Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who was described as a “worship leader” in court documents – who was charged earlier this year with a child sex crime in Morgan County – has been charged again in Pulaski County.

George Hancock, 36, of Richland, Missouri, was charged in Pulaski County on Wednesday with first-degree statutory rape. A warrant was issued and a $500,000 bond was set. He is currently being held at to Morgan County Jail on a $500,000 bond.

He was charged earlier this year in Morgan County with first-degree statutory rape. A pretrial conference is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday, Dec. 22 and a jury trial is set for 9 a.m. Monday, Feb. 2, 2026.

The probable cause statement in the recently filed case says that he met the child victim through church in December 2023 and that multiple assaults occurred throughout 2024. The assaults were discovered by someone described as a witness who saw text messages on the victim’s phone, the statement says. Hancock seemingly admitted to the assaults in a text message exchange with the victim, the statement says.

Previous reporting indicates he met the victim in the Morgan County case through the social media app Discord.

Hancock allegedly crashed his vehicle when his wife confronted him about the assaults during a phone call, the statement says.

Click here to follow the original article.

Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri’s House members split down party lines in their votes on the “one big, beautiful bill” Thursday, with Republicans praising President Donald Trump’s signature piece of legislation.

The bill includes budget cuts to Medicaid and food programs while also cutting taxes and boosting spending for defense and border security. The House passed it 218-214 after Democrat Hakeem Jeffries held the floor for more than eight hours to delay the vote.

Rep. Mark Alford (R-Raytown), who represents a large chunk of Mid-Missouri in the Fourth Congressional District, called the vote “a watershed moment.”

“This critical legislation delivers on our mandate by enacting the America First agenda,” Alford wrote in a statement posted on social media. He went on to praise the legislation’s tax cut.

Rep. Bob Onder (R-Augusta), whose Third District also covers part of Mid-Missouri, focused on the tax cuts.

“Without this bill, Americans would have faced the largest tax increase in history,” Onder wrote. “We simply couldn’t let that happen.”

Rep. Sam Graves (R-Tarkio) focused on transportation in his statement on the bill’s approval.

“As Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I’m proud that we were able to include major investments in the U.S. Coast Guard to strengthen our border and national security,” Graves wrote. “It will also jumpstart the process of modernizing our nation’s aging air traffic control system and hiring more air traffic controllers to keep the flying public safe. This bill makes good on President Trump’s America First agenda and I look forward to seeing it signed into law.”

Graves’ Sixth Congressional District covers northern Missouri.

Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Springfield) said that he and other conservatives “secured numerous guarantees to ensure fiscal sanity” ahead of the vote.

Rep. Jason Smith (R-Salem) spoke on the floor after Jeffries in his role as Ways and Means chair. Smith called Democratic claims that the bill would kick millions off their health care coverage “hogwash.”

Missouri’s two Democrats, Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City and Wesley Bell of St. Louis, opposed the bill, with Cleaver labeling it the “Big Ugly Bill” and a “moral monstrosity” in social media posts.

Cleaver said the Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill will take health care coverage from 17 million Americans, including 265,000 Missourians, and take food assistance from 5 million families.

Bell called Thursday’s action “one of the darkest votes in modern American history.”

Trump has said he plans to sign the legislation on Independence Day.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia woman was charged with four felonies after she allegedly attacked a woman while holding a BB gun on Wednesday.

Latara Woods, 40, was charged on Thursday with first-degree robbery, two counts of armed criminal action and a count of carjacking. She is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A court date has not been set.

Woods allegedly told police that she was shot with a BB gun and had a welt on her arm, according to the probable cause statement. The victim allegedly told police that she had her child when Woods took the keys to a vehicle and grabbed the BB gun from the passenger seat, the statement says. The victim was able to take the BB gun back and shot Woods multiple times, the statement says she told police.

Video footage allegedly showed Woods walk up to the victim — while they were holding a child — and grab the BB gun and a purse from the victim, the statement says. The video allegedly showed the victim defend herself during an assault and hit Woods with a wood plank, but it did not show shots being fired, the statement indicates.   

Click here to follow the original article.

Matthew Sanders

EDITOR’S NOTE: The day of the week has been corrected.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Boone County firefighters reported no injuries after finding a vehicle on its side with a working power pole resting on it Thursday morning near Harrisburg.

The call came in a little before 8 a.m. for a crash with entrapment near Highway 124 and Route NN, the Boone County Fire Protection District wrote in a social media post. A fire district assistant chief arrived at the scene quickly and saw the vehicle on its side with the utility pole on top of it, the post states.

The vehicle’s lone occupant reported no injuries.

Boone Electric workers disconnected the power line, and eastbound Highway 124 was closed for about 30 minutes, the post says.

Click here to follow the original article.

Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Wentzville man drowned on Wednesday evening at the Lake of the Ozarks.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, a 70-year-old man was on a 2002 Triton TR20PD boat when he fell overboard at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the 8-mile marker at Workmen Hollow Cove.

The drowning report states a bystander pulled him out of the water.

The man was not reported to be wearing a life jacket, according to the online report.

This is the first drowning reported by MSHP at the Lake of the Ozarks for the summer.

Click here to follow the original article.

Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri State Highway Patrol begins its holiday counting period Thursday night for the Fourth of July weekend. MSHP is calling its safety efforts “Operation C.A.R.E”, a crash awareness and reduction effort.

During the 2024 counting period, the highway patrol reported 14 people killed and more than 500 hurt in Missouri in nearly 1400 traffic crashes over the holiday weekend. Troopers also arrested 149 people for driving under the influence.

AAA projects more than 70 million people will travel at least 50 miles or more from home for the independence day holiday, an increase of nearly two million more travelers compared to 2024.

The Missouri Department of Transportation is also stopping work on most maintenance and construction projects starting Thursday at noon until 6 a.m. Sunday Morning.

The 2025 Fourth of July holiday counting period will go through 11:59 p.m. Sunday night.

Click here to follow the original article.

Matthew Sanders

Fireworks are big business in Missouri.

Last year, the state imported nearly $86 million of the stuff — the most per capita of any state. Many of those sales can be chalked up to people traveling through from elsewhere. But as anyone who lives here knows, quite a bit of the spending on fireworks comes from Mid-Missouri locals.

And with the Fourth of July falling on a Friday this year, people will get even more chances to make some noise of their own by buying their favorite fireworks. (Here’s a link to some safety suggestions if you’re one of them)

Do you plan to shoot your own fireworks this year? Let us know by voting in the poll.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 43-year-old Jefferson City man was charged with six felonies after he allegedly drove his SUV erratically to throw two 13-year-olds off of it.

Seth Wilson was charged with two counts of second-degree assault, two counts of armed criminal action and two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child. He is being held at the Cole County Jail on a $25,000 bond. An arraignment was held on Wednesday.

One of the victims allegedly sat on the hood of the vehicle Monday in the 1300 block of Monroe Street because “his cellphone was on it and he received a missed call from his father,” the probable cause statement says. That teenager sat on the vehicle while returning the call and the other sat with them, according to court documents.  

Wilson allegedly then got into the vehicle and drove it with the youths on it, the statement says. He then allegedly made hard stops to get them to fall off, which they eventually did after he drove around the block a few times, the statement says. Witnesses reported seeing at least one of the youths fall off the SUV, and the second had a limp, court documents say.

The probable cause statement says that the two victims claimed Wilson tried to convince them to get into his vehicle after they fell off.

Click here to follow the original article.

Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

From large mortar fireworks to sparklers, the Boone County Fire Protection District is reminding people to stay aware of potential dangers when using fireworks this Fourth of July weekend.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission found there were 11 reported fireworks-related deaths and 14,700 injuries in 2024. This marked an increase of about 38% in deaths and about 52% in injuries. There were also around 1,700 emergency injuries last year involving sparklers.

We’ve had people with their hands blown off, fingers blown off, a lot of soft tissue injuries in the past,” BCFPD Assistant Chief Gale Blomenkamp said.

All fireworks feature a warning and instruction label on how to properly handle them. Fireworks without the labels are most likely counterfeit and should be avoided. Fireworks can be stored in a dark, dry area. While fireworks don’t expire, they can degrade over time, affecting ignition and burn time.

The best environment for fireworks is open, flat ground away from trees and houses. Driveways and grass and slanted, should also be avoided to prevent any fireworks from tipping over. Blomenkamp adds that something flat, like a piece of plywood, can be used. Fireworks should also be kept away from dry brush.

Sparklers can also reach temperatures as high as 2,000 degrees and are recommended to be used with adult supervision, according to the CPSC. A field test on Wednesday showed a sparkler reached more than 400 degree.

The BCFPD recommends piercing an upside-down cup through the bottom of a sparkler to protect hands from the sparks.

Used fireworks and sparklers can stay hot more than 100 degrees. Let them cool for 10-15 minutes or soak them in water before throwing them out in a metal bin or trash can to prevent any fires. Never relight defective fireworks; soak them in water and throw them out safely.

“What we see a lot of times is kids will get done with these. They’ll throw them on the ground, they’ll run to get another one, and somebody else will inevitably step on it,” Blomenkamp said.

Bloomenkamp also recommends homeowners check their properties when fireworks go off nearby.

“Because you’re in a neighborhood subdivision does not mean that everything is safe and you’re exempt from starting a natural cover fire, people can have dry leaves in their gutters, they can have dry grasses or leaves around their house still,” Bloomenkamp said. “Follow the recommended instructions on the package, shoot them off that way and it could be a safe holiday.”

Cities like Columbia, Jefferson City, Fayette and Ashland have bans on fireworks within city limits or require permits to handle them, it’s recommended for people to reach out to their local fire, police or sheriff’s office for the rules before purchasing or lighting fireworks.

Click here to follow the original article.

Keriana Gamboa

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Sample ballots were sent out this week, letting Boone County voters know about the option to expand the senior property tax relief during the August special election.

In 2024, Boone County voters approved a measure to freeze property taxes for homeowners aged 62 and older. However, county commissioners made two exceptions to that freeze: The blind pension fund and debt levies.

Seniors applied through June 30 to determine if they were eligible for tax relief this year. Final numbers weren’t immediately available, but information from the county indicates that it expects around 9,500 households to be a part of it for 2025.

Former State Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch (R-Hallsville) is pushing to expand the exemption to include debt levies, as well. She’s backing a petition that would fully freeze property taxes for eligible seniors, including the portion used to repay debt.

“What my petition does is do a full freeze that also includes bond levies, that is the difference. So if it passes, you will still have the initial freeze of the base tax levy, but in addition, it will freeze your bond levy amount,” Toalson Reisch said.

Boone County Presiding Commissioner Kip Kendrick said the proposed expansion could create legal uncertainty.

“Article 6, the Missouri Constitution, clearly states how taxing jurisdictions may enter into debt. It has to be voter-approved, then they issue general obligation bonds as bondholders enter into covenants with those taxing entities to ensure that they can repay those,” Kendrick said. “We know that we don’t have the ability to interfere with the debt levies of those taxing jurisdictions.”

Kendrick said the county will spend more than $100,000 to hold the special election.

“If and when it passes, we will include those debt levies,” Kendrick said. “We think that probably creates some legal uncertainty for the program moving forward, but that’s certainly what we’ll do.”

A debt levy is a portion of property tax set aside to help local governments or school districts repay loans for major projects, such as school construction or public infrastructure. These levies are typically approved by voters as part of a bond issue.

All debt levies are held currently by school districts and the fire districts in Boone County.

“Hopefully, it will create a situation where it’s least disruptive for those already in the program or those who plan to be.” Kendrick said.

The August ballot will also include the race for Columbia City Council’s Ward 2 seat, as well as a proposed property tax increase for the Harrisburg School District.

Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon told ABC 17 News that voters who need an excused absentee ballot must request one by 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 23. Completed ballots must be returned to the clerk’s office by 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Lennon also noted that a no-excuse absentee voting period will run from July 22-Aug. 4. During that time, any registered Boone County voter can cast a ballot in person at the Boone County Government Center.

Click here to follow the original article.