Category: kmiz-local-news

Alison Patton

ROLLA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The National Weather Service Office in Springfield confirmed on Friday afternoon that an EF-0 tornado traveled through Rolla for about a minute on Thursday night.

The maximum width of the tornado was 200 yards and it traveled more than a half mile from 10:02-03 p.m., the NWS shared on social media. Winds peaked between 80-85 miles per hour.

The tornado began along Homelife Plaza and went south before “lifting near” Soest Road, the :NWS says. “However it could not be determined as tornadic from that point on due to the lack of convergent damage,” the post says.

Damage was caused to trees and several businesses, including Dollar General and a smoke shop.

The Phelps County Central Communications said in a Thursday night social media post that it set off tornado sirens after residents had reported a tornado, even though a tornado warning wasn’t issued.

“We had a citizens report of a tornado on the ground and that is why we set off the tornado sirens,” the post says.

Communications Chief Stacey Smith said that typically, the storm sirens aren’t set off for a thunderstorm warning, but Thursday’s storms were an exception.

“In an event like that, where we feel like the public needs to take cover, we can activate those storm sirens. It doesn’t happen very often because the National Weather Service typically is able to see this stuff before it gets to us,” Smith said.

She said there were other funnel cloud sightings in the county too.

“We did have several first responders last night report rotation in other areas, at least two others, but that never touched down. Sounds like we got lucky,” Smith said.

The National Weather Service did not issue a tornado watch or warning for Phelps County, but it did issue a thunderstorm watch and warning, along with a flash flood warning.

Kristina Fryer, a Rolla resident who sent ABC 17 News a video of the storm, said it seemed similar to the EF-2 tornado that hit the city in March 2025.

“I was waiting for the tornado sirens because with the way things were looking, it was very similar to the storm we had last year in March when the tornado did come through,” Fryer said.

Another resident who also sent a video in, Isaiah Campbell, said he saw a funnel cloud, but it didn’t seem like it was strong.

“This one wasn’t that bad. It hit a small area this time. I don’t think it was really on the ground that long but it did, it caused some damage over there,” Campbell said.

According to a Facebook post, Rolla Public Schools observed debris from trees, with one tree on a fence, but minor damage overall. No buses or buildings were damaged.

There were 80 Intercounty Electric Cooperative Association members without power as of 11 a.m.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri Task Force 1 has been activated and will be deployed to Sikeston for a flood response, the Boone County Fire Protection District wrote in a Friday morning social media post.

BCFPD said it was activated by SEMA to head to the Scott County town “as a Type III Task Force with embedded swift water rescue capabilities to assist with the ongoing catastrophic flooding in southeast Missouri.”

BCFPD expected to arrive at 10 a.m.

“Additionally, MO-TF1 is deploying a Disaster Situation Awareness and Reconnaissance (DSAR) Mission Ready Package. The DSAR team provides real-time aerial reconnaissance, disaster mapping, and situational awareness using Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. This capability provides incident commanders with critical intelligence to support operational decision-making and resource deployment,” the release says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The D.C. Rogers Recreation Area in Fayette has reopened, according to a Thursday social media post from the City of Fayette.

D.C. Rogers Lake closed on June 4 after significant rainfall affected the area. Peters Lake closed days before and will remain closed.

Previous reporting shows D.C. Rogers Lake need to be lowered by 5-7 inches. The road leading to the lake needed to be closed as a result.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Thousands of people were without power in Morgan County and surrounding counties on Friday morning.

There are 4,912 electricity customers without power in Morgan County between Co-Mo Electric Cooperative (2,780) and Ameren (2,132) users.

Additionally, 895 Ameren customers in Miller County were without power on Friday morning. Benton County saw 269 Co-Mo Electric Cooperative users without power.

Outages persisted in other parts of Mid-Missouri as well, with Phelps County seeing 193 Intercounty Electric Cooperative members without power.

Storms entered Mid-Missouri early Friday and the ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather Team had declared the day a Weather Alert Day.

Check back for updates.

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Matthew Sanders

The City of Columbia had its first in a series of forums over its proposal for a public safety sales tax that would pay for a new Columbia Police Department headquarters at a building formerly owned by IBM.

The plan would spend $35 million to convert the building.

Do you like the idea? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

No injuries were reported Thursday after a home in the 300 block of Union Street caught fire, according to a press release from the Jefferson City Fire Department.

Firefighters were called at 6:37 p.m. by multiple people and had the fire under control fewer than 20 minutes after arrives.

The home’s only occupant and one pet were able to get out safely before first responders arrived, the release says. The resident was displaced, however, and the American Red Cross was contacted for assistance, the release says.

JCFD and the Missouri State Fire Marshal’s Office are working to determine the cause of the fire.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 3-year-old girl and 33-year-old woman from Newburg were both seriously injured in a Thursday morning crash at a Phelps County intersection, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says the crash occurred at County Roads 6120 and 6110. The woman drove her 2005 Chevrolet Malibu westbound when it went off the right side of the road and hit a tree, the report says.

Neither person wore a safety device, the report says. They were brought to a hospital in Columbia by ambulance, the report says. The Chevrolet was totaled.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man was charged with two felonies and two misdemeanors after he allegedly pulled out a gun during an argument at a business.

William Smarr, 39, was charged on Thursday in Boone county with unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action and two counts of misdemeanor fourth-degree assault. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond.

The probable cause statement says Smarr dropped off an employee at a business in the 3900 block of Peachtree Drive, a business area just off of Nifong Boulevard.

While at the business, Smarr got into an argument with an employee, the statement says. Both people are described as being “unfriendly acquaintances.”

A manager was alerted about the argument and the manager told Smarr to leave the area, the statement says. Smarr allegedly then brought a rifle from his vehicle and pointed it at a victim, court documents say.

The victim pushed the barrel of the gun away from himself and he, Smarr and another employee fought over the gun, the statement says. Smarr ended up with the gun, but he left the area.

Two employees of the business had “minor cuts” on their hands, police wrote. Police reviewed video footage of the incident.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City man was charged with possessing child sex abuse materials on Thursday in Cole County.

Kaeden Turner, 24, is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond in this case. He has a bond review in a second case he was charged in this week for 10:30 a.m. Friday. Turner was also charged on Tuesday in Cole County with felony stealing and illegal gun possession.

The probable cause statement in his child sex abuse materials case says deputies received an anonymous tip on July 1 about Turner having “sexual relations” with a 16-year-old girl.

While law enforcement was serving a search warrant on Monday for Turner’s stealing case, they found his found and requested a warrant to look at the phone, the statement says.

Deputies wrote that images and videos of the youth were identified.

In his other case, Turner was accused of stealing four fishing rods worth $1,400 out of a boat in the 6300 block of Rainbow Drive on June 27, that probable cause statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The State Emergency Management Agency will hold applicant briefings next week for local governments and nonprofits that were affected by storms during April 23-28.

The meetings will be held for those in counties included in federal disaster declaration, including Carroll, Chariton, Greene, Holt, Howard, Monroe, Randolph, Ripley, Saline and St. Francois counties. The briefs are not for the general public.

According to a press release from SEMA, the briefings will occur:

Tuesday, July 14

9 a.m. – 1 p.m. :Greene County Public Safety Center; 330 West Scott, Springfield, MO 65802

10 a.m. – 2 p.m.: Toad Hollar Restaurant; 1710 Nebraska St, Mound City, MO 64470

Wednesday, July 15

9 a.m. – 1 p.m.: Ripley County Courthouse; 100 Courthouse Square, Doniphan, MO 63935

9 a.m. – 1 p.m.: Marshall City Hall; 214 North Lafayette Ave. Marshall, MO 65340

Thursday, July 16 

9 a.m. – 1 p.m.: Farmington Police Department; 310 Sainte Genevieve Ave, Farmington, MO 63640

9 a.m. – 1 p.m.: Moberly Area Community College – Activity Center; 101 College Ave, Moberly, MO 65270

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