Category: kmiz-local-news

ABC 17 News Team

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

People Not Politicians has filed a notice of appeal over ballot language that would ask voters whether or not to approve the 2025 “Missouri First” congressional map.

The group says the ballot summary written by the Missouri secretary of state was unfair and biased.

The ballot language says the new congressional boundaries keep more cities and counties intact and more compact. The executive director of people not politicians disagrees with calling the 20-25 maps “compact.”

The notice of appeal says that issue is expected to be discussed.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 79-year-old woman from Phelps County admitted to acting as a money mule in a $2 million lottery scam, according to a Wednesday press release from the Department of Justice.

Sharon Dolisi pleaded guilty in the Eastern District Court of Missouri to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. The release says she admitted to “admitted depositing cashier’s checks and personal checks from 28 victims into her personal bank accounts from about April 21, 2023, to June 11, 2025.”

She will be sentenced on June 25 and faces a potential 20-year prison sentence. One bank closed her account after the first deposit, the release says.

“On Oct. 28, 2024, Dolisi lied when she told law enforcement officials that she was not receiving money from or sending money to other people. Four days later, in response to an inquiry by bank representatives about three large cash withdrawals totaling $64,500, Dolisi falsely claimed that she buys and sells gold,” the release says. “On June 27, 2025, Dolisi told a bank representative that she immediately needed $54,000 in cash to buy gold and collectibles.”

She allegedly gave debit cards to “co-conspirators in Jamaica,” the release says. Those people would then withdraw money obtained through lottery frauds. Victims were allegedly called and told they won the lottery, but needed to “prepay taxes and fees,” the release says.

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Steven Lambson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The St. Charles Road overpass on I-70 will close in mid-April for demolition and replacement, with the latter phase expected to take upwards of five months.

According to a news release from MoDOT, crews will start bridge demolition at 7 p.m. on April 10 and work until 6 a.m. on April 13. During that time, both directions of I-70 in the area will narrow to one lane each, and drivers will be directed up the off-ramps and down the on-ramps at the exit.

MoDOT added there will be no access to St. Charles Road as well, and drivers will need to find alternate routes to access I-70.

Normal traffic will resume once demolition is finished, according to MoDOT. At that time the ramps will be reopened for access to the interstate. MoDOT expects construction of the new overpass to continue through the end of September.

The news release said the new overpass, which is part of the Columbia-to-Kingdom City portion of the larger Improve I-70 project, will be wider to accommodate three lanes in each direction of the interstate. It will also be taller to allow more clearance for taller vehicles.

MoDOT said the overpass will also feature pedestrian crossings and “enhanced aesthetics.”

You can read more about the specifics of the project here.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Police Department has identified the person from human remains that were found last year at Rock Forks Lake Conservation Area.

Police wrote in a Wednesday press release that the remains were of Daniel Thompson, 41, who was a Columbia man who went missing in 2023. Police wrote in the release that the remains were identified on March 17.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol announced last year that human remains were found on March 22, 2025, at Rocky Fork Lakes Conservation Area in Boone County. Amy said he was found deep in the woods of the conservation area.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Office had asked the MSHP Division of Drug and Crime Control to investigate the scene, according to previous reporting.

In July 2023, Missouri Missing conducted multiple searches for Thompson after his vehicle was found at the Rocky Fork Conservation Area. Daniel’s sister, Amy Thompson said a spurt of bad weather in the days following her brother’s disappearance made search efforts difficult and unsuccessful at the time.

Amy Thompson said the announcement has helped bring some closure to her family.

“Some of our searches were delayed, some were canceled, we had search dogs out there,” Amy Thompson said. “We kind of thought that it might not get answers because things could be covered up or scents could be covered up that the dogs wouldn’t be able to track.”

However, her family still had hope he could still come back home alive. Even with the remains now identified as Daniel, Amy Thompson said her family still doesn’t know exactly how he died and that they may never know.

“Was he out there for a while? Did he fall and get injured? It was such a long period of time from the time that he went missing, until the time any evidence was found, that all of those questions will remain unanswered,” Amy Thompson said.

Amy Thompson said she and her family will remember Daniel by his silly personality and the way he loved his children.

“We’ve spent this weekend going through all the videos of all the fun times with him and in every video we have he’s laughing and giggling and joking around,” she said.

Renee Bosch said she became friends with Daniel Thompson while working with him at the Truman VA Medical Center after bonding with him over their shared experience of serving in the military. Bosch said Daniel always had a smile on his face.

“We never really seemed to be weighed down by anything,” Bosch said. “Just being around someone that appreciates those small things in life, it reminds you of what is really important in this world and Daniel, he chose to see that.”

She also said Daniel would always make an effort to uplift others around him any chance he got.

Several bodies have been found in the conservation area over the years, including the remains of Angela Rice in 2022, which were found more than three months after she was reported missing.

In August 2022, the Missouri State Highway Patrol identified the body of Michael Smith, who went missing while fishing with two friends, previous reporting indicates.

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Ryan Shiner

BOONVILLE, Mo. (KMIZ)

Police were at the Isle of Capri casino on the Boonville riverfront Wednesday afternoon investigating.

The Howard County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a now-deleted Wednesday evening social media post that an armed robbery occurred at the casino and that multiple agencies are investigating.  

The sheriff’s office wrote that two men with rifles were involved and sped away in a vehicle to Howard County. The vehicle was found on Howard County Road 344 with no occupants, the release says.The sheriff’s office wrote that the Missouri State Highway Patrol used a helicopter during the search.  

Lt. Eric Brown, of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, later told ABC 17 News that one of the men held a long gun and the second had a handgun. He said they got away in a Ford Taurus before abandoning it and getting into another vehicle that has not been identified.

An MSHP press release from later in the night said an “unknown amount of money” was taken from the casino.

Information related to the robbery at Isle of Capri Casino in Boonville, MO on March 25, 2026. pic.twitter.com/fd1q8UbiBM

— MSHP General HQ (@MSHPTrooperGHQ) March 26, 2026

Boonville police referred questions to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, though it later referred to the robbery as an “incident” on its Facebook page. The patrol did not immediately respond to questions.

Boonville police said the casino would be closed for the rest of the evening.

Check back for updates to this developing situation.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A woman who was described as a hired caretaker for a disabled person in Boone County has been charged with two felonies after she allegedly stole money from the patient’s debit account.

Cassandra Cook, 34, of Columbia, was charged on Wednesday with stealing more than $750 and fraudulently using a debit card. She is being held at the Boone County Jail on a $10,000 bond. A court appearance was held on Wednesday.

The probable cause statement claims the victim on March 16 gave police bank statements from Sept. 3, 2025-March 13, 2026, that showed fraudulent purchases from Victoria’s Secret, DoorDash, TikTok Shop, Doug Perry Towing, Jonesboro Jail ATM and several Walmart and ATM withdrawals.

The victim allegedly allowed Cook to use his debit card so he could have groceries and other items, but did not allow her to use it for herself, the statement says. The victim told police he would “often lose his card at which point Cook offered to hold onto it for him so he would not lose it, which he agreed to,” court documents say.

The victim claimed he never ordered from DoorDash and account information provided by DoorDash allegedly showed an account registered to Cook had the victim’s debit card listed with it, the statement says.

Cook allegedly spent $4,245.39 of the victim’s money while working for Providence Homecare, the statement indicates.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

As some Missouri lawmakers work to pass a bill that would kick-start the process to eliminate state income tax, some seniors living on fixed incomes are worried about what this would do to their monthly budget.

Senators are considering House Joint Resolution 173, which would phase out the income tax by 2032. If the General Assembly approves the bill, the question would go to voters in November for final approval.

Lawmakers haven’t written any new tax codes — that would be a task for the 2027 General Assembly — but the bill sponsors, Speaker of the House Jon Patterson (R-Lee’s Summit) and Rep. David Bishop (R-Republic), say the way to make up revenue loss from income taxes is by expanding the sales tax base to include services.

Income tax makes up about two-thirds of the state’s revenue. While lawmakers have addressed one way to make it up, they haven’t added explicit protections for a property tax credit for low-income seniors and 100% disabled people that is directly tied to state income tax.

Services for Independent Living, located in Columbia, helps seniors file for the property tax credit. Spokesperson Karen Sicheneder said people file for the credit with their state income tax, and it’s returned the same way.

The credit is known as the “circuit breaker” and is meant to keep the elderly and disabled in their homes.

“If you’re not paying income tax, where are you getting that money from? So this would effectively destroy the circuit breaker, if they eliminated income tax,” Sicheneder said.

According to the Department of Revenue, people who own and live in their homes could receive up to $1,100, while renters could see up to $750 as a one-time payment.

People don’t have to file their income taxes to apply for and receive the tax credit.

For seniors like Brian Page, who lives on a fixed income of less than $1,500 a month, the money he gets back from the tax credit is used immediately.

Page is 80 years old and battling cancer, so a lot of his money goes toward health care. The money he receives from the tax credit once a year is crucial.

“What I think is a bigger issue in all of this is not the politics, but how do we treat one another? Do we do it with kindness and compassion and respect for one another, acknowledging the burdens that older people like myself have already walked the walk?” Page said. “And to tell us you are responsible until your last breath to pay at the rate that everybody else is, is not fair and reasonable.”

ABC 17 News has reached out to the Department of Revenue to request numbers on how many people are enrolled in the program and how much the state pays out.

Boone County Accessor Kenny Mohr was able to provide a glimpse at how many people filed paperwork associated with the tax credit. People typically submit a 948 form when they’re eligible for the property tax credit but live on land that’s over five acres.

2023: 43

2024: 41

2025: 15

Mohr said the 2025 number will grow as tax day, April 15, comes closer, and more people submit their paperwork.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia police incident report provides more details about the arrest of the leader of the Columbia Firefighters’ Union.

Zachary Privette, 38, was arrested on Monday night. Online records show he was released from jail after posting a $4,500 bond.

The report states officers were called Monday to Trumans Bar and Grill at 9:10 p.m. for a physical altercation. It adds that the victim was a man, born in 1962.

Privette was arrested on suspicion of third-degree assault involving a special victim. No formal charges have been filed as of Wednesday morning.

Columbia Police Department spokesman Colin Imhoff told ABC 17 News the incident was determined to involve a “special victim” because “the victim was considered to be elderly according to Missouri law.”

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Jazsmin Halliburton

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Jefferson City and Cole County Public Works held a City Coffee event for the community Wednesday morning to learn about various city and county projects.

In January, Cole County commissioners approved a resolution to renew the capital improvement sales tax for 2027, which will need voter approval in April. If approved by voters, the sales tax will be in effect for 10 years and will start in January 2027. In previous years, the sales tax was extended for only five years.

In this meeting, Public Works Director Kyle Bruemmer and Cole County Public Works Director Eric Landwehr discussed Jefferson City’s cooperative projects funded through the Capital Improvement Program tax. The projects through the tax are joint city and county projects.

According to Public Works Director Eric Landwehr, going from a five-year to a ten-year extension was due to the process of acquiring grants becoming longer, along with several other factors, which made the projects drag out.

If the CIP sales tax were to be approved by voters, one of the top priorities for both Cole County and Jefferson City is fixing the High Street viaduct. The city is looking to receive grants to help fund the viaduct that would be in addition to the money provided by the sales tax.

“It’s such a pretty good price tag there. So just this tax alone, it’s going to be difficult to support that one project,” said Jefferson City Public Works Director Kyle Bruemmer. “It would eat up a lot of funds elsewhere. So we’re trying to get grant money to pair with tax money and improve that bridge.”

The tax money would fund work on roads and bridges, including construction, repairs and updates. The county sales tax rate, including the half-cent that was approved in 2021, is 5.6%.

If the sales tax is not approved by voters, it would set the county back and the county would not be able to take care of its roadways. “Overlays go away, improving stormwater goes away. And so it’ll just set us in a position that every year that sales tax is not renewed, we’ll get so far behind in taking care of our system that we won’t be able to catch up,” said Landwehr.

Cole County citizens will be able to vote for the CIP sales tax on April 7. Jefferson City citizens will have the opportunity to vote again in August.

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Matthew Sanders

Gas prices have rocketed up as the United States and Israel have pummeled Iran with bombs, and the Islamic hardline regime there has fought back with missiles and drones.

The biggest complication is Iran’s threats against shipping in the Straight of Hormuz, which have led in part to large jumps in oil and natural gas prices. Hits on infrastructure by Iran and Israel have added to the market turbulence.

But as always, some area cities retain a distinct advantage in gas prices, as you can see using our Fuel Finder. Would you drive to another city just for gas?

Let us know by voting in the poll.

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