Category: kmiz-local-news

Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Sections of some downtown Columbia were closed Tuesday morning after a fire occurred at McNally’s Irish Pub.

ABC 17 News saw smoke visible from N Sixth Street in Columbia just before 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. A Boone County Joint Communications notification was sent out at 9:18 a.m. alerting about Broadway at Sixth Street being closed due to the fire.

In total, 41 firefighters responded to the scene. Columbia police officers were also on the scene.

The Columbia Fire Department said crews arrived within three minutes and immediately went to work. Firefighters were forced to cut through the roof to vent smoke and gain access to the fire, allowing them to get the flames under control within 20 minutes.

“It’s basically opening up a hole to make sure all that smoke gets out and clears the area so we can see better,” Columbia Fire Department spokeswoman Katherine Rodriguez said.

While crews were putting out hot spots, Columbia police officers and detectives were also on scene for several hours. An ABC 17 News reporter saw detectives leaving the bar around noon with evidence bags.

The pub’s liquor and business licenses expired on Monday, according to City of Columbia records. However, according to the Department of Public Safety, businesses still have until July 31 to renew those licenses.

Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon told ABC 17 News the business didn’t have a county liquor license for 2024 or a renewal for this year.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by Columbia Fire Marshals.

The Columbia Police Department told ABC 17 News in an email that police help out with fire calls as needed. Mostly, helping with clearing the area and making sure everything is safe. However, the department declined to comment on the investigation.

The pub shared a post on Facebook saying it was a “tough day” but that no one was hurt.

Check back for updates.

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Marie Moyer

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Monday’s Missouri Senate committee hearing brought University of Missouri Health Care and Anthem to the table, but not to a solution, as both groups walked away without a clear plan to cover the health care of thousands of Mid-Missourians.

In testimony, both MU Health Care and Anthem claimed to have made several proposals since 2024, which both parties have routinely declined.

MU Health Care’s most recent proposal has been 9%, 9%, and 8% increases over three years. Anthem recently offered a plan that featured performance benefits and pay raises over inflation. MU Health Care argued that Anthem pays them less than other local insurers and academic medical centers outside Missouri.

“Anthem rates are 10% to 20% lower than other people pay us today,” MU Health Care Chief Executive Officer Ric Ransom said. “The rates that Anthem pays, other academic health systems, other places like us in the Midwest and throughout the country, it’s 30% more.”

Rich Novack, who represented Anthem during the hearing, argued that Anthem couldn’t afford the MU’s percentage increases since Anthem administration costs have only been increasing by less than 2.5% per year. Novack also made two informal offers to MU Health Care mid-way during his testimony.

The first, a three-year contract with annual increases of 3.3%. The second offer would match Anthem’s current partnership with the University of Kentucky, an academic medical center like MU Healthcare.

“University of Kentucky, I know a lot about that one,” Novack said. “I’ll take that deal top to bottom, no alterations, no amendments. I’ll take that deal, we can sign it this afternoon and everybody goes home happy.”

In a statement from MU Health Care spokesperson Eric Maze, it is too early to respond to any offers made during the hearing without a written proposal.

“MU Health Care is simply requesting rates on par with those paid by other managed care companies in the region and comparable to the rates Anthem pays other academic health systems,” Maze said. “Without fair payment from Anthem, MU Health Care, the region’s only academic health system and one of only two safety net providers in the state, is being forced to fight for its future while defending the health of an entire region.”

In a statement from an Anthem spokesperson, they claimed the hearing was productive in negotiations.

“Following the hearing, Anthem met with MU Health Care leadership to continue discussions,” the Anthem spokesperson said in the statement. “We’re encouraged that some initial progress has been made and remain committed to working toward a solution that restores in-network access while protecting affordability for the Missourians we serve.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 44-year-old Eldon man remained in jail Tuesday afternoon following his arrest after a standoff at a Miller County home.

Lawrance J. Giddens, 44, was charged on Tuesday with four counts of illegal gun possession, one count of illegally possessing an illegal weapon and a count of resisting arrest.

Giddens held deputies and state troopers in a standoff Monday in Miller County and was “believed to be armed” with a gun, the Miller County Sheriff’s Office says.

The standoff happened in the 100 block of Witt Road, south of Eldon.

An ABC 17 News reporter saw over a dozen law enforcement vehicles, most of which were of the Miller County Sheriff’s Office – surrounding a home.

The probable cause statement says that law enforcement was at the residence serving a failure-to-appear warrant. He was charged in Morgan County with failing to register as a sex offender and two infractions of driving without a license and not having plates. A $50,000 bond was set in that case.

The statement says that law enforcement was contacted by someone claiming that Giddens was armed with multiple guns and willing to shoot officers.

The reporter saw law enforcement use an armored vehicle to send a gas canister into the home around 7:45 p.m. There appeared to be someone in custody shortly after. The scene cleared out around 8 p.m.

Giddens refused to come out of a home when troopers and deputies ordered him to, a sheriff’s office release says.

Kyle Green, of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, told ABC 17 News that the patrol’s SWAT team was at the residence.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Callaway County deputies on Monday used spike strips to stop a truck and trailer that was reported stolen, the sheriff’s office wrote in a Monday evening social media post.

The sheriff’s office wrote that it was notified by the Boone County Sheriff’s Office that deputies were chasing a stolen truck and trailer on eastbound Interstate 70. Callaway County deputies put down spike strips near the Hatton exist, which the truck ran through, the post says.

The driver kept going to the Kingdom City exit and pulled over after seeing more deputies, the post indicates. Boone County deputies took the man into custody.

Brian Leer, of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, told ABC 17 News that Eric Burn, 39, was arrested.

Leer stated in a text message that Burns stole a truck from Green Meadows Carwash after “he was tired of walking.” Deputies tried to do a traffic stop, but he sped away, leading to the chase, Leer said.

Burns was listed on the Boone County Jail online roster on Monday night. Charges have yet to appear on Casenet. Jail records indicate that he was arrested on suspicion of stealing a vehicle, resisting arrest and tampering with a motor vehicle.

Burns also had a warrant for his arrest for failing to appear in Howard County court in February. In that case, he was charged with two misdemeanors: Failing to register a vehicle and driving without a license. A $250 bond was set for that warrant.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Severe storms rolled through Springfield, Missouri, on Sunday and some Mid-Missouri cities have offered their services to help.

The cities of Columbia and Fulton announced on its social media pages on Monday that it sent utility crews to Springfield.

“The City of Fulton is proud to support our neighbors in Springfield following the recent severe weather. This morning, members of our team joined a 37-person mutual aid crew deployed to assist with power restoration efforts. We’re grateful for their dedication and proud of the way they represent Fulton—demonstrating what it truly means to proudly serve you, especially when it matters most,” Director of Administration Courtney Doyle was quoted in the Fulton post.

The City of Springfield wrote in a social media post that 37,000 electric customers were without power during the outage’s peak. It wrote that 90 of its own utility crew members worked overnight.

The outage map on the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperative’s website at 6:15 p.m. Monday showed that 3,817 Ozark Electric Co-op customers were without power in Greene County. Another 627 customers from the same co-op were without power in nearby Christian County.

Christion County also saw 125 White River Valley Electric Cooperative customers without power on Monday evening.

The City of Springfield wrote that it expects power to be fully restored by Thursday.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Independence Day is on Friday this year and residential trash pickup will be impacted in a number of Mid-Missouri cities.

Trash pickup normally scheduled for Fridays in Jefferson City, Fulton and Boonville will occur on Monday. However, trash will be picked up like normal on Friday in Columbia, the city wrote in a June 27 press release. Columbia’s landfill, though, will not be open on Friday.

Columbia’s Solid Waste Utility canceled Saturday’s household hazardous waste drop-off, the release says.

Go COMO and JEFFTRAN will not operate on the holiday, though Go COMO will provide a shuttle service from the city’s six downtown parking garages and Stephens Lake Park for the annual Fire In The Sky event. Those shuttles will run from 5-11 p.m.

Regular parking enforcement is suspended in Columbia and Jefferson City. City offices are also closed around the state.

The Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services will be closed Friday and the city’s Activity and Recreation Center will be open 9 a.m.-3 p.m. The Albert-Oakland Family Aquatic Center, Douglass Family Aquatic Center and Lake of the Woods Pool will be open from noon-5 p.m., the release says. The Armory Sports and Recreation Center and Hillcrest Community Center will be closed for the day.

The Jefferson City Council meeting on Monday, July 7 is canceled and its next meeting will be Monday, July 21.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Gov. Mike Kehoe approved the state’s $50.8 billion budget on Monday.

The approval of the budget included 208 vetoes, totaling $2,233,729,313; according to a list of vetoes provided by the governor’s office. A press release says that nearly $300 million in general revenue was cut, and 32 expenditure restrictions totaling $211 million in general revenue.

Some notable vetoes include $11 million for sewer system improvements in Ashland, $2 million in Highway 63 improvements in Columbia, $1 million for Harrisburg Sewer system extensions and $500,000 for storm water improvements in Boone County.

Kehoe vetoed $4 million for the construction of a youth sports park in Boone County out of the $12 million that was added for the project, the list indicates.

Greg Logsdon, who is on the board of the Mid-Missouri Sports Park, told ABC 17 News that the group is thankful for the $8 million, which will be used to build an indoor basketball gym off of East Broadway, near El Chaparral Avenue.

Logsdon said that eight youth basketball courts will be built for local and national events.

A list provided by the governor’s office show s that $760,000 for a Columbia mobile structural fire training unit was struck down, as was $500,000 for the Welcome Home Program and $120,000 for the Columbia Housing Authority.

View a full list of the vetoes in the document below.

Fiscal_Year_2026_Veto_SummaryDownload

Check back for updates.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Jefferson City Police Department announced road closures in a Monday press release for Friday’s annual Independence Day celebration in downtown Jefferson City.

Road closures will start at 6 a.m. Friday and are expected to reopen by 2 a.m. Saturday. The event begins at 2 p.m. in the 200 block of Broadway, 100 blocks of East High Street and around the Capitol grounds, the release says. The Salute to America parade will start at 4 p.m., the release says.

The event is expected to end at 11 p.m.

A map of the 2025 Salute to America festival in downtown Jefferson City. [Courtesy of Salute to America’s website]

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man charged with a violent robbery in downtown Columbia was set to make his initial court appearance Monday afternoon.

Michael L. Langston, 44, is charged with first-degree robbery and second-degree assault for allegedly beating a victim at the Zephyr gas station on Providence Road on Friday morning.

A probable cause statement says Langston approached the victim and demanded money. Langston punched the man in the face, knocked him to the ground and stole money from his pockets, the statement says.

The victim was treated for a broken nose and fractured eye socket and had skinned knees and bruises, according to the statement.

Police obtained video of the assault, and investigators shared photos of the suspect. A detective pulled over a vehicle early Friday afternoon, and Langston came out of a house at 202 Hickman Ave. before going back inside, the statement says.

Langston took off his clothes once inside, but police arrested him and found the clothes in the house, according to the statement.

He remained in jail Monday afternoon without bond. A hearing was set for 1 p.m.

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

As negotiations remain at a standstill, officials from MU Health Care and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield will testify before a Missouri Senate Committee Monday afternoon.

Since April 1, over 90,000 patients previously covered by Anthem have been in limbo, with many struggling to pay for care out-of-network.

Troubles started after a steep request by MU Health Care for an 11-13% increase to cover inflation costs, while Anthem offered a 1-2% increase. MU Health Care reported that they lowered their proposal, but Anthem claimed their offer was still not doable. Anthem also said it offered MU multiple offers, including annual rate increases above the Consumer Price Index which MU Health Care declined.

Officials with the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance and the Missouri Consolidated Health Care Plan will also testify at the hearing. The hearing will begin at 1 p.m. in the Senate Lounge.

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