Category: kmiz-local-news

ABC 17 News Team

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources says it’s almost done cleaning up a portion of the Lake of the Ozarks where a marina caught fire over the summer.

Investigators say the Aug. 4 fire was accidental and may have been caused by an electrical issue with a house boat. Several docks and a boat caught fire.

The DNR first had to remove the docks before taking out the boats.

A DNR spokesperson told ABC 17 News that cleanup should be finished in one or two weeks.

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Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A full report outlining recommended safety improvements for Business Loop 70 in Columbia is expected to be completed by next spring.

The Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission met Wednesday night at City Hall, where leaders provided an update on the audit. The City of Columbia and CBB Transportation Solutions conducted walk-throughs along the loop on Tuesday and Wednesday to identify safety improvements needed in the area.

Mckenzie Ortiz, an advocacy coordinator at Local Motion, took part in the walk-through on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Ortiz said Tuesday night’s walk took place from the Aldi and Interstate 70 interchange roundabout to Providence Road. Wednesday morning’s walk took place from Hickman High School to Paris Road.

Ortiz said the walk gave her a unique experience of what activity along Business Loop 70 is at night.

“The one thing I noticed is that there’s a lot of pedestrian activity, even after dark in that area,” Ortiz said. “Also a lot of people driving, picking up folks so it was a lot busier than I thought. This morning, we were at Hickman High School so we got to observe the high school traffic and the marching band. We saw a lot of activity there too so overall we just saw how busy Business Loop really gets.”

Ortiz said overall, she believes the road could use more sidewalks, especially east of Range Line Street and said maintaining the sidewalks is key. She also said having traffic experts along the walk allowed them to view inconsistencies of drivers not knowing what to do, and trying to avoid medians.

Ortiz is a Columbia resident who doesn’t drive and said she has walked along the Business Loop before, and knows how scary doing that can be. She said conditions are especially scary on the east side, due to a lack of connected sidewalks.

“I was really excited to be there with professionals who are usually in their car to get them on their feet and kind of walking the lay of the land so that way they know what my experience is like and also the experience of so many folks, so many students from Hickman High School, so many people in general that don’t have cars,” Ortiz said.

The audit focuses on identifying safety improvements aimed at eliminating traffic-related deaths and serious injuries. The project prioritizes safer conditions for pedestrians, cyclists, seniors, motorcyclists and school-aged children.

A CBB Engineering Project lead told ABC 17 News on Tuesday that he sees a need to adjust the signal timing at Business Loop 70 and Stadium Boulevard on Saturdays during sporting events at Cosmo Park.

He also said filling in gaps along the  the south side of the corridor, as well as adding crosswalks to parts of the corridor for pedestrians is necessary.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Boone Health is chipping away at Missouri’s primary care shortage, hiring 25 providers in the past 12 months, eight of whom are primary care providers.

Four additional primary care providers are expected to join Boone Health by the end of the year, according to a Wednesday press release from Boone Health. The release adds that each provider can accept 1,800 new patients.

“It’s not an 8-to-5 job. We do a lot of extra charting, we have to do a lot of extra reading to keep up the credentialing that we have, we obviously do research,” Boone Health Dr. Holly Boyer said. “We’ve got more people to be able to accept those new patients.

“Across the nation, there has been a strong need for primary care providers, and the mid-Missouri community is no different,” said Drew Wilkinson, Boone Health vice president of provider and ambulatory operations said in the press release.

According to Rural Health Information Hub, 106 out of 114 counties in the state are considered Health Professional Shortage Areas for primary care.

According to a Health Resources and Services Administration report from June, Missouri needs to add 476 primary care physicians to address the state’s shortage rates.

“I’ve heard from patients that they’re being booked out six months, sometimes eight months, to get into a primary care physician,” Boyer said. “It’s been really hard for patients to be seen in a timely fashion just because of the shortage.”

Both SSM Health St. Mary’s in Jefferson City and MU Health Care are focusing on increasing numbers. MU Health Care reported in June that 13 providers were expected to join its workforce in July.

The next primary care provider expected to join Boone Health will begin working at Boone’s Moberly Clinic in December.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two men who were charged in separate child porn cases in Missouri were indicted by a federal grand jury on Tuesday.

David Narcato, 41, of Columbia, was indicted in the western district of Missouri on two counts of producing child pornography and one count of child porn possession.

He was previously charged in 2023 in Boone County with five counts of first-degree child molestation, three counts of statutory rape, first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy, two counts of statutory sodomy of a victim and possession of child pornography. All Boone County charges stated the victims were younger than 12 years old.

Court documents in previous reporting state the assaults occurred between 2021-23. One of the victims underwent a SANE exam following an injury. Documents initially stated the child “fell off a bike” but a physical exam indicated injuries related to sexual assault.

That victim eventually stated there was sexual contact from Nacarato and that he lied about the incident, court documents say.

Case from Miller County

Brandon Long, 21, of Eldon, was indicted on receiving child porn and possessing child porn. He was previously charged in 2024 in Miller County with possessing child pornography and first-degree promoting obscenity.

Court documents in previous reporting say the Miller County Sheriff’s Office received a cybertip from the social media messaging application Kik that said child porn was uploaded from a Miller County IP address.

Search warrants were served to Kik in July 2024, and the company provided encrypted files that depicted child porn from an account, the statement says. Images of Long were also include, the statement says.

While a search warrant was being served at his home, Long allegedly admitted to sending and receiving child porn and claimed the account belonged to him, previous reporting says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A family member of a woman who died in 2022 more than a month after she fell at a nursing home in Miller County has sued the facility for wrongful death and negligence.

A petition filed Tuesday in Miller County by Brenda James — the daughter of Ursula Hill — alleges the Miller County Nursing Home District in Tuscumbia did not have proper staffing levels and employees were not trained properly to deal with a “catastrophic injury.”

The lawsuit claims that Hill slipped on feces that was on the floor of a room that was not properly cleaned on Feb. 25, 2022. Hill was told she had a broken bone in her left leg on March 1, 2022, and was brought to Lake Regional Hospital on March 12, the petition states.

She was diagnosed at the hospital with a fractured left fibular and a swollen ankle, court documents say. She died on April 5, 2022.

The death certificate – which is partially shown in court documents – lists three causes of death, including complication from diabetes, complication from dementia and a significant condition of a left fibula fracture.

A summons was issued for the Miller County Nursing Home District on Tuesday.

ABC 17 News has reached out to the Miller County Nursing Home District on Wednesday afternoon.

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Lucas Geisler

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Department of Justice will begin handling claims of a Columbia businessman misusing a pandemic-era relief plan — an allegation he denies.

Federal attorneys unsealed the case on Oct. 7 against Greg DeLine and three of his companies — GKD Management, Midwest Mortgage Association and Amega Sales. The DOJ is considering whether DeLine violated the False Claims Act through numerous Paycheck Protection Program loans he received in 2020.

The case stems from a complaint made in 2020 by Columbia attorney A.W. Smith to the federal government. Smith filed the suit as a “qui tam” case against DeLine under the False Claims Act. The Federal Bar Association describes such cases as allowing “whistleblowers to take legal action on behalf of the government.” The whistleblower can collect a portion of any money the government collects if successful.

DeLine told ABC 17 News on the phone Wednesday that he expected the case to end in a repayment plan to the federal government. DeLine denied that any fraud took place, but declined to comment further on the case.

Smith said he first suspected the fraud when he and DeLine had business conversations that included the number of people DeLine employed. Smith said DeLine told him many of his more than 400 workers were “1099 employees,” or independent contractors at his trucking or mobile home businesses. Small Business Administration rules prohibited employers from including independent contractor payments in their loans.

Greg DeLine complaintDownload

Records from ProPublica show DeLine had a $5.8 million loan forgiven through the PPP. Amega Sales received a $242,647 loan forgiven, GKD Management had $454,400 forgiven and Midwest Mortgage Associates had $794,200 forgiven, all for payroll expenses.

Smith said each business applied for PPP loans with hundreds of employees, which would have made DeLine one of the largest employers in Boone County. Smith said he felt DeLine was “double-dipping” on PPP loans.

Smith, through his attorney Joe Kronwaitter, declined to comment on the case.

Assistant prosecutor Matthew Sparks said the DOJ would accept the case and planned to file an amended complaint in the next 60 days. ABC 17 News received an automated reply from the U.S. Attorney’s Office saying questions outside “national security, violations of federal law, and essential public safety functions” would be answered after the federal government shutdown.

Qui tam actions have been used before in PPP fraud cases. The prosecutor’s office in New Jersey announced a $13 million settlement with three companies after receiving a qui tam complaint. The DOJ announced a $21 million settlement with three Chinese companies over PPP concerns following a similar complaint.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man was indicted by a federal grand jury on Tuesday for a gun charge.

Damion Hunt, 32, was charged with being a felon with a gun. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond.

Previous reporting indicates he was found with a gun during a traffic stop on Oct. 3.

Hunt was arrested on suspicion of illegal gun possession, according to an Oct. 6 press release.

Hunt was previously convicted of second-degree assault in connection with a 2019 downtown shooting.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia woman was accused of assaulting her mother on Oct. 8 and biting a Columbia police officer.

Nicole Denvit, 31, was charged on Tuesday with first-degree domestic assault, resisting arrest and misdemeanor fourth-degree assault. She is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond.

An arraignment was held on Wednesday. A confined docket hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday and a preliminary 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 25.

The probable cause statement says police were called to a Columbia residence at 9:38 a.m. Oct. 8 for a reported assault.

The officer wrote in the statement that they say blood “splattered” on the victim’s clothes, as well as a number of injuries to the victim’s face and body. Police described seeing a blood streak on the floor of the victim’s bedroom, as well as several other areas of the home where the victim claimed they were assaulted and strangled.

The victim described Denvit to police as intoxicated at 6:30 a.m. and was first verbally abusive before following the victim to her room, dragging her by her hair and striking her 30-40 times, the probable cause statement says. The victim had lost consciousness at one point during the assault, according to the statement.

Police met with Denvit at an emergency room waiting area of University Hospital.

“I did not observe any obvious physical injuries on her face or arms. I observed some scratching and bruising on Denvit’s right knuckles. I observed a scratch on Denvit’s left hand. I observed bruising on the top of Denvit’s right foot, the part consistently used to kick someone with. I observed Denvit to be highly intoxicated,” the officer wrote.

The officer told Denvit she was under arrest, and she allegedly began kicking, pushing and biting the officer, the statement says.

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Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A school safety package that Gov. Mike Kehoe signed into law this year requires students to participate in active school shooter drills starting in the 2026-2027 school year.

Before Senate Bill 68 took effect in August, school district staff were only required to participate in active shooter drills.

While the new law does not specify the number of drills that must be conducted each year, it does require student participation.

Under Missouri’s ASIRT statute, teachers and school personnel are required by law to participate in simulated active shooter drills. However, broader training components such as identifying threats or responding to intruders are optional.

A report conducted by ProPublica last year found that most U.S. states require schools to conduct active shooter drills. It identified 13 states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, that do not mandate such drills. While Missouri is among the states that require active shooter drills, the mandate applies only to school staff, not students.

Colorado and Connecticut are known to have had the worst mass school shootings in U.S. history.

The Columbine school shooting in Colorado in 1999 left 13 people dead — 12 students and one teacher.

In Connecticut in 2012, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting took place, leaving 20 people killed.

Senate Bill 68 also requires Missouri schools to develop response plans for armed intruders, natural disasters, and medical emergencies. The law mandates the use of anti-intruder locks and bullet-resistant window film in all new school construction by 2029, if state funding is provided.

Public school districts and charter schools must also report all school safety incidents and credible threats to the Missouri Department of Secondary Education. DESE will be required to maintain a database of reported incidents and threats and share data with the Department of Public Safety.

Under Senate Bill 68, a cellphone ban took effect at the start of the 2025-2026 school year that prohibits students from using their phones during school hours. The policy requires schools to restrict device use during instructional time, with limited exceptions for emergencies and educational purposes.

The law required Columbia Public Schools to expand its policy from last year, when high school students were able to use cell phones outside of class periods.

Last year, the district had a cellphone policy in place that banned phone usage for middle school students all day, including in the bathrooms, hallways and lunch.

To implement the law, during school hours, cellphones must be turned off or on silent mode and stored in their backpacks or lockers.

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Matthew Sanders

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri’s attorney general filed a lawsuit Wednesday to stop a vote on a new congressional map passed by the Republican supermajority during a summer special session.

Attorney General Catherine Hanaway filed the lawsuit on Wednesday in federal court for the Eastern District of Missouri that lists Secretary of State Denny Hoskins as the plaintiff. The lawsuit was filed against People Not Politicians, a group that has raised more than $1.7 million in contributions since forming.

The group’s leadership said in a news release Wednesday it has collected more than 100,000 signatures on its petition to get a question repealing the new map on a statewide ballot. The group’s initial petition forms were rejected, but Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins gave them the go-ahead Wednesday to start collecting signatures.

In a release, Hoskins said signatures collected before Wednesday could not be used. Hanaway’s lawsuit came just hours later.

Lawsuit against People Not PoliticiansDownload

In the lawsuit, Hanaway asserts that the effort to get the map before voters is unconstitutional because the Missouri and U.S. constitutions give the power to redraw districts explicitly to the legislature.

Hanaway says in a statement the lawsuit “is about protecting Missouri’s constitutional authority from being hijacked by out-of-state dark money groups.” Missouri Republicans have long complained that Missouri’s initiative petition process allows for groups that don’t report their donations to have an outsized impact on the process.

People Not Politicians Director Richard von Glahn said he won’t be throwing out the signatures the group has been collecting since Missouri lawmakers sent the map to the governor in September. von Glahn cited a Missouri law that allows signatures to start being collected once the “sample sheet” is submitted, which he said it was.

“It is, of course, politicians who are grasping at straws and are desperate to make sure that Missourians don’t get the final say on this, but that’s too bad. Missourians are signing this at record rates,” von Glahn said.

People Not Politicians filed a lawsuit against Hoskins, claiming he violated Sunshine laws by not posting the group’s referendum within the deadline set by the law.

He also said any issues with signatures collected before the referendum was approved could be debated at the next court hearing on Nov. 4.

“I don’t expect that that is going to be the final spot of that lawsuit,” von Glahn said. “I expect it would get appealed to the Western District and ultimately to the Missouri Supreme Court.”

von Glahn spoke with ABC 17 News prior to the attorney general announcing the latest lawsuit. The team reached back out von Glahn, and he declined to comment on the issue and said there’s a press conference Thursday morning.

Republican lawmakers passed the new map, which eliminates one of two Democrat-friendly districts in the U.S. House, during a special September session. The map splits up the Kansas City area and the current Fifth District, a seat held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.

Several lawsuits have been filed to challenge the new map, claiming maps can only be redrawn every 10 years after the census.

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