Category: kmiz-local-news

Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Talks continued Wednesday night within the Columbia Board of Education about how it plans to spend money for the upcoming school year and the impact it will have on the district’s five-year plan.

The budget is made up of roughly $307 million. About 77% of that operating budget is comprised of staff salaries and benefits, marking a $10 million increase.

The Board had approved a new salary schedule in April, which included pay raises to base salaries for employees in order to help recruit and retain teachers.

The district’s funds includes total fund balances for the district, as well as its operating funds, comprised of general and teacher funds. According to meeting documents, CPS experienced a nearly $7 million decrease in its fund balance.

That was caused by excess expenditures in the Capital Projects fund, according to documents. The opening of schools, such as John Warner and Eagle Bluffs Elementary have also had a significant impact on funds, documents say.

Chief Financial Officer Heather Mcarthur told ABC 17 News the district is spending down its capital project money on those various projects. Mcarthur said to be able to continue being able to do that, as well as make other large fixes, they now have to ask voters.

“Any kind of new bond issues has to be authorized by the voters so before we can plan on that, we’d have to go to the voters,” Mcarthur said. “So, any additional money for capital improvements beyond what our local property tax supports, which is in the 3 to $4 million range that goes into that fund, would have to be going to the voters for authorization for new general obligation bonds.”

Discussions were also had Wednesday regarding debates around property taxes in Missouri. Some lawmakers have proposed a flat income tax and cutting the overall rate. Mcarthur said she worries what this could mean for CPS, which largely relies on it.

“Our district is very highly locally funded, so for the 2025- 2026 budget, about 64% of our total revenue comes from local sources and over 50% directly from local property taxes. If you think about that $300 million, 150 million dollars of it comes directly from property taxes,” Mcarthur said.

The board will vote to approve the budget during its regular meeting on Monday.

Budget Presentation _443853lm454stwk3pawy2rlnp4grxdDownload

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Gov. Mike Kehoe has amended the call for this summer’s special session to include additional items, a Wednesday press release from the governor’s office says.  

The call replaces the previous one made on May 27, which included legislation to incentivize Kansas City sports teams to stay in the state and fund capital projects, such as the nuclear reactor at the University of Missouri.

The session will now include talks involving disaster relief, tax policy and additional budget appropriations, the release says.

“After productive conversations with members of the Missouri General Assembly this week, we are amending our special session call to allow for additional legislation in the areas of disaster relief, tax policy, and budget investments,” Kehoe said in the release. “We appreciate legislators working together to use this as an opportunity to show up for our communities by acting swiftly to help those in crisis, while also making smart decisions that secure opportunity for the future.”

The release says the call asks the legislature to create a tax credit up to $5,000 per homestead “against an individual’s income tax liability for the insurance deductible incurred as a direct result of a disaster for which a presidential disaster declaration has been requested by the Governor.”

Other goals, according to the release, include enhancing the Missouri Housing trust, appropriating money to the Disaster Relief fund and giving property tax relief to uninhabitable residences damaged and listed in disaster declarations.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The State Board of Education is considering a proposal that includes a Columbia school for disabled children among several statewide closures.

The board first heard the proposal to close 12 Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled in May and heard an update to the plan on Tuesday. On the list is Delmar Cobble School in Columbia, which was temporarily closed in February because of staffing shortages. Students from the school now attend schools in Marshall and Jefferson City.

The school in Marshall, Prairie View State School, is among the 12 slated for closure next summer under the plan, along with Dogwood Hills State School in Eldon.

Delmar Cobble and other schools that are temporarily closed would close for good this fall, under the plan.

June board meeting documentsDownload

A DESE spokesperson said in a written statement that dates are not set in stone, depending on when the board of education takes final action on the plan. It’s also undetermined what would happen to the real estate after the permanent closure, the statement says.

The plan could save the state nearly $13 million in deferred maintenance costs and another $1 million annually, according to board documents.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The sidewalk and eastbound traffic in the 200 block of West Main Street in Sedalia have been closed off by the city because of “structural concerns” at a vacant building, the city wrote in a Wednesday social media post.

The city wrote that access to the building at 207 West Main Street has been closed off as a precautionary measure. The city later stated in an updated post that the building is in a “state of collapse” and will either need immediate repairs or be demolished.

“The building has been deteriorating over the past several months, but suffered new damage from the recent storms,” the city wrote in its initial post

An engineer evaluated the building on Wednesday and noted nearby buildings are at risk if a collapse occurs, the updated post reads.

“In coordination with safety precautions, Liberty Utilities made the decision last night to cap the gas lines at the street level rather than excavating Main Street. While gas service to the building had been shut off for at least five years, capping the lines at the street is a critical safety step,” the post says. “If a structure collapses, it can damage underground utility lines, potentially causing leaks or ruptures. By sealing the gas line at its main distribution point, Liberty Utilities has eliminated the possibility of residual or pressurized gas entering the area. This action also removes a significant fire or explosion risk to surrounding buildings, first responders, and the public.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two law enforcement agencies have confirmed that a dead body has been found in Montgomery County.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Wednesday social media post that New Florence police on Tuesday were sent to at 7:58 p.m. Booneslick Road for a 911 hang-up call. Two people told law enforcement that a dead body was inside a vacant building in the 400 block of the street.

The sheriff’s office wrote that it helped police and a dead person was found “in the bay area of the vacant building.” The identity, age and gender of the dead person were not described in the post.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop F’s Division of Drug and Crime Control was also called and are leading the investigation, the release says. An MSHP spokesperson also confirmed to ABC 17 News on Wednesday that a body was found.

Check back for updates.

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Matthew Sanders

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 21-year-old man was charged Tuesday with six felonies and jailed without bond after his arrest during a Jefferson City police response that included long guns and an armored vehicle.

Danaun C. Washington of Jefferson City remained in the Cole County Jail on no bond Tuesday after his arrest at a large police scene the previous afternoon. Multiple Jefferson City Police Department cruisers and an armored car converged on Olive Street. Officers with body armor and long guns were at the scene.

A woman had called 911, reporting that a man had hit her in the face and tried to pistol-whip her, but she blocked the blow, according to a probable cause statement. The man then ran to his house at 215 Olive St., the statement says.

Police used a loudspeaker to talk to Washington and coax him out of the house, but he would not leave the building, the statement says. Officers found him in the attic after they obtained a search warrant and entered the house.

Washington denied hitting the victim or having a gun, according to the statement. Police allegedly found a pistol magazine near the attic access.

No hearings have been set.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A joint command post has been set up in Laurie after severe storms hit northern Camden and southern Morgan Counties on Tuesday night.

According to the Camden County Emergency Management Agency, multiple agencies are assisting in the operation.

Gravois Fire Protection District in Camden County shared on social media that there was “significant damage” across the area the district covers, specifically from Chelsie Road to the end of Highway O.

Fire district Chief Dustin Hancock said firefighters only received three 911 calls during the overnight severe weather and realized something bigger was happening.

‘We’re like, hey, we got a lot of trees down. This doesn’t make sense to us. So we started deploying,” Hancock said. “We established a second command for Highway O. The farther we went out, we just kept finding trees down across the road.”

Besides downed powerlines, Hancock said crews saw damage to about 20 to 25 houses, a few docks and a couple of sheds during their searches of the area.

He said he didn’t expect the level of damage he witnessed.

“I was kind of watching the trees in my backyard. I was like, oh, they’re moving pretty good, let’s go move the patio furniture in,” Hancock said. “As we went out, just the size of the trees, the locations, and all the damage that we actually had, I really didn’t expect that.”

Hancock said fire crews worked until 4 a.m. Wednesday to clear roads, restore power to homes and report downed power lines and trees.

Work started again at 7 a.m.

One local tree removal company tells ABC 17 News they started receiving calls as early as 11 p.m. Tuesday evening.

“We got several to go. We’ve got 16 calls as well since noon,” said Jimmy Wood, with Libel Street Services.

Wood and his team were out clearing fallen trees from neighborhood roads throughout the day Wednesday.

“We load the logs, safely as we can, and strap them down and haul them back to our shop. Get them out of the people’s hair, so they can go back to the living and playing at the lake,” Wood said.

Wood added that if people do consistent maintenance on trees around their property, their more likely to avoid damage from a tree falling.

“Get your trees treated and have them trimmed every year or as often as you can,” Wood said.

Gravois Fire Protection also said multiple docks have broken ramps, damaged cables, or other structural issues. Boat drivers are asked to reduce wake while on the water today.

Hancock thanked his firefighters and surrounding agencies for the response they were able to provide.

“Everyone this morning when they got up, we didn’t have any roads blocked. We managed to get done all of that. I think it kind of expedited mitigating the hazards to someone getting electrocuted,” Hancock said.

Anyone who lives in the area of Chelsie, Purvis, Bass Point, Green Hills Roads and Route O intersections is asked to use caution.

Hancock said they had no reports of injuries, including area residents and his team members. The department’s preliminary report found damage to 23 homes and three commercial buildings.

The American Red Cross has begun gathering information for a formal damage assessment,which will provide verified totals in the coming days.

According to a news release from Gravois Mills Fire, all mutual aid crews were released back to their respective districts at noon on Wednesday.

The release also said the Incident Command Post will remain operational through early Wednesday evening.

Nearly 800 Ameren Missouri customers around the Lake of the Ozarks remained without power at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

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Matthew Sanders

Elon Musk didn’t pull any punches this week about President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda.

“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” Musk posted Tuesday on X. “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”

Musk was, of course, the architect of DOGE, which swept into multiple government agencies in the name of slashing fraud and waste and shrinking the federal workforce. In the end, his efforts fell short of promises, though Congress will soon take up legislation to codify some of the DOGE cuts.

Musk’s criticism of the bill is shared by some conservatives, who worry it will increase budget deficits instead of reducing them.

Do you agree with Musk? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Gabrielle Teiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Almost every Missouri county — 111 out of 114 — is designated as a Health Professional Shortage Area, leaving many Missourians struggling to establish and maintain primary care.

“We are struggling with primary care access, just like every state across the country,” said Dr. Heidi Miller, the chief medical officer with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. “This is a national problem, and in Missouri, we are absolutely 100% feeling it.”

Miller says right now, Missouri is short almost 500 primary care physicians, and it’s only projected to get worse.

“We understand that by 2026, we will have a shortage of 2,000 physicians in the state of Missouri, so we have a catastrophic health care workforce shortage,” Miller said.

Missouri has the fourth-worst shortage in terms of Health Professional Shortage Areas, with Arkansas, Texas and California having the most.

In Missouri, there are three types of Health Professional Shortage Areas — when there are more than 3,500 patients per provider available.

A geographic HPSA means there are not enough providers for the residents in a specific location. A population HPSA means a shortage of providers within a defined geographic location, such as low-income populations. A facility HPSA is a public or non-profit private medical facility, like a Federally Qualified Health Center.

According to DHSS, Missouri would need 476 primary care physicians to remove the HPSA designation for primary care. The areas with the most needs are rural.

The shortage in primary care can be attributed to too few residency slots for medical school graduates, an aging physician workforce, doctor burnout and financial disparities.

Missouri has six medical schools, graduating around 1,000 new physicians per year, but it only has about 700 residency slots available for post-graduate medical training needed to become a fully licensed doctor.

“There’s been a really big push to increase the number of residencies, in primary care in communities, because we know that where people go to residency is often where they want to stay and practice,” said Dr. Whitney LeFevre, assistant professor of family and community medicine and Rural Scholars Program medical director at the University of Missouri. “It’s about attracting, I think, students to fill those slots, has continued to be a little bit of an upward challenge.”

The National Center for Health Workforce Analysis states the primary care physician workforce is older than other occupations, with 42.2% of family medicine physicians over the age of 54.

According to Dr. Natalie Long, President of the Missouri Academy of Family Physicians, physician burnout is hitting primary care hard.

“That can make people work less than full time to make their job more doable, and that can decrease access to patients,” Long said.

Administrative burdens like doing paperwork and charts can also take time away from a patient.

“It’s completing the paperwork, it’s writing your notes, finishing your documentation, coordinating care, those things often are more likely to happen outside of the traditional 8-to-5,” Long said. “We want to do the patient care. That’s what brings us joy. And, filling out paperwork doesn’t bring anyone joy.”

In 2024, the average primary care physician made around $265,000, whereas a specialist made an average of $382,000.

“A lot of students get sort of put off by wanting to go into primary care because they’re worried that they’re not going to be able to pay for the housing, and worsening the debt that they’re facing,” LeFevre said.

This issue is only exacerbated by the split between MU Health Care and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield in March, leaving patients with even fewer primary care options.

“The biggest worry is that people are going to be stuck at home, unable to get preventative or primary care and end up much sicker than they need to be, in hospitals and urgent care, and spending a lot more money,” said LeFevre.

Tune in to ABC 17 News at 10 on Thursday for a special report on Mid-Missouri’s primary care doctor shortage.

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Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

What started out as a simple effort inspired by his son has now grown into an outpouring of support for one Columbia man.

Daniel Edwards moved to Columbia when he was 12 years old and said he’s witnessed firsthand the lasting effects gun violence — especially involving children — can have on a family. Tuesday marked his cousin’s birthday, who was killed back in 2018 at 19-years-old.

Last week, he took to Clark Lane and Providence Road in the city to protest recent youth violence. Edwards stood holding a sign that read, “Listen lil brother, stop killing each other,” a message he says was inspired by his children.

“I just start thinking about how I don’t want to bury my son over a fight, something as simple as a fight,” Edwards said.

Edwards says he viewed himself as a mentor to his younger cousin, who was “on the path to changing his life” before his death. Seven years later, Edwards uses his death, along with others’ he has lost to violence throughout his life, as inspiration to try and be a voice to encourage children to choose a different path.

“I just want the kids to think about you know, would your dead friend or your dead relative want to see you dead, or that person in prison want to see you in prison?” Edwards said. “You know, there’s so much more to life than than these streets or making a bad choice.”

Edwards movement hasn’t gone unnoticed, inspiring others to use their voices as well.

Barbi Jones said she saw the work Daniel Edwards was doing through social media, immediately grabbed her shoes and headed out the door to join the protest. It’s now something she says she hopes to continue doing to make a difference in the community.

“I have grandchildren, I have nephews and you know, I’m concerned about my family as well as others that live here in Columbia and just wanting to help in any kind of way, wanting to show them that there’s better choices to handle their anger,” Jones said.

Jones said although standing on a street protesting may seem like a small act to some, she believes it sends a message.

“It has power for awareness…like we got a lot of honks from different cars and thumbs up and I think they understand what’s going on and it’s going to effect all of us,” Jones said.

Edwards said when he initially began his protests, he didn’t have any intentions of gaining attention.

“It’s not about me, it’s about these kids. It’s about these parents who’s had to bury their kids. It’s about these families that’s suffering that’s hurting,” Edwards said. “It is nice being recognized, you know? But I don’t want that to be the focus. I want the focus to be ‘hey let’s stop killing each other’.”

According to data from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, there have been 132 violent crimes reported within the Columbia Police Department’s jurisdiction since the start of 2025. Violent crimes within that data includes murder, robbery, aggravate assault and rape.

The largest age group of those arrested are youth ages 10-17 with 70 arrests, with the next-highest being 25-34 year olds with 64 arrests. The largest age groups of victims were between 18 and 24, according to data.

An 18-year-old was shot and killed in a Valley Creek neighborhood in late May. A 16-year-old was taken into custody and charged on suspicion of second-degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon.

Edwards said that shooting only made his decision to take a stand that much easier. He now hopes his message will inspire teenagers to think before acting on their emotions.

He says that starts with adults taking the lead.

“We need to start being the example, being the light in this dark world,” Edwards said. “And I think being an example can do way more than anything we say, you know? I just really think being the example you know, and showing these kids that there’s something better to do.”

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