Category: kmiz-local-news

Keriana Gamboa

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Homeowners living near the site of a planned subdivision in east Columbia are raising concerns about traffic and other issues.

Troy Miller Properties LLC is asking the City of Columbia to approve a development plan for 77 new housing units on 24.13 acres off East Broadway near the Brooks subdivision.

The Columbia Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously decided to table the item at a meeting on Thursday night.

Brooks resident Aleece Rhinehart told ABC 17 News the property owner had expressed interest in further discussions with neighbors about the project. However, she noted that no meetings have been scheduled, and the community remains uncertain about how their concerns will be addressed.

Community members submitted more than 90 pages of comments about the project, according to correspondence provided by the city.

The proposed development will be located at the north end of Sagemoor Drive. Each building in the proposed development will have up to three housing units.

Traffic appears to be the primary concern, particularly on the neighborhood’s two main roads. In response to these concerns, the City of Columbia plans to extend El Chaparral Avenue as part of the new development. Additionally, Columbia Public Works will consider traffic calming devices on Hoylake Drive to help address safety concerns.

Brooks resident Holly McCoy says her main concerns center on Sagemoor Street, where she lives.

“My concern is the use of the street in front of our house as the main entrance into a high density living arrangement. These are single-family dwellings, and  I would,  you know,  have that concern of high traffic on this road,” McCoy said.

City Planner David Kunz said the city conducted a 2017 traffic study that evaluated developments larger than the one currently proposed and found no significant impact on Sagemoor Street.

The first construction phase will include 23 buildings; the second phase will be 36 buildings; and the third phase will include 18 residential buildings and improvements to Sagemoor and El Chaparral Avenue. Each building will have three units included.

Steve Smith and his wife live next to the proposed development on the north end of the street. Steve said they are a part of their neighborhood’s homeowners association, and are also concerned about the long-term effects on property values.

“Our properties are held to a certain standard to be maintained, and not knowing if the new development going in next door is going to be held to that same standard, we sort of wonder how that’s going to affect our property values,” Smith said.

ABC 17 News has reached out to the developers for comment.

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Mitchell Kaminski

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) 

The Missouri Legislative Black Caucus strongly condemned President Donald Trump’s plan to redraw congressional boundaries during a press conference on Thursday.

Missouri is one of several states where Republican lawmakers are pushing for new congressional maps, aimed at gaining an edge in the U.S House of Representatives during the mid-term elections. With Republicans holding a slim 219–212 majority, both parties view the U.S. House as a battleground heading into the 2026 elections.

“This is a disgusting, shameful, power-grab that has never, ever been seen in modern American politics,” Missouri Legislative Black Caucus Chair Michael Johnson (D-Kansas City) said. 

Gov. Mike Kehoe took questions from reporters after speaking during the opening of the Missouri State Fair on Thursday morning in Sedalia. A Kehoe spokesperson told ABC 17 News this week the governor has had several conversations with the Trump administration about Missouri redistricting.

“As I’ve told everybody, the way the maps have been drawn have been talked about since we drew them or the House and Senate drew them four years ago,” Kehoe said of the state’s current House district, which were drawn after the 2020 census. “Nobody’s been exactly happy with it, so looking at how that might be more compact and contingent, making sure that America’s voice matches Missouri’s values, and Missouri is a great conservative, Christian-value state, and I think we’re always going to try to make sure that we support [Republican House Speak Mike Johnson] and that we don’t have an alternative.”

State lawmakers traditionally redraw district maps based on census data every 10 years. The last redistricting took place in 2022. Because of this, state Rep. David Tyson Smith (D-Columbia) called the gerrymandering efforts unconstitutional. 

“It is shameful that this idea would be floated,” Tyson Smith said. “This is not constitutional.  The Missouri Constitution does not allow for redistricting unless there is an immediate census, and that has not happened.  This is nothing but a power grab, a power grab by the Trump administration to maintain control of the House.” 

Missouri Democrats contend the Trump administration feels threatened by a surge of rallies across Missouri and the rest of the country.

Missouri currently has six Republicans and two Democrats in the U.S. House. While no redrawn map has been released, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Kansas City), who has served since 2005,  would likely be the main target. Cleaver’s district currently has a high population of black and Hispanic residents. 

“Congressman Clever does an excellent job working across the aisle, so for his seat to be under attack like it is, is an offense not only to him but to our community because he’s effective,” state Rep. Yolonda Fountain-Henderson (D-St. Louis) said. 

Tyson Smith claimed Trump has no plans to leave the White House, citing newly released merchandise suggesting he intends to remain in power through 2028.

“This is his attempt to keep control of the House because that is the only body that can stop them at this point. We cannot allow him to do that, and this power grab is unconscionable. This is outrageous. We haven’t seen these times in the last 50, 60, 70 years of America,” Smith said. 

Democratic-led states like California have responded by threatening to conduct their own redistricting. When asked if Missouri Democrats would consider the same tactic if they controlled the Legislature, they said yes. However, they currently lack the votes to block the plan. Democrats are instead aiming to mobilize voters statewide and potentially challenge the move in court.

State Rep. Marlon Anderson (D-St. Louis) accused Republicans of undermining the will of Missourians with their redistricting efforts. Anderson made references to the Missouri GOP rolling back voter-approved sick leave and attempts to challenge the legal status of abortion, which was also approved by voters.  

“The Republicans of this state, time after time, undermine the will of Missourians. From Amendment 3 to Prop A and now the Missouri Congressional maps, the majority of whom believe that their voices are larger than Missouri. This is yet another attempt to further their agenda, while completely disregarding the will of Missouri,” Anderson said.

Kehoe said Thursday that he’s interested in “making sure America’s voice matches Missouri’s values” in Congress as the debate continues over whether Republican-heavy states should redraw their U.S. House maps. Kehoe claimed Democrats do not represent Missouri’s values.

The Trump administration has spoken with leaders in red states about redrawing their congressional districts to add more Republican-friendly seats to the U.S. House.

Several Missouri Republicans have expressed support for redrawing the maps, including state Senate leaders and the Missouri Freedom Caucus. However, Johnson claims not every Republican is on board. 

“There are some Republicans, some of our  Republican colleagues in this building,  that don’t want to see this happen,” Johnson said. “And I know that for a fact.”

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Jazsmin Halliburton

SEDALIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri State Fair kicked off in Sedalia Thursday, with hundreds of thousands of people expected to attend over the next week and a half. The theme of the fair this year is Step On In.

Governor Mike Kehoe proclaimed the fair a “Great American Fair” at the kick off ceremony Thursday morning. This is the first step in what Gov. Kehoe is calling ‘Show-Me 250’ as the United States inches closer to its 250th birthday in 2026.

Leading up to the next Fourth of July, Kehoe said communities across the nation will celebrate 250 years of America. He said the state of Missouri is already celebrating with the Missouri 250 logo being pushed out and drone shows.

This is the Missouri State Fair’s 123rd year and hot temperatures mixed with thousands of people and 11 days of action can leave plenty possibility for some things to go wrong.

The fair is the state’s biggest agricultural showcase and can bring more than 30,000 attendees each day. In 2023, the fair broke the record for total attendees, with just under 350,000 people attending. In 2024, 345,643 people attended the fair.

Fair attendees will generally see the most traffic around the fairgrounds near the entrances. The entrances to the fair can be found at these locations:

Centennial Gate entrance – Hwy 65

Main Gate entrance – 16th St.

Gate 11 entrance – Hwy 65

Gate 6 entrance – Clarendon Rd.

General parking can be found along W. 16th St. and Hwy 65.

For those who choose to take the Amtrak to Sedalia for the fair, expect to see traffic around the train station in the morning and evenings on Main St. and S. Limit Ave.

Local, county and state first responders will be on site at the fairgrounds to keep visitors safe over the next week and a half.

Members of the Missouri State Fair’s Volunteer Fire Department have been coming together for nearly 65 years just to serve the state fair exclusively.

“This year we have 74 different departments represented here with personnel and we are going to average about 80 members each day at the fair,” said Larry Eggen, the spokesperson for the department.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol also assisting with work around the clock.

“We want to make sure that we have security going on 24 hours. So we have got a night squad and the day squad,” said Cpl. Justin Howard. “We have nine troops around the state of Missouri, and we’ve brought in a lot of members and personnel here to the state fair just for operational reasons.”

Emergency Medical Services and fire officials tell ABC 17 News they feel confident with the string of protocols on site.

“If you get sick our EMS serves our first aid, and we have our DMAT. They are like an urgent care, basically a little higher up than our first aid and then if they can’t help you, then we go to Bothwell with the patients,” Eggen said.

The “DMAT Tent” a Disaster Medical Assistant Team is set up with beds, monitors and an X-ray machine. Eggen said heat is important to plan for outside of physical injuries.

“We’ve had as many as 40 people, 40 calls in a day, the heat related,” Eggen said.

Seven water stations are set up around the fair grounds to help fairgoers cool down and beat the heat. The Missouri State Fair Foundation is also selling water bottles for $1 around the fair grounds.

“We’ll sell approximately 70,000 bottles in a week. There’s 32 pallets over there right now for this initial run and four pallets of Gatorade,” said Bret Kuhns with the foundation.

The money from the water bottle sales goes back into the state fair grounds.

Gates will be open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. If you are entering after 10 p.m., fairgoers will want to use the entrance on Clarendon Rd.

Box office hours will be from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Carnival area will be from Monday-Friday, 12 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to Midnight.

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Matthew Sanders

The Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday said it would wind down vaccine research using the type of technology used in the predominant COVID-19 vaccines.

The agency said it would wind down its mRNA vaccine research and pursue other types of research through its Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.

Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement that the authority would end 22 mRNA vaccine development investments. He suggested the vaccines were not effective against upper respiratory infections.

Do you think it’s the right move? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who was arrested in Illinois last week and charged with first-degree murder in Randolph County is in custody in Missouri.

Todd Turner, 38, of Cahokia Heights, Illinois, was charged with first-degree murder last week in the death of Donald Hickem on Feb. 1. He was booked into the jail at 2:21 p.m. Monday. A judge on Tuesday scheduled his arraignment for 1:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 11. He is being held without bond.

Hickem, 37, was found dead with gunshot wounds in the 500 block of North Moulton Street on Feb. 1.

Timothy Turner, 37, of Columbia, was initially charged in the case with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. Timothy Turner was shot and killed by Columbia police after a standoff in the 1500 block of Raleigh Drive in Columbia. Charges were not filed against the officers said to be involved.

Court documents in previous reporting say a phone registered to Timothy Turner was found at the Moberly residence in the 500 block of North Moulton Street.

A witness who knew Timothy Turner allegedly told police that the Turners entered an alley near the home and Todd Turner had told Timothy to put his gun away, court documents say.

The witness walked down the alley and heard four-to-five shots, the statement in previous reporting says. The witness went inside a home and came back out to see the Turners in a vehicle, with Timothy Turner pointing a gun at the witness, the statement says.

The witness claimed in a probable cause statement that they left with the Turners in Timothy Turner’s vehicle and they planned on driving to Illinois.

The statement says that lab results from June 18 determined the bullets recovered from Hickem’s body were fired from two different guns.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 66-year-old woman from California, Missouri, had to be airlifted to University Hospital after her vehicle was hit by a dump truck on Tuesday afternoon, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The crash occurred on Lookout Trail Road at Industrial Drive in Moniteau County, the report says.

The report says a 2018 International Dump Trick was heading southbound when it failed to yield to the 1997 Chevrolet Lumina — that was driven by the woman – that was heading eastbound. The dump truck was driven by a 66-year-old Prairie Home man, the report says.

The Prairie Home man had no reported injuries. Both drivers were wearing seatbelts. The Chevrolet was totaled, while the dump truck had minor damage, the report says.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Police Department is ramping up enforcement of misdemeanor offenses downtown in an effort to reduce violent incidents.

The department is using crime data to identify specific locations, days and times for targeted enforcement.

The new targeted approach is designed to interrupt patterns of behavior that often escalate into more serious incidents, including open container violations, littering, trespassing, minors in possession of alcohol, peace disturbances, parking violations and pedestrian traffic violations. 

“What you permit is what you promote, and so we need to start getting on the front end of curtailing things before they get out of hand,” Columbia Police Chief Jill Schlude told ABC 17 News. 

The strategy drew attention during Monday’s City Council meeting, when Ward 1 Councilwoman Valerie Carroll said several constituents raised concerns about receiving jaywalking tickets and arrests made during the Black White Ball reunion on Saturday night, an event that drew hundreds of alumni from Columbia’s high schools.

“I want to say that the event is very dear to the identity and culture of the First Ward and many residents who live there,” Carroll said during the meeting. “I also want to say that I understand the reports that I’ve heard from police and the need for proactive policing.” 

Schlude told ABC 17 News the arrests and police presence did not have anything to do with the Black and White Ball, adding the citations occurred after officers told people multiple times to get off the street before a supervisor showed up and determined the warnings were being ignored. A total of eight citations were issued for pedestrian traffic violations. 

“Frankly, a lot of our folks don’t even know that the Black and White Ball is occurring because the only event we really participate in is the parade. We do event security and traffic control for the parade and so there’s no events associated with that — that I’m aware of — that are scheduled to be downtown. Certainly not at 1:30 or 2:00 in the morning,” Schlude said. “There was nothing about this, proactive enforcement or presence that had anything to do with the Black and White Ball.” 

On June 8, shots rang out downtown near Walnut Street, resulting in an innocent bystander sufferning nonlife-threatening injuries. That same weekend, John Rogers, one of the owners of the Athens Building located on the 800 block of East Walnut Street, where his law office is located, found a rock through his glass door. 

“It was just the crowds, and when a certain amount of people got there. It got to be a problem that we had two incidents that were a little bit more serious,” Rogers said. “One night, there was a shooting, or at least shots fired. And another night, we had a rock thrown through one of our front windows.” 

Rogers said the incident highlighted an increase in criminal activity in the area, which has made some residents feel unsafe. In response, he wrote a letter to Schlude and several other city leaders, asking for increased patrols, enforcing existing ordinances and making arrests when appropriate. 

“What I  hear more about and notice more, is people either complaining or just saying they don’t go downtown in downtown Columbia in general,” Rogers said. “If we want people to work down here, live down here, and visit down here, it needs to be safe.” 

In the letter, Rogers claimed the June 8 weekend was not an isolated incident.

In the past 18 months, CPD says it has seen a sustained and escalating gun violence downtown, which has included three uninvolved bystanders being shot and numerous others put at risk. 

These incidents include: 

Schulde said the department’s shift to a more-active enforcement approach was accelerated by the June 8 shooting, but it wasn’t possible until staffing levels improved. Since June 8, the department has increased its downtown police presence between 10 p.m.-4 a.m., particularly on weekends.

“Six months ago, we maybe had 10-to-12 officers on a shift at night.  This past weekend, we had 15 officers plus supervisors on, and we’ve also been able to expand our street crimes unit so now they work in two shifts.” Schulde said. “Staffing has really been a blessing to help us be able to do more of these activities.” 

The department now has eight officers assigned to a “swing shift” from 3 p.m.-3 a.m., which overlaps with another group of officers working from 6 p.m.-6 a.m. 

According to Schlude, the hotspot for gun violence has shifted from the 900 block of East Broadway in 2024 to the 800 block of Walnut Street in 2025.

Eight of 11 shots fired and shooting reports in the past 18 months have occurred after bars closed at 1:30 a.m. Several of those incident were allegedly followed by large fights in the street. CPD also claims that officer presence alone has not been enough to deter the violence. In three of those incidents, officers were present and in one instance, an officer was shot at by one of the suspects when he tried to intervene. 

“Looking at the data, we’re finding that a lot of these more violent incidents are No. 1 happening after bars closed and they’re happening late at night. So early in the morning technically, but after that 1:30 hour,” Schlude said. 

“We’ve received a lot of feedback and concern from downtown business owners, parents whose students are going here to school, and so there’s definitely been reasonable questions about what we’re doing to make sure people are safe downtown.  This is just part of that effort. And if you look back historically,  when the downtown unit was in existence, this was a large part of what kind of their purpose and charge was, so we’re really just trying to get back to that more data-driven, place-based policing approach.” 

Schulde hopes the increased police presence downtown will strengthen relationships with local bars and help reduce the number of incidents. With college students returning to Columbia soon, the department also plans to offer training for bars that see a high volume of incidents. 

“School is starting back up in just a couple of weeks. This is just kind of a precursor to that because we’re going to have an exponential amount more people downtown,  we’re going to be encountering additional issues,” Schulde said. “There’s alcohol involved, so that’s not too surprising. But  people should just expect to see more officers downtown.”

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Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia is looking to replace one of its busiest and oldest fire stations.

Columbia Fire Station 5 — located on Ballenger Lane — is nearing the end of its lifespan, according to Assistant Fire Chief Jeffrey Heidenreich, leading to the department to request a replacement.

“It’s becoming functionally obsolete when it comes to the fire service and the modern expectations and requirements on size, space and other necessities of stations,” Heidenreich said.

The city is now amending its fiscal year 2026 budget to include $6 million for a replacement, according to city spokeswoman Sydney Olsen. The funding will come from capital improvement sales tax investment income.

Ward 3 Councilwoman Jacque Sample told ABC 17 News she was told by a resident the building could have been built on an old coal mine. Sample said the city is now working to determine if that is the case.

“It’s really important for us to do a land survey to make sure that we don’t rebuild and have the same problems in the future,” Sample said. “I know the city is looking at digging into kind of some historical records to determine if that is the case and remap out where those potential old coal mines might be.”

Sample said it isn’t clear when the city will conduct the survey. The station was built in 1971 and is the third busiest station overall in the city. The only busier stations are located downtown and Fire Station 2 on Worley Street, according to Heidenreich.

However, the deteriorating and sinking conditions of the station is taking a toll on firefighters, who have to spend time documenting and repairing the station.

While the station is acceptable as far as current state and living conditions, Heidenreich said the department had to think about whether it makes sense to continue pouring money into the place.

“We’ve had to invest a considerable amount more in time and money addressing physical issues with the station,” Heidenreich said. “Multiple attempts at raising or stabilizing the foundation and concrete repairs that we haven’t had to do at other stations.”

ABC 17 News took a tour of the fire station, noticing several cracks in walls and floors, broken windows and brown spots in ceiling panels created from a build-up in humidity. Heidenreich said a moisture build-up in the attic drips into the ceiling tiles, creating the brown spots.

The tiles were replaced in December, and the department will have to replace them again soon to avoid running into issues with mold. Firefighters have also resorted to adding a fan hanging from the ceiling, as well as a dehumidifier to try and pull additional moisture from the attic to minimize damage to the ceiling.

The station had a major remodeling in 2019, but was stopped mid-progress due to station settling.

The station has continued to deal with those settling issues over the years, now leading to the recent sticking of a door within the station, as well as another door that wasn’t able to open or close until crews put in additional lag bolts.

Another issue the station is battling: The community bunk room. The room was a common practice in the fire service for a long period of time, but the trend has since moved to include individualized bunk rooms.

“As our workforce grows and the diversity of our workforce increases, we think it’s important to invest in individualized bunk rooms, or individualized rooms for our firefighters and our members for privacy and safety and sleeping concerns,” Heidenreich said.

Heidenreich said that was an issue for the fire department during the COVID-19 pandemic, as they weren’t able to separate firefighters from one another to prevent it from spreading.

The fire department also deals with discolored water coming from its sink and ice, as well as low water pressure that can become problematic when filling up their fire trucks.

The bay area has experienced problems of its own. Fire equipment has gotten substantially larger over time, including the firetrucks. Heidenreich said the trucks have become wider over the years, and the trucks have limited clearance up top and on the sides when parking in the bay.

Firefighters have made contact with the sides of the garage due to the issue, leading to visible damage to the garage.

“We’re talking about inches on each side of the truck every single time they go out,” Heidenreich said. “And since this is the busiest, single company house in the city, they’re running you know, sometimes 10, 15 calls a day coming in and out this bay.”

Firefighters also have to coordinate with one another when getting into the trucks, due to a lack of space in the bay when the door of the truck is opened. There is also severe settling and cracking on the bay floor, despite the concrete being replaced in 2023.

Heidenreich said other stations fire stations 4 and 6 are also on the decline, but station 5 has seen the worst of it. The department also wants to improve its reliability percentage, but is also running into problems with that.

“One of the next steps we take once a station and an engine become substantially busy to the point that the reliability slips under 90%… as an example, this station (fire station 5) is close to 80%. We look at the possibility of adding an additional staffed fire apparatus. And so for our deployment model that would be a ladder company, and a ladder company isn’t able to fit into stations 4, 5, and 6,” Heidenreich said.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Three people were indicted in separate federal cases in Mid-Missouri, according to a Wednesday press release from the Department of Justice.

The release says Joanna Fabian Rivera, 33, of Arizona, was charged with possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine. She was allegedly found with packages of cocaine and heroin in her vehicle on May 3, the release says.

Alex Mills Zoll, 42, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was charged with three felonies and was accused of child enticement, attempted to produce child pornography and sending and selling obscene material across state lines, the release says. The case was investigated by the Boone and Callaway county sheriff’s offices.

Aaron James Kipper, 34, Columbia, was charged with illegally owning two guns. The release says he is a convicted felon and was found with two guns on June 27.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A patient had their leg impaled by a steel rod on Wednesday morning in a west Columbia neighborhood, according to a press release from the Columbia Fire Department.

The release says firefighters were called at 10:10 a.m. to the 300 block of Parkwood Court for a report of a fall injury. Identifying information about the patient was not given in the release.

“A patient had sustained a mechanical impalement to the leg by a piece of a reinforcing bar, a steel rod commonly used in concrete construction,” the release says.

A truck that was “equipped for technical rescue operations” was sent and crews removed  “a portion of the metal and railroad ties” to prevent more injuries occurring, the release says. The patient was brought to an area hospital with a portion of the bar still in their leg, the release says.

“This is exactly the type of call we envisioned when we made the strategic decision to distribute heavy rescue capabilities,” Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer said in the release. “The quick, coordinated response and specialized tools on our ladder truck made a real difference in the outcome for this patient.”

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