Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

No injuries were reported in a house fire on Monday morning in the 2700 block of Bluebird Drive in Mexico, Missouri, according to a press release from the Mexico Department of Public Safety.

The home’s resident saw smoke coming from the house and called firefighters. The release says that fire was found in the basement and crews extinguished it. The room had moderate heat and fire damage, while the rest of the home had significant smoke damage, the release says.

The release says that the fire started where a large remote-controlled vehicle was charging.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A former Fulton Police Department detective was charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor in Boone County after he allegedly pointed a gun at roof workers.

Christopher Eston, 39, of Columbia, was charged on Tuesday with unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action and misdemeanor fourth-degree assault. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

Fulton Director of Administration Courtney Doyle wrote in an email to ABC 17 News that Eston is no longer employed by the police department. Dates of his employment were not immediately available.

The probable cause statement says that deputies were called to the 4300 block of South Germantown Drive on Monday for a “past weapons offense” after someone in an apartment pointed a gun at workers.

One of the victims alleged that he was with his crew while working on a roof and were told to fix a few shingles on the building next door, the statement says. A woman allegedly told them to leave and threatened to bring out dogs, the statement says. Eston then allegedly started yelling at the workers and pointed a gun at them, the statement says.

Police spoke with Eston and the woman. The woman allegedly said that they were asleep when workers started doing work on the building and she asked them to leave.

The woman allegedly showed law enforcement video, which showed her yelling at the workers, making a threat of bringing out dogs and Eston threatening to shoot them, the statement says. Eston allegedly told police that he held a gun, but did not point it, court documents say.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man with a tattoo from The Legend of Zelda has been charged with two felonies after he allegedly stole a gun and two guitars in 2023.

Dakota Fratzke, of Mexico, Missouri, was charged with second-degree burglary and stealing more than $25,000. A warrant was issued and no bond was set. He was not in custody on Tuesday afternoon.

The probable cause statement says that police were called to a Mexico residence on Oct. 9, 2023, about a burglary. Someone described as a caretaker told police that two guitars and a gun were stolen from the residence, the statement says. The total value of the items was estimated at $40,000, with one of the guitars being worth $25,000, the statement says.

Court documents say camera footage showed someone with a Triforce tattoo on their right forearm. A Triforce is a symbol from the video game The Legend of Zelda that is made up of three triangles.

The officer wrote in the statement that they learned on Dec. 3, 2024, that Fratzke had a Triforce tattor on his right forearm.

Fratzke pleaded guilty to multiple crimes on March 10, including second-degree burglary, first-degree property damage and misdemeanor stealing. He was sentenced to probation for five years along with a suspended sentence, court filings show.

A press release from December indicates that he was accused of breaking into a business in Mexico on Dec. 2 in the 300 block of Muldrow Street.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Ashland residents can expect to see a sizable increase to their sewer bill.

After Gov. Mike Kehoe on Monday used a veto to strike down $11 million from the state budget for sewer system improvements in Ashland, a city spokesperson says a 23% jump in sewer bills will occur.

The city broke ground on a wastewater treatment facility on May 5. Previous reporting indicates the expansion will increase the facility’s capacity from 600,000 gallons per day to 1.6 million gallons per day. It could treat up to 2.6 million gallons per day once it is fully built out.

Ashland spokesperson Kyle Michel wrote in an email on Tuesday that the state funding request was intended to be used to reduce rate increases for customers.

“The project will require, at a minimum, 23% rate increases on sewer bills each year for the next three years,” Michel wrote. “Funding from the state would have reduced or eliminated part of these increases and would also have positioned the City to return some aspects of the project that were cut. While it is disappointing that our funding request was cut, our project was not exclusively singled out. All wastewater funding requests were cut. We did what we could to ensure our project stayed in the budget in an effort to protect our rate payers.”

Michel wrote that the “project is under construction and will move forward regardless as it is an essential project that must happen.”

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Haley Swaino

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The ambush killing of two firefighters in Idaho on Sunday has left firefighters nationwide shaken.

While battling a blaze in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, two firefighters were killed and another was seriously injured. The gunman is believed to have started the fire to lure and target the responding firefighters, officials said.

Fire departments across Mid-Missouri have shared messages of grief since the incident.

“It is with profound sorrow that we join our profession in honoring those lost in Kootenai County, Idaho, at the Canfield Fire,” Columbia Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer says in a CFD post on Monday. “The murders were senseless and brutal.”

Schaeffer is the former Spokane Fire Chief (Washington) and told ABC 17 News he worked closely with the Idaho crew.

“It’s been tough,” Schaeffer said. I mean, it has been pretty surreal for me.”

Though separated geographically, he said he is still bonded to his firefighting brothers and sisters in Kootenai County.

“As it [ambush] was happening, I was getting pinged from folks at the scene and it’s tough when you can’t do anything about it,” Schaeffer said. “The men that were killed were exceptional human beings, good friends, and definitely very good firefighters and battalion chiefs.”

He said his heart goes out to those affected and the firefighters now working through the unimaginable.

“You hope that you never have to experience what Kootenai County is experiencing right now,” Schaeffer said. “But hope isn’t a strategy.”

He explained that no amount of training can truly prepare first responders for something like this.

“I don’t think anybody is ever expecting to go to a fire and encounter an active shooter, somebody that has purposely set up an area where they intend to kill you,” Schaeffer said. “And that’s what they were facing.”

For the past year, Schaffer said the city has been more pragmatic in planning because of incidents like this becoming a trend.

“Football games, street festivals, even parades, you’re seeing a much more unified command,” Schaeffer said. “Now we’re recognizing that there are risks that are nefarious.”

And some of those nefarious incidents have hit even closer to home.

“Like what we saw in Kansas City with a paramedic firefighter that was killed in the back of the ambulance trying to take care of somebody,” Schaeffer said. “Those type of incidents we are seeing in the data and unfortunately, it’s becoming a trend.”

“The complexity, the risks over our entire discipline have changed significantly in the last 10, 20 years,” Schaeffer said. “Certainly within the last couple. We’re seeing a lot more abuse and physical assault and attacks on first responders.”

Schaeffer said CFD has at least one captain present at every scene they respond to.

“Their responsibility is making sure that that crew goes home at the end of the day,” Schaeffer said. “She or he will be head on swivel all the time analyzing the risk based on experience, based on training, sometimes even based on guts.” Oftentimes we’ll have officers just say, ‘You know what, we’re not comfortable here.”

But to ensure that firefighter continue to make it back home each day, he said something needs to be done.

“Now the focus needs to be, how did we get here,” Schaeffer said. “How can we identify these problems before they happen and how can we go upstream? Is it mental health funding? Is it Medicare, Medicaid funding? What is it? And that’s where my mind is. Because the reality is that we can’t protect ourselves from every incident. We can’t. We just can’t.”

The Jefferson City Fire Department also shared its grief on social media Monday, saying “our hearts are heavy.”

The “tragic loss” was “an act of senseless violence,” JCFD says.

“We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Idaho as they navigate this unimaginable loss,” the post says. “Firefighters risk their lives every day to protect others — they should never have to fear being targeted for doing their job.”

The International Association of Fire Fighters is also standing in solidarity with Idahoans, calling Sunday’s incident “nothing short of horrific.”

“We mourn the loss of our two brothers, Coeur d’Alene Fire Department Battalion Chief and Local 710 member John Morrison, Jr., and Kootenai County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief and Local 2856 member Frank Harwood, and are keeping their families and loved ones in our prayers,” IAFF General President Edwards Kelly says in a press release. “Our thoughts are also with Local 710 Brother, Coeur d’Alene Fire Engineer Dave Tysdal, who was shot and remains hospitalized.”

Kelly says the IAFF ensuring first responders’ safety means holding people who make these sorts of attacks responsible.

“In no civilized nation should first responders be targets for violence,” Kelly says.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said Tuesday that his office has started an investigation into the City of Columbia’s practices related to diversity, equity and inclusion.

The investigation will focus on “decision-making in city programs, hiring and funding,” according to a news release from Bailey’s office.

“We will not allow government at any level to implement systemically racist policies under the false banner of ‘equity,’ a term which city officials have been hesitant to agree upon,” Bailey says in the news release. “Our laws are clear: race-based quotas in public policy are illegal and unconstitutional.”

Bailey added in an interview that DEI practices outside of numbers are also on the table.

“It’s not just quotas that violate the law, it’s any discriminatory practice in the context of funding, programming, financing and employment law decisions as well,” Bailey said. “If anyone is making employment decisions based on the color of a person’s skin, that is discriminatory and violates not only the Missouri Human Rights Act, but the federal Civil Rights Act as well.”

If found in violation DEI compliance, Bailey plans to sue the city and get in contact with the White House, which may jeopardize millions in federal funding for Columbia.

The release says Bailey’s office has received “multiple” reports from Columbia residents alleging discrimination in city programs.

The Columbia City Council voted last month against striking DEI-related language from the city’s mission and vision statements. The council decided to keep its vision statement to read, “Columbia is the best place for everyone to live, work, learn and play,” and its mission statement to say, “To serve the public equitably through democratic, transparent and efficient government.”

Bailey sunshine requestDownload

Columbia City Manager De’Carlon Seewood said in a statement that the city does not implement “quotas, benchmarks or metrics based on race, nor does it discriminate against any groups based on race or other identities.”

“Our goal is, and always has been, to remove barriers, ensuring that all residents have access to City services, opportunities and support,” Seewood wrote.

Local non-profit Race Matters, Folks called the investigation “hilarious,” and argued that the city would avoid violations due to a lack of DEI practices. Vice President of Race Matters, Friends Traci Wilson-Kleekamp claimed that most of the city’s DEI practices were symbolic.

“Institutionally and systemically they don’t practice, that,” Kleekamp said. “this is an opportunity for them to really step up and say, ‘we need to stop with the lip service and get down to business,’ and get down to brass tacks and hold the administration accountable and responsible for actually getting equity done.”

Bailey said the city laid down its commitment to DEI in its 2021 strategic plan.

“The City of Columbia made it clear in their 2021 Strategic Plan that they intended to adopt a ‘racial equity toolkit’ and a ‘racial equity lens.’ The people of Columbia voted for transparency, but have received ambiguous, potentially racist policies that threaten punishment for city employees who challenge the DEI narrative,” Bailey says in the release.

The release says Bailey has submitted a request for public records and electronic communication for terms related to DEI. The request covers March 1 to today. The City has three business days to submit the records or report a delay.

“We’re going to hold their feet to the fire and ensure that the people understand how their tax dollars are being used and whether or not they’re being used in a discriminatory fashion under the city’s programs,” Bailey said.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Sections of some downtown Columbia were closed Tuesday morning after a fire occurred at McNally’s Irish Pub.

ABC 17 News saw smoke visible from N Sixth Street in Columbia just before 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. A Boone County Joint Communications notification was sent out at 9:18 a.m. alerting about Broadway at Sixth Street being closed due to the fire.

In total, 41 firefighters responded to the scene. Columbia police officers were also on the scene.

The Columbia Fire Department said crews arrived within three minutes and immediately went to work. Firefighters were forced to cut through the roof to vent smoke and gain access to the fire, allowing them to get the flames under control within 20 minutes.

“It’s basically opening up a hole to make sure all that smoke gets out and clears the area so we can see better,” Columbia Fire Department spokeswoman Katherine Rodriguez said.

While crews were putting out hot spots, Columbia police officers and detectives were also on scene for several hours. An ABC 17 News reporter saw detectives leaving the bar around noon with evidence bags.

The pub’s liquor and business licenses expired on Monday, according to City of Columbia records. However, according to the Department of Public Safety, businesses still have until July 31 to renew those licenses.

Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon told ABC 17 News the business didn’t have a county liquor license for 2024 or a renewal for this year.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by Columbia Fire Marshals.

The Columbia Police Department told ABC 17 News in an email that police help out with fire calls as needed. Mostly, helping with clearing the area and making sure everything is safe. However, the department declined to comment on the investigation.

The pub shared a post on Facebook saying it was a “tough day” but that no one was hurt.

Check back for updates.

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Marie Moyer

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Monday’s Missouri Senate committee hearing brought University of Missouri Health Care and Anthem to the table, but not to a solution, as both groups walked away without a clear plan to cover the health care of thousands of Mid-Missourians.

In testimony, both MU Health Care and Anthem claimed to have made several proposals since 2024, which both parties have routinely declined.

MU Health Care’s most recent proposal has been 9%, 9%, and 8% increases over three years. Anthem recently offered a plan that featured performance benefits and pay raises over inflation. MU Health Care argued that Anthem pays them less than other local insurers and academic medical centers outside Missouri.

“Anthem rates are 10% to 20% lower than other people pay us today,” MU Health Care Chief Executive Officer Ric Ransom said. “The rates that Anthem pays, other academic health systems, other places like us in the Midwest and throughout the country, it’s 30% more.”

Rich Novack, who represented Anthem during the hearing, argued that Anthem couldn’t afford the MU’s percentage increases since Anthem administration costs have only been increasing by less than 2.5% per year. Novack also made two informal offers to MU Health Care mid-way during his testimony.

The first, a three-year contract with annual increases of 3.3%. The second offer would match Anthem’s current partnership with the University of Kentucky, an academic medical center like MU Healthcare.

“University of Kentucky, I know a lot about that one,” Novack said. “I’ll take that deal top to bottom, no alterations, no amendments. I’ll take that deal, we can sign it this afternoon and everybody goes home happy.”

In a statement from MU Health Care spokesperson Eric Maze, it is too early to respond to any offers made during the hearing without a written proposal.

“MU Health Care is simply requesting rates on par with those paid by other managed care companies in the region and comparable to the rates Anthem pays other academic health systems,” Maze said. “Without fair payment from Anthem, MU Health Care, the region’s only academic health system and one of only two safety net providers in the state, is being forced to fight for its future while defending the health of an entire region.”

In a statement from an Anthem spokesperson, they claimed the hearing was productive in negotiations.

“Following the hearing, Anthem met with MU Health Care leadership to continue discussions,” the Anthem spokesperson said in the statement. “We’re encouraged that some initial progress has been made and remain committed to working toward a solution that restores in-network access while protecting affordability for the Missourians we serve.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 44-year-old Eldon man remained in jail Tuesday afternoon following his arrest after a standoff at a Miller County home.

Lawrance J. Giddens, 44, was charged on Tuesday with four counts of illegal gun possession, one count of illegally possessing an illegal weapon and a count of resisting arrest.

Giddens held deputies and state troopers in a standoff Monday in Miller County and was “believed to be armed” with a gun, the Miller County Sheriff’s Office says.

The standoff happened in the 100 block of Witt Road, south of Eldon.

An ABC 17 News reporter saw over a dozen law enforcement vehicles, most of which were of the Miller County Sheriff’s Office – surrounding a home.

The probable cause statement says that law enforcement was at the residence serving a failure-to-appear warrant. He was charged in Morgan County with failing to register as a sex offender and two infractions of driving without a license and not having plates. A $50,000 bond was set in that case.

The statement says that law enforcement was contacted by someone claiming that Giddens was armed with multiple guns and willing to shoot officers.

The reporter saw law enforcement use an armored vehicle to send a gas canister into the home around 7:45 p.m. There appeared to be someone in custody shortly after. The scene cleared out around 8 p.m.

Giddens refused to come out of a home when troopers and deputies ordered him to, a sheriff’s office release says.

Kyle Green, of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, told ABC 17 News that the patrol’s SWAT team was at the residence.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Callaway County deputies on Monday used spike strips to stop a truck and trailer that was reported stolen, the sheriff’s office wrote in a Monday evening social media post.

The sheriff’s office wrote that it was notified by the Boone County Sheriff’s Office that deputies were chasing a stolen truck and trailer on eastbound Interstate 70. Callaway County deputies put down spike strips near the Hatton exist, which the truck ran through, the post says.

The driver kept going to the Kingdom City exit and pulled over after seeing more deputies, the post indicates. Boone County deputies took the man into custody.

Brian Leer, of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, told ABC 17 News that Eric Burn, 39, was arrested.

Leer stated in a text message that Burns stole a truck from Green Meadows Carwash after “he was tired of walking.” Deputies tried to do a traffic stop, but he sped away, leading to the chase, Leer said.

Burns was listed on the Boone County Jail online roster on Monday night. Charges have yet to appear on Casenet. Jail records indicate that he was arrested on suspicion of stealing a vehicle, resisting arrest and tampering with a motor vehicle.

Burns also had a warrant for his arrest for failing to appear in Howard County court in February. In that case, he was charged with two misdemeanors: Failing to register a vehicle and driving without a license. A $250 bond was set for that warrant.

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