Category: kmiz-local-news

Ellyse Edwards

Editor’s note: Some quotes previously attributed to a library spokesperson have been correctly attributed to its executive director.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Public Library sent state Sen. Rick Brattin an 86-page packet of records about its Rainbow Story Time event on Sept. 16, in response to a request under Missouri’s Sunshine Law.

Nearly a month later, the library says it has not heard whether Brattin has questions or concerns about the records. It is also expecting its state aid payment sometime this month, after Secretary of State Denny Hoskins threatened funding over the event.

Missouri’s Sunshine Law generally requires public governmental bodies to make public records available for inspection and copying, with exceptions for records that may legally be closed.

The records show library staff began planning for the July 25 event in May. An email described it as Daniel Boone Regional Library’s first LGBTQ+-themed program for young children and said staff wanted to prepare for possible protesters or counterprotesters.

The event brought condemnation from some on social media and the ire of Republicans Hoskins and Brattin, who is running for Congress in Missouri’s Fifth District.

The Columbia Public Library is overseen by the Daniel Boone Regional Library system.

In a June email, spokesperson Mitzi St. John said the library should promote the story time like any other program and keep Facebook comments open, while monitoring them for violations of the library’s code of conduct. She wrote that turning comments off could anger other patrons and make it seem the library was not serious about its diversity, equity and inclusion goals.

“We sent the records to him on Sept. 16,” Robin Westphal, Executive Director at DBRL told ABC 17 News. She said the library has not heard from Brattin’s office about additional records or concerns. Westphal said the request had been fulfilled and the library had “nothing outstanding” from Brattin, Hoskins or the attorney general.

Hoskins threatened the library’s state funding over the event. Westphal said DBRL typically receives its state aid payment sometime in October.

“If by the end of the month we don’t get it,” Westphal said, “we need to report that we’ve not got the state aid that we are statutorily obligated to get.” She said she believes there is no legal way for the secretary of state to withhold the funding.

Hoskins and Brattin said during a news conference that the library had violated the law and compared the event to sexual grooming.

Westphal said she is concerned about the possibility of losing the aid, but does not regret the library’s decision to hold the event.

“I think we have to be worried,” she said. “But does that mean that I regret making the decision? I don’t regret making the decision.”

Sunshine Records Rainbow Story TimeDownload

The library’s safety and security manager contacted Columbia police on July 17 about social media activity. The email said some comments had been interpreted as advocating violence or photographing children attending the program. The manager wrote that the library had not identified a specific or credible threat, but asked whether a patrol car could periodically circulate nearby before, during and after the event.

Other planning emails outlined event-day procedures, including keeping protest activity clear of walking paths, having security in the youth area and asking attendees not to film during the program. The library planned to offer photo opportunities afterward.

Westphal said the planning process was similar to all of the library’s other story times, with additional preparation because this was a new program.

She said the books used, “RainbowSaurus” and “Big Wig,” are available in libraries, and “RainbowSaurus” had been used in other story times previously.

“There’s nothing in any of the planning that we did that indicates that we were trying to deceive parents about what type of story time we were having,” Westphal said.

Brattin and Hoskins did not respond Wednesday to requests for comment.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A St. James man has now been charged with murder in an Oct. 4 attack in Phelps County.

Stacey Cameron Johnson, 37, is now charged in Phelps County with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and drug possession. Amended charges were filed on Tuesday. He was previously charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal and drug possession.

He is accused of attacking Steffen Harris on Oct. 4 with a fence post. Harris’ obituary says he died on Saturday, Oct. 10.

Johnson is being held at the Phelps County Jail without bond. A motion hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20. A bond review hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27.

Court documents in previous reporting say law enforcement was called to Dicky Bub Farm and Home in Rolla at 8:40 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4.

The victim had a severe head injury and police noted seeing “suspected brain matter and skull fragments” in the roadway, the statement says. The victim was flown to University Hospital, according to the report.

Multiple witnesses told police they saw Johnson use a metal fence post to attack the victim and video footage allegedly backed up the statements, court documents say. Johnson allegedly sent an apology to the victim’s girlfriend after the attack, court documents say.

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Demetra Alarcon

FAYETTE, Mo. (KMIZ)

Six Central Methodist University football players have been suspended from the team after two of them were charged with assaulting a teammate.

The university told ABC 17 News about the suspensions Wednesday afternoon, after earlier in the day saying two players charged with assault had been suspended. The university did not name the other four suspended players.

Kamarrion Ferguson, 20, and Michael Hourel, 22, were arrested and charged with third-degree assault on Tuesday.

Ferguson has been released from the Howard County Jail on bond.

“The safety and well-being of this student [the victim] is our highest priority. This behavior is unacceptable and inconsistent with our United Methodist heritage and a campus culture grounded in respect and care for others. Identified participants in the incident have been suspended from the football program indefinitely,” the statement said.

The statement says that on Oct. 9, there was an informal “accountability arrangement” among a small group of players where an incident occurred on campus involving members of the football team. It goes on to say that one student-athlete was injured and received medical care at an urgent care facility.

Both men had their arraignments at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Ferguson’s bond was amended to $5,000 with 10% surety, while Judge Mason Gebhardt denied Hourel’s request to change his $10,000 cash-only bond.

Ferguson’s preliminary court date is set for 9 a.m. Oct. 27. Hourel’s bond review is scheduled for 9 a.m. Oct. 22.

In its statement, Central Methodist University said the investigation is ongoing and is taking the matter seriously, adding that CMU will limit further comment during the investigation.

According to the probable cause statement filed with the Howard County circuit clerk, the charges stem from an incident in which both men allegedly assaulted a teammate. The statement said the victim told police that a team rule requires anyone late for practice to fight another player.

The victim said the player he was to fight didn’t want to engage other than “to do ‘body shots,'” at which point Hourel allegedly objected and hit the victim in the face. At that point, others — including Ferguson — allegedly joined in hitting the victim as well.

Ferguson is a junior from Pine Bluff, Arkansas and Hourel is a senior from Andalusia, Alaska.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Fulton man and two people from Dixon were killed Wednesday morning when a vehicle hydroplaned on Highway 63 in Maries County near the Osage County line.

A 29-year-old Fulton man died after a Buick Encore lost control while passing a tractor-trailer and hit the Ford F-150 he was riding in, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report.

Two people in the Encore, the 30-year-old driver and a 21-year-old passenger, both of Dixon, were also killed.

All three people were pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the F-150 — a 27-year-old Fulton man — had serious injuries. He was taken by ambulance to Capital Region Medical Center along with two other people who had moderate injuries, the report states.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop I spokesperson Sgt. Ralicia Tyler said earlier that the crash involved three vehicles, including the tractor-trailer the Buick was passing.

“A passenger car passed a tractor-trailer,” Tyler said over email. “They attempted to get back into their lane, they hydroplaned and struck another vehicle.”

Highway 63 was closed in both directions between Osage County Route P near Freeburg and Maries County Route AA near Vienna.

A detour was set up around the crash scene, according to the post.

The crash happened at about 6 a.m., the MSHP report states.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An 18-year-old man was seriously injured in a crash on Tuesday afternoon in Osage County, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says the Linn man drove his 2025 Dodge 1500 southbound on Route U, went off the right side of the road before overcorrecting and went off the left side of the road and hit a tree.

The man was taken to University Hospital in Columbia by an ambulance. The report says he was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

The vehicle was totaled.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.  

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Multiple lanes of Interstate 70 were shut down on Tuesday night in Columbia after a crash with a motorcycle occurred.

Boone County Joint Communications sent an alert at around 1:40 a.m. Wednesday that all lanes were back open, after being impacted for nearly three hours.

The Columbia Police Department announced at 11 p.m. that officers responded to a crash scene on Interstate 70 near North Garth Road. The crash involved a motorcycle, police wrote.

Boone County Joint Communications announced the crash occurred near mile marker 126 at 10:39 p.m. At 10:51 p.m., joint communications sent a follow-up notification stating the westbound lanes of Interstate 70 were “completely” shut down, while one eastbound lane was also shut down.

An ABC 17 News reporter saw traffic slowly moving in one of the eastbound lanes at 11 p.m.

Information from the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Traveler Map says the closure is expected to last about an hour.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Power has been restored as of Wednesday morning after 110 customers in western Columbia were without power on Tuesday night.

The City of Columbia outage map showed 112 utilities customers were without power near the intersection of Rollins Road and West Boulevard. That outage was reported at 9:42 p.m.

City utilities spokesman Jason West told ABC 17 News in an email that the outage was not caused by weather.  It was caused by “equipment malfunction.”

As of 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, power has been fully restored across mid-Missouri after a few counties had more than 100 outages, including Boone and Camden counties.

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Olivia Hayes

MOBERLY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Residents at Riley Mobile Home Park will be without water service until further notice amid ongoing environmental and public health concerns.

City officials say a wastewater pump station failed Thursday, causing raw sewage to back up into the park’s sewer system and overflow. Water was shut off the next day. This also led to worries of cross contamination after a resident reported dark water coming from a drinking water tap inside their home.

The mobile home park’s manager Edward Rosales said management did not receive advanced notice when the water was shut off on Friday. Rosales said management is working with plumbers to restore water by the end of the week, but the city has laid out multiple conditions for that to happen.

To repair and restore the sewer system, management needs to:

Repair pump stations so they are fully operational and provide a routine operations and maintenance plan. Clean and inspect all collection system piping and check all service lines to ensure proper drainage. Clean up sewage spilled onto ground surface and neutralize it.

To repair and restore the drinking water system, management needs to:

Disinfect meter pits that were found to have raw sewage. Chlorinate the distribution system and allow proper contact time. Flush the distribution system. Collect bacteriological samples of the distribution system and submit foranalysis.

City spokesman Scott McGarvey said the city cannot provide repairs to a privately-owned system, so it will be solely up to the owners to do so. After all the above conditions have been met and evidence is presented through lab results, photo documentation and more, the City of Moberly will be able to return water service.

Rosales said until the issue is resolved management is providing bottled drinking water, reimbursing shower facility charges, and providing rent credits to residents for each day without water.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway had her eyes set on Microsoft on Tuesday afternoon, claiming the online video game service Xbox Live has had “recurring allegations” of sexual misconduct involving minors.

Hanaway in a post on social media claimed Xbox Live is being used “by predators to trade child sexual abuse material, to groom children, and to lure children to in-person meetings.”

In her post, Hanaway cited a Boone County case where a Texas man was charged in August with various child sex crimes.

Michael Moya, 33, of Austin, Texas, was charged on Aug. 26 with child enticement, misrepresenting his age while soliciting a minor, sexual misconduct involving a child younger than 15 years old and misdemeanor giving pornographic material to a minor.

Moya is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond and has a hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28.

Court documents in previous reporting say Moya presented himself on Xbox Live as a 15-year-old and had exchanged illicit images and videos with a child victim.

Hanaway in her post claimed Xbox Live has “inadequate or easily bypassed age verification procedures,” “ineffective default settings” and safeguards regarding sending messages on the platform, poor reporting tools, a lack of “adequate information and warnings provided to minor users” and “maturity restrictions.”

A highly debated online age-verification law was signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe in July.

Hanaway also claimed there is a “lack of adequate systems” to determine if safety measures on the platform are effective.

The letter, dated Oct. 1, says Xbox has 30 days to respond.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An Arizona man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a pair of felony charges in a Miller County crash that killed a woman in September 2024.

Khalil Manygoats, 28, of Phoenix, Arizona, pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated that caused serious injuries and drug possession. He was ordered to serve a 120-day program at the Missouri Department of Corrections. He is being held at the Miller County Jail.

He pleaded guilty in crash that killed Larose Spencer, 36, of Phoenix, Arizona. Spencer was allegedly on the back of Manygoats’ motorcycle when he crashed it into a median barrier, court documents in previous reporting say.

A second man, Anthony Floyd II, 25, of Eldon, is charged in the case with leaving the scene of an accident and tampering with evidence. A five-day jury trial is scheduled for Jan. 4-8. A pretrial conference is set for 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 30.

Court document in previous reporting claim a caller told police Floyd was involved in the crash and had the vehicle towed from the scene.

A wrongful death lawsuit was filed on Monday against both men, Lane Splitters and Motion Motor Sales.

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