Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A portion of Business Loop 70 that closed earlier this month for roundabout construction has reopened.

The new roundabout is now in use and is expected to give Business Loop 70 direct access to Interstate 70 by 2027, a Wednesday press release from the Missouri Department of Transportation says.

Business Loop 70 between Hathman Place and Eastland Circle closed on Nov. 12 and work was expected to last two weeks.

The construction was part of the Improve I-70 Project.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The viewing platform at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area has reopened after two years.

The platform was closed for renovations and removal of boardwalks in November 2023, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. The boardwalks had become a safety concern, the department says. The trail remains accessible from the Katy Trail and South Warren School Road.

Eagle Bluffs, located in southern Boone County near McBaine, attracts visitors interested in seeing waterfowl in the area’s extensive wetlands. Those wetlands were restored by creating 17 shallow pools.

The park is located off Route K.

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Boone County judge on Wednesday ruled that the Central Missouri Humane Society will have custody of the dogs who were allegedly abused by a local breeder.  

A lawyer for Melissa Sanders, 26, argued the animals she is accused of abusing should be returned to her.

Boone County/Columbia Animal Control argued to the judge why the animals should be turned over to the Central Missouri Humane Society to reunite the animals with their owners. Those owners will be allowed to pick them up from CMHS with proof of ownership.

Sanders, of Columbia, is charged with three counts of felony animal abuse and 15 counts of misdemeanor animal abuse after animal control, assisted by Boone County sheriff’s deputies, found 16 living but severely malnourished dogs, five “intact” dead dogs and about a dozen dog skulls on her property. Officers also found four dead dogs outside of her building. Sanders is being held in the Phelps County Jail without bond.

Sanders owns Magnum Opus German Shepherds a breeding, boarding and training facility.

Judge Kayla Jackson-Williams heard witness testimony from animal control officers who responded when Sanders property was searched on Nov. 13 along with the veterinarians that treated the animals following their rescue.

Boone County Animal Control officer Emily Rathbun described her experience from the day of the search.

“You could smell the decomposition from outside, but once you stepped inside the feces and urine had built up to the point that would burn your eyes,” Rathbun said. “The kennels inside were full of fur, feces, urine and skeletal remains. A lot of them were bent or mangled past the point of being usable anymore.”

Rathbun also said on the stand that due to the number of remains that were found through out the property, the total number of dogs that died while in Sander’s car is unknown.

Kevin Meyers, Boone County Animal Control supervisor, also took the stand with his experience.

“I had to leave and get a mask because I physically could not breathe inside that space,” Meyers said. “What looked like remains of a dog that had slothed off its matted fur. As they decompose the fur falls off, the skin and the fur melts.”

Following the judge’s ruling, many owners arrived to CMHS to be reunited with their dogs.

“My dog Romy had been with her and I later found out she was deceased,” Brianna Moore said. “However, five of my puppies were there with her, five of Romy’s puppies and thankfully they are alive and I’m getting to take them home.”

It was also revealed in court Wednesday that after one week in the humane’s society care all of the dogs rescued, except one, saw significant weight gain and improvement. One dog initially rescued from the property, named Hex, died due to the severity of its condition.

The veterinarian that cared for Hex, Jessica Thiele, said on the stand that when she first examined Hex he looked like a 4-to-5-month-old puppy due to malnourishment. Another dog that was pregnant at the time of her rescue, Eri, delivered nine puppies while in the care of the humane society.

Owners have until Dec. 5 to claim their dogs from CMHS.

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Haley Swaino

EDITOR’S NOTE: AI was used to research background for this story.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A company paying people to get signatures on a petition to overturn a new Missouri congressional map has denied it employs illegal immigrants, a claim made this week by the state’s attorney general.

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has launched an immigration-focused investigation into Advanced Micro Targeting, Inc., a signature-gathering firm from Texas.

Hanaway, in a news release Tuesday, accused the company of using undocumented workers to gather petition signatures to reverse the GOP’s gerrymandering efforts.

The release states that Advanced Micro Targeting is the signature-gathering contractor for many petition efforts in the state, including the anti-gerrymandering campaign associated with the group People Not Politicians.

“Election integrity is a core priority of this office,” Hanaway said in a statement. “Missourians, not unregulated labor hired by out-of-state interests, should determine our elections.”

Hanaway issued a civil investigative demand, a subpoena-like order, requiring Advanced Micro Targeting to provide documents related to its hiring practices and worker verification of Missouri clients. The issue has also been referred to federal immigration authorities, Hanaway said.

The Attorney General’s Office said preliminary information suggests the firm may have violated state laws against hiring or transporting unauthorized workers. They are also investigating whether the company provided misleading information to clients, which would violate the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.

“Missouri’s laws are clear: no business may employ or transport individuals who are not authorized to work in the United States,” Hanaway, a Republican, said in a statement. “My Office will not allow dark-money groups to violate Missouri laws and hijack the will of voters.”

AMT rejects that notion.

“The allegations are not true,” Billy Rogers, AMT president and founder. “Everyone who works for AMT is a W2 employee, and every AMT employee is verified through the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify system. AMT does not employ undocumented immigrants.”

The battle over the signature drive has spread to Missourians’ phones this week.

Some Missourians received a text message warning that out-of-state interests may be “trying to trick people into signing petitions” on Black Friday.

A text message some Missourians received on Nov. 25, 2025.

The Missouri Republican Party issued a statement after the text message was sent out, saying it is in support of Hanaway’s investigation.

“Unfortunately, there are always malicious actors who wish to take advantage of Missourians’ generosity during the holiday season,” the Missouri GOP said in a statement. “There are serious questions about the tactics these groups are using to collect signatures.”

The Missouri GOP issued a statement in support of Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s investigation into illegal aliens gathering signatures on Tuesday.

State Rep. John Martin (R-Centralia) urged Missourians not to sign such petitions.

“This weekend signature gatherers will be out among the shoppers and DECLINE TO SIGN,” Martin wrote in a Facebook post Monday. “The Left and all of their money continue to use Missouri’s low-threshold petition system to push their radical agenda and stop Trump’s agenda.”

People Not Politicians called the message a “scam.”

“Desperate politicians are at it again trying to scam Missourians,” the group wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday. “They are afraid of our power, but we know that we will win!”

Hanaway has filed a lawsuit in federal court to block the referendum on the state’s new congressional map from appearing on the November 2026 ballot.

The map, signed into law by Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe on Sept. 28, is expected to remove a Missouri Democrat from the U.S. House of Representatives. Dubbed “Missouri First,” the map is part of a broader Republican effort to strengthen the party’s hold in the U.S. House ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Hanaway contends that the U.S. Constitution grants the Missouri legislature exclusive authority over redistricting, and the referendum undermines this power.

Secretary of State Denny Hoskins approved the petition for circulation by People Not Politicians after initially rejecting the forms submitted last month. However, Hoskins noted that signatures gathered earlier are no longer valid, a claim disputed by People Not Politicians.

Several lawsuits have been filed challenging the new congressional district map.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Amazon is planning to build a data center north of Interstate 70 in Montgomery County.

The retail and cloud computing giant has secured land and now needs a building permit from the county for its data center between New Florence and High Hill, said Steve Etcher with the Greater Montgomery County Economic Development Council. The site will be about 1,000 acres, he said.

The county’s economic development council has spent months working to review the site and ensure the plan “supports smart and responsible growth, and positions the region for long-term success,” the organization says in a news release.

The release says Amazon is “in the final stages” of evaluating the site.

An Amazon spokesperson wrote in response to questions that the project is still too early to provide a timeline, cost and job numbers.

Etcher said the company has committed to hundreds of permanent jobs when the project is complete. Power would come from Ameren Missouri under its “large load tariff,” which is meant to shield other customers from cost increases associated with scaling up data centers.

The Montgomery County Public Water District will serve the facility’s significant water needs, and Etcher said the utility has the capacity to serve the data center.

Data center projects have come under fire across the country from people who say they suck up power and water without driving economic development. The creation of data centers has been driven by the need for more computing power and storage as digital technology grows.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia police said Wednesday that a man charged over the summer with a 2018 rape was arrested in St. Louis.

Antonio E. Bates, 58, of St. Louis, was arrested Tuesday on a warrant for first-degree rape, according to a Columbia Police Department news release. A CPD spokesman said Bates will be brought back to Columbia to stand trial.

Bates was not listed on the inmate rosters of the Boone or St. Louis County jails on Wednesday morning.

Court documents state that on July 24, 2018, police were called to a sexual assault in the 800 block of Ann Street around 3 a.m. Police said the victim reported being outside near a garden area of an apartment when a conversation started with Bates, whom the victim did not know.

Bates forced the woman to the ground and assaulted her, police say. A sexual assault examination yielded DNA that matched Bates, the statement says.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Hundreds of free rides will be offered starting Wednesday afternoon, ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday and as the Missouri State Highway Patrol begins the holiday counting period.

According to the Highway Patrol, the night before Thanksgiving is sometimes called “Blackout Wednesday,” a term that has become popular for social gatherings and heavy drinking. Breakthru Beverage Missouri will be partnering with Deep Eddy Vodka to offer 500 free rides home in Columbia, Springfield, St. Louis and Kansas City through the Lyft app.

People will have the opportunity to use the free rides home starting 2 p.m. Wednesday to 2 a.m. Thursday.

Riders must use the code: BBGMOTHANKS2025 to redeem the free trip.

The Missouri Department of Transportation and MSHP are urging caution and patience as Missourians hit the road for the Thanksgiving holiday. In 2024, the Highway Patrol reported 11 people were killed and 64 were seriously injured in crashes during the holiday period. According to MoDoT, the number of statewide deaths in 2025 has reached over 800.

MoDoT is asking travelers to buckle, follow the speed limit and not drive distracted or impaired.

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Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Shopping for Thanksgiving this year likely put less of a strain on people’s wallets this year, according to a survey.

The American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual Thanksgiving survey shows a Thanksgiving dinner was down about 5% in 2025, compared to 2024. The report states an average dinner for 10 people costs roughly $55.18, or $5.52 per person. The country last saw a record-high cost in 2022, when the average dinner for 10 cost $64.05.

The items within the survey include a turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls, peas, cranberries, a veggie tray and pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

People who include a boneless ham, russet potatoes or frozen green beans on the menu this year will pay slightly more, sitting at $77.09.

The most notable items that saw a drop in prices this year are the turkey, stuffing and dinner rolls. The turkey–which some consider a staple at the table– saw the largest decrease of 16.3%. Dinner rolls weren’t too far behind and decreased by 14.6%.

Other popular items, such as whipped cream, pumpkin pie mix and frozen peas saw a hike in prices this year compared to last. Sweet potatoes jumped by about 37% and a gallon of milk, by 16.3%. However, anyone who purchased a veggie tray saw the biggest increase in price of all items, increasing by 61.3%.

An ABC 17 News reporter went to grocery stores around the City of Columbia to see how national prices compare to the local price. The results from the survey, Trader Joe’s and the Schnucks on Providence Road are listed below:

Survey:

16 pound turkey: $21.50 or $1.34 per pound

Stuffing mix: $3.71

Two frozen pie crusts: $3.37

Half pint of heavy whipping cream: $1.87

1 pound of frozen peas: $2.03

12 dinner rolls: $3.56

Pumpkin pie mix (30 ounces): $4.16

1 gallon of whole milk: $3.73

3 pounds of sweet potatoes: $4.00

12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries: $2.28

Schnucks:

16 pound turkey: $1.99 per pound

Stuffing mix: $1.19

Two frozen pie crusts: $4.59

Pint of heavy whipping cream: $6.64

1 pound of frozen peas: $1.19

Hawaiian rolls: $3.99

Pumpkin pie mix (30 ounces): $5.09

1 gallon of whole milk: $4.24

3 pounds of sweet potatoes: $1.17

12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries: $2.49

Trader Joe’s:

16 pound turkey: $2.49 per pound

Stuffing mix: $4.99

Two gluten free frozen pie crusts: $5.49

Pint of heavy whipping cream: $3.99

1 pound of frozen peas: $1.79

8 dinner rolls: $2.99

Pumpkin pie mix (30 ounces): $2.49

1 gallon of whole milk: $3.99

3 pounds of sweet potatoes: $4.18

12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries: $2.49

According to Hy-Vee’s website, the lowest price for a fresh whole turkey is $2.48 per pound, while the cheapest stuffing mix hovers around $1.88. Sweet potatoes cost about 41 cents.

Those who choose to shop at Walmart may save some money. A fresh turkey cost $1.47 per pound, while the cheapest stuffing mix is $1.88. However, a sweet potato will cost roughly 77 cents.

Columbia shoppers most notably will pay slightly more for their turkey this holiday compared to national prices.

Kathy Reineking, is Trader Joe’s shopper from Georgia, but came to Columbia for the week to host Thanksgiving for her family. Reineking said she headed into the grocery store thinking she would shell out a lot more money than she did, especially the turkey she purchased from Hy-Vee.

“I’ve seen it be as much as $3 at other places so I don’t know if that was a better price than what it would normally be but I thought it was a really good price,” Reineking said. “I haven’t shopped as much as I did last year at this time but I’d say to me they’re (grocery prices) are about the same.”

Others, like Rita Fleisch say they’ve been feeling the financial strain all year long, something that’s only increased during the holidays.

“It’s been really chaotic because of the tariffs and everything, we try to adjust with our eating habits to accommodate what’s available and then on sale,” Fleisch said. “Basic needs like flour, sugar or salt, everything’s more expensive.”

According to the survey from the farm bureau, the Midwest will pay the second least amount on a Thanksgiving dinner this year, sitting at $54.38. The south will pay the least at $50.01, while people on the northeast and west coast will pay more than $60 for 10 people this year.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Sedalia announced in a Tuesday social media post that the Pettis County Health Center has set up three naloxone vending machines for public use.

Naloxone – also known by its brand-named version Narcan – is used to reverse the effects of opioid overdoses.

One machine is outside the Pettis County Health Center, another is north of the entrance to the Sedalia Municipal Building and a third is near the Fielding Building at State Fair Community College, the post says.

All three can be accessed for free 24 hours a day, the post says.

“With all three machines now operational and maintained by the Pettis County Health Center, the machines give residents one more tool to use in an emergency, similar to the way defibrillators, fire extinguishers, and first aid kits are placed in public spaces as precautionary safeguards,” the post says. “The overarching message shared by project partners and families is simple. Being prepared saves lives, and having Naloxone accessible to everyone gives the community one more way to care for one another.”

A similar program was introduced in Columbia last month.

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Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

With the federal government shutdown over and SNAP benefits restored, local nonprofits say the demand for emergency assistance remains, and CoMoHelps will continue taking requests for at least another week.

The collaborative relief fund — relaunched in October as SNAP benefits were halted — has now allocated nearly $60,000 to 11 agencies, according to emails from Boone County Commissioner Kip Kendrick. Kendrick said the fund — supported by the Veterans United Foundation, United Way, and the Community Foundation of Central Missouri — raised an additional $23,000 in community donations.

CoMoHelps leaders say the need has expanded beyond food. Shutdown-related uncertainty pushed many families into difficult choices about basic expenses.

“We intentionally tried to make sure that we were very thoughtful about the money that was given for the requests that were coming in,” Heart of Missouri United Way President and CEO Talia Jackson said.”What we saw early on is that organizations were maybe trying to look at what they were going to need between the time of the shutdown, all the way until the end of the year or beyond, and we wanted to take a conservative approach, not knowing how much fundraising we were going to be able to bring in.” 

Jackson added requests have continued even after the shutdown ended. In all, organizations submitted close to $113,000 in requests, which went far beyond food assistance. Some agencies sought help to stock diapers at daycare centers or cover tuition for parents who couldn’t afford it, while others requested gas cards for families struggling to get to work.

“People were having to make decisions. ‘Do I put gas in my car or do I go get food?’ And sometimes you might have to prioritize getting gas so that you can get to the job and have money to be able to still have some food on the table,” Jackson explained. “We saw things like gas,  rent, and utility requests. We saw child care diapers. So it was a lot of the what we’re calling basic needs on top of just food.” 

The Columbia Housing Authority was among the agencies that applied for assistance. Chief Executive Officer Randy Cole told ABC 17 News the Columbia Housing Authority received $2,500 to support on-site food access at Paquin Tower and Oak Towers. The funding will help provide food for roughly 200 households at Paquin and another 146 residents at Oak Towers.

“We get direct engagement and feedback from 30-to-40 residents on a monthly basis and food access comes up often as a topic of concern,” Cole said. “With the SNAP benefits having some uncertainty,  some of our residents as well as our staff, saw that as a need. And so we want to make sure we have a  really good amount of food access onsite, knowing that there’s colder winter months coming too, so it might be harder for some of our elderly disabled population to get out.” 

Cole said the CHA has received notice of its award and is still waiting on final paperwork, but expects the funding to arrive soon. The agency plans to spend a portion of the money each month over the next two to three months to help stretch the support through the winter.

“We’re an organization with a lot of needs that serves a lot of residents. So we’re going to continue to look for resources for a variety of needs,  including additional rent assistance or other basic needs that our residents might need help with,  additional food security,  all types of things that we can help our residents maintain that stability,” Cole said. 

CoMoHelps is continuing to monitor requests and feedback they are receiving through at least November. Since not all the initial requests were fully funded, Kendrick says the group may go back to the nonprofits that were only partially funded to see if they still have additional needs.

“We’re just going to kind of allow the community to tell us what is needed in terms of how long we need to keep it open. But if those requests dry up and we still have dollars in the hopper, we haven’t quite decided how we’re going to deal with that,” Jackson said. “The beauty about the collaborative effort that these five organizations came together and did is that we meet all the time. We’re always having conversations.” 

Even before the shutdown, food insecurity was already a significant issue in Boone County. More than 15,000 residents rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and more than 15% report experiencing food insecurity, according to county officials.

“Our residents feel the community support,” Cole said. “Columbia is a great town with a lot of people that care about our most vulnerable populations, and people feel that at the ground level and we regularly hear a lot of positive feedback from our residents.”

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