WATCH: Mizzou players take questions during fall camp
Matthew Sanders
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Mizzou football continued fall camp Tuesday after learning that 2025 season tickets had been sold out.
Watch a news conference following practice.
Property tax assessments to rise 5% for some Cole County residents
Haley Swaino
COLE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Some Cole County property owners could soon be paying more in taxes.
Cole County’s Board of Equalizations voted Tuesday to raise the assessed value of certain parts of the county by 5%. The vote came after the State Tax Commission issued an order last Wednesday telling the county it had until Aug. 23 to raise property tax assessments.
The commission issued the order after finding that assessments lagged where they should be. That means property owners are paying less in taxes than they should be.
“It is the responsibility of the Commission to inquire into the methods of assessment and determine whether the assessing officers and boards of equalization are discharging their duties as required by law,” the equalization order states.
The order states that Cole County’s assessments in 2023 were 67.53% of market value.
Cole BOE Equalization Order to Increase Residential ValuesDownload
Western District Commissioner Harry Otto said Cole County has ongoing issues with property tax assessments because of Cole County Assessor Christopher Estes.
“He did not do a countywide reassessment, which the statute requires every two years,” Otto said. “It doesn’t say half of it one two year period and half of it another. And that’s been his mood the last several reassessment periods is to do half and half.”
ABC 17 News spoke with Estes on Tuesday prior to the meeting. He said over the years, many factors contributed to assessment backlog.
“In 2017, the county commissioners decided that the assessor’s office was going to have a new software,” Estes said.
Estes said his team’s software — which is used to do appraisals — was switched in 2020 and that change is to blame for a backlog that has left some areas of Cole County unassessed for years. He said the new system had many differences that has he and his team assessing portions of the county one property at a time.
“We lost the capability to do the sales comparable method,” Estes said. “In any practical sense, I would have to add additional staff. I would have to increase our budget a lot to be able to take care of that. So we’ve been stuck going property by property.”
He said he told commissioners that was the way he and his staff were forced to operate under the new system, but those concerns were ignored year after year.
“After the 2019 assessment, we had to go house-by-house through every single house in the county and review the information,” Estes said. “We had to see what percentage of brick and what percentage of frame a house might have, and then record that in our file for that property.”
Estes said years of not having the proper resources and staffing he needed to do the job is what led to the STC stepping in.
“We’ve had the software situation, we’ve had the COVID situation, and I have a staffing situation,” Estes said.
He said the COVID-19 pandemic dried up the housing market in Cole County.
“In Cole County, there’s usually about 400 houses on the market,” Estes said. “And at any given time over the past three years, they’ve averaged like 40 houses. Huge difference. So obviously, if your supply is really low, your demand is really high.”
He said that year being the same year the software switch happened created a “perfect storm” for the assessor’s office.
“So all of those things combined got us to where we’re at now. And in [20]23, the ’23-24 ratio study, we were at 67.53, which is just horrible. I’m actually embarrassed to say that number because it’s not where we usually are and it’s not where we would be if we had what we needed to do to do the job,” Estes said.
Otto said Estes let the county down and that did not uphold the duties of his office.
“He never takes responsibility. He blames the software. He blames the commission. He blames this inability to hire people. Well, that’s his job, is to find good people, hire them, put them to work,” Otto said.
Estes told ABC 17 News after the meeting that the vote to adhere to the STC’s order and raise property tax assessments by 5% was not the outcome he’d hoped for.
“It bothers me that all those taxpayers that are now going to see an increase do not have an opportunity to appeal the value of that,” Estes said. “That’s the big problem that I see with it right now.”
Estes is retiring at the end of August after nearly two decades of service.
Tim Theroff is set to become the new assessor on Sept. 1 and will be tasked with making the assessment changes when he takes office.
Voter turnout in Boone County higher than expected
Keriana Gamboa
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon Told ABC 17 News in a statement that voter turnout for Tuesday’s special election is larger than she expected.
“It’s slightly higher than what we were expecting. My original estimate was between 8 and 9 percent, and we could potentially be closer to 10 percent,” Lennon said hours before polls closed on Tuesday.
Final estimates on Election Night showed a 12.58% voter turnout in the county.
Voters are voting on Proposition 1, which proposes an expansion of the senior property tax freeze in Boone County. In April 2024, voters approved an exemption for senior citizens from certain property tax increases, which they have to apply for every year.
Voters at the polls today shared with ABC 17 their thoughts on today’s special election. Voter Paula Williams said she doesn’t understand why they are voting on this issue again.
“Well, I’m not sure why we have to vote about the taxpayer [question again], No. 1, because I thought that was already a thing. But I want to make sure that that goes through because I’m one of those seniors,” Williams said.
Patricia and George Stien told ABC 17 News they voted yes because it affects them.
“We voted ‘yes’ because we own property. We’re seniors, limited income. So it’s a big issue for us,” Patricia Stien said.
Gale Sallee also told ABC 17 News she voted in favor of the proposition, as well.
“I’m in the right ward. We need to vote somebody else in. And I’m a senior citizen. So no more taxes,” Sallee said.
Anthony Winkler said he voted against the proposition.
“I voted “no” on the property tax simply because I. I think we should lower property taxes for everyone. And if we lower property taxes for one demographic, they’re not going to be interested in voting on my behalf in the future,” Winkler said.
Columbia residents are also voting on the new City Council representative for Ward 2 after former Councilwoman Lisa Meyer resigned earlier this year. The candidates on the ballot to fill the seat are Ken Rice and Vera Elwood.
The Friendship Baptist Church had issues with its poll machine around 11:15 a.m., according to the supervisor there.
“Individuals had to put their ballots in what’s called the provisional ballot box. Those ballots will still be counted. And basically what happens is that we run them back through the machine at the end of the day, Kenneth Freeman said.
Freeman said some voters were disturbed when the machine was out.
“Most voters were pleasant about it. They simply follow our directions. I was standing by the machine to make sure that their votes were still kept confidential, and when they put them in the box and they moved on,” Freeman said.
Freeman said it was not a normal situation, but it was fixed before noon.
Lennon commented on the issue in a statement, saying they always prepare for those eventualities, and the staff was able to address the jam quickly.
“Voters can choose to wait for the problem to be addressed and then feed their ballot into the tabulator, or they can place their ballot in an auxiliary slot on the tabulator and our bipartisan election judge teams will feed those ballots into the tabulator at the end of election night,” Lennon said.
QUESTION OF THE DAY: Should Missouri Republicans try to redraw our congressional map?
Matthew Sanders
President Donald Trump is targeting certain states in a bid to get enough of a Republican majority in the U.S. House to make it easier to pass his agenda.
Among the states he is eyeing is Missouri, according to Third District Rep. Bob Onder, whose district covers a good chunk of Mid-Missouri. The Republicans who support the idea say Missouri is a conservative state and should have a more conservative delegation.
However, critics point out that the lines were just redrawn after the last census, as required by law. Doing it again would be unfair play, and might not stand up.
What do you think? Should the legislature give it a shot? Let us know by voting in the poll.
Columbia moves closer to launching pilot program to help unhoused residents return home
Mitchell Kaminski
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The City of Columbia agreed to amend its existing agreement with the transportation service First Last Mile to include the company in a pilot “ride home” program aimed at assisting members of the city’s homeless population.
The city inked a deal with First Last Mile in January 2024, using a portion of the $25.2 million it received through the American Rescue Plan Act, which was intended to mitigate the public health and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of the contract includes First Last Mile helping the homeless community get back and forth to work and other medical appointments.
The amendment, which was unanimously approved by the city council on Monday, will add First Last Mile as a transportation provider for the “ride home” initiative, but will not alter other terms of the original contract.
“We’re really looking at utilizing the most cost-efficient resource, and typically that’s a Greyhound. So then it’s really transportation from their location in Columbia to the bus station and then getting on the bus from that point on,” Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services Director Rebecca Roesslet said. Other communities have been able to do this with some success, and Greyhound is the most affordable way to move individuals across a greater distance.”
The initiative stems from a suggestion made during a March 17 City Council meeting, when Ward 4 Councilman Nick Foster called for a transportation program to assist unhoused individuals trying to leave Columbia and reconnect with support systems—such as family, faith communities or specialized care—outside the city.
“I’ve seen this done in other communities. And in fact, there are organizations in town, some of our agencies, who work with homeless folks who do this kind of work. They just don’t have a dedicated fund for that,” Foster told ABC 17 News.
Stakeholder interviews and feedback from Columbia’s Public Health, fire and police departments revealed a growing trend of individuals experiencing homelessness often traveling to Columbia for medical or mental health services, but not being able to return to their home communities. The lack of return options often worsened the very challenges that brought them to Columbia in the first place.
“We are a health care hub for central Missouri. We know anecdotally a lot of individuals come to Columbia County for medical care and various other reasons,” Roesslet said. “ What we’re finding is that there is a challenge on occasion for individuals to return to their home community where they have this support to help them be successful in their lives.”
The growing number of unhoused individuals from outside Columbia is increasing demand for services and further straining the city’s already overburdened resources.
“Homelessness and the unsheltered in our community are a concern for a lot of people in the community. We saw this from the community survey, but we already knew this to be true, and it is a concern that we share. So that’s where it and that’s where it initially came from,” Foster said. “I think that one of the great things about this is it’s it can be an effective manner and a compassionate manner in which to help people become stable again.”
According to a June council memo, local nonprofits like Room at the Inn and Love Columbia assist about 50 people annually with transportation, typically via donated bus tickets costing $30–$300. However, none have dedicated funding and rely on donations or partner support. Similar limitations exist for other agencies and medical providers.
A model from Lawrence, Kansas, offers a potential blueprint. There, the city funds bus tickets for non-residents who commit to a return plan, helping reduce the strain on local services.
Columbia officials believe a similar effort could benefit both unhoused individuals and the city’s overwhelmed support system, though funding would be necessary to close the current service gap.
The city still has to hammer out several details so no launch date for the pilot has been set. However, Roesslet said it will be implemented, “it will be fast.”
“Initially, we’ll be working with our providers that serve the individuals who are experiencing homelessness. All the referrals will come through them. So this isn’t at the beginning stages, ”Roesslet said. “This is not something that would be opened up to the general public. We’re going to be working really closely with those that are already providing case management services to the vulnerable population, and then they’ll work with our social service agencies in the city or social services specialists within the city who work at the health department to arrange that transportation piece.”
ABC 17 reached out to First Last Mile.
Fire at Eagle Bluffs Elementary ruled accidental
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Fire marshals have determined a fire that occurred last week while crews were working on the new Eagle Bluffs Elementary School on Sinclair Road was accidental.
Columbia Fire Department spokeswoman Katherine Rodriguez told ABC 17 News in an email the fire was accidentally caused by construction crews who were using hot torches.
The fire occurred Thursday afternoon in the 5400 block of South Sinclair Road. The new elementary school is still on track to open in 2026, according to a message last week from Columbia Public Schools spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark.
All construction workers were able to get out of the building and no injuries were reported. The fire was seen at the building’s HVAC unit on the roof.
Resurfacing to begin this week on portion of West Worley Street in Columbia
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Contractors will begin resurfacing a portion of West Worley Street at 5 p.m. Wednesday, according to a Monday press release from the City of Columbia.
Roadwork will occur from 5 p.m.-7 a.m. each day and is expected to be finished by 7 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 13.
Lane closures will occur during work hours, the release says.
No charges will be filed against Jefferson City officers who shot at woman
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
No charges will be filed against any of the Jefferson City police officers who were accused of shooting at a woman in March, according to a letter from Cole County Prosecutor Locke Thompson.
Julie Knehans was dead with a gunshot wound after police opened fire while responding to a burglary on March 7 in the 200 block of Gordon Street.
The letter from Thompson says an autopsy conducted by the Boone County Medical Examiner determined Knehans, 53, shot and killed herself. The letter says the self-inflicted shot was the only fatal wound she had.
“It is evident from close examination of the body camera footage that Ms. Knehans, who was hidden under a blanket, shot herself before officers, believing she had shot at them, opened fire on her,” the letter says.
Previous reporting indicates officers shot an armed suspect during a burglary in progress.
Jefferson City Council sends housing strategy back to administrative committee
Nia Hinson
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Jefferson City will not move forward with a housing strategy in the city for the time being.
City leaders voted on Monday night to send the strategy– aimed at helping the city with its long-term housing options– back to the administrative committee for review of the contract. The vote was 5-5, with Mayor Ron Fitzwater casting the tie-breaking vote.
The city has plans to send it back to the city council for a vote at a later date.
The city is considering the contract with Housing Innovations Group. The contract would cost the city $90,185. Funding for the contract will come from the community development block grant-disaster recovery account, if approved.
A housing needs assessment conducted in 2022 suggested that the city is in housing crisis, due to a current and projected lack of affordable housing. The need for the strategy was identified during a work session of the Capital City Housing Task Force.
Capital City Housing Taskforce Chair Susan Cook addressed council members Monday night with a presentation aimed at getting council members to sign-off on the idea. Several council members pushed back, saying they felt they needed to know more about the strategy before voting and inquired about what the strategy would actually achieve.
Following the meeting, Cook said she was disappointed with the council’s decision.
“I think a lot of them were concerned about the $90,000 and felt like that was a lot of money to be spending on a strategy,” Cook said. “I don’t think they fully understood that it’s not just building more housing. There’s preserving housing stock, there’s dealing with tenant protections. There’s a whole gauntlet when you’re talking about housing and it seems like this council was focusing more on just building new construction.”
Ward 3 Councilwoman Treaka Young was among those who voted to send the strategy back to the administrative committee. Prior to the vote, Young told ABC News she is an advocate for affordable housing in the city, but had her concerns.
“Housing is necessary around here, we need it. There’s a serious shortage here in the city with the housing and it’s preventing the city from moving forward and expanding,” Young said. “I want to make sure that approving this will not take away from the roads being able to be repaired in a fashion that would help us as well.”
The city said during Monday night’s meeting that the strategy would not take away from funds allocated for roads.
Cook said it it’s too early to know when the city council will vote on the strategy again. She said it will depend on when the item will get put back on the administrative committee’s calendar. It also isn’t clear what the $90,000 would go toward if it ultimately is not approved, though Cook said she hopes it would be put toward another project.
Cook said she’s worried about the funds having a deadline and being crunched for time trying to spedn the money on the strategy before the deadline arrives.
“This could definitely be a process,” Cook said. “It’s taken me two years for the task force to get to this point so if we spend another length of time, it’s not going to leave a lot of time to spend those funds on the actual strategy.”
City leaders also unanimously voted to approve the first phase of a 140-unit gated community on Wildwood Drive. Developers have now been given the green light to start the process of building the first phase of duplexes.
2 charged in prostitution sting in Camden County
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Two people were charged in a prostitution sting in Camden County over the weekend.
Justin Merz, 49, of Wenztville, was charged with drug possession and third-degree promoting prostitution. He is being held on a $25,000 bond at the Camden County Jail and a court date has not been scheduled.
Christine Clay, 46, of Camdenton, was charged drug possession and misdemeanor prostitution. She is being held at the Camden County Jail on a $3,000 bond
The probable cause statements say on Saturday morning, a police officer assigned to the Lake Area Human Trafficking Task Force went on a website used to promote prostitution and found an advertisement for Clay.
Officers went undercover and Clay agreed to meet and receive $200 for sex, the statement says. Clay knocked on the door of a room – with a redacted location – and was immediately arrested, the statement says.
Merz allegedly drove Clay to the spot and takes 50% of the money she gets from prostitution, the statement says. Merz allegedly denied knowing of the acts committed after he drove Clay, court documents say.
Clay was allegedly found with methamphetamine, while Merz was allegedly found with a pipe that had residue on it, court documents say.