Category: kmiz-local-news

Collin Anderson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Battle blocker Nadine Ira went “Beyond the Game” with ABC 17 Sports Reporter Collin Anderson, after the Spartans had their best regular season in school history.

You can find a full transcript of the interview below.

Collin Anderson: “What is up, everyone? Welcome back to another edition of Beyond the Game, where we are at Battle High School, joined by Spartan Volleyball superstar Nadine Ira. Nadine, it’s been kind of a very good season for you guys so far. Can you kind of give me your assessment of how the year’s been going?”

Nadine Ira: “We started a little bit rocky, but we played a new team. We’ve never played this team before. Troy. We went there, was two hours away, and it was a battle, definitely. But we were left with the win, and I feel like it was a great start to the season. And yeah, ever since then it’s just been good.”

Anderson: “What do you think has contributed to your single-season success so far?”

Ira: “I think definitely my teammates. My teammates are very positive, and like if anything happens on the court, they’re always like there with positive feedback and always helping me get back up and game that confidence back up.”

Anderson: “Where are you so dangerous? What makes your game so dangerous?”

Ira: “I wouldn’t say I’m necessarily dangerous, but I feel like I’m definitely one of the players. Like if I do anything, like I could hit a ball 10 feet out the wall, like, I’m definitely going to stay composed and like, okay, that’s fine. Like next ball, like set me right now, like I’m definitely one of those players.”

Anderson: “Building off of that, do you have a player that you have a lot of chemistry, that you’re like, they know exactly where I am.”

Ira: “Yeah, I do. I think Tristan, we connect a lot really well and I think Tyelle because we’re both blockers. She likes to set the block for me. I feel like we work so well together, and I feel like the chemistry there is just good.”

Anderson: “Why do you think that is?”

Ira: “I think for Tyelle it’s because we’re both tall. And I just like to, you know, bond with her when she gets a block. I’m like, ‘Oh, my gosh, that looks so good. I want one too.’ It’s just definitely fun playing with her.”

Anderson: “It’s a little back and forth, you get one, I get one.”

Ira: Yeah, we like to share. Like it’s your turn now since I got one, you have to get one too.”

Anderson: “Why do you think having two players that are as dynamic as you, that like to be as flashy and dominant as you two, how do you think that gives your team an advantage?”

Ira: “I think it’s just fun to watch and it’s fun to play against, and I think it’s just a definitely an asset necessity to have.”

Anderson: “Well, Nadine, thank you so much, and for you guys, you just went Beyond the Game.”

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Demetra Alarcon

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Gov. Mike Kehoe was joined by state officials and U.S. attorneys in his office Thursday to announce the start of an anti-fraud crackdown dubbed “Operation Show-Me the Money.”

This operation is a collaboration between the State of Missouri and the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute individuals and entities that defraud state benefit programs. The collaboration will bring together state and federal resources to identify potential fraud and strengthen oversight, officials said.

“We’re bringing all the full force of state and federal law enforcement together to send a clear message. If you’re stealing from Missouri taxpayers, we are coming after you,” Kehoe said.

This operation is a collaborative effort between the Kehoe administration, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office and the DOJ, bringing staff together from the Missouri Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the DOJ.

The initiative relies on a three-pronged strategy that starts with tips from frontline staff and referrals from ongoing state investigations. Investigators will then launch targeted reviews of specific benefit programs to spot suspicious activity, while also cross-referencing data across multiple agencies to uncover hidden patterns of abuse and emerging trends.

“One of the other new things that we’re talking about today is that we have a cooperation agreement with the federal government, so that assistant attorneys general are being sworn in as special United States attorneys to assist in the prosecution of these crimes at both the state and federal level,” said Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway.

Matt Price, United States attorney for the Western District of Missouri, said this initiative builds on the momentum of a summer of fighting fraud in Missouri. Price said the U.S. attorneys’ offices in Missouri prosecuted cases accounting for $62 million in “actual and intended fraud losses.”

In an interview with ABC 17 News, Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick said this operation is a state government approach to reducing waste and eliminating fraud.

“Fighting fraud and waste in government is what we [the auditor’s office] do all day, every day. And so, you know, we’re obviously happy to have Gov. Kehoe and his commitment to participating in that in a larger way, as well as the attorney general’s office,” Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick said although this is the start of an official partnership, an unofficial one has existed, but this allows more focus on the topic.

“So the governor, I think, is just taking it very seriously and wants to partner in ways that maybe they hadn’t received as high-level attention as he’s wanting to give it in prior administrations,” Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick said the first meeting for this group is set for Nov. 5.

A focus on fighting fraud has taken priority for the Trump administration, as Vice President JD Vance leads an anti-fraud task force. President Donald Trump this week introduced a federal fraud whistleblower program.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMI)

A Cole County man was charged with felony stealing, fleeing a traffic stop and other felonies after a chase in an allegedly stolen car Wednesday afternoon.

Travis Adamson, 35, was charged Thursday with one count of felony theft of a motor vehicle, fleeing a traffic stop, felony drug possession, receiving stolen property, careless and imprudent driving, and one count of felony stealing for allegedly taking an e-bike.

He remained in the Cole County Jail on no bond Thursday afternoon.

A woman allegedly told investigators that Adamson stole her car Wednesday as he was at her home while she slept, according to a probable cause statement. Cole County deputies chased the Chevrolet Malibu until Adamson crashed it into a ditch on Highway 17 and ran, a Cole County Sheriff’s Office news release states.

Deputies found Adamson about 100 yards away in the wooded area, the release states. Schools in Eugene were locked down during the chase, the sheriff’s office says.

A separate statement says the chase started when Adamson sped by an ongoing traffic stop and through a school zone. The chase went down Highway 17 and other country roads in Cole and Miller counties until a tire blew out in a school zone in Eugene, according to the statement.

Adamson is also charged with stealing a rented e-bike from a Citgo gas station at 105 W. Dunklin St. on Tuesday.

No hearings had been set as of Thursday afternoon.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Boone County Jail is overcrowded, and it’s costing the county millions to house detainees in other county jails across the state.

Sheriff Dwayne Carey’s solution is to pass a 3/8-cent sales tax to build a new jail that would be more than twice the size of the current jail.

The current jail has 246 beds but can only hold about 200 people because of logistics, but there are about twice as many people as that detained. If Proposition L passes in November, it would allow the county to start building a 570-bed jail that can expand to 990 beds.

Proposition L and the proposed jail

Carey said the county expects to spend more than $4.6 million on housing detainees in jails outside of the county, a move that has climbed in cost over the last several years.

In 2022, the county spent $499,000 on out-of-county housing. Last year, the county spent about $2.5 million, a large jump compared to 2024, when the county spent $900,000.

2023: $800,000 2024: $900,000 2025: $2.5 million 2026: projected over $4.6 million

Carey said some detainees are sent to 14 counties in Missouri as far away as Carter and Greene counties — both hours away.

A “yes” vote on Proposition L would allow collection of the tax to start in March, and the county would be able to access that fund in June.

Carey said it’s estimated to bring in about $17 million annually, and the tax is set to expire at the end of 2042. It’s expected to bring in about $255 million over the 15 years the tax is in place, but the jail will only cost an estimated $90 to $100 million to build.

The county will have to borrow the money through a bond, and Carey said debt repayment is about $10 million. The county will also have increased operating costs for the new jail because of its size and capacity. Carey also said he wants to save some of that money in case an add-on is needed.

Funding will also have to come from the county’s general revenue fund. If passed, it will take about three to four years for the new jail to open.

“Actually, the $255 (million) might not even be enough, and people have a hard time understanding that, because they’re looking at a big number, but over a 15-year span,” Carey said.

Carey said the cost of materials, food and medical care could increase, making it an even more expensive project.

“We’re basing the $90 to $100 million price off of today’s pricing,” Carey said.

If Proposition L doesn’t pass, Carey said the county will have to cut budget.

“It’s going to be bad. We’re going to be looking probably at some budget cuts at the county level. Again, when you’re talking about $4.6 to $5 million coming out of general revenue to pay for that (out-of-county housing), all county offices are going to suffer from that,” Carey said.

Carey is also concerned about where to send people, as county jails across the state fill up or refuse Boone County detainees.

The new jail If approved, Boone County Sheriff Dwayne Carey plans to build the new jail on county-owned land just north of the current facility.

Carey is planning to build the jail near the current one at 2121 County Drive, between the Boone County Fire Protection District Training Center and the Robert L. Perry Juvenile Center. It will go on a 93-acre plot of county-owned land.

He wants to have medical, mental health and reentry wings. Those programs are stunted in the current jail.

“We have one exam bed for 200 people, which is basically a walk-in closet,” Carey said. “Being able to add some actual hospital beds, more ADA-compliant than we are now, but having them all in that one housing unit to where we can do therapy, we can do treatment, we can get them, for lack of a better term, regulated.”

The new jail was also designed to add three separate wings that each have 140 beds if maximum capacity is reached. The new jail has the capacity to add 420 beds after the main 570-bed building is built.

There would also be a mental health and reentry service building that is offset from the main jail.

The proposed plan for a new Boone County Jail. Courtesy of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office. Opposition forms as county stresses need

Susan Maze, a member of the group No New Jail, said she’s against the new jail because there have been no answers on why the number of detainees has increased, causing the overcrowding problem.

“The sheriff says that there’s a variety of things, but in the county commission meeting originally, they said it was mental health issues and the state taking longer, or the courts taking longer to get cases pushed through. Well, the new jail will not fix either of those things,” Maze said.

The new jail would expand the limited services that are already in place. Mental health manager Anita Kiessling-Caver already has an idea of what an expansion of services would look like in the new facility.

“What I would like to see happen as that program becomes developed, is that there’s a program that is specific to meet the individual needs of each person who is mentally ill, that we’ll be able to have programs or programming that is specific to their needs,” Kiessling-Caver said.

She said services in the current jail are the best given the space and resources.

“I don’t think the general public realizes how hard we work to help those folks,” Kiessling-Caver said. “I think that there’s concern that we’re not treating people well that are mentally ill or have emotional problems that are severe that lead them to get in trouble, and that’s just not true.”

People who are struggling with severe mental illnesses need to be separated from other detainees, and they can take up one cell that has two beds in it. In the new jail, there is a wing that will have single-bed cells for people who need to be kept alone.

Reasons for increasing inmate numbers

In July, the Prison Policy Initiative looked at how the Boone County Jail population changed between 2022 and 2026 after a request from No New Jail. The group ran the study at no charge.

The Prison Policy Institute is a national non-profit that researches criminal justice reform and over-criminalization, according to its website. The organization works with local advocates to stop elected officials from building or expanding jails or prisons.

The institute suggested the growing numbers are related to more people being detained without bond.

Only a judge can set bond, and Carey said he has to accept detainees.

“I wish we had less people in jail also. I mean, because it would make our life a lot easier,” Carey said. “We’re a larger county, I think the fifth or sixth largest in the state, and it just ballooned on us, and we have to do something to address it, and the new jail is the answer for us.”

Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson addressed why there are more people being held without bond in an email to ABC 17 News. He said that serious cases have increased since 2022, which could be one factor.

He gave these examples:

A and B felonies: 163 charges filed in 2022, and 250 in 2026 Felony assualt: 477 charges filed in 2022 and 616 in 2025 Domestic assault: 449 charges filed in 2022 and 692 in 2025

Johnson said this, combined with a 2019 Missouri Supreme Court rule change that makes it more difficult to receive a high cash bond for dangerous crimes, has contributed to fewer cash-only bonds and more no-bond warrants.

The prosecutor’s office has also been more aggressively pursuing jury trials for violent crimes, Johnson said.

“We now try roughly three times as many jury trials as we did in 2022. Cases for trial take longer than cases resolved by agreement. To reverse that trend, we would have to make weaker recommendations, which would affect public safety,” Johnson said.

The Columbia Police Department’s role

Carey said the Columbia Police Department has also contributed to the rise in inmates.

CPD opened its police academy in late 2024 and added more officers to the streets. Carey said CPD increased the number of bookings at the sheriff’s department by 600.

“With increased number of officers, increased number of traffic stops, that means more warrants you’re getting, more drugs you’re getting, more guns you’re getting out of cars and the more criminal activity that you’re coming across while you’re doing that,” Carey said.

In August, Columbia voters approved a public safety sales tax that would generate about $38 million a year for the CPD and the Columbia Fire Department.

Carey is concerned that the current jail won’t be able to keep up with another increase in CPD officers if a new jail isn’t built.

“It’s going to create an issue,” Carey said. “We’re already in crisis, and they haven’t started hiring all of these cops, but when they do, it’s going to create a mess for us here. I mean, we’re already busting at the seams. We will rupture, and then I don’t know where we’re going to house at that point.”

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Matthew Sanders

Relations have become somewhat icy between the United States and Ukraine as the latter continues to defend itself against a Russian invasion.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticized Washington over issues such as reduced intelligence sharing, throttling down of crucial Starlink service and American purchases of Russian diesel as Russia continues its strikes on civilian areas and infrastructure ahead of winter.

Do you think American decisions are hurting the Ukrainian war effort? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An NFL investigation found the Philadelphia Eagles will not face discipline over their handling of the medical process after quarterback Jalen Hurts was diagnosed with blood clots.

While the Eagles say Hurts is expected to make a full recovery, the 28-year-old quarterback is expected to miss the rest of the 2026 season after blood clots were found in his lungs.

Hurts told national media the blood clot was “provoked” after he was cleated in the calf during a 24-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Oct. 4. Despite seeking treatment for the injury and being listed on the team’s injury report, he boarded a seven-hour team flight to London five days later for an international game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

After arriving in London on Oct. 10, Hurts saw a specialist who reportedly discovered a superficial blood clot, according to national reports. Reports later indicated that doctors advised him not to sleep, leaving him awake for 36 hours before he took the field against the Jaguars on Oct. 11.

However, Hurts’ agent, Nicole Lynn, later clarified in a statement that although he had been kept up late, he did sleep in a room the Eagles had arranged at the stadium. Hurts finished the game with 220 passing yards and a touchdown in a 19-17 loss.

The Eagles returned to Philadelphia later that Sunday, subjecting Hurts to another seven-hour flight. On Oct. 14, doctors reevaluated him after practice and discovered the blood clot had moved. He was ruled out of the Eagles’ Week 6 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys the following day.

In a statement, the Eagles said doctors had told Hurts and the team that “activity and mobility were important and Jalen could play.” On Monday, the team released another statement confirming that Hurts’ initial diagnosis of a superficial clot in his left calf had progressed to multiple blood clots in his lungs. The Eagles added that Hurts “will have the opportunity to resume contact football activities when off the blood thinners.”

However, the NFL Players Association has called for a full investigation into the medical care Hurts received.

What causes blood clots, and why can they be dangerous?

Blood clots are a normal part of the body’s response to an injury. They help stop bleeding by allowing platelets, proteins and blood cells to collect at the site of a damaged blood vessel, doctors say. But when clots form inappropriately or travel to other parts of the body, they can become dangerous.

“It’s more common in people who have a reason for their blood to be more prone to clotting,” said Dr. Kate Grossman, who is a pulmonary and critical care physician at Boone Health. “So a genetic predisposition, underlying cancer, smokers, things like that.”

Blood clots can form in superficial veins close to the skin or in deeper veins, often in the legs. The distinction matters because deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, can lead to a potentially life-threatening complication if part of the clot breaks loose and travels to the lungs, Grossman indicated.

“There’s superficial blood clots and there’s deep blood clots. So a ‘superficial’ blood clot is in a superficial vein. ‘Deep’ is in a deep vein,” Grossman said. “The deep blood clots that are deep vein thrombosis are more likely to cause more problems to possibly move and travel to the heart and the lungs and cause more damage there.”

Dr. Christopher Sampson, an emergency physician with MU Health Care, said clots in the deep veins can cause localized pain and swelling. If a piece breaks off and travels to the lungs, it can interfere with breathing and the heart’s ability to pump blood, depending on the clot’s size.

For superficial clots, treatment depends on their location and whether they are growing or moving. Some can be managed with warm compresses and anti-inflammatory medication, Grossman said, while others may require blood thinners.

The risks increase when a clot travels to the lungs, a condition known as a pulmonary embolism. Symptoms can include shortness of breath and low oxygen levels, and severe cases can damage lung tissue or strain the heart.

“The biggest concern is that it can cause strain on the heart and can lead to significant impairment and to death,” Grossman said.

How does air travel affect blood clot risk?

Hurts’ diagnosis also drew attention to the risks associated with long-distance travel, particularly when a person has a known or suspected clot.

Sitting for extended periods can slow blood flow in the legs. During air travel, passengers may have limited room to stretch or move their legs, especially when luggage is stored beneath the seat in front of them.

“Air travel puts people at risk just because a lot of times you’re sitting in your seat so you’re not moving around,” Sampson said. “You may not really be moving your legs much.”

Sampson said the average person’s likelihood of developing a blood clot is about one in 5,000. Although the overall risk is low, prolonged travel is one of several factors that can increase it.

Sampson added people traveling for more than four hours, whether by plane, car or train,  should make an effort to move around and stretch their legs. Staying hydrated, avoiding excessive alcohol and considering compression stockings may also help reduce risk.

Grossman says the longer someone remains inactive during a flight, the greater the risk of developing a clot. People who have recently experienced a clot may face additional concerns about a recurrence or a clot traveling from the legs to the lungs.

“There’s no kind of hard set rule that you absolutely cannot travel, especially if you have a superficial blood clot,” Grossman said. “Certainly there are precautions that you would want to take if you’re doing a long flight.”

The decision to travel with a clot depends on the individual circumstances, including the clot’s location and whether it is stable. Anyone with a recent diagnosis should consult their treating physician about the risks before taking a long trip.

A blood clot diagnosis does not necessarily mean a person must remain on bed rest. In many cases, gentle movement is encouraged, though the appropriate level of activity depends on the patient’s condition and treatment.

“In the past it used to be recommended that you do bedrest and that is not recommended anymore,” Grossman said. “Gentle activity is absolutely recommended. After a blood clot, you want to get moving. You don’t want to do anything that hurts or that causes shortness of breath. But movement is fine. There’s no increased risk with normal movement.”

For professional athletes, however, returning to competition presents additional challenges, particularly when treatment involves anticoagulants, commonly known as blood thinners.

Those medications help prevent existing clots from growing and new ones from forming. But they also increase the risk of serious bleeding, making contact sports especially dangerous while a player is taking them.

“The biggest risk with sports and injuries like this in blood clots is that the treatment of it is anticoagulation, or thinning your blood to prevent further blood clots to form,” Grossman said. “So you absolutely shouldn’t be doing any kind of contact sport after a blood clot when you’re being treated on blood thinners.”

Sampson said decisions about an athlete’s return to play depend on medical advice and the circumstances of the sport.

“For someone who’s involved in professional sports, really a lot of it’s going to come down to the advice of their physicians and coaches,” Sampson said.

Grossman emphasized that each case requires an individualized assessment.

“I think each case is kind of its own scenario, and I would hope that all of these athletes have people who are looking out for their best interests,” she said.

The Eagles have said Hurts will be able to resume contact football activities once he is no longer taking blood thinners. The timeline will depend on his recovery and medical team’s guidance.

What are the warning signs of a blood clot?

Recognizing symptoms early can help people get treatment before a clot causes more serious complications.

Grossman and Sampson say signs of a clot in the leg can include swelling, pain or tenderness, particularly when one leg is noticeably more swollen or painful than the other. The risk may be higher after a long trip, recent surgery, illness or a period of limited mobility.

“If you’re someone who did have a very long travel in a car or in a plane, if you’re someone who’s not moving around that much because you’ve been sick recently or you’ve had some kind of orthopedic surgery and you’re laid up for a while and you develop swelling in one leg more than the other leg, or pain in one leg more than the other leg, that’s absolutely a warning sign that you should get seen,” Grossman said.

A clot that travels to the lungs can cause sudden shortness of breath, chest pain, a rapid heartbeat or fainting. Those symptoms can indicate a medical emergency and warrant immediate medical attention.

Although blood clots can occur in people with identifiable risk factors, they can also affect people without an obvious cause. Both experts emphasized the importance of recognizing symptoms and seeking medical evaluation when they appear.

For Hurts, the Eagles have said his prognosis is very good. His diagnosis, however, underscores how a clot initially identified in the leg can become a more serious condition and why decisions about travel, treatment and returning to physical activity require careful medical assessment.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Public Service Commission on Wednesday approved an agreement and request by Ameren for three energy storage system facilities, t wo solar generation facilities, and a new switching station, according to a Wednesday press release from the PSC.

 Projects in Audrain County include:

Huck Finn BESS Project: A 200 megawatt battery energy storage facility at Ameren Missouri’s Audrain Energy Center in Audrain County Tom Sawyer Solar Project: A 175 MW solar generation facility in Audrain County.

Other projects in the agreement include:

Castle Bluff BESS Project: A 95 MW battery energy storage facility in St. Louis County. Millcreek BESS Project: A 250 MW battery energy storage facility in Lincoln County. Quinn Switching Station: A new 161-kilovolt switching station in Lincoln County to connect the Millcreek BESS Project to the existing transmission system. Ringer Solar Project: A 225 MW solar generation facility in Stoddard County. Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Benton County Health Department announced Monday on its social media that four cases of measles have been reported in the county.

People who have been possibly exposed are being contacted. People who may have been exposed “should watch for the symptoms of measles for 21 days from the date of exposure”

Information from the state’s Health and Senior Services shows seven total cases have been confirmed in Benton County this year, the most of any county.

measles-fact-sheet-8Download

The kindergarten exemption rate in Benton County for the MMR was 7.8% in 2025, according to August data from the DHSS. The kindergarten vaccination rate in Benton County in 2025 was 64.7%, which lags behind the rest of the state’s 89.5%.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Waterfowl hunting at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area has been put on pause, according to a Wednesday press release from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

MDC wrote that hunting is being suspended “due to limitations in the area’s water supply infrastructure.”

Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area “relies on water from the Missouri River, natural precipitation and treated water from the City of Columbia’s wastewater treatment facilities to manage wetland habitat,” the release says.

The city counts for about 12-20% of the area’s “full water needs” and the river water supply pumps are needed to manage water in the area, the release says. Those are currently being replaced and MDC is not able to maintain the conditions needed to manage waterfowl hunting, the release says.

The date for when waterfowl hunting can start again was not provided, nor was the cost of the water pump replacement.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia announced in a Wednesday press release that election petitions for this upcoming spring’s Ward 2 and 6 elections are available for pickup.

The first day to file for the election is Tuesday, Oct. 27. Ward 6 Councilwoman Betsy Peters told ABC 17 News that she will run for reelection.

“I’ve enjoyed representing the 6th ward and would be happy to represent them for another 3 years if given the opportunity,” Peters wrote in a message to ABC 17 News.

Residents who wish to run must be qualified voters and residents of the ward they are wanting to represent and “shall hold no lucrative public office or any lucrative position in the City government during their terms,” the release says. They must also obtain at 50 signatures from registered voters who live in the road.

Packets can be picked up 8 a.m.-noon and 1-5 p.m. on weekdays from city hall.

The deadline to file is 5 p.m. Jan. 12, 2027. Election Day is April 6, 2027.

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