Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The criminal investigation into Sedalia councilman who resigned last week may include sexual harassment of a juvenile, according to a Monday email from Pettis County Sheriff Brad Anders.

Former Ward 1 Councilman Tom Oldham stepped down on Thursday after “serious allegations” were brought against him, the City of Sedalia wrote in a Friday social media post. The city did not elaborate on the allegations in the post or in communications with ABC 17 News.

Anders said on Friday that the investigation “involves the extraction of data from electronic devices,” so there is no timeline for when possible charges could be filed.

Anders wrote on Monday that the initial complaint involved harassing a youth.

“Initial complaint was harassment of a juvenile including a possible sexual variable. Investigation will take time with data dumps and forensic analysis,” he wrote.

Oldham was recently reelected to his seat during the April 8 election. He defeated Albert Reine Jr. 312 votes to 236.

A city spokesperson told ABC 17 News in a Friday email that the city will follow a state statute allowing the mayor to make an appointment to the seat. Whoever is selected will “serve until the next available regular municipal April election,” the statute says.  

Click here to follow the original article.

Haley Swaino

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Firefighters and medics used a bus to simulate a plane with injured passengers during a drill Monday at Columbia Regional Airport.

The triennial training allows emergency personnel to respond to a simulated plane crash.

A Go COMO Transit bus simulating an aircraft arrived on the COU tarmac Monday morning carrying dozens of volunteer crash victims. Some had special makeup done to resemble their assigned injuries.

“There’s a lot going on when we get called to these incidents,” Columbia Fire Department Capt. Wayne Cummins said. “Obviously, we have to peel back all the layers once we get here and figure out where the priorities are. And once we get all the agencies working together, it gets organized pretty quick.”

“Victims” treated the simulation like a real emergency by acting as if they had broken bones or were dead. During the exercise, emergency responders triaged patients based on their simulated injuries.

“We have maybe people that were not injured that were able to walk away from the scene, all the way to the practice of dealing with a fatality of a disaster,” Airport Manager Mike Parks said. “So we take it all the way through that scenario for them (emergency responders) to practice with their triage.”

Some victims were taken away by ambulances back to the airport parking lot, some boarded into an MU Health Care EMS helicopter that did not fly them away from the scene.

“What the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) requires is we try to get as close as we can to the number of volunteers that we would have for the average aircraft that’s used at the airport,” Parks said. “That way, it ensures that we have enough victims to be able to practice with all emergency responders.”

The FAA requires airport’s complete the full-scale emergency exercise every three years to maintain certification.

Parks said while conducting the exercise allows emergency service partners to collaborate in-person, it is not the only time the community discusses emergency preparedness at the airport.

“We’re always communicating,” Parks said. “We always have annual discussions about emergencies and how we would respond.”

The City of Columbia partnered with the Boone County Office of Emergency Management, local law enforcement and fire department agencies, health care providers and the Salvation Army for Monday’s exercise. Emergency responders arrived on the simulated scene in staggered times, as they would during a real emergency.

“We don’t want people driving all the way from Columbia or down in the southern part of the county out here,” Parks said. “So what we do is we stage the emergency responders in a nearby parking lot and then we time it out with a simulated response time from their agency’s headquarters.”

Cummins said the way the exercise is set up helps agencies maintain a sense of accuracy on what response to a Columbia air crash would look like.

“The order of arrival, the dispatch, how we handle the objectives on the scene were very much realistic,” Cummins said.

Initial units set up and organized the command’s response to the scene. Cummins said it takes a lot to come together and assess a scene of this nature, so being prepared is key.

“It was a good opportunity for us (all agencies) to train together and operate together under these conditions,” Cummins said.

All agencies closed out the exercise with a private after-action discussion.

“We’re going to go over everything that went on out there today, the goods, the bads, things that could have been better,” Cummins said. “And we’re going to collaborate together, all agencies, to discuss that and make sure that, God forbid this happened for real, that we could be better prepared and ready to do it if we really have to.”

According to data from the National Transportation Safety Board, there have been at least 250 U.S. aviation incidents in the first quarter of 2025 alone, 37 of which were fatal.

In Mid-Missouri, private aircraft crashes are far more common than commercial plane crashes. The last crash at COU was in July 2011, when the pilot of a small plane couldn’t get his plane’s landing gear down. He was not hurt.

The last deadly crash in Columbia happened in September 2009 when a pilot of a small plane crashed just after takeoff in bad weather.

April 16 marked the one-year anniversary of a deadly plane crash in southern Boone County.

It is also nearing the first anniversary of a May plane crash that happened near the Butler Memorial Airport in Butler, Missouri. Six people were forced to parachute out of the small plane.

A deadly mid-air collision in Virginia in January involved an American Airlines passenger plane and a Black Hawk military helicopter near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

The same model of airplane involved in the crash — CRJ 700s — fly in and out of the Columbia Regional Airport. American Airlines CRJ 700 planes are used for some flights by Skywest between Columbia and Dallas.

Click here to follow the original article.

Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Mizzou women’s basketball coach Kellie Harper took questions from reporters Monday afternoon along with star player Grace Slaughter.

Harper has signed several players since being hired last month to lead the women’s team after the departure of Robin Pingeton.

Watch the news conference live in the media player.

Click here to follow the original article.

Euphenie Andre

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

It has been one week since tornadoes touched down across Mid-Missouri, causing damage and teaching some residents important lessons.

In Columbia, city officials reported that at least five homes and several buildings sustained damage after a confirmed EF-1 tornado moved through the area. The tornado caught many by surprise, but several residents say the experience has made them feel more prepared for future storms.

Cara Joos, a Columbia homeowner, described the terrifying moment the storm hit.

“It was like the world just went white,” Joos said.

Joos experienced only minor damage to her property.

“We just lost a tree and then had a few dents and a few shingles. That’s already all repaired. It was like (the tornado) just jumped right over our house, so it missed us,” Joos said.

However, her next-door neighbor was not as fortunate. A large tree fell onto their home, causing significant damage.

Joos reflected on her experience during the tornado, saying, “I went downstairs and looked out the window, and it was like everything was still white. Things were hitting the house.”

She said she was unprepared to receive alerts, as she mainly accesses content through streaming services.

“I didn’t have anything prearranged,” Joos said. Moving forward, she plans to download a local weather app to receive real-time alerts. “Probably my biggest thing is to know exactly where I can get live local weather, like right here on ABC 17 News,” she said.

Another Columbia resident, Laura Hurdle had the roof of her home on Lynwood Drive damaged after a tree fell on it. Hurdle said she is still waiting for bids and repairs.

“I’m just hoping we don’t have another rainstorm because we have a little hole in our roof now. It has a tarp over it, so we’re just kind of waiting for the contractors to get back to us,” Hurdle said.

Both Joos and Hurdle emphasized the importance of seeking shelter in the basement during the tornado. While property damage has been frustrating, they expressed relief that no one in their neighborhoods were seriously hurt.

City officials said that there were no reported deaths or injuries in Sunday’s tornado.

Click here to follow the original article.

Euphenie Andre

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Locals gathered at the American Legion in Columbia Saturday afternoon to discuss the ongoing contract dispute between Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and MU Health Care.

The meeting, organized by LiUNA Local 955, aimed to provide community members with updates and a space to voice their concerns. Representatives from MU Health Care, along with a retired physician, made up the panel. However, many in attendance were expecting to hear from a representative from Anthem but none were present.

Since the two sides failed to reach an agreement at the beginning of the month, MU Health Care is no longer considered in-network for Anthem patients, impacting thousands across Mid-Missouri.

Many attendees came seeking answers but said they left with even more questions.

The meeting began at 1 p.m. and wrapped up around 2:30 p.m. Patients and union members were given about an hour to directly voice their concerns to the panel. Carissa Tarnowski, who attended the meeting, emphasized the wide-reaching impact of the contract dispute.

“I think both entities need to realize that since MU has such a large presence in Mid-Missouri and has now taken over Capital Region in Jefferson City, MU employees and hundreds of thousands of people are being affected by this. Quite literally half of the medical coverage in the area is being denied for such a large presence of employees who need this coverage,” Tarnowski said.

The panel included Ed Weisbart, a retired physician, Tonya Johnson, Chief Operating Officer at MU Health Care, and Dr. David Mehr, also with MU Health Care.

But a seat at the panel reserved for Stephanie Vojicic, the president of Anthem remained empty.

Her absence was not overlooked by the crowd.

“I would like to say I was surprised, but obviously not, because this insurance company has done nothing but show that they don’t care,” attendee Alex Falm said.

Another attendee, Leslie Durrant, shared the same disappointment.

“I came primarily because it was publicized that the president of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield would be here today, and yet she’s not here which gives me the impression that Anthem is not concerned about the people who are dependent upon their health care insurance coverage,” Durrant said.

Many attendees expressed frustration about themselves or their loved ones needing consistent medical coverage. Johnson said MU Health provided Anthem with a list of nearly 7,000 patients who deserve continuity of care.

“Anthem is the insurance payer is the one that right now is determing if a person needs continuity of care benefits.” Johnson said “We sent over a list of our patients to Anthem and said heres the list we believe meet consumer care. I think it was about 6,700 patients, and we have yet to get a reconciliation of that list back from them.”

Patients said they want both parties to reach an agreement quickly.

“They’re messing it up for families of all shapes and sizes. Kids, children, adults, elderly, and it’s affecting everyone,” Tarnowski said. “It’s not about the money. It needs to be about the coverage and allowing people to seek the medical care that they’ve been having, and having convenient medical care for them and their families.”

According to a press release, in the upcoming weeks, LiUNA Local 955 will also enter wage negotiations with the City of Columbia, MU Health Care, and the University of Missouri.

Anthem responded Sunday morning to ABC 17 News with a statement stating that its top priority is keeping healthcare both accessible and affordable.

“If it’s not affordable, it’s not accessible,” Anthem spokesperson said. “The rate increases proposed by MU Health Care, across every offer they’ve made, are not affordable. No one is seeing increases over the next three years at the pace MU Health Care is demanding — particularly for the more than 80% of our clients who are self-funded and pay these costs directly. Public-sector employers, Taft-Hartley funds, local businesses, and individuals would bear the full weight of those increases.”

An Anthem spokesperson added that the company has “put forward an offer that exceeds the Consumer Price Index (CPI) annually,” and that the proposal includes “quality-based incentives” allowing MU Health Care to earn additional revenue by meeting performance benchmarks consistent with Anthem’s broader network standards. However, according to Anthem, MU Health Care has rejected the offer and has “to date, never met the benchmarks required to earn those quality incentives.”

Anthem concluded by reaffirming its position, “Our goal has always been, and remains, to have MU Health Care as part of the Anthem network — just not at any cost.”

Click here to follow the original article.

Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Just Between Friends Columbia hosts the final day of their pop-up consignment event Sunday, with the group hoping to bring savings to parents. The shop sells a wide variety of children’s products, including strollers, play tables, books and clothing.

According to Baby Center, recent tariffs have caused an increase in the cost of products like strollers and car seats. The Nuna brand had to raise prices by around 10%, while Uppababy raised prices by 20% to 30%.

Toys made in China have also seen price increases.

“It’s been talked about a lot recently that everything is expensive, we’ve talked a lot about grocery prices, but also our kids don’t stop growing,” said co-owner of Just Between Friends Columbia Nichole Clark. “It’s just a great way for families to get what they need.”

Baby Center has not seen an increase in the cost of diapers or formula, but predicts that could change. Manufacturing and packaging fees may affect diapers, and specialty European formulas like Kendamil or HiPP may also take a hit.

Donations from Just Between Friends Columbia’s event go to the Central Missouri Foster Care and Adoption Association in Jefferson City and the Faith Bridge Foster Family Resources in Moberly. Shoppers can also donate to Central Missouri Community Action and MU Health Care’s Patient Assistance Fund.

“These items all come from local families who are just looking for a way to do a variety of things, whether they want to clear out the things that their kids are no longer using, maybe their motivation is to bring in a little extra income for their family a couple of times a year,” Clark said.

The sale runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Columbia Sports Fieldhouse on Philips Farm Road.

Just Between Us Columbia will host another resale event in October.

Click here to follow the original article.