughout all district buildings, that requires all guests to check in with a photo ID.

The school’s gymnasium can serve as a storm shelter.

The first day of school for CPS is Aug. 25.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

President Donald Trump announced on his social media on Monday that he is approving a $24.5 million disaster declaration for the June 4-18 storms that hit Missouri.

Gov. Mike Kehoe requested a disaster declaration on July 9 for public assistance for 34 counties, including: Adair, Andrew, Callaway, Camden, Cape Girardeau, Dade, Daviess, Gasconade, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Hickory, Holt, Jasper, Knox, Lewis, Linn, Macon, Marion, Mercer, Miller, Moniteau, Morgan, Newton, Nodaway, Osage, Polk, Putnam, Scott, Shelby, Sullivan, Vernon, Webster and Worth.

The July 9 press release estimated more than $32.3 million in emergency response costs and damage to public infrastructure.

Kehoe confirmed on his social media that the funding was for the June 4-18 request.

Kehoe still has outstanding requests, including one he made on Friday for storms that affected Missouri from July 9-11.

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Lucas Geisler

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A former Cooper County Jail guard received a two-year probation term for her role in an inmate’s death in 2023.

Rachel Atherton pleaded guilty to second-degree involuntary manslaughter on Monday. Prosecutors reduced her chare on Friday to the lesser felony. Jazzlyn Johnson, spokesperson for special prosecutors out of Jackson County, said Atherton received a two-year suspended imposition of sentence.

Atherton pleaded guilty to the same crime a jury found another jail guard, Robyn Pfeiffer, guilty of in February. Both were accused of neglecting the health concerns of Brooke Bailey before she died while in custody.

Brent Haden, an attorney for Atherton, declined to comment on Monday.

Johnson said Atherton’s guilty plea to a felony makes her ineligible for a Missouri peace officer’s license.

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Demetra Alarcon

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Leaders from Boone Health and Boone County Fire Protection District said Monday that a new ambulance station in south Columbia could cut down response times by several minutes.

Boone Health held a dedication ceremony and open house for Ambulance Station No. 12, located on Route K near South Bethel Church Road, on Monday morning.

This new station has been operating for a month.

During the ceremony, Brady Dubois, president and CEO of Boone Health, said that this new station puts EMS teams minutes away from emergency responses and that the extra time is critical.

“Response times are critical. Every second matters. And where EMS teams are able to start from. It can mean the difference between life and death,” Dubois said.

Dubois added that response times are estimated to be cut down by 4 to 5 minutes with the new station.

Although there are no current plans for another station, officials acknowledge that continued growth in the area could shift those needs.

According to Josh Peak, chief of Boone Health Emergency Medical Services, Boone County responds to about 12,000 calls a year.

Peak said that before the facility, response times were around 10-11 minutes. With the new station, the goal for every response is less than 8 minutes.

The station also houses an ATV, allowing EMS crews to reach remote areas that ambulances cannot get to.

“It’s critical. So we get calls. It doesn’t matter if you call us from in your house or from inside Rock Bridge Park somewhere,” said Peak.

The new EMS station was made possible through a partnership between Boone Health and the Boone County Fire Protection District, resulting in faster response times to emergencies in south Columbia.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Mill and overlay pavement maintenance through Columbia began Monday and is expected to be completed by Friday, Aug. 14, according to a Monday press release from the city.

Crews will mill away the top layer of asphalt and pave a new surface to improve the roadways, the release says. It will occur after crews finish work on Old Highway 63 on Monday afternoon. Crews will work from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. each day.

 Affected streets include:

Woodrow Street

McAlester Street

South Bearfield Road

Danforth Drive

Wilkes Boulevard

South Ann Street

Dalcross Drive

Westbrook Way

Frontgate Drive

Dunbar Drive

Vistaview Terrace

Granite Springs Drive

Blue Hollow Drive

West Vawter School Road

Glen Eagle Drive

Tip Tree Court

Surrey Court

Westview Terrace

Galloway Court

“No parking” signs will be post on the affected streets 24 hours before.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Cyclosporiasis cases in Missouri have nearly doubled in the past week, according to information from the state’s Communicable Disease report that was reported on Sunday.

Total cases of the diarrhea-inducing disease have hit 1,095 as of Sunday, which increased from 595 from last week’s total.

As of Monday afternoon, 90 cases of cyclosporiasis have been reported in Boone County, according to Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services spokesman Austin Krohn. There were 79 cases in the county reported last week and 53 the week before.

The FDA announced on July 17 that it is investigating iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico that was recalled by Taylor Farms.

ABC News reported on Monday that the first deaths of the national outbreak have been reported in Michigan. There have been 11,234 cases reported in Michigan, ABC News reported from Michigan’s Health Department.

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