Category: kmiz-local-news

Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia woman charged in connection with a baby’s death is set to be in court Tuesday morning at the Boone County Courthouse for a pre-trial conference.

Sarah D. Brown is charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter for the death of Ayla Gibson. Prosecutors charged Brown after she allegedly put Gibson in a crib with a loose, unfitted blanket and pillow in a position that resulted in death by suffocation, according to court documents.

Gibson’s parents allegedly told Brown the baby had a viral lung infection and told Brown to have the baby sleep on her back, but a probable cause statement says Brown ignored the parents’ instructions.

Brown allegedly admitted to police that she lied about how she found the baby. She told police she found Gibson lying on her back.

Court documents say the daycare was unlicensed. Brown had 12 children in her care at the time of Gibson’s death and was not licensed with the state.

Brown will be in front of Judge Jeff Harris at 10:30 a.m.

Brown’s jury trial is set to begin on June 10.

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Matthew Sanders

What is usually the unofficial start of the summer vacation season felt more like March or April in Mid-Missouri.

Temperatures over Memorial Day weekend didn’t climb past 72 degrees in Columbia on Saturday or Sunday. Monday was cool and cloudy, too.

Hundreds of people didn’t let the weather stop them from attending Columbia’s renewed Gold Star Memorial Day Parade. But for people who spent the weekend at the Lake of the Ozarks, there wasn’t much fun in the sun to be had.

Did the weather ruin your holiday weekend? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man accused of firing shots in a south Columbia apartment complex told police that he was drugged at a bar and didn’t remember the events, according to a probable cause statement.

Gabino C. Hernandez, 28, whose hometown is listed as Anderson, Missouri, in jail records, remained in the Boone County Jail without bond Monday. He was charged Friday with four felonies — two counts of unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action.

A probable cause statement says a victim told police that Hernandez was “out of it” and couldn’t be reasoned with when he fired a gun in the parking lot and a stairwell of Aria Apartments early Friday. One of the two victims told officers that Hernandez had a gun tucked into his waistband and pointed the gun at him, the statement says.

The man told police he was “pretty sure” that Hernandez wanted to shoot him, according to documents.

Hernandez told officers he didn’t remember what happened after being drugged at a bar, the statement says.

Surveillance video showed Hernandez walking around the apartment complex with a gun at about 2 a.m. Friday, when dispatchers received several shots-fired calls, the statement says.

No hearings have been scheduled.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance were among the speakers at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day.

The leaders spoke after placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The event is an annual observance of military members’ sacrifice.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Louisville Courier Journal filed a complaint on Friday against a Kentucky school board that hired former Columbia Public Schools Superintendent Brian Yearwood.

Jefferson County Public Schools said in a social media post on Thursday that the Board of Education voted 5-2 on Thursday to offer a contract, though it did not initially announce who it would hire. A state representative in Kentucky had congratulated Yearwood in a social media post, which local media including WDRB indicated was a sign for the hire.

The school district on Friday eventually named Yearwood in a social media post of its own, stating that it was in contract negotiations with him.

The complaint filed by the Courier Journal claims the district violated Kentucky’s Open Meetings Act by voting in a closed session, holding a “sham vote in open session to ratify a decision made during a closed session,” and refusing to disclose in a public meeting which candidate it hired.

JCBOE OMA Complaint Letter(1354673.1)Download

Yearwood’s Columbia departure

Yearwood stepped down from his position as CPS superintendent in November and was paid $667,268.90 in a contract buyout. Yearwood was hired by CPS in 2021. He was under contract through June 2027, making about $260,000 per year. Chris Belcher was named the district’s interim superintendent before Jeff Klein was hired.

CPS announced in November that Yearwood would step down immediately “to spend time with family in Texas,” previous reporting indicates. Yearwood announced in August that he had been diagnosed with cancer. That diagnosis was not mentioned in his resignation letter.

Yearwood’s separation agreement with CPS states that he agreed to the mutual public statement between the two parties and cannot make any further public statements.

In an interview with ABC affiliate WHAS11 last week, Yearwood stated, “”I did nothing unethical, I did nothing immoral and I did nothing illegal. I’m a man of faith and I would do nothing to dishonor my family. I would do nothing to dishonor myself. And there are times where there are differences of opinion and things like this do happen. But I assure you, it was nothing that touched on any of those.”

Yearwood was also a finalist for a superintendent position in Kansas and Delaware.

At a community forum held by the Garden City, Kansas, school district in January, Yearwood was asked what his most-vocal critic would say about him as a school leader.

“They would say he doesn’t have much patience for red tape that slows down the process of getting things done to benefit scholars. I’ve had to sort of temper because there, there, there are rules you must follow,” he said in a video. “And again, I’m not talking about circumventing rules or doing anything. That’s not it. But sometimes, when we know something is great for a scholar or scholars or school, sometimes the process gets bogged down.”

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Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Gold Star Memorial Day Parade was front and center on Broadway in Downtown Columbia on Memorial Day after a six-year hiatus.

Hundreds gathered along Broadway on Monday morning to honor and remember military heroes and their families.

The title “Gold Star” is reserved for families of military members who died in the line of duty. It is meant to honor the service member’s ultimate sacrifice while acknowledging their family’s loss, grief and continued healing.

Anna Johnson attended the parade and had numerous family members who had served in the military. She said Memorial Day is a powerful reminder of the sacrifices made by service members.

‘I appreciate the fact they are willing to do what some of us are not and that they have the courage and are willing to fight for our country, could never thank them enough,” Johnson said.

Former Boone County Commissioner Linda Vogt is a Gold Star family member and lost her brother, Ralph R. Quick, during the Vietnam War in 1970. He left for Vietnam on Dec. 5, 1969, and lost his life on March 23, 1970.

“He died the day before his 23rd birthday in Vietnam,” Vogt said. “It was very difficult for our family. We’re proud he served, he wanted to serve. He wanted to be a helicopter pilot, and so he did get to do that, killed him, but he got to do that.”

Vogt said her brother fought tirelessly to join the military, despite medical issues that initially kept him out.

“He broke his neck trying to get into the service because he had problems with sinuses, and they wouldn’t take him,” she said.

Quick left behind a wife and a 2-year-old daughter, Vogt said.

“She had to grow up fatherless. But with all that being said, we still had a lot of pride in the fact that he wanted to serve our country,” Vogt said. “In all honesty, my family is kind of a family of public service.”

When Memorial Day comes around, Vogt says it is a painful reminder that her brother is no longer here.

“I try to avoid it to tell you the truth because you know it is a little painful,” Vogt said, “Absolutely heartbroken, it took two years to get my heart back in shape after that. It was a terrible loss to our family,”

Vogt says her family was the only way she was able to cope with the loss of her baby brother. She said taking care of her children helped her get through the grief.

Meredith Black also attended the parade and was glad to see it return after several years. Her father was a captain in the Marine Corps during World War II.

“They have made the ultimate scarify and their families have lost someone who was very near and dear to them and just seeing the cars go by today of the Gold Star families and the little children who were part of it, it’s heartbreaking but it makes us realize how grateful we need to be for those who have sacrificed so much,” Black said.

“My husband’s great, great, great uncle, he was 19 years old in World War I in France, and he was killed in action, but he was returned home to the United States and is buried near his mother in Oklahoma,” Black added.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe on Tuesday will announce special session details for the Missouri legislature, according to a Monday news release from his office.

Kehoe is expected to make the announcement at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Capitol. The governor had floated the idea at the end of the regular session earlier this month to pass the “Show Me Sports Investment Act,” which would give the state’s professional sports teams access to state funding for stadium projects.

House Speaker Jon Patterson (R-Lee’s Summit) has told his caucus that the session will take place June 2-13, said state Rep. Dave Griffith (R-Jefferson City). The House is likely to work on its legislation starting June 9, Griffith said, though that date is subject to change.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Royals have made some public statements about moving across state lines after Jackson County voters said “no” to a proposal in 2024 to extend a sales tax to help finance a downtown baseball stadium and upgrades to Arrowhead Stadium.

Previous reporting indicates that to qualify, the project must cost at least $500 million and involve stadiums with more than 30,000 seats. The state could cover up to 50% of the total cost, and eligible teams could also access a tax credit worth up to 10% of their investment. 

“I really believe that the Clark family wants to stay in Missouri and I think this is a gesture on our part to show both the Chiefs and the Royals that we want them to stay,” Griffith said.

The bill had passed the Missouri House, but did not make it through the Senate before the session ended.

Rep. David Tyson Smith (D-Columbia) said he would like to keep the Chiefs within Missouri, but also said he believes there has to be thought about whether or not tax payers should have to pay for that.

Smith said it’s hard to tell if the act will be approved, given the Senate’s decision to repeal voter-approved sick leave requirements.

“There was so much chaos at the end. It may not pass again. I mean some people in the senate are very mad about the repeal of Prop A,” Smith said. “The senate is very upset about that, and so they may purposefully kill the stadium project to send a message.”

Some lawmakers have also expressed interest in including capital projects in the special session. The House failed to pass a capital improvements budget, HB 19, that included money for projects in Mid-Missouri, such as a Jefferson City conference center and the University of Missouri’s NextGen Research Reactor.

Griffith said house lawmakers did not take it up because add-ons from the Senate exceeded their expectations but is hopeful conversations can be had and work can be done during the special session.

The school announced it was working with Hyundai and MPR Associates to begin designing the billion-dollar NextGen reactor in south Columbia. An expansion is also underway at the school’s current reactor on Providence Road. 

Smith said he’s hopeful the governor will bring that back on the table, which would help with cancer research.

“I mean, we’re treating people who are sick and dying. MURR is one of the most unique facilities we have in America, not only in Missouri,” Smith said. “Promises were made and those promises need to be honored so we can have that money.”

Griffith said he’s pushing for money for a new juvenile center to be built in Cole County. The project has been in the works and would build the new center on St. Mary’s Blvd. but funding for it was left uncertain after the house failed to pass the bill.

Cole County Sheriff John Wheeler told ABC 17 News previously the new center would help with safety, as well as cut down on transportation expenses.

“Our detention center was built in 1973 and it’s really out used, it’s outgrown its use. There’s not enough places for us to put the juvenile offenders,” Griffith said. “And $4 million is really a small amount for us to be able to lead that project.”

Griffith said he’s also hopeful improvements to a new conference center in Jefferson City will be approved.

The session is expected to start in the Senate, according to Griffith.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA Mo. (KMIZ)

As millions of Americans return from their holiday travels, delays are expected in airports across the country.

According to AAA, the 2025 Memorial Day weekend is expected to have at least 45.1 million travelers, 1.4 million more than last year and setting a new record.

Monday’s trip home also came with harsh weather, specifically at Dallas-Fort Worth International airport, with the FAA announcing that general passengers should expect at least a 15-minute delay due to weather and thunderstorms.

Columbia Regional Airport was affected by the delay, with the 11:41 a.m. American Airlines arrival from Dallas-Fort Worth delayed for around half an hour.

“Dallas-Fort Worth was pretty busy. We had about a half-hour delay on our flight due to weather, which turned out to be a blessing because it gave us a little extra time to get through customs and get a bite to eat,” passenger John Whiting said.

One couple who had a connecting flight from Florida said that the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport was busy with long security lines.

A University of Missouri student traveling from Louisiana also reported that airports were busy, with one of her flights being grounded for two hours due to weather, causing her to almost miss her connector.

Columbia Regional Airport’s flights to and from Dallas-Fort Worth for 5:58 p.m. departure and 5:28 p.m. arrival have been delayed.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The 98th annual Memorial Day wreath-laying ceremony was held at 9 a.m. Monday at the Boone County Courthouse Plaza, honoring veterans who have died in the line of duty.

The General Omar N. Bradley Mid-Missouri chapter of the Military Officers Association of America sponsored the 40-minute ceremony. There were several veteran organizations in attendance and music by the Columbia Community Band, Boone County Fire Protection District pipes and drums and a military firearms salute by the American Legion’s Post 202 Honor Guard.

There was also an additional wreath laying for Gold Star Families following a parade to honor Boone County heroes who served following the Sep. 11, 2001, attacks in New York City. That ceremony will feature a flag ceremony and a 21-gun salute.

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Euphenie Andre

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

After a six-year absence, the Gold Star Memorial Parade will return to the City of Columboa on Memorial Day, bringing with it a renewed sense of unity and remembrance.

The parade– which honors fallen service members– is set to begin at 10:00 a.m., traveling down Broadway from Hitt Street to Fourth Street.

The day’s events will begin with a wreath-laying ceremony at 9:00 a.m. at the Boone County Courthouse. Following the parade, Gold Star families will return to the courthouse for a brief ceremony and the opportunity to lay wreaths for their loved ones.

Sherry Wyatt, the parade’s founder and a Gold Star mother, has been instrumental in reviving the event.

Wyatt lost her son, Sterling Wyatt, who was killed at the age of 21, when a vehicle he was driving in was struck by an IED in Afghanistan. She views the parade as a meaningful tribute to those who served and sacrificed.

“They died for the ideal of America and Americana,” Wyatt said. “That’s what I hope to bring tomorrow—everyone, regardless of who you are, coming together as a community.”

Wyatt, along with Sabrina McDonnell and several other parade captains, gathered Sunday afternoon at First Baptist Church to discuss logistical preparations for the event. Topics included safety measures, such as distributing radios and vests to ensure clear communication among parade staff. Wyatt said the Columbia Police Department and Columbia Public Works will also assist during the parade.

“They have been very, very helpful. We have our public works people that are going to be putting up barricades. We’re just trying to keep everybody safe.” Wyatt said.

Wyatt initially reached out to McDonnell in November 2024 with the idea to bring back the parade. The board officially submitted its application to the city in January 2025, leading to months of planning and community coordination.

“We’ve worked incredibly hard over four months,” McDonnell said. “But, no one harder than Sherry and Randy.”

The event will feature 91 entries and is expected to last about an hour. Organizers are encouraging residents to attend and participate in the symbolic day of remembrance.

All downtown parking will be free for the holiday, although drivers are advised not to park where meter signs indicate “No Parking.”

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