Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Three people have filed to run for the open Fourth Ward seat on the Columbia City Council in the Aug. 4 election.

Tuesday was the deadline to file for the August election.

The city clerk’s office confirmed the field includes former Columbia Utilities Director David Sorrell, Ryan King and attorney Sharon Jones, who is also on the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The position is open after Councilman Nick Foster announced that he intends to resign from his position on June 12. Foster announced his family is moving to Atlanta, Georgia, after his wife was hired as a dean at Georgia State University, previous reporting shows.

The winner of the August election will serve the remainder of Foster’s term, which ends in April 2028.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The legal guardian of a child with cerebral palsy filed a discrimination lawsuit on Monday against the Russellville School District and a number of its employees.

Daryl Matheis sued the Cole County R-1 School District, along with teachers and paraprofessionals, after claiming disability discrimination, sex discrimination, retaliation, battery, assault and false imprisonment. The Missouri Commission on Human Rights issued Matheis a notice of right to sue on March 3.

The petition makes several claims of abuse, including that employees had restrained the now 9-year-old boy multiple times, one of which resulted in damaging his communication device. The lawsuit claims after the first incident, the district did not follow its own policy of sending a written notification to the boy’s guardian “within a set number of days.”

In September 2024, the lawsuit claims the school nurse and paraprofessionals at the school declined to help the boy use a chair — that allows the youth to use the restroom – because he was a male.

The petition also claims the boy was once punished by being made to stand outside during frigid temperatures while wearing “only socks on his feet.”

The lawsuit also makes an allegation that the boy was verbally berated by staff “to such a severe degree that other students told their parents about the yelling who then then forwarded that information to” the boy’s guardians. The plaintiff claims the district retaliated by “changing the procedure for pickup” for the student.

ABC 17 News reached out to the school district.

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Nate Splater

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is developing Project Green, a new data center in New Florence, Montgomery County, that will draw water from an aquifer deep beneath the city.

And Amazon hopes to tap the source with a high-yield well.

Project Green Site Plan. Courtesy of Amazon Web Services.

The data center complex will be located south of Hudson Road and west of Ellis Road on the eastern side of town. Water will be sourced from deep within the Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer, with wells drilled to depths of 1,500 feet to avoid interfering with local private wells.

According to a report by CDM Smith, a global engineering and construction firm, the Project Green campus will draw 2.9 million gallons of water annually. The full 17-building campus is projected to use approximately 50 million gallons of water each year, which is comparable to the annual water usage of a golf course. Each individual building’s water usage is roughly equivalent to that of a restaurant.

Scott Kaden, the Groundwater Section chief at the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, said this amount of usage is common with several wells across the state. “There are a lot of high-yield wells throughout the country and throughout the state that produce a similar amount of water, whether it’s for a public water supply or irrigation,” he says.

The Cambrian-Ordovician Aquifer. Courtesy of USGS.

The Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer, made of limestone and dolomite sedimentary rock, is extensive and holds more than 23 trillion gallons of groundwater in the region of the data center. This volume is equivalent to more than 1.5 million Olympic-sized swimming pools. About 8% of the Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer is in use, and the data center will contribute an additional 0.03% to this total.

Heavy water users like the Project Green facilities are required to report their water usage to MoDNR. Still, there are no regulations on water use because Missouri is a riparian state, where landowners have the right to use water that flows within or along their property. “But you cannot affect your neighbor’s ability to do the same thing,” Scott cautions. “And if that does happen, if you affect your neighbor’s ability to use the water, then that becomes a civil matter.”

According to CDM Smith’s report, long-term water-level monitoring of the Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer within the data center region shows stable overall water levels, with some monitoring locations experiencing increases. The report cites water levels in a bedrock well in Vandalia, in nearby Audrian County, located about 30 miles north of New Florence, which increased by approximately 5 feet between 2007 and 2017.

However, there is an older well in New Florence that doesn’t reflect the same trends. Records at this well date back to 1981 and show a steady, though slightly decreasing depth in water level. “But when you look at the thickness of the aquifer, the aquifer goes down 1,400 feet,” Scott explains, “so there’s still over 1,000 feet of water in the aquifer in this area of New Florence.”

Scott says that while the aquifer is vast, water levels can still vary from well to well. “You can’t just pick one spot and say that the whole aquifer is behaving like it is at this one spot. You have to look at all of them.” Another well in Graham Cave State Park, a few miles west of New Florence, shows a steadier trend in water levels since at least 2009.

CDM Smith, citing MoDNR projections for 2060, indicates that the aquifer will naturally refill at a rate of 406 million gallons per day. Total water withdrawals from all other wells using this aquifer, excluding the data center, are estimated to be only 71 million gallons per day.

MoDNR predicts that only about 17% of the water naturally flowing into the aquifer each year will be used in the region where the data center is located by 2060. The aquifer will essentially gain more than 600 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water daily, while about 100 pools will be pumped out for all other combined uses, aside from the data center use.

Amazon water studyDownload

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche told a House subcommittee Tuesday that the Trump administration will not establish a $1.776 billion fund to benefit its allies.

Blanche said during testimony before the subcommittee that “We are not moving forward with the fund, period,” according to The Associated Press.

Congressional Republicans had expressed opposition to the fund in recent days. A federal judge last week temporarily blocked the formation of the fund, and the Justice Department had said it would follow the order.

The fund was part of President Donald Trump’s settlement with the IRS over the release of his tax returns. Trump sued the IRS for $10 billion. The fund would have awarded payments to people the Trump administration says were targeted by a politically “weaponized” criminal justice system.

Blanche said the part of the settlement that shields the Trump family from audits will remain in place, according to The AP.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia’s parking revenue is up substantially in the first six months of this year after the city raised parking rates in January.

On-street parking rates increased to a $1 an hour on during the first week of January and has resulted in a 50.4% gain in revenue compared to the same time period last year, according to information that was obtained to a records request with the city’s Public Works Department.

Meter parking revenue collected from Jan. 6-June 1 of this year totals $727,886.02, compared to the $483,906.73 that was collected from Jan. 6, 2025-June 1, 2025.

Previous reporting shows the rate adjustment this year was the first since 2013.

The overall increase follows a similar trend that was seen earlier this year, when the city saw a 12% jump during January.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Eldon was placed under a boil order by the state’s Department of Natural Resources, the city announced in a Tuesday social media post.

A letter from the DNR says the city “has exceed the E. coli Maximum Containment Level” in May. The DNR’s website lists fecal coliform/E. coli as the contaminants of concern.

A routine sample that was collected on May 20 from the distribution system tested positive for E. coli, as did three samples that were taken in the same area on Monday.

The city will hold an emergency City Council meeting at 6 p.m. to discuss the boil order, the post says. More than 4,400 people live in the city.

Eldon went through a three-week boil order this past winter.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Holts Summit man was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday after he pleaded guilty to several child sex crimes.

Memphis Dils, 24, pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree statutory sodomy, one count of possessing child sex abuse material and a count of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor. He is currently listed on the Callaway County Jail’s online roster.

Court documents in previous reporting say Dils was older than 21 years old and the victim was younger than 16 years old when the assaults started. The statement says a witness called Callaway County Joint Communications to say Dils sexually assaulted a youth.

The witness confronted Dils over Facebook messenger and he allegedly “admitted to everything,” court documents say. Law enforcement viewed the conversation and saw Dils admitted to the assaults, court documents say.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Local group No New Jail Boone Co. is pushing back against a sales tax increase set to appear on the November ballot.

No New Jail Boone Co. includes members who are volunteers at other local groups. This includes COMO Mobile Aid, Room at the Inn, Loaves and Fishes and Boone County Community Bail Fund.

“We have experience with the jail and with the criminal punishment system, and we see the effects of it in Boone County. The turmoil that it causes, not just the people who are incarcerated, but their families, their loved ones,” No New Jail Boone Co. member John Amick said.

Last week, the Boone County Commission approved a proposal to put a 3/8-cent sales tax on the November ballot. The motion was initially requested by Boone County Sheriff Dwayne Carey, who plans to use the funds to build a new Boone County Jail.

No New Jail Boone Co. is inviting the public to meet Wednesday, according to a Facebook post.

Amick said the meeting plans to feature a presentation on the current jail and how a new jail would impact the region. This will be followed by a discussion for residents to consider community-based solutions.

“Let’s talk why the sheriff and county commission can only imagine one direction for Boone County: higher taxes for more cages,” the post states. “Let’s talk a different direction and setting the tone for coming decades that doesn’t hinge on despair and exploitation.”

The group acknowledges the current incarceration system is a complex issue, but they would like to see officials turn to resources with a focus on prevention and support to build a “structure of care” for the community.

“Trying to rehabilitate or having something that works is the goal, it’s been an abysmal failure, and so we should do something different, not just because it hasn’t worked, but because it’s humane, it doesn’t involve disposing of people and giving up on them,” Amick said.

“Part of this is the court system, part of this is the state of Missouri and its failure to find places for folks who are in the jail with serious mental health issues,” Amick adds. “I know it’s not all on the county commissioner or the sheriff’s office, for them to do it, but we have the capability of figuring out who maybe needs to be separate from some people in the here and now and who doesn’t need to be.”

Amick also hopes utilizing available resources would set a positive precedent for the future.

“Always it seems to me, a county sheriff, whether it’s in Boone County or not, all over the country, they will probably always push for more incarceration,” Amick said. “That’s the kind of tone that’s set now and it seems that the sheriff and the county commission are content on keeping that tone without really exploring anything else.”

Carey reports the current jail is outdated for inmate needs, with Boone County housing hundreds of inmates in out-of-county facilities.

According to prior reporting, it cost over $2.5 million in 2025 to house inmates. It cost around $499,000 for housing in 2022. From January to March this year, it cost around $1.12 million to house detainees out-of-county.

During last week’s Boone County Commission meeting, the commission also planned to use the time between elections to review current prevention resources and to strategize potential jail construction budgets.

District II Commissioner Janet Thompson called for a possible revival of the “Jail Overcrowding Group” formed by a former commissioner.

The group was made up of other officials who often work with inmates, such as county commissioners, prosecutors, sheriffs and judges. The group worked together to discuss what resources were available for those involved.

“The county became a leader in adult services through that time because we utilized the new ways of looking at how we take care of people and how we can divert people through adult court services,” Thompson said. “That was part of that whole process of saying, ‘How do we do this better? How do we keep the right people in our jail and not just throw people in just willy nilly and do it with no rationale?'”

Carey added that he has reached out to those involved.

“I agree with Commissioner Thompson on this, it’s more about guarding against this problem from really elevating,” Carey said. “Once we do get in this new jail four or five years from now, and we have to do something to address this mental health crisis at the local level because we’re just not going to get the funding from the state and feds.”

Boone County Auditor Kyle Rieman estimates that, based on current 1/8-cent collections from the current Prop L tax in 2025, this tax increase would start in 2027 and generate at least $17 million annually.

“It’s a blank check, we don’t really know what the extent will be,” Amick said.

The new jail plans call for around 570 beds. The jail would also have accommodations for inmates certified by the Department of Mental Health and juveniles.

The meeting is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Columbia Public Library Friends Room.

ABC 17 News has reached out to Carey for comment.

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Matthew Sanders

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Cole County sheriff made a pitch to county commissioners Tuesday for a sales tax to expand the jail.

Sheriff John Wheeler pitched to commissioners a half-cent sales tax that would expire after bonds used to expand the jail are paid off. Wheeler asked for the issue to be on the April 2027 ballot.

The need is actue, Wheeler said. The county spent $425,000 last year to house inmates in other jails, he said.

“We just can’t keep going the way we are,” Wheeler said.

The average jail stay was 12.6 days in 2017, but has risen to 24.2 days since then, Wheeler said. The jail has 206 beds and averages 210 inmates a day, he said. He also said the expense of running the jail has doubled.

The sales tax in Cole County is 5.6%. That includes a 3/8-cent sales tax for law enforcement.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Activity and Recreation Center Water Zone is closed Tuesday due to a “fecal incident,” according to a social media post.

The ARC staff will clean and sanitize the pool. It will reopen Wednesday.

Tammy Miller, a Columbia Parks and Recreation spokesperson, said a lifeguard noticed the excrement in the indoor pool and alerted a manager. Pool staff will use extra chlorine to clean the pool and clean filters so they’re clear of any sediment.

The chemical and water mixture is then returned to normal.

Swimmers are encouraged to use the Albert-Oakland Family Aquatic Center and the Lake of the Woods Pool in the meantime. Those pools opened at noon.

However, Parks and Rec posted on Facebook late Tuesday morning that Albert-Oakland will close at 3 p.m. because of water clarity problems.

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