Category: kmiz-local-news

Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia is considering a special taxing district for Business Loop 70 that would divert taxes from future development to the companies undertaking those projects.

Columbia City Council members met Monday morning to discuss implementing tax incremental financing as a way to revitalize the Business Loop.

City Manager De’Carlon Seawood said city officials worked alongside the Business Loop Community Improvement District to determine the possible district boundaries.

Tax incremental financing, or TIF, generates revenue through sales and property taxes. The revenue generated in the TIF district is reinvested in private development.

Andy Struckhoff with PGAV Planners provided the presentation to council members Monday. Struckhoff said property outside the TIF district could also benefit from the TIF.

The property value of the outlined area is calculated, and that number is used as the base value. The base value is frozen during the TIF period to calculate taxes. As properties in the district are redeveloped or as new development is built and values increase, new tax revenue is generated, with some of it going back to developers.

Struckhoff said establishing a district takes about six months. First, a city has to establish a TIF commission and a redevelopment area. A period of hearings for public input follows.

Presentation on Business Loop 70 TIF districtDownload

After that, a redevelopment plan is put together along with a cost-benefit analysis. The final step is approving redevelopment or new development projects; the projects must be approved within 10 years of the TIF’s approval.

Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe said the city already has a TIF commission in place.

A TIF cannot be in place for more than 23 years, but that clock doesn’t start until the redevelopment plans are approved. The end goal is that once a TIF expires, the new or revitalized developments can finance themselves along with the extra funds left over from the tax revenue generated by the TIF.

Struckhoff said any redevelopment plan has to reflect the community’s desire for development in an area, according to Missouri law. He explained how the Business Loop’s current community improvement district could work hand in hand with a TIF district to help generate more revenue. Struckhoff said it’s common to pair the two together.

Struckhoff also introduced the idea of a transportation development district for the Business Loop. The transportation district would be in place for 40 years and could only be used for transportation infrastructure such as sidewalks, parking garages and roads. Revenue is generated by a sales or property tax.

The city of Columbia already has 16 transportation districts, three community improvement districts and two TIF districts in place.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Tigers women’s basketball team is 2-0 as they get ready for a game at home Tuesday.

The women will host Arkansas State at Mizzou Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and the game will stream on SEC Network+.

Watch a news conference about preparation for the game here.

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Haley Swaino

MOBERLY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man suspected of shooting a 23-year-old woman outside his Moberly home appealed to his law enforcement background, lack of criminal history and his “litany of medical issues” as reasons he is not a danger or a flight risk.

David Kip Heyde, 68, of Moberly, has been released from the Macon County Jail after posting $100,000 bond, according to the jail. He is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Bailey Scott.

Court records show his bond was reduced to $100,000 on Friday. Heyde also waived his right to a jury trial on Friday, and a bench trial was scheduled for 9 a.m. Feb. 6, 2026.

Scott’s friend Lyndsey Smith was in the courtroom Friday.

“I remember just getting up after he [Judge Robert Koffman] said that 100,000 and walked out,” Smith said. “I mean, obviously I came back in because I had to, but it’s just that gut wrenching feeling that even though they feel like he’s not a danger to the community, he is. Because if he felt like he could do it once, he could do it again.”

The motion to reduce bond for Heyde listed six reasons why he should be granted bond, including that he suffers from multiple medical issues that require him to go to the VA in Columbia regularly.

Def. Motion to Modify BondDownload

It also says Heyde served two decades as a law enforcement officer and has no criminal history. Heyde has an expired peace officer’s license, and City of Moberly records say he was once an employee there. Further details about his employment were not available because records more than 20 years old are not maintained.

Smith said she believes Heyde was able to use his history in law enforcement to his advantage.

“He was in law enforcement, that doesn’t matter,” Smith said. “Murder’s wrong at the end of the day.”

Randolph County Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Luntsford said the judge made it clear he was considering two specific things when looking at bond.

“Is the defendant a flight risk or will his appearances be secured. And two, whether or not there is a risk to public safety,” Luntsford said.

Luntsford said the state requested that no bond remain in place.

Heyde’s release has left some Moberly residents shocked and angry. An ABC 17 News reporter saw two separate vehicles drive by Heyde’s home on Monday and yell things like, “murderer.”

Smith said losing her friend has been hard, but harder when her alleged killer is back home.

“It makes me sick,” Smith said. “I mean, he’ll be able to spend the holidays with his family. And Bailey’s not able to.”

Around 7:30 p.m. July 6, Moberly police were called to a report of shots being fired in the 900 block of East Logan Street, the probable cause statement says. Scott was found with a gunshot wound in her right torso.

Heyde told police he fired two shots at Scott, court documents say. He claimed self-defense, saying Scott hit him during an argument after she alleged he was “attempting to kill birds at the front of his property,” according to the probable cause statement.

Scott “had no obvious signs of trauma or injury to either of her hands,” the statement says. ABC 17 News spoke with neighbors the week of the shooting about ongoing allegations that Heyde put bird feed in the street in front of his home.

Heyde was arrested four days after the shooting and booked into the Randolph County Jail. He was transferred to the Macon County Jail, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. MSHP’s Division of Drug and Crime Control was asked by Moberly police to investigate the shooting.

Smith said the community will never stop fighting for Bailey.

“We’re not going to stop until she gets her justice,” Smith said. “We’re not going to. There is no ifs, ands or buts about it.”

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) held a news conference at the Capitol on Monday morning to talk about a deal reached between Senate Republicans and some Democrats to end the government shutdown.

More votes were set in the Senate, and House members have two days to return from their districts to vote on the measure.

Watch Jeffries’ news conference here.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia teenager was charged as an adult with murder in Randolph County on Monday, a year after he was accused of shooting a man to death.

Da’Caveon W. Nelson, 17, has been certified as an adult. Prosecutors have asked that he be brought to the Randolph County Jail from the Clay County, Missouri, juvenile detention center, where he has been held since May. He is currently being held at the Boone County Jail.

He was charged Monday with second-degree murder, armed criminal action and first-degree robbery in the Nov. 10, 2024, shooting death of Ethan March, 22.

Nelson was arraigned Monday afternoon in Randolph County where he pleaded not guilty, according to Randolph County Prosecutor Stephanie Luntsford.

“We decided to certify Mr. Nelson as an adult this morning so there for thats what prompted my office to file charges because now the juvenile court no longer has jurisdiction,” Luntsford said.

March was found with a gunshot wound in a home on County Road 2605.

At the time, investigators said they had taken a 16-year-old Columbia boy into custody as a suspect in the shooting, along with a 15-year-old girl who is listed in court documents as Nelson’s girlfriend. A deputy told ABC 17 News after the shooting that authorities found the two teenagers in the woods.

Nelson allegedly told authorities after his arrest that he had shot March, according to a probable cause statement. Nelson’s girlfriend had blood spatter on her, the statement says.

The statement says Nelson shot March — whose name is redacted in the documents — while he was stealing a gun.

With Nelson charged as an adult, Luntsford says she taking the next steps in the legal process.

“We will begin the discovery process we will get it set for a preliminary hearing, I’m sure there will be bond arguments to come in the future,” she said.

March’s mother, Leea Burton said in a statement,” All we know is that he was certified as an adult today, we pray for justice to be served for out son!.”

ABC 17 News reached out to Nelson’s attorney.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 61-year-old Maryland Heights man is dead after crashing his truck around 8 p.m. Sunday in Callaway County, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report.

According to an online crash report, the man was driving a 2001 Chevrolet S-10 west on I-70 at mile marker 156.8 when he went off the right side of the road and flipped his pickup truck several times. The man was thrown from the truck and was pronounced dead on scene.

The report states the man was not wearing a seatbelt. The truck was totaled.

This is the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop F’s fourth deadly accident and the 43rd death of this year.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The man accused in a deadly shooting in downtown Columbia on homecoming weekend has pleaded not guilty to the shooting death of a Stephens College student.

Misael Covarrubias, 23, is facing charges of second-degree murder, three counts of armed criminal action, two counts of first-degree assault and a single count of unlawful use of a weapon in the shooting death of Aiyanna Williams. 

Covarrubias entered his not guilty plea via WebX in front of Judge Stephanie Morrell Monday morning in the Boone County Courthouse during his arraignment. He was indicted by a grand jury last month.

In September, on the University of Missouri’s homecoming weekend, police responded to the 800 block of East Broadway in downtown Columbia, where they found three people shot just before 2 a.m.

According to court documents, Covarrubias was involved in an argument before he fired 11 shots into the crowded street, killing bystander Aiyanna Williams.

When asked by police, Covarrubias allegedly said that he didn’t know who he was shooting at and admitted that he had been drinking before the shooting.

Covarrubias told police that he is from Florida but had been living in Columbia for about five months.

The shooting prompted University of Missouri System President Mun Choi to call for action to reduce crime in Columbia and Mayor Barbara Buffaloe to call for a special task force.

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Matthew Sanders

Well more than a month into the government shutdown, movement toward a deal is finally being made.

A group of Senate Democrats over the weekend broke ranks to join most Republicans in approving a deal that would end the shutdown, while also dropping the Democrats’ demand that ACA subsidies be funded. More votes are needed for final approval in the Senate. The bill would have to be passed by the House before it could be sent to the president’s desk.

It’s the first real movement toward a resolution to the shutdown, which entered its 40th day on Sunday and is the longest in American history.

Instead, the deal would leave a vote on subsidies for the future.

Do you think the deal will mean an end to the shutdown this week? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Nia Hinson

RANDOLPH COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

An unborn baby died in a crash in Randolph County Saturday night.

According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report, the crash occurred on U.S. 63– about two miles south of Moberly– around 11 p.m. The report says a 19-year-old man from Novelty, Missouri was driving a 2013 GMC Sierra when he failed to yield and crashed into a 2015 Ford F150.

A 23-year-old Fairfield, Iowa woman who was riding in the Ford F150 suffered serious injuries in the crash and was taken to University Hospital. The driver of the truck– a 19-year-old Fairfield, Iowa man suffered moderate injuries.

The unborn baby was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The driver of the GMC Sierra suffered minor injuries.

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Euphenie Andre

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Department of Public Safety’s State Emergency Management Agency has issued a winter weather preparedness message as the state heads into the colder months.

That alert has homeless shelters across Mid-Missouri making early preparations to handle an anticipated increase in demand as temperatures begin to drop.

According to the Missouri Balance of State Continuum of Care, sheltered homelessness in Mid-Missouri has decreased by 3% over the past year. However, the number of individuals living without shelter continues to rise.

Jakib Propst, a man experiencing homelessness in Columbia, said he spends his days standing at intersections across the city, accepting donations after losing his job last year.

“It’s cold out here. I’m already sick I don’t feel like getting anymore sick and getting hospitalized or possibly dying,” Propst said.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said that 38 people died in 2024 as a result of low body temperatures caused by prolonged exposure to cold weather.

Propst said that when his family has enough money, they are able to stay in a hotel temporarily to escape the cold.

Data indicates that Boone County is once again seeing a steady increase in its homeless population. In 2024, Boone County recorded 323 individuals experiencing homelessness — 238 were sheltered, and 85 were unsheltered. The last time the county saw similar numbers was in 2022, when 336 individuals were recorded, but only 55 were unsheltered.

Jermaine Whitaker is new to Columbia after relocating from St. Louis with his family. He said he has seven children he tries to provide for, and as temperatures drop, he plans to layer clothing to stay warm. Whitaker and his family are currently staying at a local hotel until they can find more permanent housing.

On Sunday evening, a line formed outside of Room at the Inn, located at 1509 Ashley Street — just south of Interstate 70 — as individuals waited for doors to open at 4:30 p.m. for dinner. The shelter provides overnight accommodations, meals, and essential items for those seeking refuge from the cold.

Executive Director of Room at the Inn John Trapp told ABC 17 News that the shelter increased its capacity to 103 beds, and by 7 p.m. Sunday, the facility had reached full occupancy. Trapp said shelter check-in runs nightly from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

In Jefferson City, Sarah Hamilton, chair for Room at the Inn, said the Salvation Army is providing cots for cold nights, while First Presbyterian Church officially opened its doors last week to assist those in need until JCRATI opens on Dec. 1. Hamilton added that organizers are considering opening the shelter earlier if temperatures continue to fall.

Once open, the Jefferson City Room at the Inn will be able to accommodate up to 20 guests each night, operating from 5:30 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Columbia offers several warming centers where individuals can go to escape the cold.

These locations include:

The Activity and Recreation Center (ARC)

City Hall

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services building

The Columbia Public Library

The Salvation Army and Salvation Army Harbor House

Information about hours of operation for each warming center can be found on the City of Columbia’s official website.

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