Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Police Department says it has arrested a man who was wanted in an armed robbery that occurred on June 5.

Noah Cooley, 21, of Columbia, was charged on June 13 with first-degree robbery, two counts of armed criminal action and a lone count of unlawful use of a weapon. Police wrote in a Tuesday evening press release that Cooley was arrested at 1:05 p.m. in the 1000 block of Claudell Lane.

He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

Court documents say that police were called to Vaper Maven in the 100 block of Business Loop 70 around 12:16 p.m. June 5. The victim had allegedly stated to police that a man robbed her at gunpoint, the probable cause statement says.

The victim was able to identify Cooley to law enforcement in a photo lineup. Cooley at the time allegedly asked the victim about a product and she turned around, the statement says. Cooley then allegedly jumped behind the counter, pointed a gun at her head and told her to put products in a bag, along with money from the cash register, the statement says.

The victim locked the door of the store after Cooley left, the statement says. Cooley allegedly took about $300 in cash and $500 worth of product. Police also reviewed video of the incident which allegedly matched details the victim gave police, the statement says.

The statement says police reviewed video footage from nearby stores, as well, and made a facial recognition request for information through the Missouri Information Analysis Center, which returned a lead for Cooley.

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Mitchell Kaminski

Editor’s note: Additional financial information about Anthem was added on June 25, 2025, as was information from an updated statement provided by MU Health Care. A paragraph describing the timeframe in which operating gains occurred for MU Health Care has been corrected.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) 

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield says negotiations with MU Health Care are stalled. 

This comes as MU Health Care posted more than $50 million in operating gains from July 1, 2024-April 30, 2025 which includes a full month of Anthem going out of network. 

According to a filing by Anthem’s parent company Elevance, health benefits – which is made up of individual, employer group risk-based, employer group fee-based, BlueCard, Medicare, Medicaid and Federal Employee Program businesses – resulted in operating gain of $2.2 billion for a three-month period ending on March 31.

The two sides failed to reach an agreement by the March 31 deadline, which took MU Health Care out of network for Anthem customers. In April, MU Health Care told ABC 17 News that the two sides were still engaged in discussions, but added that it began negotiations wanting an increase of 11-13% over the next three years. 

MU Health Care claimed that Anthem only offered a 1-2% increase, which was not enough to cover inflationary costs of supplies, labor, technology and pharmaceuticals. MU Health Care claimed it lowered its rate proposal later in the month.

However, Anthem claimed in April that its proposed rate increases exceeded the Consumer Price Index for each year of a three-year agreement.

“Despite our repeated efforts to resume good-faith negotiations, MU Health Care has made future meetings conditional on Anthem first meeting their terms— an approach that prevents meaningful dialogue,” an Anthem spokesperson told ABC 17 News in an email on Tuesday. “Anthem recently extended a proposal to MU Health Care to continue continuity of care for our most vulnerable members through December 31, 2025. MU Health Care declined that offer. Anthem has offered annual rate increases above the Consumer Price Index (CPI), along with the opportunity to earn more through quality-based incentives. MU Health Care has rejected these offers. We want MU Health Care in our network—but not at a rate Missourians can’t afford.” 

On Tuesday, a MU Healthcare spokesman said that a 1-2% increase is all they have been offered in almost a year.

“MU Health Care sent its initial proposal to Anthem in July of 2024.  While MU Health Care’s negotiating position and expectations have changed over the last 10 months, Anthem’s has not,” MU Health spokesman Eric Maze said in an email.

An updated statement from MU Health Care sent on Wednesday evening reiterated “In communication from Anthem around their most recently restated offer, Anthem leadership indicated that they were disengaging from discussions with MU Health Care unless our position changed.”

The updated statement from MU Health Care also claims that Anthem’s continuity of care extension was “not viable,” and that Anthem “bears the responsibility for continuity of care decisions.” MU Health Care alleges Anthem is “now attempting to shift blame and avoid accountability.”

MU Health Care reported a $53.5 million operating gain from July through April. Numbers shared by MU Health Care to the UM System’s Board of Curators showed its Columbia operation accounted for $50.3 million of that, with Jefferson City Capital Region Hospital bringing in $3.2 million. 

In total, MU Health generated $1.599 billion compared to $1.546 billion in expenses. This exceeded the $33.6 billion forecasted in net operating gains during that period. 

MU Health Care still posted financial gains, despite exceeding its overall budget in several key areas. Salaries and benefits came in about $3.6 million over budget, supplies were $8.7 million higher than expected and hospital drug costs exceeded projections by $21.7 million.

However, the numbers varied across facilities. University Hospital stayed under budget—saving $1.7 million on salaries and benefits, $7.2 million on supplies, and $5.9 million on hospital drugs. Meanwhile, Capital Region Hospital overspent by $5.3 million on salaries and benefits, $1.4 million on supplies, $1.8 million on hospital drugs and $15.1 million on other expenses.

Anthem’s total operating gain is down from the same period of the first three months in 2024, where it posted $2.3 billion. However, the operating revenue during the 2025 period was reported at $41.4 billion, compared to the first quarter of 2024 at $37.3 billion.

1Q2025ELVEarningsRelease (1)Download

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Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The B-2 Bomber Stealth Fleet held Whiteman Air Force Base in Johnson County played a critical role in the United State’s “Operation Midnight Hammer” airstrike on Iran.

The base is the only one in the country that houses the nation’s stealth bomber fleet and is the sole operational base for the B-2. A total of seven B-2s flew 36-hours round trip Saturday and hit three of Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“It’s like the Super Bowl for these folks and they executed flawlessly,” former B-2 Instructor Pilot Joseph Vandusen said.

Several other B-2s flew west as a decoy. Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed in an interview with ABC News that the mission was the second-longest B-2 mission ever flown.

Vandusen was B-2 instructor pilot from 2012-17. He said his longest mission was 31.2 hours long.

“It’s roughing it. It’s like you’re going out camping,” Vandusen said.

He then went onto the international guard and is now a pilot for United Airlines.

“Ever since I was a little kid, I went to airshows and I never really wanted to fly civilian airplanes I always wanted to the military in some capacity,” he said.

According to Vandusen, about 20 pilots are produced a year after they go through a year of B-2 pilot training.

“It’s very selective, still its the Air Force within the Air Force you have to apply for it and it’s extremely competitive to get in,” Vandusen said. “Compared to an airline, [where] they produce over a thousand pilots a year.”

All 19 B-2 bombers are based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. The U.S. originally built 21, but two were damaged. Every B-2 mission begins and ends in Missouri with two pilots on board.

“The left seat pilot is flying the airplane responding to threats the right seat pilot is dealing with a radar, the communications and the weapons both of these are very intense,” he added. “Its loud, you have to wear headphones and helmet,”

If something does go wrong during a flight, Vandusen says pilots have a last resort option to escape.

“There are explosive bolts above you for if you have a problem and you have to eject and the ceiling explodes you go up on a rail and you go out and the parachute is suppose to get,” Vandusen said.

When it comes to eating, hygiene and rest, Vandusen says there is a microwave on board and pilots bring a cooler along with a hot cup. There is also a camper toilet behind the right seat and a blow-up mattress for sleeping.

“Someone is constantly out of the seat getting some sort of rest and you learn a lot about sleep and physiology these missions are absolutely brutal you’re exhausted there is no way around it you can’t get enough little naps.” He said.

Vandusen described flying a B-2 Bomber as intense and said overall a flight or combat mission can be challenging, adrenaline rush and exhausting. He says the adrenaline rush heading to a target keeps a pilot going back once the adrenaline rush wears off and traveling back begins, that’s when the real challenge begins.

“Your adrenaline is down and you’re trying to keep each other awake and you’re switching off duties doing the air refueling cuz you got to make it back home and its often times that’s the hardest part,” He said.

According to Vandusen, “Operation Midnight Hammer” likely refueled three times during their flight. Refueling is done mid-air and takes between 20-30 minutes.

“They are connected to another airplane in the sky, a tanker plane comes up and you literally go in and connect underneath,” he said. “There is a boom operator and a tanker who flies the boom into your airplane on the top there is a receptacle so the boom goes in to the receptacle and then you get gas,”

Vandusen said the all the pilots involved deserve praise for their actions in Iran.

“Being able to see the B-2 folks go out and take care of business then come home and then fade back in the shadows and that’s what they do they are Americas 911 force and when called upon they go and and then they fade back in the shadows and they are reading to be Americas 911 force again,” Vandusen said.

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Keriana Gamboa

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia’s Public Works Department has completed repairs on a road buckle.

Crews worked to pave over the damaged area of North Providence Road near near Big Bear Boulevard. As of 4 p.m. Tuesday,, the road was back open and safe for drivers.

The extreme heat causes road materials to expand, which can lead to what’s known as a road buckle, a sudden rise or crack in the pavement that can pose a serious hazard to drivers. Christopher Jackson, a City of Columbia Street Department Supervisor, was working on Providence Road today.

“The heat,  this pressure builds up underneath the ground and expands it up and usually explodes the concrete…whether it’s old concrete or new concrete, it’s bound to buckle. If it gets the right ingredients that it needs, it’ll buckle if it has to, ” Jackson said.

Across Missouri, multiple road buckles have been reported in recent weeks. In Columbia, city road crews say they’ve already responded to several cases as temperatures continue to rise.

“So far, this is the first major one that we had to fix. We have one other one  over on the east side of town that we got to go fix in the neighborhood,” Jackson said.

City of Columbia Public Works Department spokesperson John Ogan said there is no way of telling where a road buckle could happen.

“There’s really no way to predict where or when a road buckle will happen. It generally happens on hot days like we’ve been having, but it could happen really on any road,” Ogan said.

City and state officials said drivers should stay alert for road buckles as they continue to appear across the area. They advise motorists to slow down, pull over safely if needed, and report any buckles as soon as possible.

The Missouri Department of Transportation warns that ongoing temperature fluctuations could lead to an increase in road buckles. Crews on the ground say they are preparing for more cases as summer temperatures continue to climb.

Those who see any possible new road buckles should call the city’s Department of Public Works. MoDOT should be called for state roads.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Marshall man was charged with several felonies in Saline County on Tuesday after he was found with several weapons in a shopping cart.

John Hooper was charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action, illegally having an illegal weapon, drug possession and unlawful use of a weapon. He is being held at the Saline County Jail without bond and has a hearing set for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Court documents say that Marshall police were called to the 200 block of East Eastwood Street for reports of a man with a shopping cart filled with shotguns knocking on doors. Police saw a shotgun in the cart and Hooper allegedly said there were two guns, the probable cause statement says.

Police removed the guns and Hooper tried to take them back, the statement says. A round from one of the guns was fired into the ground during the struggle, the statement says. Hooper allegedly struggled while police tried to arrest him, according to court documents. Police used a Taser and eventually arrested him, police wrote.

Hooper was allegedly also found with methamphetamine residue and ammunition. Police then allegedly saw a homemade explosive device and a homemade incendiary device.

“The homemade explosive device was made from a plastic pink limeade container, which contained ammunition powder, construction nails, construction screws, shards of broken glass, BB ammunition and an artillery shell,” the statement says. “The homemade incendiary device was made from a glass mason jar wrapped with a gasoline soaked sock. The glass mason jar contained gasoline and an artillery shell.”

A social media post from the Marshall Police Department says that the department, the FBI and Missouri State Highway served a warrant at Hooper’s home. MPD wrote that it found baggies of meth, “epi-pens prescribed to the Marshall Public Schools, drug paraphernalia, multiple pieces of copper believed to be taken from Eastwood Elementary School, a Lenovo computer owned by Marshall Public Schools, NEC Projector belonging to the Marshall Public Schools, multiple wi-fi antennas and two incendiary devises made of glass fuel bottles.”

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ABC 17 News Team

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

First responders on Tuesday were in a neighborhood just north of Interstate 70 in Columbia.

A car crashed into a building on Heriford Road. Responders on the scene told an ABC 17 News photographer that one person was brought to an area hospital with minor injuries.

Traffic was directed back to Paris Road while crews investigated a downed power line.

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Meghan Drakas

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia police are revealing new details about the unsolved case of Virginia ‘Ginger’ Davis.

Police say on the morning of June 6, 1994, authorities found Davis inside her home at 1508 Patsy Lane in only her underwear with a plastic bag over her head.

According to a 1994 media release, a neighbor called authorities and asked for a welfare check after she noticed one of Davis’ five dogs was left outside all night. That neighbor reported that Davis would never leave one of her dogs outside overnight and she had not seen Davis since June 3.

The Columbia Police Department media release from then states officers found the home was locked. Officers entered the home by removing a screen and entering through an open window.

CPD Lt. Matt Gremore confirmed to ABC 17 News recently, there were two holes cut into the screen and her purse was found inside the home.

Autopsy report

An autopsy report on June 7, 1994, revealed there was a binding mark around the neck, impact to her head and other bruises. The cause of death was labeled as suffocation.

“She had blunt force trauma to the head as well as the bag,” Gremore said. “My theory would be that the bag was absolutely a weapon that was used, but I don’t know if that was the only thing that was used.”

Gremore said police have never identified the object used to cause the injuries to her head.

Gremore revealed new details and said the plastic bag was tied with a bathrobe belt found inside Davis’ home. He said the plastic bag was also linked to prior purchase made by Davis, but would not say if the bag had any identifiable markings on it.

Gremore said evidence of a sexual assault is still not determined. Davis was also found with bruises on her arms and legs, which may have been caused during her last moments.

“There’s evidence to make you think that there were some defensive wounds there, that there was a fight that took place,” Gremore said.

The autopsy report labels the death as a homicide.

Two days after determining Davis’s death was a homicide, CPD reported the information generated an increase in calls from residents. Police asked for assistance from the Mid-Missouri Major Case Squad earlier this month, bringing the total number of investigators on the case to 12.

Early life

Ginger Davis was born in 1950 and was one of four children. She grew up in Mid-Missouri and attended Hallsville High School.

Marceil Flatt was neighbors with the family and graduated alongside Davis in 1968. Flatt said she was a little quiet but she was friends with everyone.

“She had horses and we would ride the horses together,” Flatt said. “That was so much fun having neighbors like that.”

Hallsville School District R-4 Class of 1968 Photo. Marceil Flatt pictured as last photo in the top row, formerly Marceil Nolte. Ginger Davis is seen as fourth person from left in fourth row. (Credit: Marceil Flatt)

She described Davis as being a fun and giggly young girl who loved animals. Her family was also involved in 4-H.

“They sewed, made their own clothes,” Flatt said. “That just stayed with her all of her life. One of the things her and her mother did together was they had a rock tumbler or stone tumbler and they tumbled stones and then made jewelry with those.”

Later in life, Davis moved to Colorado where she got married and divorced twice. One of Davis’ cousins, Kathryn Ruble, said she married into the Native American culture and sometimes wore clothing reflective of this.

Virginia ‘Ginger’ Davis, date unknown (Credit: Shawn Patrick)

Ruble said Davis was eventually diagnosed with Lupus, which became a strain on her marriage and she moved back to Mid-Missouri to be closer to her mother. Her nephew Shawn Patrick said the two often enjoyed quilting together and was a part of a group in the Columbia area.

“It affected my grandma, her mom,” Patrick said. “It devastated her. My grandma outlived all of her own kids and she was closest with Ginger.”

More than three decades later, Patrick is still in disbelief over what happened to his aunt.

“After we found out how she was killed, that shocked us even more,” Patrick said. “It hit hard for a lot of our family, because we just couldn’t believe that anybody could do that to anybody, but especially to our own family,” Patrick said.

ABC 17 News at the time reported neighbors described Davis as a friendly woman who offered help to a neighbor while he was moving in. That was despite the fact she had Lupus and at times used a wheelchair.

Decades later

In January 2023, CPD announced it reopened the case and sent evidence off for additional testing.

Gremore told ABC 17 News there was DNA evidence collected at the scene in 1994 that was from another person.

“In this case, there is DNA,” Gremore said. “But we don’t have enough information to say whose DNA it is.”

But Gremore revealed to ABC 17 News the DNA profile is of a male. He said it’s possible the killer had injuries from the attack.

“It’s hard to know if there was something that lead up to this, if the house had been cased or if this was a spontaneous build where it’s decided to go and do this,” Gremore said. “But my gut feeling says this was probably something that was thought out.”

Authorities investigate Virginia ‘Ginger’ Davis homicide scene on June 6, 1994 on Patsy Lane in Columbia.

After Davis died, her nephew helped clean out the small blue home on Patsy Lane.

“The main thing I remember from cleaning out, seeing all the fingerprint dust all over the place. I mean it was just everywhere,” Patrick said. “That’s what stuck out in mind of just the amount of the black powder all over the place.”

Patrick hopes one day, the person who killed his aunt will be held accountable.

“I believe it would give us some closure,” Patrick said. “I mean, it’s been so long. Our feeling are kind of numb to it now, but actually knowing who did it….just getting that closure, knowing who it was and if they are still alive, finding out why, you know, why did they do this.”

Ruble says she would also like to see the person who hurt Davis to be brought to justice.

“We would like to see the person or persons be arrested, brought [to] trial and found guilty. No matter what sentence the court give[s] out,” Ruble said. “They’re going to have to stand in front of God on judgement day. He will have the last word. No matter how much time that person would receive, it [can] not bring back our beloved Ginger and the beauty she brought to this world.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An inmate at Jefferson City Correctional Center died Sunday morning, according to a Tuesday press release from the Department of Corrections.

The release says Jerry Thebeau, 66, died at 2:51 a.m. Sunday at Capital Region Medical Center in Jefferson City.

He was received by the DOC at Oct. 20, 2005 and was serving a 30-year sentence for second-degree robbery, armed criminal action and resisting arrest charges from Jefferson County, the release says.

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Haley Swaino

Editor’s note: The sentence referring to the percentage of families who do not qualify for free or reduced lunch has been corrected.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Leaders at Columbia Public Schools are looking at how to best tackle the more than $90,000 of student meal debt.

The conversation continued at the Columbia Public Schools’ Finance Committee meeting Tuesday evening. According to agenda documents, as of June 18, there were 1,673 student accounts that lend to the district’s $91,283.36 in unpaid school lunch debt.

Of the accounts with unpaid lunch debt, 247 are from students who receive free or reduced lunch and 1,426 are from students with paid accounts.

The Lunch for Learners fund is used to cover delinquent lunch accounts for families who do not qualify for free or reduced-price meals but face short-term financial hardship.

Approximately 42% of students in Columbia Public Schools qualify for free or reduced-price meals, according to previous reporting. However, many families find themselves just below the threshold, leaving them to face difficult decisions regarding daily essentials such as food, gas, and utilities.

The district serves all students hot meals regardless of lunch status, CPS spokesperson Michelle Baumstark told ABC 17 News in April. The cost of a meal is $3.10 for elementary and $3.30 for middle and high school.

With tens of thousands in unpaid school lunch debt, CPS and a Pennsylvania-based debt collection agency agreed earlier this month to go after unpaid student lunch balances and other delinquent payments beginning July 1.

The Columbia Board of Education approved the agreement with Ability Recovery Services LLC at its June 9 meeting with a 6-1 vote. Baumstark said the debt then was $92,403.72.

Board member Suzette Waters said CPS received an outpouring of donations to the Lunch for Learners fund after that announcement. But who gets that money is now being decided.

“There never has been a formalized process for determining eligibility for the fund because there wasn’t very much money in the fund,” Waters said. “There’s never been more than like $5,000.”

She said there is now more than $75,000 in the fund. But because it is only for families who do not qualify for free or reduced meals, the CPS Finance Committee is looking to create another way to decide which families can access that money, besides income.

The committee is now looking to other CPS leaders to help identify who needs money by sending them a list of students with accounts who owe that are not on free or reduced lunch.

“If those building staff know that actually this student, they just had this going on in their family, they might need some help, then we can make a personalized phone call to that family,” Waters said.

But though the Lunch for Learners fund is growing, the debt may also.

“What we really need to communicate to the community is although we have raised a lot of money through the generous donations of so many community partners and community members, we may not see a huge reduction in the the debt balance that CPS carries because most of those families don’t qualify for funds because they don’t have a need,” Waters said. “Even though we’ve raised $75,000+, we could raise $200,000 and next year there will be more debt.”

According to previous reporting, Board member April Ferrao said in the June meeting that 95-97% of outstanding debt is from families who do not qualify for free or reduced lunch or have not applied.

In an emailed letter home to those who owe, a paragraph already mentions the fund.

“A paragraph has now been added to the letter saying if you have had a circumstance like an unexpected medical bill or a temporary change in an employment and you have a need, please let us know because funds may be available to you,” Waters said.

The Lunch for Learners fund was created in 2010 by Nutrition Services Director Laina Fullum and Chris Belcher, who was the superintendent at the time. Its initial funding came from donations made by the United Way, the Columbia Public Schools Foundation, and various local organizations.

The district encourages donations to the Lunch for Learners fund year-round. Information about the fund and how to donate can be found at cpsk12.org.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Waynesville firefighter suffered minor injuries after a firetruck crashed Monday morning on Interstate 44, according to a social media post from the Waynesville Rural Fire Protection District.

The truck blew out a tire near mile maker 156, causing the truck to go into an embankment, hit a sign and stop on the shoulder, the post says. The windshield on the driver’s side shattered and the driver was brought to an area hospital with minor injuries, the report says.

Two other firefighters in the vehicle had no reported injuries. The firetruck was totaled, the post says.

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