Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A road-improvement project just north of Jefferson City is expected to begin next week and will last nearly a year.

Beginning Monday, June 1, Missouri Department of Transportation crews will start widening Westbound Highway 54 from Highway 64 to the Missouri River Bridge, according to a Wednesday press release from MoDOT.

A barrier will be built along the media and speeds will be reduced to 55 miles per hour during the initial phase, the release says. The passing lane will close each night from 7 p.m.-7 a.m.

Improvements include:

Providing southbound Highway 63 with a dedicated lane onto the Missouri River bridge,

Reconfiguring the ramp from Callaway County Route W (Airport Road) to Highway 54.  

Resurfacing the pavement on westbound Highway 54 approaching the Missouri River bridge. 

Construction is expected to completed by May 1, 2027.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man accused in a criminal case involving a baby’s death and accusations of sex crimes and slavery has requested for his case to be moved to another county.

Sam Shetler, 42, of Boonville, is charged with three counts of trafficking for the purpose of slavery/forced labor, a count of first-degree sodomy, first-degree sex abuse, four counts of kidnapping and one count of first-degree involuntary manslaughter. 

He is being held at the Cooper County Jail without bond. A hearing is scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13.

Shetler’s attorney filed a motion on Tuesday asking the judge to move the case to either Montgomery, Monroe or Shelby counties.

The motion suggests that because of the small size of Cooper County and the amount of attention the case has received; it claims residents of the county would be “prejudiced” against Shetler if they were pooled for a jury.

Shetler – who had been described in court documents as a “cult-like” leader of an Amish community –is accused of forcing teenagers to work at the Mercy and Truth-Amish and Mennonite Retreat without pay and rubbing oils on young females to “heal” them, court documents in previous reporting indicate.

Following his March arrest, more victims came forward and accused Shetler of posing as a doctor that gave a “lavender breathing treatment” to a baby who suffered from multiple viruses in 2025, including COVID-19, court documents in previous reporting say. The baby died on March 6, 2025.

Click here to follow the original article.

Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Gov. Mike Kehoe on Wednesday dismissed calls for a special legislative session to suspend Missouri’s gas tax, citing concerns about road conditions and the impact on jobs for construction workers.

Some lawmakers had asked Kehoe to call a special session to vote on pausing the state’s 29.5-cent gas tax through the end of the year. Revenue from the tax goes to state and local road repairs and projects.

But Kehoe said Wednesday that he’s not sold.

“This revenue stream funds the jobs of the men and women across the state who work on these road projects, which contribute to the critical public safety and infrastructure needs of our state,” Kehoe said in a statement sent by his office.

He said a pause in funding would put Missourians out of work because of road project delays. However, he said he understands the strain high gas prices are putting on Missourians.

Kehoe also pointed out that the savings might not be passed on to consumers.

The statewide average for regular unleaded was $4.15 on Wednesday, according to GasBuddy.com, with several stations in Columbia still at $4.19.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 73-year-old woman died in a crash on Wednesday in Osage County on Highway 100 near Brandt Road, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report.

The report says the Linn woman drove a 2007 Chevrolet Impala eastbound when she suffered a medical emergency. The vehicle went off the right side of the road, hit several trees and a fence and went through a large field before overturning, the report says.

The driver was pronounced dead at the scene and her body was brought to Morton Funeral Home in Linn, the report says.

Her passenger – a 70-year-old man from Bonnots Mill, Missouri – was flown to University Hospital in Columbia with serious injuries, according to the report.

Neither person wore a seatbelt, according to the report. The Impala was totaled.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

Click here to follow the original article.

Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Voters in Jefferson City and Columbia will be asked to approve new sales taxes this summer, while voters statewide will decide on whether to phase out the income tax.

Ballot issues were due to election authorities on Tuesday, creating the first picture of which questions will appear on the Aug. 4 primary ballot.

Gov. Mike Kehoe added several constitutional amendments to the ballot. The one that has drawn the most attention is a question of whether to phase out the state’s income tax in favor of increased sales taxes.

Amendment 5’s ballot text states:

“Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:

Phase out the individual income tax based on revenue growth;

Reduce personal property and other local taxes when local revenues increase;

Modify the sales and use tax to eliminate income tax and reduce local taxes; and

Protect local funding for public schools and other purposes?

The measure is under a legal challenge, with a Kansas City woman filing a suit against the Secretary of State, claiming the ballot includes multiple subjects and violates the state constitution.

Other statewide questions ask whether to keep a sales tax for water conservation and state parks and historic sites for 10 years; whether to change rules concerning assessors in charter counties; and whether to change the statewide process by which citizens put questions on the ballot.

Amendment 4 reforms the current initiative petition process and would make it harder for a measure to make the ballot by citizen petition. If approved, instead of an initiative petition requiring a majority vote in each congressional district, it would require a statewide majority vote.

With certification of the ballot over, county clerks are compiling sample ballots for voters.

“We create our ballots in-house, so we program those ballots and get those prepared for absentee voting and for sending out sample ballots to all registered voters,” Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said.

Columbia voters will see a 1% public safety sales tax on the August ballot. The measure would add a 1% general sales tax, with funds going solely to the Columbia Police Department and Columbia Fire Department. 

The city estimates that the tax will produce $38 million in revenue. The city plans to use the money to increase fire and police staffing and help with department equipment and renovations.

Jefferson City voters will also vote on extending the city’s half-cent sales tax for capital improvements until March 31, 2037.

Congressional map questions

The election is also taking place amid several lawsuits over Missouri’s congressional map. The new “Missouri First” map would split Boone County between the Fifth District and the Third District, which reach the edges of the state. The Republican-dominated legislature redrew the Kansas City’s Fifth District to eliminate the safe Democratic seat held by U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.

Secretary of State Denny Hoskins is now certifying signatures for a drive to put the map on the November 2026 ballot. Election offices have until July 27 to determine if the measure has enough signatures for the ballot.

The change leaves residents in several Mid-Missouri counties — including Boone, Cole, Howard, Cooper, Moniteau and Osage — navigating new congressional boundaries, with some voters now shifted between Districts 3, 4 and 5 under the updated map.

Lennon said the secretary of state and Boone County websites have tools to help voters know which district they’re in under the old map and the new one.

“I am hopeful that there will be more clarity and resolution as we go through the process of creating the ballots,” Lennon said. “I would love to have a resolution well before the August primary.”

July 8th is the last day to register for the August primary.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The spouse of a man who died last year at the Boone County Jail has sued the jail’s medical provider Wednesday in federal court.

The lawsuit was filed by Grant Davis, who is described as the husband of Robert Muller-Russo in court documents. Defendants in the case includes jail nurse Melissa Hooks, her employer Turn Key Health Clinics and an unknown member of the jail’s medical staff referred to as “John Doe.”

All three defendants are accused of deliberate indifference to medical needs and wrongful death because of medical malpractice.

Muller-Russo died on April 23, 2025, according to previous reporting. He was 59 years old. He was being held for three misdemeanor charges after being arrested on April 16, previous reporting shows. The Boone County Sheriff’s Office had claimed in a press release at the time that “Contracted medical personnel, who were on site, were present when Mr. Muller-Russo was found.”

The lawsuit claims that Muller-Russo was jailed on April 7 and began having heart issues at 6:46 p.m. April 17. The unnamed staffer allegedly took vitals and determined there was nothing wrong with Muller-Russo, the petition says.

Other inmates reported to jail staff that Muller-Russo began having a possible seizure around 7:28 p.m. and staff allegedly determined there was nothing wrong with him again, the lawsuits says. An inmate then reported at 8:07 p.m. that Muller-Russo could not use his legs. He was then allegedly put in wheelchair and moved to a nurse’s holding cell, the petition says.

Muller-Russo allegedly awoke the next morning and could not see out of one of his eyes, but Hooks claimed he could after checking vitals, the petition says.

The Boone County Medical Examiner determined Muller-Russo died from “sepsis due to peritonitis resulting from appendicitis.”

 ABC 17 News reached out to Turn Key Health on Wednesday.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An Eldon woman was charged on Tuesday in Cole County after she allegedly sold 1,000 ounces – or roughly 62.5 pounds – of someone else’s breast milk that she led a customer to believe it was her own.

Emily Buckley is charged with committing deceptive business practices. Court filings show she posted a pre-set $2,500 bond and her warrant was withdrawn.

The probable cause statement says someone described as “Witness 1” had previously made “donations” to Buckley. A second witness — after speaking to Witness 1 — was allegedly contacted by Buckley, asking if she would like to purchase breast milk, the statement says.

Witness 1 made a social media post about the incident, which the victim saw and led to her contacting law enforcement, the statement says.

The victim told law enforcement that she allegedly bought roughly 1,000 ounces of breast milk from Buckley on March 13 in the 2500 block of Southridge Drive in Jefferson City. The victim reported having “issues” with the breast milk, the statement says.

The victim allegedly had screenshots of messages between her and Buckley that would indicate the victim thought the milk came from Buckley, court documents say. She allegedly paid Buckley $200 through the website PayPal.

“In one message, Defendant stated, ‘I bag after each pump and freeze immediately.’ Victim stated that Defendant led her to believe this was Defendant’s breast milk,” the probable cause statement says.

Police spoke with Buckley over the phone on Saturday, May 23, where she allegedly admitted to selling the breast milk of someone described as “Witness 3” to the victim, the statement says.

“I asked Defendant whether Defendant believed Victim thought the milk was Defendant’s breast milk; Defendant stated that is what Defendant believes people think,” the officer wrote in the probable cause statement.

The officer spoke with Witness 3 that same day, and she allegedly told police that she had donated breast milk to Buckley in March, but told police she thought it was for Buckley’s child.

Click here to follow the original article.

Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Camden County man was pronounced dead after being pulled Wednesday morning from the Little Niangua arm of the Lake of the Ozarks.

The unnamed 82-year-old from Roach, Missouri, fell into the water from a dock at the 3.7-mile marker of the Little Niangua arm for unknown reasons, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report. Rescue and recovery divers found his body in about 8 feet of water, the patrol stated.

The drowning is the fifth in the Patrol’s Troop F region this month, and the fifth of the year.

Click here to follow the original article.

Jazsmin Halliburton

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Supreme Court sided with Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe on Wednesday in a case determining the legality of a special session that was held last year that led to the creation of a new state Congressional map.

The NAACP presented arguments against Kehoe, challenging his authority to call for last year’s special session to redraw Missouri’s congressional map. Attorney representing the group, Sharon Geuea Jones, argued the governor can only call an extraordinary session for emergencies, like following severe weather or in the event legislators don’t pass the state’s budget.

The state’s high court determined the governor was within his rights to call the special session.

Attorney General Catherine Hanaway posted on X shortly after the decision, to call it a win for Missouri and the 2025 congressional map, and a loss for “left-wing lawfare and the @NAACP.”

Gov. Kehoe reposted Hanaway’s and thanked the Attorney General’s Office for their work.

ABC 17 News spoke with Sharon Geuea Jones, the attorney representing the NAACP, after the decision. While the decision is disappointing, she said it has some benefits.

“They [the judges] simply just decided against us based on the merits of the question. So while I’m disappointed, I’m encouraged that they have kept the courthouse doors open to future suits of a similar nature,” Geuea Jones said.

During arguments Wednesday morning, Assistant Solicitor General Joseph Kiernan argued the law authorizes Kehoe to call an extraordinary session anytime outside of the regular session.

“They [the plaintiffs] take these two words ‘extraordinary’ and ‘occasion,’ they cherry-pick modern dictionary definitions of each word, and they offer a multifactor three-part test the governor must meet to exercise his own article four power,” Kiernan said.

He went on to say that the subsection of the law he mentioned shows no indication of any requirements that Kehoe must meet to call an extraordinary session.

“If the framers of our state constitution wanted to constrain the governor, they would have said so,” Kiernan said.

The lawsuit challenges that the governor’s proclamation did not meet the legal requirements to justify an extraordinary legislative session. In February, a Cole County judge ruled that Kehoe did act within his legal authority to call for a special session.

If the Supreme Court justices rule in the NAACP’s favor, then it will overturn both the 2025 congressional map and initiative petition reform. If not, voters are expected to vote in their new congressional districts and approve or deny the initiative petition reform.

Kiernan argues the NAACP is pressing politics, not the law.

“They are asking this court, as a judicial branch at large, to supervise an inherently political decision made by the governor,” Kiernan said.

Geuea Jones argues that the court is being asked to interpret the governor’s constitutional authority to call an extraordinary session.

“It is not a political question; this is very clearly a matter of constitutional verification,” she said. “We are not asking this court to make a policy determination about what the general assembly considered in its extraordinary session.”

To close arguments, Kiernan added it’s too close to the fall elections for these changes to be made ahead of the 2026 elections, and any changes would have to occur afterward.

“Missouri’s recognized equitable principles support delayed relief, reducing chaos surrounding the quickly approaching upcoming election,” the state argues in a court briefing.

Geuea Jones said there’s still plenty of time to work with the overturned policies.

“Ballots aren’t printed until June 9,” she said. “So if the court rules as they have done on these other cases, very quickly, there’s still plenty of time for the [county] clerks to adjust their rolls and get their ballots printed before the election.”

Wednesday’s appeal of the judge’s decision questions whether challengers had the legal ability to sue because the session had ended and whether the lawsuit is moot or capable of being repeated but evades review.

Keirnan argued the lawsuit is moot because the session has ended and the map passed.

Click here to follow the original article.

Matthew Sanders

It’s challenging to keep up with what’s happening in Iran these days.

On the one hand, President Donald Trump says his administration is close to a deal that would open up the Strait of Hormuz and end hostilities. On the other hand, the United States continues its military strikes on Iran, despite a ceasefire that ostensibly remains in effect.

Do you think a deal is at hand? Let us know by voting in the poll.

Click here to follow the original article.