Category: kmiz-local-news

Sutton Parker

COLUMBIA Mo. (KMIZ)

A coalition of U.S. lawmakers, Missouri broadcasters and local emergency officials are pushing for radios that can reach AM broadcast bands to be required in every vehicle.

Senate Bill 315 would require the Secretary of Transportation to issue a rule requiring access to AM broadcast stations in passenger motor vehicles, and for other purposes.

This comes as some car manufacturers have stopped adding the radio signal into newer models, particularly in electric vehicles.

In a press release from Tesla, the company claims the electromagnetic waves generated by electric vehicle drivetrains “cause severe interference” with analog AM radio signals, making traditional reception unstable.

Adding that instead of having a traditional AM radio option, Tesla identified the TuneIn app as an alternative streaming application to provide Tesla owners with access to their preferred radio stations.

The Missouri Broadcasters Association has been meeting with Missouri lawmakers pushing for the bill.

MBA President Chand Mahoney said AM radio is essential during emergencies.

“AM radio is the backbone of the emergency alert system in the United States,” Mahoney said. “So in many cases, it’s those AM radio stations that are receiving the emergency alert first, and then it filters down to the rest of the stations.”

He believes manufacturers are removing the radio signal to monetize the dashboard.

“So one way to do that is to offer subscription-based entertainment, music and information through the dashboard. AM radio, of course, is free and over the air and would get in the way of that model,” Mahoney said.

Mahoney said that when emergency alerts come in, they filter down to all the other stations, including FM stations.

When asked about the progress of Senate Bill 315, Mahoney claims the bill has bipartisan support, with 310 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives and 61 in the Senate.

Among those co-sponsors are Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, Rep. Mark Alford, Rep. Wesley Bell, Rep. Jason Smith, Rep. Eric Burlison, Rep. Robert F. Onder, Rep. Ann Wagner and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.

“We encourage people who may be watching this and are concerned about the AM radio coming out of their vehicles to reach out to their members of Congress and have them go to their leadership to take this bill to the floor for a vote,” Mahoney said. “It’s so popular; we know it’s going to pass, but we have to get it to the floor.”

When it comes to the importance of AM radio, Mahoney said that it is heavily relied on in rural communities.

“One rural Missouri AM radio is important every single day of the year. People are receiving their agriculture information, their farm markets, their weather reports. And oftentimes in rural areas, it’s those am signals that are still penetrating much further than the FM signals,” he said.

Trisha Rooda, of Pettis County Emergency Management, encourages everyone to always have three ways of communication in rural areas.

“I think AM radio remains a very important part of emergency management, especially for people in rural areas,” she said.

Rooda added that AM radio is an essential part of communication because a lot of other types of communication do not work in their area.

“Many emergency broadcasts are on AM stations, and those stations have backup power and AM signals reach farther over tall buildings and reach longer distances,” she said.

Senate Bill 315 currently is awaiting consideration and a vote by the Senate.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri’s attorney general wrote to a local library board saying that “residents” have requested her office make sure that an LGBTQ+-themed story time is “conducted in a manner consistent with Missouri law.”

A library spokeswoman told ABC 17 News that the event is family friendly.

The letter was dated Thursday and released publicly by Attorney General Catherine Hanaway on social media platforms.

Hanaway, in her letter, reminded the Daniel Boone Regional Library that providing minors with pornography is illegal, as is displaying sexually explicit material in a public location. She also wrote that libraries jeopardize their state funding if they hold events that are not designated for the proper age group.

The letter is in response to the Columbia Public Library’s “Rainbow Story Time” event scheduled for 10 to 10:45 a.m. Saturday in the Children’s Program Room.

“Join us for a queer-led story time with an LGBTQ+ theme. We’ll share stories, sing songs and do an activity with time to meet new friends at the end,” the event description on the library website states. The page states the event is meant for families, toddlers and preschoolers.

Library spokeswoman Mitzi St. John wrote in an email that the 30-minute event includes readings of “Rainbowsaurus” and “Big Wig.”

“Neither include sexual content,” St. John wrote.

Boone Regional Library in Columbia is hosting a “queer-led story time” directed to toddlers and preschoolers, with time to “meet new friends” afterwards.

We’ve sent a notice to the library reminding them that providing pornography or sexual material to minors is against Missouri… pic.twitter.com/67CVG65Hm8

— Attorney General Catherine L. Hanaway (@AGCHanaway) July 23, 2026

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Ellyse Edwards

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Valley Hope has opened an outpatient addiction treatment center in Columbia, offering continued care for people with substance-use disorders who do not require overnight treatment.

The center provides an intensive outpatient program that includes group therapy, education and individual counseling. Patients can continue living at home and going to work or school while receiving treatment.

Missouri recorded 1,461 drug overdose deaths in 2024, according to final data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state’s age-adjusted overdose death rate was 23.7 deaths per 100,000 people. West Virginia leads the nation with 48.9 deaths per 100,000 people, the CDC reports.

Valley Hope CEO Patrick Hall said the organization opened the Columbia location after seeing a need for continued treatment among patients in the area. Valley Hope also operates a residential treatment facility in Boonville.

Hall said Valley Hope previously provided outpatient services online but wanted to establish an in-person location in Columbia.

“Because of the demand and the need to keep patients in treatment for as long as possible to improve their recovery outcomes, we had a mission to open an outpatient location here in person,” Hall said.

Hall said the intensive outpatient program generally includes nine hours of treatment each week, divided into three-hour sessions on three days. Unlike residential care, patients do not stay overnight at the facility.

Carrie Harris, Valley Hope’s alumni coordinator, received treatment through the organization in 2008 and 2009. Harris said she did not initially believe she had an alcohol problem because she was employed, had a car and continued paying her bills.

“With the education that they provided me at Valley Hope, I came to know that my life was unmanageable and I really did have an issue with alcohol,” Harris said.

Harris said substance-use disorders can affect people from any background.

“What I want people to know about addiction is that it doesn’t discriminate,” Harris said. “It affects every class, every race, every religion. None of us are exempt.”

She said having a treatment center in Columbia could make care more accessible for people balancing recovery with work, school or family responsibilities.

Angi Allphin, Valley Hope’s executive director and clinical expert, said substance-use disorder is a disease and should not be viewed as a failure of willpower.

“Some of the strongest people I’ve ever met in my career are people who have substance-use disorders because they know that struggle,” Allphin said. “They are now reaching out and saying, ‘I can’t do this alone anymore.’ Those are the strong people.”

Allphin said intensive outpatient treatment can help people transition back into their normal routines after completing detoxification or residential care. She said returning home can expose patients to familiar situations, habits and cravings while they are still adjusting to recovery.

The Columbia program offers morning and evening groups, with both in-person and telehealth options. Allphin said telehealth can reduce barriers for patients who lack reliable transportation or cannot regularly travel to the center.

Valley Hope leaders said the outpatient center is intended to provide continued support as patients move through different stages of treatment and recovery.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A traffic shift that was planned for next week on Interstate 70 in Columbia has been moved up to Thursday night, a press release from the Missouri Department of Transportation says.

The plan is to divert westbound traffic “traffic down and up the newly reconstructed ramps at Boone County Route J (Exit 117),” the release says.

The speed limit will be reduced to 35 miles per hour, the statement says. Crews will work on the westbound bridge over Route J, which is expected to be completed by the end of November, the release says. The traffic shift was moved up because of “forecasted weather,” MoDOT wrote.

There will be no access to or from westbound I-70 from Routes O and J until the end of November, the release says. Closures and detours in place include:

Westbound and eastbound I-70 to and from Route J is closed. Detour will be Highway 40/240.  

Westbound I-70 to and from Route O is closed. Detour from westbound I-70 will be Route BB (Exit 115) to eastbound I-70 to Route O. Detour to westbound I-70 will be eastbound I-70 to Exit 121 to westbound I-70. 

Route J to Route O (north-south access underneath I-70) will be closed. The detour will be Highway 40 to Route UU. 

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Despite missing its renewable energy goal for 2026, the Columbia City Council unanimously approved a new plan Monday that aims to provide 40% of the city’s electricity from renewable resources by 2035.

According to the report, City of Columbia Utilities purchased or generated a little under 285,00 megawatts of its total electric usage through renewable energy sources last year, around 22.57% of Columbia’s adjusted system load.

The city had set a goal to provide 25% of its energy through renewable sources by 2026 and currently estimates around 23.5% of the city’s electricity is renewable.

The City of Columbia also reported in 2025 that around 18% of its energy came from wind power, around 3% from the landfill’s natural gas production and around 2% from solar power.

In planning for the future, the city is seeking more affordable renewable energy options, including a growing solar power market and the planned construction of the Grain Belt to deliver wind energy from the Kansas City Area.

However, that project has been met with heavy opposition and delays.

2026 Renewable Energy PlanDownload

This is an ongoing story.

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Melissa Houston

HUNTSVILLE, Mo. (KMIZ)

A judge found enough probable cause Thursday to try one of the four suspects involved in the death of Randolph County 16-year-old Kayla Huff.

Judge James Cooksey bound over Hunter Ames, 19, to circuit court on Thursday morning after a preliminary hearing in Randolph County. Ames faces charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, property damage, tampering with evidence and burglary in the killing and disappearance of Huff in May.

Prosecutor Stephanie Luntsford called Lt. Nathan West of the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office to the stand to testify about Ames’ during his investigation.

West said he periodically questioned Ames during the investigation after receiving a tip that Ames’s pistol was the weapon used to kill Huff. A warrant was used on May 7 to search his home, and law enforcement found and confiscated the 9-mm Hi-Point pistol.

West said he would go to Ames’s house in the following days to question him, and said he learned more information about the case with each visit. West said Ames confessed to him that he gave Alayna Mason — a suspect in the case charged with murder — the pistol after she came to his house and said she needed to take care of somebody in the trunk of a car.

West said Ames implied that he knew the weapon was going to be used.

Ames also allegedly confessed to West that Mason said she wanted to mess with someone’s car and that he went to a codefendant’s house to get a “yellow jug,” which Ames thought was motor oil, but after closer investigation with a mechanic, they learned it was antifreeze. West said the mechanic found this antifreeze in the gas tank, which disabled the vehicle.

A final questioning with Ames on May 11 revealed that an expandable baton was used to assault Huff, authorities allege. Autopsy results showed a bruise to her hand and head, which may have been caused by the weapon. West said he saw the baton during one of law enforcement’s searches, but didn’t confiscate it at the time without knowing it may have been part of Huff’s killing.

After learning the baton was involved in Huff’s killing, Ames allegedly admitted that he and Christopher Hull went to dispose of the weapon, and reportedly admitted to shoving the baton in the ground to hide it in a wooded area.

Ames later told detectives where he hid the baton and brought them to the location, according to West.

West said on May 12, Ames was arrested, read his Miranda rights, and a polygraph was done.

Defense attorney John Marshall said that Ames was just a “bystander who got caught up.”

Marshall claimed that West and his co-detective were intimidating Ames by making jokes and threats during the questioning. Because Ames was feeling “stressed” during the questioning, Marshall asked the judge to take what he said with “a grain of salt.”

Marshall said that there was no probable cause to support the kidnapping charge because Ames wasn’t made aware of who was in the trunk.

Cooksey set an arraignment for 9 a.m. Aug. 12.

Marshall said he will be filing to change where the trial might take place and the judge overseeing the case.

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Matthew Sanders

The City of Columbia is getting ready to trim up its “No Mow Zone” pollinator habitats located along roads and in medians.

The trim comes after a wet start to summer and plenty of complaints on social media platforms about the state of these areas and whether they’re a hazard to drivers. But that’s nothing new — some Columbia drivers have been complaining about sight obstructions caused by the overgrown medians since they were introduced.

Do you think the City should keep the No Mow Zones a little more mowed? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Multiple Mid-Missouri court cases were moved up to federal court on Wednesday.

Travis Moreland, 37, of Columbia, is charged with attempted child enticement, attempted child sex trafficking and sending and receiving child sex abuse materials. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond.

Moreland is accused of trying to solicit someone who he thought was a 16-year-old for sex. A deputy posed as a teenage girl on an “escort service website” and Moreland allegedly said he was OK with the decoy’s age, previous reporting shows.

Paul Piersee, 40, of Columbia, is charged with possessing and receiving child sex abuse materials. He is also being held at the Boone County Jail without bond.

Previous reporting shows Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers allegedly found “hundreds” of videos containing child sex abuse on his electronic devices.

Hector Hernandez, 29, was charged with drug possession with the intent to distribute. He was charged after a December drug bust led to more than 56 pounds of methamphetamine being found, previous reporting shows.

Shannon Moyle, 48, is charged with drug possession with the intent to distribute from a Callaway County case. Previous reporting shows Moyle allegedly admitted to law enforcement that she had a pound of meth in a bad when she was pulled over on April 8 at a Fulton gas station.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

EDITOR’S NOTE: The action taken by Planning and Zoning has been corrected.

Housing for the Community Jefferson City announced in a Wednesday news release on its website that it is asking to postpone a hearing after the city’s planning commission voted against its application.

HCJC wrote that the Planning and Zoning Commission had voted not to recommend its application for a year-round shelter on Adams Street to the Jefferson City Council.

A public hearing on the matter was scheduled for Aug. 3, but HCJC is asking to delay it until Oct. 5.

“During that time, we will request a collaborative process with the City and community partners to determine the best path forward. This includes exploring whether another suitable location exists for the Resource Center and Emergency Shelter and seeking greater clarity regarding the standards that will be used to evaluate our proposal so the process is transparent, fair, and consistent,” the release says.

Check back for updates.

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