Category: kmiz-local-news

Matthew Sanders

The Missouri Tigers led off the 2025 football season Thursday night with a big win at home over Central Arkansas, 61-6.

The Tigers had one quarterback go down when Sam Horn left the game with a leg injury. That cleared the way for Penn State transfer Beau Pribula to lead the offense for the rest of the game, and he didn’t disappoint.

Pribula had 283 passing yards and two passing TDs. He added another TD on the ground.

However, the competition was much easier than the teams the Tigers will face later this season.

Were you impressed with what you saw from Pribula? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Boone County judge has ruled that a lawsuit against University of Missouri fraternity members can continue.

Judge Joshua Devine ruled on Thursday that the lawsuit filed by former student Riley Strain’s family can continue after the defendants argued to have their names dropped.

Devine granted the motion filed by Delta Chi Fraternity, Inc. to dismiss count three, vicarious liability, against the group.

The claims of Strain’s step-parents, Christopher Whiteid and Melissa Gilbert, were dismissed because they were not his natural or adoptive parents.

The wrongful death claims against the fraternity and bar are still active after the ruling, along with negligence claims against the bar and individual fraternity members.

Strain’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Delta Chi fraternity in March, claiming the fraternity did not follow safety protocols during a March 2024 fraternity “formal” event in Nashville that led to Strain’s death. The lawsuit also claimed Strain’s fraternity brothers did not accompany him back to the hotel when he was kicked out of a bar and didn’t check on him until later.

Since its filing, numerous defendants have requested that Devine remove them from the lawsuit. Attorneys agreed on dismissing nine fraternity members earlier this month.

Strain went missing on March 8, 2024, after being kicked out of Luke’s Bridge 32 bar on Broadway and 3rd Avenue just before 10 p.m. Police found his body in the Cumberland River on March 22, 2024. Strain’s death was ruled a drowning, with a toxicology report also finding alcohol and other substances in his system.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A discrimination lawsuit filed by the former warden of Jefferson City Correctional Center provides details about the workings of the facility, including when multiple inmates died by homicide.

The lawsuit filed by Doris Falkenrath, the warden at JCCC from April 2021 until June 2024, claims that she was discriminated against for her race, gender, age and disability.

Falkenrath claims that when she took over as warden, she experienced a hostile environment. Her lawsuit states that operational issues and staffing shortages got worse while she was at JCCC.

“JCCC faced increasing safety risks, including offender deaths due to fentanyl overdoses, suicides, and other causes. Staff were regularly assaulted, and gang activity increased,” the lawsuit states.

Falkenrather claims staff suffered injuries, attacks and “escalating security incidents” during 2022 and 2023, but her superiors didn’t lend her proper support. This includes three offender homicides, documents state.

A superior called the “director” is listed in documents by the initials “A.P.” Former Department of Corrections Director Anne Precythe announced her retirement in November 2023.

Falkenrath’s lawsuit also details the time around when Othel Moore Jr. died in custody and the use of the Correctional Emergency Response Team. 

Petition for DamagesDownload

The CERT members were dispatched to JCCC as part of a callout at Falkenrath’s request after a homicide and other violent incidents in October 2023, according to documents. The “callout” was scheduled for Dec. 8, 2023.

Falkenrath said she was not at the prison at the time because of a funeral, but the deputy warden later told her about Moore’s death. Moore is not mentioned by name in the lawsuit, and any names of the other employees are labeled as initials.

Falkenrath claims that after Moore’s death, detectives from Cole County requested video footage, and that when she reached out to provide the footage, she never heard from the investigator. That is when she said another official told her the investigator would instead be working with detectives.

The lawsuit claims she cooperated with officials from Cole County when asked, but felt that she was being blamed.

The lawsuit says Falkenrath also filed a complaint about alleged discrimination, harassment and retaliation.

In June, Falkenrath said the deputy director told her she was being disciplined for Moore’s death, alleging that she didn’t cooperate with the Cole County Sheriff’s Office.

Falkenrath is suing the department on six counts of discrimination based on race, gender, age and disability, along with hostile work environment and illegal retaliation.

A spokesperson told ABC 17 News that the Department of Corrections does not comment on litigation.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Marshall woman has been charged after she was accused of driving on the wrong way of Highway 65 while intoxicated.

Lauren Ngaue, 32, is charged with aggravated fleeing a stop causing physical injury, second-degree assault, DWI resulting in serious physical injury, armed criminal action and two traffic misdemeanors.

Court documents state Pettis County deputies were informed about a wrong-way driver southbound on Highway 65 in the northbound lanes. Deputies said they saw the car as it was driving 90 miles per hour, head-on towards their patrol cars.

Deputies used spike strips to disable three of the tires at the intersection of Highway 65 and Highway HH. The driver, identified as Ngaue, continued to drive away from law enforcement with their lights on, leading to a chase.

Still in the wrong lanes, the driver hit another car, causing damage to both cars, according to documents.

Ngaue was taken into custody after she was checked out by EMS and refused any care.

Deputies said she smelled of alcohol, was moving slowly and had slurred speech. She allegedly told them she had several beers and “shooters” of alcohol that were found in the car.

The other driver was placed into a C-collar and taken to Bothwell Regional Health Center after they were extricated from the vehicle. Deputies also reported the driver had blood running down her face.

Ngaue was on probation for assault and DWI, according to records.

She is being held at the Pettis County Jail without bond.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

State Road M is back open after it was closed for several hours following a crash with a semi-truck.

Callaway County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post that State Road M in Callaway County was closed north of Interstate 70 and south of Hatton-McCredie School.

The road was closed for several hours while tow companies worked to remove a semi-truck that was carrying anhydrous ammonia.

North Callaway County Fire Chief Matt Walton told ABC 17 News the road reopened just after 7 p.m.

Some bus routes for North Callaway R1 were adjusted because of the closure.

Callaway County deputies, North Callaway County Fire Protection District and the Missouri State Highway Patrol were on scene for traffic control and safety.

The driver was not reported to be hurt.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A new crossing arm will be installed in Moberly as part of a project to make crossing safer.

Norfolk Southern Railroad will be adding a cross arm to Coates St. westbound lane to keep drivers from stopping between the two sets of tracks.

This means Moulton St. traffic will now be one-way going north from Coates to Farror. It will return to two-way traffic after Farror.

The city will also be constructing new sidewalks across Coates. Norfolk Southern Railroad will install the railguards.

After construction is done, the city will paint angled parking spots along half of Moulton to allow for more parking for the nearby stores.

Work is expected to be done in early December.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man was charged after he was accused of having more than 50 grams of fentanyl.

Charles Walker Jr. is charged with first-degree trafficking drugs over the statutory amount, tampering with physical evidence and a misdemeanor of resisting arrest.

Court documents state officers were patrolling on Wednesday when they saw a white Kia Forte fail to signal while exiting the roundabout south of Range Line.

Officers said they tried to pull the car over, but it did not stop. Documents said officers followed the driver onto Wilkes Blvd from Range Line St.

Detectives said they allegedly saw the driver, Walker, roll down his window and throw three bags out the window. Police said they found the drugs in the bags.

Documents state that when Walker stopped and officers were able to conduct the traffic stop. While searching him, officers said they found another bag with drugs between his buttocks.

Police said the drugs field tested positive for fentanyl and weighed 56.15 grams, 2,245.6 times the statutory requirement for trafficking in the first degree.

Post-Miranda officers said Walker allegedly admitted to buying and planning to sell the drugs.

Walker is currently on federal probation, according to documents.

He is being held at the Boone County jail without bond.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

University of Missouri Health Care made $45 million in its fiscal year 2025, according to the UM Board of Curators Health Affairs Committee meeting on Thursday.

This comes after MU Health and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield reached a deal in July, according to a previous KMIZ report. Contract details haven’t been released yet.

MU Health Columbia brought in $45.3 million this year, while the Jefferson City branch lost $300,000, according to a financial document from the 2025 fiscal year.

MU Health leaders said revenues would have been even higher if they had stayed with Anthem.

However, MU Health expects to see higher profits in fiscal year 2026 because it waited to charge patients with Anthem so patients wouldn’t have to pay out-of-network costs, which are much higher, according to MU Health Communications Specialist Eric Maze.

“We’re anticipating that we’ll be able to build that back up, now that we’re billing patients and receiving payments from those services,” Maze said.

The new contract is retroactive to April 1, when the old deal expired, according to previous reporting.

The ABC 17 team reached out to MU Health for a copy of the new contract, but hasn’t received it yet.

According to MU Health, the new deal will bring back 90,000 people to MU Health services.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Missouri man was sentenced on Wednesday for his role in a 2022 conspiracy to murder U.S. Border Patrol agents.

Jonathan S. O’Dell, 35, of Warsaw, was sentenced to 165 years in federal prison without parole for more than 30 felonies this including conspiracy to murder a federal officer, escape from custody and attempted murder.

O’Dell was found guilty along with his co-defendant, Bryan C. Perry, 39, of Clarksville, Tenn., in November.

The men planned to travel to Texas to shoot at illegal immigrants crossing the border and to shoot any federal Border Patrol agents who tried to stop them, according to authorities.

The two used O’Dell’s home in Warsaw as a staging site for their plan as they collected guns and other gear, the release says. They also tried to recruit other members through TikTok videos, the federal government says.

In one video, Perry allegedly said that Border Patrol agents were committing treason by letting illegal immigrants into the country and should be punished with death, the release says.

Authorities raided O’Dell’s home on Oct. 7, 2022, and Perry shot at them, according to the U.S. attorney. They found six guns, 1,770 rounds of ammunition, two sets of body armor and other gear.

O’Dell was also charged with escaping from custody while at the Phelps County Jail on Sept. 29, 2023.

The Court also sentenced O’Dell to five years of supervised probation after his release, according to the Department of Justice. He was also ordered to pay $19,234 in restitution.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Jefferson City Council voted to approve a new city property tax rate.

During a special meeting held on Thursday, the vote on a property tax that is slightly lower than the current one was approved by all eight members at the meeting.

State statute requires the city to set property rates annually.

City staff said during the meeting that this was required after they already approved on Aug. 18, because the county tax rate was increased by more than 2.9%

The council approved the proposed tax rate of $0.5539.

The city is expected to collect about $40,000 more in revenue projections.

Councilmember Treaka Young and Randy Hoselton were not at the meeting in person.

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