Category: kmiz-local-news

Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia Public Works and Boone County Road and Bridge crews did their annual dry snow run Thursday to prepare for the winter weather season.

The purpose of the dry snow run is to get snowplow drivers used to the routes they will be taking and make sure equipment is up to standard for preparations once snow falls.

“Today gives us a chance to to have operators that are relatively new work with veteran operators kind of go over the equipment,” Richard Stone public works engineering and operations manager said. “Even though any of our plow drivers could operate in any part of the city, we do have assigned routes that we try to keep people on, so it gives them a chance to be familiar with those routes.”

Boone County plows will begin their dry run Thursday and continue through Friday. Boone County plows will drive on county roads that border or cut through city limits. There are 13 routes South and 13 routes north that the plows will go through, covering over 77 subdivisions.

During the day Boone County has around 26 staff members working from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Greg Edington, the director of Boone County Road and Bridge, said that in previous years, staffing has been an issue for his team with them down nine positions. For the night shift, he said only 5 workers were able to go out to plow roads; now he said the department is able to send out 10 workers and are only down two workers.

The City of Columbia Street Division maintains about 1,465 lane miles of roads and 1,100 cul-de-sacs each winter. Priority routes make up more than 691 lane miles and connect residents to emergency services, hospitals, schools and major transit corridors.

Stone said the Street division has 34 trucks, but they typically use up to 30 depending on how severe the snow is. He said there will be between 8 and 30 crew working during each 12-hour shift. For the city, there are fewer than 5 workers who will be working their first winter season this year.

Both the city’s and county’s plow trucks can put up to 200 pounds of salt per lane mile on the roads.

The amount of salt placed on the roads is up to the driver’s discretion and how much traction is needed in those areas. Josh Reynolds, a Boone County snowplow driver, said he has been driving his route for a couple years, and he knows what areas need more treatment.

“In here you can see, we’re starting to go downhill, so I would I kind of crank my material up and really just put material to this,” Reynolds said.

Residents may see city snowplows throughout the rest of the day into Friday.

Last winter, the Public Works Department added five new snow-capable trucks to its fleet to improve reliability and efficiency. The new trucks replaced aging snow removal equipment. 

Winter road maintenance is shared between Columbia, MoDOT, and Boone County. Reynolds said often times the roads overlap. Reynolds said he will usually finish out plowing roads even if in city territory to help out and make sure residents can drive out of their houses.

“If the state [or city] hasn’t been here, it’s okay, i’ll put my plow down, try to help another entity out,” Reynolds said.

For residents, consider parking cars in the driveway during snowy weather. Edington and Reynolds said that although drivers can work around cars on the street, it is hard to maneuver and often leaves cars covered in snow.

“Some of the subdivisions, they park on both sides, and it’s really, really hard to plow,” Edington said. “You have to push it up against the cars, and they don’t like that either.”

According to the National Weather Service in St. Louis, Columbia saw a total of 7.3 inches of snow last winter. The average snowfall in Columbia is 14.9 inches.

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Matthew Sanders

The midterm election on Tuesday was a clear, resounding victory for Democrats and liberal policies across the country, and that was true in Missouri as well.

Voters rejected Amendment 3, which would have banned abortion; approved Amendment 6, which limited legislators’ power to undo laws made through a popular vote; and took the veto-proof General Assembly supermajority away from Republicans.

Locally, voters in Boone County roundly rejected a sales tax to pay for a new jail.

And nationally, the Democrats took solid control of both houses of Congress.

Were you expecting these results? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 40-year-old man in Jefferson City was arrested after a SWAT team was called in during a standoff on Wednesday afternoon, according to a press release from the Jefferson City Police Department.

The name of the man arrested was not released by police. The release says an officer saw the man at 4:36 p.m. in the 100 block of Ventura Avenue and knew he had outstanding warrants. The man went into a residence to avoid police, the release says.

The Jefferson City SWAT team was called in and drones with thermal imaging were used to determine the man was hiding in the attic of the building, the release says.

After ignoring police commands, pepper ball rounds were used by authorities and the man was detained.

In addition to his warrants, the man was arrested on suspicion of resisting arrest and child neglect, the release says.

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Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Brian Smith’s influence on Missouri wrestling can be measured in individual National Championships, All-Americans and conference titles.

But for those who spent time around his program, his legacy extends well beyond the results on the mat.

Smith announced Wednesday that his 29th season as Missouri’s head wrestling coach will be his last. He plans to retire at the end of the season, bringing an end to a tenure that began in 1998 and helped transform the Tigers into a national wrestling powerhouse.

Mike Eirman, the head women’s wrestling coach at William Woods University and a former volunteer assistant at Missouri, saw firsthand how Smith helped build that culture.

Eirman first crossed paths with Smith in the early 2000s. After finishing his collegiate wrestling career at the University of Nebraska from 1992-94, his parents relocated from Chicago to Missouri when former Missouri assistant Lee Pritz reached out to him. Eirman began spending time around the program, eventually working alongside Smith as a volunteer assistant.

“I think he made everyone feel comfortable. He did a good job with just bringing in the right people, the right coaches, and just made a great atmosphere,” Eirman told ABC 17 News. “There was no sides, or nothing like that. I think everybody felt comfortable there and just felt that they can progress.”

That environment became one of the defining characteristics of Smith’s program, particularly his approach to developing wrestlers as individuals rather than trying to fit everyone into the same system.

It was a philosophy Eirman carried into his own coaching career. Rather than asking every wrestler to compete the same way, he learned to recognize what made each athlete successful and give them the freedom to use those strengths.

“I look back and just letting each wrestler wrestle their way. Each wrestler has their own way, their own way of doing things,” Eirman said. “I kind of learned that there. Instead of forcing them to wrestle a certain way, you know, the freedom of what their strengths are, their individual strengths.”

Eirman saw that approach work with some of Missouri’s most accomplished wrestlers, including Ben Askren and J’den Cox. Askren was part of the program during Eirman’s time there, while Eirman later coached Cox in the Olympics.

Both wrestlers went on to become national champions under Smith. Askren won back-to-back NCAA titles in 2006 and 2007, while Cox became Missouri’s only three-time NCAA champion, winning titles in 2014, 2016 and 2017 and earned a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics

“It seems like when they get to Missouri, they excel. I mean, they really continue to thrive there. So there’s an atmosphere of growth, understanding what you’re dealing with and how to connect with each one of your athletes because they’re all so different, you know. So to be able to connect with each one in a positive way and make them all feel comfortable,” Eirman said. “It’s a good place for each wrestler. That’s a good a good trait to have as a coach.”

Some of Eirman’s fondest memories of his time in Columbia came from the everyday routine of the wrestling room rather than any particular accomplishment.

He recalled Askren’s time with the program and having Smith and Pritz consistently present to watch practices and evaluate the work being done.

“Brian and Lee would just be there all the time, and after the practices, you know, they would watch it,” Eirman said. “Nothing really stands out. It was always just professional, I mean, it was just consistent. It was a good atmosphere and I think that when wrestlers go there, they really can hit their best, their pinnacle the journey that they’re on.”

That consistency helped Missouri establish itself as one of the country’s premier wrestling programs. Through his first 28 seasons, Smith coached the Tigers to 10 NCAA individual national championships, 66 individual conference championships and 72 All-American performances.

Missouri also captured 12 consecutive conference tournament championships during Smith’s tenure, including nine straight in the Mid-American Conference before returning to the Big 12 in 2022. Smith led the Tigers to two NCAA team trophies, finishing third in 2007 and fourth in 2015.

For Eirman, however, the impact of Smith’s success reaches far beyond the University of Missouri. He believes the program’s rise helped elevate wrestling throughout Mid-Missouri and across the state.

“The whole state is elevated. He’s brought that; we got a powerhouse,” he said. “The college is now a powerhouse. So that bleeds through the high schools. It bleeds to our youth programs. It excels everything. It makes everybody want to do better. That was special, and that’s what the state needed, and that’s what Brian brought.”

Smith’s sustained success also gave high school and youth coaches something to work toward, Eirman said, creating a pipeline of wrestlers who could aspire to compete at the collegiate level in their home state.

“He brought a consistency of a successful program for the last 15-to-20 years,” Eirman said. “All the high school coaches and all the youth club coaches, they all try to do better, try to elevate so we can send our kids there and continue to thrive.”

Smith’s accomplishments also extended into the classroom. Missouri wrestlers earned 180 academic honors during his tenure, while Smith collected multiple conference and national coaching awards, including the National Wrestling Coaches Association Coach of the Year honor in 2017.

He also became Missouri’s winningest coach in any sport in March 2023, surpassing former men’s basketball coach Norm Stewart. Smith enters his 29th and final season with a 351-130-4 career dual record.

As the program prepares for its first coaching transition in nearly three decades, Eirman said the relationships Smith built with generations of wrestlers will remain an important part of his legacy.

“It was a great experience. I learned a lot and he’ll be missed. I think he he did a great job there,” Eirman said. “You can’t deny the success he’s had and the relationships he’s built with his ex-wrestlers.”

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Gov. Mike Kehoe said he needs to reflect on election night results and have “honest conversations” about politics.

“Taking real action on the policies that help families afford to pay their bills, improve the education of our children, and ensure our communities are safe matters much more than well-delivered lines in campaign commercials. These are the issues that matter most. These are the issues that our party can deliver on,” Kehoe wrote in a Facebook post.

Missouri voters have turned down a few of Kehoe’s policies this election season. In August, voters turned down an amendment to eliminate state income tax and an amendment to reform the intiative petition process to make it harder to pass citizen-led initiative petitions.

Tuesday, voters also rejected Proposition A, the “Missouri First” map that Kehoe called a special session for in September 2025 after President Donald Trump encouraged Missouri lawmakers to redistrict mid-decade.

The general election results yielded rejections of other Republican-backed ballot measures, including Amendment 3, which aimed at banning abortion, and Amendment 7, which would have created a public endowment to eliminate state income tax at some point. Voters approved the Democrat-backed Amendment 6, which makes it harder to overturn what voters approve through the intiative petition, or referendum process.

Republican state Rep. John Martin said the “blue wave” came from low Republican voter turnout.

“Unfortunately, the Republicans didn’t turn out as strong as they did two years ago. I think that’s attributed to just some of the challenges in our economy,” Martin said.

Over the summer, many Republicans believed that the November election would have come out with seven Republicans and one Democrat elected to the U.S. House of Representatives under the 2025 congressional map. However, a referendum and court decisions from the Missouri and United States Supreme Courts mandated the use of the map passed in 2022.

The 2022 map was projected to have six Republicans and two Democrats, but Missouri voters in District 2 ousted long-standing Republican Ann Wagner for Democrat Fred Wellman.

“Now we get to keep going. Now we get to make change. Now we get to impact people’s lives. Now we get to work for working people,” Wellman told KMOV on election night.

Wagner has held the seat since 2014, and before her, Republican Todd Akin held the seat since 2000.

Political science professor at the University of Missouri, Charles Zug, said District 2 was an unexpected flip for Missouri.

“You see this happening across the country, by the way. Democrats are going to have a large majority in the House, and you don’t get a large majority in the House without these kinds of one-offs,” Zug said.

ABC News is projecting that Democrats will have a majority over Republicans in the House of Representatives and in the Senate.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver also kept his seat in District 5, which was targeted by Republicans under the 2025 congressional map. Now that Cleaver secured his spot in Congress, he told ABC 17 News that he is likely to hold a senior leadership position on the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance and the Helsinki Commission. The latter was created to prevent war.

Cleaver is the senior member of Missouri’s representatives. He said he will have to gather the other members for a discussion over lunch once a month to discuss where they need each other’s support.

Although Democrats will have a majority in both chambers, it could still be a struggle for them to get legislation passed because the president can veto it, Zug said. There are other things the party in control can do when the president is of a different party.

“Part of that is holding the president’s administration, members of the president’s government, high-ranking officials, all the way down to low-ranking officials, holding them accountable. The main lever of power Congress has for doing that is by withholding funding,” Zug said.

Democrats in the Senate could also block Trump appointments to vacant positions in the administration or in federal court, Zug said. There is also the possibility of impeachment investigations.

That’s something Martin doesn’t want to see Democrats focus their energy on.

“I hope they don’t spend their whole time trying to just impeach the president, but hope they’re able to get some things done and lead out in our country,” Martin said.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Jefferson City Parks Department is opening requests for proposals for an operator for Capital Region Amphitheater.

The department’s five-year agreement with VenuWorks has ended and requests for proposals opened Wednesday, according to a press release from Jefferson City Parks. The period for proposals closes at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 20.  

The release says VenuWorks opted not to seek an extension.

“While this transition presents an opportunity to take another look at the amphitheater’s potential, our priority remains finding the right approach to make the most of this community asset,” JC Parks Director Aaron Grefrath was quoted in the release. “We’ve received interest and ideas for the venue, and we’re looking forward to exploring proposals that bring new opportunities for entertainment and long-term success.”

The release says “regardless of the outcome,” plans are underway for a free concert series next summer.

The amphitheater has a more than 2,500-person capacity, according to its website.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two men from Columbia were given federal prison sentences in separate cases on Wednesday, according to press releases from the Department of Justice.

Deshawn Anthony Harris, 21, was sentenced to five years in prison for possessing a “machine gun conversion device,” after pleading guilty to the charge, the release says. After his sentence, he will serve three years of probation.

Police pulled Harris over on April 4, 2025, and he was allegedly found with a gun “with a machine gun conversion device attached,” the release says.

In another case, Caleb Hunt, 28, was sentenced to eight years in federal prison for being a felon with a gun and illegally possessing a machine gun.

The release says the Columbia Police Department saw a photo of Hunt on social media with a gun in November 2023.  Hunt had a felony conviction from a 2019 shooting and is not allowed to own a gun.

In March 2024, Hunt had a gun during a chase with law enforcement and tossed it out the window, the release says. The gun was found by law enforcement and was determined to be the same gun from social media, the release says. He was arrested April 24 2024 and was found with three more guns, the release says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

One person drowned Wednesday after falling from a bass boat at the Lake of the Ozarks, according to a social media post from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

MSHP’s Troop F – which covers much of Mid-Missouri – wrote that three people fell out of the boat near the Gravois Arm at the 7-mile marker.

Two people were rescued and were not injured, the post says. A dive team is on its way to find and recover the body of the person who drowned, the post says.

Check back for updates.

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Demetra Alarcon

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Boone County Sheriff Dwayne Carey said Wednesday when early results came back for Tuesday’s election, he was surprised voters rebuked Proposition L.

Prop L was a proposed 3/8 cent sales tax to pay for a new Boone County Jail that would have expired in 2042. Nearly 60% of voters said “no” to the measure on Tuesday.

“Our canvassing had indicated that we were doing really well. And so I was kind of surprised by that. And then, of course, when I saw the second numbers, I knew that it was over and that it wasn’t going to pass,” Carey said.

Carey said that a variety of factors could have led voters to vote “no,” saying the sheriff’s office worked hard during the past three months, but in the end it was up to the voters.

“But at the end of the day, I mean, it didn’t pass. And so, you know, my job then is to move the agency forward,” Carey said.

Carey told ABC 17 News that since Prop L did not pass, the department will be looking at other solutions to address overcrowding; but he claimed while he is sheriff, the department will not push for another proposition about the jail.

“The jail administrator is calling every jail in the state of Missouri just to check beds. So some of those, obviously, we’re not using now, but this problem is not going to go away,” Carey said.

John Amick, a member of the group opposing Prop L, “No New Jail,” said the measure failing is an important step in the right direction. He added that since the topic has eyes, discussion on other issues surrounding incarceration can move forward.

“Public officials have a chance now. An opportunity to engage the public about the overcrowding issue and address actual ways to help public safety, rather than imperiling public safety by expanding incarceration so drastically,” Amick said.

One of those issues, Amick says, is addressing possible changes to the cash-bail system.

“So the county has an opportunity to address the cash-bail system, which traps people in the jail for long periods of time because they can’t afford to bond,” Amick said. “They have ways to address root causes of poverty and other aspects of life in one county that lead people to jail. They have all kinds of ways to be creative right now and address the public and take this seriously rather than just throwing a tax hike at everyone.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Officials determined there was no credible threat at a Boonville school on Wednesday, according to a social media post from the Boonville Police Department.

Police wrote that a student on Wednesday morning allegedly mad a threat about shooting another student on Thursday.

“Following the investigation, officials determined that there was no credible or imminent threat to the school. Investigators also determined that the student did not have the means to carry out the stated threat,” the social media post says.

Police did not describe which school or district the threat occurred.

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