Category: kmiz-local-news

Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) 

After delaying a vote earlier this month, holding hours of discussion and hearing concerns from several residents, the Columbia City Council unanimously approved placing a proposed 1% sales tax for public safety on the August ballot.

Monday marked the City Council’s final opportunity to approve the proposal in time for the August ballot after council members voted 4-3 on May 4 to table the issue. The council ultimately approved the measure Monday night following more than an hour of discussion that included presentations from Columbia Police Chief Jill Schlude, Columbia Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer and Chief Financial Officer Matthew Lue.

With the council’s approval, voters will now see this question on the August ballot:

“Shall the municipality of Columbia, Missouri impose an additional citywide sales tax at a rate of one percent, solely for the purpose of providing revenues to improve public safety for the city, which shall be limited to expenditures on equipment, salaries and benefits, and facilities for police and fire departments?”

If approved, the ordinance would add a 1% general sales tax, with the revenue generated going solely to the Columbia Police Department and Columbia Fire Department. 

According to Monday’s council memo, the city estimates that the 1% sales and use tax dedicated to public safety will produce $38 million in revenue. 

But Schaeffer said that with the proposal now approved by the council, the hard work begins: convincing voters to support it in August. Both CPD and CFD say that they plan on launching an educational campaign to help show voters how the money would be used. 

“Now, the real work starts.  We have an educational campaign where we have to go out and engage with the public and help them understand the real tangible benefits of their hard-earned money into making Columbia a safer community,” Schaffer told ABC 17 News. “We got here because we fell behind, horribly behind by not increasing public safety staff staffing in accordance with the growth of the city. So we need to have that wiggle room so we can go, okay, how much did we grow this year?  How much more capacity do we need?  We’ve never had that approach in this city, and that is vital to staying caught up with us. “

The goal of the ordinance is to help both departments increase staffing, cover facility upgrades, and buy new equipment. Specific priorities listed by the city under the proposed sales tax include: 

Increase CPD staffing to 50 officers over four years

Increase CFD staffing to 40 firefighters over four years

Build a new Police Facility

Purchase new police vehicles and equipment 

Build two new fire stations with apparatus 

Renovate three current fire stations

Develop a police and fire technology plan

Maintain competitive wages 

Schulde says that the most glaring need is staffing. 

“We’ve got to get some relief for our folks.  We’ve got to get to a sufficient number of people, resources to respond to the things we’re being asked to respond to in a city of this size.  And as some of the council members alluded to, this isn’t a problem that just started a year or two years ago.It’s compounded over well over 20 years.  And so now we’re trying to dig out of that hole and hopefully stay out of it with this type of funding,” Schulde said. 

Schlude added that the additional revenue would help both departments keep pace, saying the city has relied on reserve funds in recent years, a strategy she said is not sustainable as officials work to address current staffing and infrastructure needs. However, Schulde acknowledged that convincing voters to pay more in taxes is going to be a tough challenge. 

“Our building is old. He’s [Schaffer’s] got fire stations sinking into the ground.  Just really making that very real for people and helping them to understand that this need isn’t going to stop,” Schulde said. 

“We have a unique, really unique system here in Columbia because the city government does so much, “ Schaffer added. “We have a train bus system.  We run our own utility. That isn’t normal for a majority of the Midwest.  We’ve taken on a lot, and it’s put a lot of pressure on our general fund. So we need to have solutions like that.”

CPD also said that they have had difficulties getting some of the modern technology they need, which is why Schulde said part of the funds would go toward a technology plan. 

“Look at things like the flock program, other safety programs  I’ve been very open about. I think we need to look at drones as first responders. It’s another huge safety and workforce multiplier.  All those things cost money and up to now, every time something new comes out that we feel could help not only the officers or the firefighters but the community, we have to come with our hand out to the council and they have to make these really hard decisions about where that money’s going to come from,” Schulde told ABC 17 News. “Frankly, sometimes it’s coming while the time has come from reserves.  So having a dedicated funding source to help keep up with those technology assets  is so important because I don’t think it’s technology’s not going to stop in our profession.” 

The current sales tax rate for Columbia sits at nearly 8% (7.975%), with 4.2% coming from the state, 2% from the city, and 1.75% from Boone County. The 2% from the City of Columbia currently includes a 1% general sales tax, 0.5% transportation sales tax, 0.25% capital improvement sales tax and 0.25% park sales tax.

Council Votes To Pause Potential Data Center Projects, Prohibit Gaming Machines

The city council also approved an ordinance that will pause the acceptance and processing of permits for new or expanding data center projects for one year.

The proposal follows an April decision to create a new zoning definition for data centers and classify them as a conditional use in the General Industrial district. The move requires Planning and Zoning Commission review and final approval by the council.

According to city staff, the temporary delay will give the city time to develop additional use-specific standards and clearer evaluation criteria for data center proposals. Officials have raised concerns about the potential impacts of data centers, including heavy demands on electrical and water infrastructure and possible effects on surrounding land uses that may require additional buffering or screening.

Staff initially recommended a six-month pause but now suggest a one-year delay, citing the need for community engagement and a full regulatory review process.

A similar ordinance was passed in Camdenton earlier this month.

The city council also voted unanimously to add an ordinance prohibiting electronic gaming machines in city limits. Council members moved ahead with the approval, while recognizing it essentially duplicates a statewide ban on the machines. At Monday’s meeting, Schlude said of all the businesses officers have visited, machines had either been removed or were still there but not powered on. The ordinance says a violation is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A probable cause statement filed by the Stover Police Department details a violent assault that allegedly occurred just after midnight on Saturday morning.

Details of the assault appeared in the probable cause statement for Austin Beckmann, who was charged in Morgan County on Monday with first-degree burglary. A warrant was issued and a $5,000 was set.

Court documents allege Beckmann was one of three men who broke into a home on Saturday that led to an assault. Charges were not filed against the other men on Monday and their names were redacted in the probable cause statement.

The victim allegedly awoke to two men standing over him before getting choked and punched by both, the statement says. The victim was allegedly dragged out of bed and into a hallway while the assailants put him in a continued choke hold, court documents say.

The victim allegedly told police that he thought he was going to die from the attack “due to his airway being restricted and experiencing tunnel vision,” court documents say. The victim was eventually able to break free of the choke hold and ran away, which is when the three men supposedly left, the statement says.

Beckmann was one of the three men identified by the victim and witnesses. The witnesses allegedly told law enforcement that they were watching television when Beckmann and the other men entered the residence. They allegedly yelled that they wanted the victim before running to the back of the home and breaking down a bedroom door, the statement says.

The witnesses described seeing the latter part of the assault that matched the victim’s description, the statement says.

Police noted that they were told Beckmann allegedly “was not observed physically assaulting” the victim.

The victim was brought to St. Mary’s Hospital in Jefferson City by a private vehicle, the statement says.

All three men were allegedly detained and put on 24-hour holds, but would not speak with police, the statement says. Beckmann was not listed on the jail’s online roster on Monday afternoon.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Missouri group behind the push to put a new Congressional map on the ballot has filed another lawsuit involving the mid-decade redistricting efforts.

People Not Politicians filed a lawsuit on Monday in Cole County that demands for Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to decide whether or not the petition to put the map on the ballot for voters is sufficient or not. It also asks that the House bill passed to approve the map be declared illegal.

The group had held a rally on Friday in Jefferson City that demanded the certification to take place.

“Plaintiff von Glahn has an absolute statutory right to challenge Defendant Hoskins’ determination as to the sufficiency of the Referendum but can do so only once Secretary Hoskins has issued the required certificate. § 116.200.1, RSMo,” the lawsuit says.

PNP accused Hoskins and Attorney General Catherine Hanaway of “strong-arming” county clerks following a back-and-forth that occurred last week after Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon wrote a letter stating that she was not able to redraw district lines within the county because the certification process was “not finally determined.”

That came after a state Supreme Court ruling determined submitting a referendum petition did not automatically suspend the bill that created the new map. Hoskins responded to Lennon in a press release indicating the new map would be in effect during the August primary.

Lennon had rebutted Hoskins’ claim that same day, claiming his office had “not made the necessary updates to the statewide voter registration system to let any clerk update their precincts to reflect the new maps.”

That led to Missouri state Sen. Rick Brattin (R-Cass County) to filing a grievance on the debate floor last week, and eventually asked for Attorney General Catherine Hanaway to take action.  

“The Supreme Court of Missouri made it clear there was one path needed to be able to conduct an election that all Missourians can be confident in. We need to take that path,” Richard von Glahn, Executive Director of People Not Politicians said in a Monday press release. “There are more than enough signatures, verified by election authorities, to qualify the referendum. In refusing to admit what is plain to see, Secretary Hoskins is risking conducting an invalid election, a grave injustice to all Missourians, regardless of political party. He is ignoring the pleas of countless county clerks, who only wish to conduct elections their voters can have confidence in. Too much is at stake, the games must stop.”

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Ryan Shiner

HUNSTVILLE, Mo. (KMIZ)

Four people charged in connection with the death of a Moberly teenager appeared in court on Monday.

Alayna Mason, 20, and Hunter Ames, both of Moberly, are charged with first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in the death of 16-year-old Kayla Huff. Ames faces an additional charge of tampering with evidence.

Dave Kirschner was assigned as a special public defender for Mason. She has a hearing scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 23, while Ames has a hearing scheduled for bond hearing at 1:30 p.m. Monday, June 1.

Christopher Hull, 23, and Julian Mason, 26, both of Moberly, also appeared in court. They are both charged with kidnapping and tampering with evidence. They have a hearing scheduled for at 1:30 p.m. Monday, June 1.

All four people are being held at the Randolph County Jail without bond and Hull, Ames and Julian Mason all applied for a public defender. A juvenile is also accused in the case.

Huff went missing earlier this month and was found dead by authorities last week.

A probable cause statement says Alayna Mason told investigators that she, with help from Ames and Hull, had taken Huff to the Rudolf Bennitt Conservation Area in Randolph County with an unknown person in the trunk of a vehicle, where they beat and shot her. Ames allegedly told investigators that the group killed Huff, court documents in previous reporting show.

Court documents in Julian Mason’s case say he helped to pour motor oil into the gas tank of Huff’s car and helped dispose of a telescoping baton reportedly used in the crime near the Chariton/Carroll County line.

Alayna Mason is also charged with stealing a vehicle, stealing a gun and escaping confinement after she allegedly stole a Randolph County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle.

Skyler Powell, 24, of Moberly, was accused of helping Alayna Mason evade police and was charged with hindering the prosecution of a felony. He is also being held at the Randolph County Jail and is due back in court at 1:30 p.m. Thursday for a bond hearing.

Randolph County Prosecutor Stephanie Luntsford says its unclear if Powell could be charged in connection to Huff’s murder.

“I think at this point that would be a preliminary determination on if there is any evidence that would indicate he was involved in anything in that capacity but this investigation is ongoing, so at this point I don’t necessarily know,” Luntsford said.

In some cases, suspects can undergo trial together, but Luntsford says separate trials are more common.

“There are mechanism in place where defendants can be tried at the same time when its the same evidence but most generally we would see those cases tried separately,” She added.

The five adult suspects remain in the Randolph County Jail, while the juvenile suspect is being held at a Juvenile Detention Center.

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Ryan Shiner

CENTRALIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Centralia home was seen smoking for hours on Monday.

Firefighters were called at 12:59 p.m. to the 23000 block of North March Road for a report of a house fire, according to dispatch logs.

Firefighters saw smoke coming from the building when they arrived, according to a Boone County Fire Protection District assistant chief.The home was still smoking when an ABC 17 News reporter was on the scene around 2:30 p.m.

There were seven fire trucks and five response trucks on the scene, as well as an ambulance.

Boone County Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Chuck Leake told ABC 17 News at the scene that there were no injuries. He also stated the age of the home, 124 years, played a role in the fire taking longer to put out.

Check back for updates.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Hundreds of people were still without power Monday afternoon near the Lake of the Ozarks.

Storms caused a significant number of people to lose power earlier in the day, with more than 3,700 electricity customers in Columbia at one point being without power.

The outage map for the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives showed there were 238 Southwest Electric Co-op customers in Hickory County without power at around 1:30 p.m., while Morgan County saw 208 Co-Mo Electric Cooperative customers without power and Camden County had 83 households without power, nearly all of which were Southwest Electric consumers.

Benton County had 159 customers without power, nearly all of which were for Southwest Electric.

Ameren’s outage map showed there were 125 consumers in Gasconade County without power, while the AMEC map showed 97 Three Rivers Electric customers did not have power and 14 Crawford Electric customers were experiencing an outage.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Boonville man is accused of breaking into a Rolla apartment and threatening to kill two people on Sunday morning.

Shawn Allen, 27, is charged in Phelps County with first-degree burglary, two counts of first-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action. He is being held at the Phelps County Jail on a $500,000 bond.

The probable cause statement says police were called just after 3 a.m. Sunday for a reported burglary. Allen allegedly woke up the victims by pounding on their apartment door while “flashing a gun he had concealed in his waistband,” the statement says.

Allen allegedly kicked in the door and pointed a gun at the two victims, the statement says. Police wrote that Allen nodded “yes,” when they asked him if he was going to kill the victims.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Boone County Medical Examiner is set to perform an autopsy Tuesday on a body found in Perche Creek, an MU Health Care spokesman confirmed on Monday.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Office recovered the body Sunday night. The body was allegedly found altered suspiciously and in a decomposing state inside a container. The container was found by fishermen in the area after they saw it floating in the water.

Jason West, a City of Columbia Utilities spokesman, confirmed with ABC 17 News on Monday the container was a City of Columbia roll cart. The Solid Waste division is also working with investigators on where the cart was registered.

“Those [roll carts] are registered to a residence, they are not registered to customers, so we are able to look up and see what address that roll cart is associated with,” West said.

Nearly 38,000 carts are currently being used in the city. According to the city’s website, carts will have barcodes assigned to a specific address and a missing or stolen cart will be brought back to its assigned location if reported.

“There are occasions where carts go missing, especially if there might be a transfer of residence. Someone moving in, a resident takes their roll cart, not knowing that it’s supposed to stay at that address,” West said. “We have had a few where they’ve kind of disappeared all of a sudden.”

West adds that this is a first-time occurrence for the city.

“We have had reports of people decorating their roll carts or roll carts getting damaged, but this is the first one,” West said.

Capt. Brian Leer with the Boone County Sheriff’s office told ABC 17 News that investigators have not been reported at the scene today. However, officials may return to the area as the investigation continues. He adds that with current weather conditions, investigations may be affected by changing water levels.

The department has also not yet released any suspects related to the investigation.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Moberly man is in custody after officials claim he helped a woman accused of murder escape from law enforcement custody.

Skyler Powell, 24, is charged with hindering the prosecution of a felony in Randolph County. He is accused of helping hide Alayna Mason after she allegedly stole a Randolph County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle.

Powell is being held at the Randolph County Jail without bond. He was booked into the jail on Saturday and charges appeared on Monday. He appeared for an arraignment on Monday afternoon and is due back in court at 1:30 p.m. Thursday for a bond hearing.

Powell was allegedly an “overnight guest” at Mason’s residence on May 7, court documents say. The probable cause statement says Mason told him that she stole a patrol vehicle and Powell “permitted” Mason to hide herself in the basement of the building. He also allegedly cut Mason’s handcuffs.

Mason is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in the death of 16-year-old Kayla Huff. She is also charged with stealing a vehicle, stealing a gun and escaping confinement in the patrol vehicle theft case.

She will appear in court Monday afternoon along with Hunter Ames – who is also charged with first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping – and Christopher Hull and Julian Mason, who are each charged with first-degree kidnapping and tampering with evidence.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 30-year-old Macks Creek woman died in a crash after her vehicle hydroplaned in Camden County, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The crash occurred in the eastbound lane of Highway 54, west of Route AA, according to the report.

The report says the woman’s 2017 Hyundai Sonata hydroplaned as it was heading westbound and started to spin. The vehicle crossed the centerline and hit a 1997 Chevrolet GMT – driven by a 39-year-old Roach man.

The Hyundia went off the left side of the road and hit a guardrail, the report says. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The report says she was wearing a seatbelt.

The man also wore a seatbelt and was brought to Lake Regional Hospital by ambulance, according to the report.

A 63-year-old Columbia man was also hurt in a separate weather-related crash Monday in Jefferson County.

According to the crash report the man was driving southbound on Highway 55, north of Imperial Main street when his car began sliding on the wet roadway, traveled off the left side of the road and struck the concrete median barrier. When he returned to the road, he collided slightly with another car causing him to travel off the right side of the road and hit a fence.

Dobbs Tire and Auto Centers reports the best way to avoid hydroplaning is to first make sure the car tires are properly inflated and that the tire tread is not thin or bare. After getting on the road take it slow, keep the cruis control off and avoid driving through puddles or standing water.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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