Category: kmiz-local-news

Haley Swaino

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Tension boiled over at Tuesday morning’s Cole County Commission meeting, leaving the signing of a towing contract tabled.

The county was set to sign with Broadway Wrecker Service after awarding it a bid last week to be the sheriff’s towing and storage company for abandoned and impounded vehicles.

After a cost comparison of towing, hourly and storage fees, Broadway Wrecker Service was found to be the lowest option, according to Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Hoelscher.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Hoelscher raised questions about how long storage is, how long rates apply, if fees for evidentiary tows are passed to owners, and who has discretion.

Before that conversation could be had, local towing companies took the floor with serious concerns.

Kendall Stubinger of Kendall’s Towing and Recovery “Tow Pro” said his business is also considered to have “dba Broadway Wrecker” at the end of its title.

“The company that has been awarded this bid, I’m not sure if that’s my company or somebody else’s company,” Stubinger said.

He said he owns the name Broadway Wrecker, but another company runs Broadway Wrecker Service. And that has been a point of confusion. He added that his company has run one of Broadway Wrecker’s trucks for about a year.

Western District Commissioner Harry Otto said the bid is being awarded to Broadway Wrecker LLC, as listed by the secretary of state.

Stubinger said he doesn’t own an LLC, but legally, he has claims to Broadway Wrecker. Operationally, he said the actual service company seems to be fraudulent.

He said the company has had multiple crashes.

“Them [Broadway Wrecker Service] having accidents in the past and not giving up their insurance information, the insurance companies are getting ahold of me and wanting me to give my insurance information,” Stubinger told ABC 17 News Tuesday.

He worried that will be another point of confusion if the company were to tow for the sheriff.

“So this bid gets awarded to them people, how many people are going to be Googling my number as Broadway Wrecker and calling me looking for their vehicle?” Stubinger said.

The location and contact information is another point of confusion.

Broadway Wrecker Service says it’s located in Jefferson City on its Facebook page. A Google search says the towing company is located on McCarty Street.

But Operations Manager Patrick Love told ABC 17 News the lot is on Plaster Court, on the other side of town.

The company also lists Economy Towing as its email. As confirmed in its bid contract, that operates out of Columbia.

First page of the bid by “Broadway Wrecker Service” to be Cole County’s towing and storage company.

ABC 17 News called and a worker answered the phone at the company as “Economy Towing Broadway Wrecker Services.”

Stubinger brought up the fact that the company does not have a website either.

Otto said that wasn’t required in the contract.

“Basically, the average citizen, they’re gonna call whoever they wanna call to tow them,” Presiding Commissioner Sam Buschman said. “This contract is just for impounded vehicles, abandoned vehicles.”

Stubinger questioned what number dispatch will give when a citizen calls that their car has been towed by Broadway Wrecker.

A representative with Toebben’s Towing joined Stubinger and asked, “How are they [people whose vehicle was towed] gonna know that though, where to find that number at?”

Buschman said the county went with Sheriff John Wheeler’s recommendation to go with the $20,000-$25,000 a year option.

Commissioners then asked why the county is going with a seemingly questionable out-of-county company.

“We get a company from 40 miles away coming in here wanting to do business in our town, and they’re doing it for less than half of what we can do it and have done it for the last years,” Stubinger said.

He said that’s a hit to local companies.

Broadway Wrecker Service also lied to commissioners, according to Stubinger. He said they lied about being approved by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and about how many employees they have.

The company is not on MSHP’s approved tow list.

Broadway Wrecker Service had mentioned having spoken to the sheriff regarding the contract, Stubinger said, which companies seeking the bid were told not to.

A representative with Diamond Towing stood up and asked why Patrick Love with Broadway Wrecker Service was having side conversations with the sheriff’s office.

Wheeler approached the men at the podium and said that they were all contacted about the contract.

“I sent the same email to all three of you, so don’t start throwing me under the bus,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler told the men their pricing fell short.

He said the bid was submitted for Broadway Wrecker Service, and Stubinger’s claim that he owns Broadway Wrecker is not the same. Wheeler said he went by the listing of the secretary of state when recommending the contract be awarded to Broadway Wrecker Service.

He told ABC 17 News in an email that the county put out to two bids because it did not have response times in the original.

After about half an hour of comments Tuesday, the commission voted to table the contract and confirm with the highway patrol Broadway Wrecker Service’s approval to work for the county.

ABC 17 News reached out to Broadway Wrecker Service and has not heard back.

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Marie Moyer

Editor’s Note: AI was used in background research for this article.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Teachers and parents faced Missouri legislators on Tuesday as two Missouri senators work to write a new grading system for schools into law.

Gov. Mike Kehoe signed an executive order creating school report cards in January, before his State of the State address. The order directed the Missouri Department of Education to implement a new letter-grade system for schools by June.

Senate Bills 1194, sponsored by Sen. Ben Brown (R-Washington), and 1653, sponsored by Sen. Curtis Trent (R-Battlefield) seek similar provisions to Kehoe’s order to codify the bill. Both texts would also create the “Show Me Success Program.”

During Kehoe’s address, he highlighted Brown’s bill and encouraged the General Assembly to pass similar legislation.

“[Parents] know what a good report card looks like,” Trent said. “When it comes to schools, they’re handed pages of acronyms, charts that don’t really tell them anything in plain English as to how their child’s school is actually doing.”

The Show Me Success Program will link high school performance to funding. Schools ranking in the top 5% of student performance statewide will receive $100 per student. Those in the top 10%, but below the top 5%, will be eligible for $50 per student.

According to the fiscal notes for the bill, more than $7 million would be eligible for the program. Committee member Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern (D-Gladstone) pushed back against the program during Tuesday’s hearing.

“If a school is doing well, then they’re going to receive more money, but a school that is doing poorly will not receive additional money. So my question is, how are they expected to improve then?” Nurrenbern said.

Trent defended the bill, arguing that school performance is a policy issue instead of a financial issue, adding that he is willing to drop the program in favor of moving forward with the report card.

“If schools were failing to perform because they didn’t have sufficient funding, that’s thing that we could just address with more money,” Trent said. “People deserve to be rewarded financially if they are performing above expectations.”

According to the Secretary of State’s Office, public schools and public charter schools will be graded on a lettered A through F scale based on a 0 to 100-point scale:

A – Producing excellent student outcomes

B – Producing more than satisfactory student outcomes

C – Producing satisfactory student outcomes

D – Producing less than satisfactory student outcomes

F – Failing to produce adequate student outcomes

Scores will be based on the annual Missouri Assessment Program, or MAP, results. High schools will also be evaluated on their graduation rates. The new grade cards are designed to be standardized and easily understood by parents, taxpayers, school personnel and legislators.

“Many people have mentioned that a through F is easier to understand than stars or different indicators that aren’t necessarily self-explanatory,” Jordan Zakery the Regional Advocacy Director for ExcelinEd in Action said.

Testimonies for the bill also included members from the school groups in Louisiana and Mississippi, two of 11 states in the nation with a letter grade system for schools. Both witnesses reported seeing academic growth following the new system.

Schools that fail to test at least 95% of students will drop a letter grade. The point scale will also become stricter as school scores, Trent calling the rule a “treadmill for success.” For example, when 65% of schools earn an A or B, the minimum score required for each letter grade will go up by five points for the next year.

Zakery added the system is not meant to punish low-performing schools.

“On both sides of the coin, whether a school is low performing, high performing or so on A or an F, it highlights the positive things about these schools,” Zakery said. “This policy also helps identify where schools can improve.”

Opponents of the bill support the need for transparency, but warned that the test is too one-size-fits-all. Steven Carroll with St. Louis Public Schools and the Cooperative School Districts of Greater Kansas City reported that many students face socioeconomic issues and unstable home lives that can affect school performance.

“A public school has to take in whatever child walks through their front door, all the social problems, the challenges that a student may have,” Carroll said. “Yet you expect them to go in and maybe do well on a test and then the school is the only one getting graded.”

Mike Lodewegen, the Director of Legislative Advocacy with the Missouri Association of School Administrators, testified at the hearing for information. He took no particular stance and instead reported on what administrators are discussing regarding the bill.

Some concerns included resources being moved away from teachers.

“We will be able to increase scores if we focus on the test, whatever you focus on, that will happen, resources will be dedicated specifically to that, right?” Lodewegen said. “What does that do? How does that impact the profession?”

The Missouri Department of Education is required to finalize the implementation plan for the grading system by June. Schools will begin receiving their first annual scores under this system by Sept. 15. Schools will also need to publish their scores for the public by Sept. 30.

If approved by the committee, the bills will be moved to the Senate floor for debate.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man has died after he was shot Friday night in Osage County.

Osage County Sheriff Mike Bonham said Tuesday that the man, previously identified as 45-year-old Jarrod Compton, was pronounced dead just before 10 p.m. Monday.

“We are still working the case at this point,” Bonham said when asked about arrests.

Deputies found Compton wounded outside a mobile home on County Road 703 near the Gasconade River at about 4:30 p.m. Friday. He was flown to University Hospital for treatment.

Bonham said Saturday that the shooting may have been related to a love triangle involving family members. One person had been detained and a weapon had been found, he said.

Bonham said Tuesday that the person deputies detained had been released. An autopsy will take place this week.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A group of Montgomery County residents and property owners has filed a lawsuit to stop the construction of a data center.

Preserve Montgomery County, LLC, is suing two parties, Montgomery County and the Missouri Department of Economic Development. The group is asking for a Cole County judge to invalidate and ban the county from any action on the plan, bond order, and development agreement. Sabrina Cope of Truxton is listed as the company’s registered agent.

Steve Jeffery, an attorney with Jeffery Law Group representing the plaintiffs, said the group contacted him after county commissioners approved the most recent agreements tied to the project.

“They approached me several weeks ago about the data center project proposed in Montgomery County,” Jeffery told ABC 17 News. “The county commissioners there had already entered into several agreements, including a tax abatement plan and an infrastructure development plan.  So once the most recent of these plans was approved by the county Commission a week or so ago,  the group decided, well, it’s time to pull the trigger.” 

The lawsuit claims the county has violated Missouri’s Sunshine Law in multiple ways, all connected to the approval of the data center.

The plaintiffs are suing on 10 counts, including failure to post reasonable accessible public notices, conducting unlawful closed sessions and charging excessive fees to respond to sunshine requests.

Montgomery lawsuitDownload

In the 35-page lawsuit, the group cites multiple residents making sunshine requests and the county responding with an invoice between $200-$700 for the records.

For Montgomery County resident Tammy Ridgley, the issue began with unanswered questions.

“My initial thought was I wanted more information,” Ridgley said. “And honestly, that’s why we are where we’re at right now, because we haven’t gotten the information that we requested to make us feel good about our project.”

The group also accuses the county of not accurately providing notice for public meetings as required by Missouri law. Jeffery said one of the biggest concerns is transparency.

“For example, the three county commissioners each executed a nondisclosure agreement preventing them from talking about something,” Jeffery said. “But if you actually read the agreement, it never says who the agreement is with or what the subject matter is. Also Missouri statutes don’t authorize county commissioners to enter into nondisclosure agreements.” 

Jeffery also questioned whether the project should receive tax incentives and whether residents have been given complete information about its potential impact.

“They’re concerned about the amount of the tax abatement, whether or not the proposed data center really even needs a tax abatement, they’re a trillion-dollar company, but also more importantly, just the unknowns about the water usage that this data center operation would consume,” Jeffery said.

According to Jeffery, two hydrogeology reports presented to the county relied on a Missouri Department of Natural Resources report issued in 2020 that projected sufficient groundwater through 2060.

“If you actually go back and read it, it was issued in 2020, before anyone even considered having a data center here and the massive drawdown of the aquifer that the data center would use,” Jeffery said. “So in other words, it’s kind of smoke and mirrors here.” 

Ridgley said the scale of the development has heightened concerns in the community.

“The community is scared. This isn’t a small project in our community. It’s a thousand acres. One of our towns is half that size,” she said. “We’re basically building another small city with this data center.”

In the lawsuit, the Department of Economic Development is also accused of failing to properly monitor and administer the grant agreement. The lawsuit states that because the county allegedly violated Missouri’s sunshine law, it has also violated an agreement with the department. The DED is accused of not taking action to address these violations in connection with the data center.

Jeffery said the group is asking the state to rescind its $5 grant agreement with Montgomery County for a mega-scale development, claw back any funds already paid, and invalidate the tax abatement plan and development agreement. Ridgley emphasized the lawsuit is not about financial gain.

“In this lawsuit, no one is looking for money. What we’re looking for is the right answers,” Ridley said. “Just because we’re a small community doesn’t mean that we’re not going to stand up for ourselves and push for answers.”

Prior to the lawsuit, scores of Montgomery County residents packed public meetings to register their opposition to local data centers, citing concerns about the developments using up energy and water resources.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Cole County prosecutor’s office has filed charges after one person was shot on Friday.

David Jarrett, 26, was charged on Friday with unlawful use of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child. The charges were not made public until Tuesday.

Police were called to a home in the 900 block of Cedar Way in Jefferson City on Friday at noon.

Court documents state that Jarrett was heard threatening to hit a witness when the victim intervened. The victim tried to get Jarrett to leave the home, but he refused.

Police said the victim and Jarrett both pushed each other before he pulled out a gun from his holster and fired one round into the floor.

A child was reported to be on the ground in a walker when the gun was discharged.

A witness told police she removed the child from the home and when she returned, found the victim with Jarrett in a headlock.

Documents state that Jarrett then allegedly pulled out his gun again and shot the victim once in the torso. The victim was taken to University Hospital.

“Medical staff advised that no vital organs were struck, but the bullet was still inside of his body, where it will remain for the time being,” police reported in court documents.

Police reported finding damage to the floor consistent with a bullet, according to documents. Bullet fragments and another shell casing were also found in the same area, along with blood.

Jarrett was arrested after he left the scene with the young child, according to documents. Officers tried to stop his pickup truck as it was leaving the scene, but Jarrett drove away. He was arrested on E. Elm Street after stopping the truck.

Documents state that police found a Glock 17 .9mm with two rounds missing and a spent shell casing still in the chamber.

He is being held at the Cole County jail without bond as of Tuesday morning. A court date was not scheduled, according to online records.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man who pleaded guilty to a shooting in downtown Columbia is asking a judge to retract his plea during his sentencing hearing Tuesday.

Steven Harris, 46, pleaded guilty in January to unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action and stealing a gun for a shooting in downtown Columbia in March 2025. Harris sent two letters to Judge Stephanie Morrell asking to withdraw his plea.

Harris is accused of firing shots at a vehicle with a stolen gun near the intersection of Ninth and Walnut streets.

According to court documents, a blue Chevrolet Tahoe hit Harris, leading him to run after the vehicle and fire the gun. Officers reportedly found several shell casings and wrote in court documents that Harris dropped the gun when instructed by police.

In Harris’s letter to Judge Morrell, he mentioned his displeasure with his lawyer and that the Tahoe intentionally hit him on the night of the shooting. He claims he was acting in self-defense, according to the letter.

Harris is set to be sentenced at 9 a.m. in the Boone County Courthouse.

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Mitchell Kaminski

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri lawmakers are taking a hard look at regulating artificial intelligence, focusing on images and videos created without consent. 

The House Emerging Issues Committee held a public hearing on Monday to examine a series of bills that would expand criminal and civil penalties for nonconsensual AI-generated content.

Lawmakers emphasized the rapid growth of AI technology has outpaced existing laws, creating gaps in protections for individuals and raising the need to hold creators and platforms accountable.

Committee members also noted more than 30 states already have laws addressing AI-generated images — which comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in December limiting states enforcing their own regulations — and discussed a possible “sunset” provision to test whether definitions hold up over time.

The bills under consideration cover a range of issues:

Rep. Sheri Gallick (R-Bates County), HB 2350 – Expands Missouri’s criminal definitions of child pornography and explicit sexual material to include “artificially generated visual depictions” of minors.

Rep. Jeff Farnum (R-Atchison County), HB 2035 – Makes it illegal to use AI to replicate or alter a person’s image or voice to create sexual material without written consent. Victims could sue for damages and attorney’s fees, and the Missouri Attorney General could investigate violations.

Rep. Bill Lucas (R-Jefferson County), HB 2321 – Establishes the “AI-Generated Content Accountability and Privacy Protection Act of 2026,” making it a crime to knowingly publish or distribute AI-generated content depicting someone without consent. Penalties range from fines up to $110,000 and prison terms up to five years, with exceptions for satire, art, journalism and research.

Rep. Melissa Schmidt (R-Wright County), HB 2361 – Creates a class C felony for creating, soliciting, promoting, or possessing nonconsensual altered sexual depictions. Online platforms would be required to remove reported content within 48 hours. Civil lawsuits would also be allowed for damages, injunctions and attorney’s fees.

Rep. Cecelie Williams (R-Jefferson County), HB 1913 – Allows victims to sue if an “intimate digital depiction” is shared without consent and creates criminal penalties for knowingly or recklessly disclosing such material. Disclaimers are not a defense, and internet and telecommunications providers are shielded from liability.

Rep. Wendy Hausman (R-St. Charles), HB 1887 (“The Taylor Swift Act”) – Permits individuals, including minors, to sue if digital depictions are shared without consent and imposes criminal penalties for reckless or intentional disclosure, including Class E and Class C felonies for repeat offenses.

Rep. Dave Dolan (R-Scott), HB 2862 – Targets digital impersonation, allowing Missouri residents to seek declaratory relief, injunctions, and damages if images or recordings misrepresent them, including cases tied to paid advertisements. Parents or guardians may act on behalf of minors or incapacitated individuals.

Committee members emphasized that the bills are too important to rush and suggested consolidating the proposals into a single package before a vote, ensuring that Missouri has clear and enforceable protections as AI technology continues to evolve.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia City Council on Monday night unanimously approved plans to for a culvert replacement project Old Plank Road.

The design and construction will cost $620,000, with the city funding $337,000 of the amount, according to estimates in meeting documents. The memo indicates $282,763.10 will be provided by the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Regional Bridge Program. The city’s portion of the bill will come from the quarter-cent Capital Improvement Program sales tax.

The project is located near Plank Way and Forum Boulevard. Previous reporting indicates the city has $757,490.18 budgeted and $26,643.57 has been spent so far.

In December 2020, a structural inspection determined that approximately 90% of the metal at the bottom of the structure has rusted through, resulting in the loss of essential bedding material beneath the pipes, the meeting agenda says.

A 24-foot-by-6-foot precast arch structure was picked as the replacement design, meeting documents show.

A public comment asked the city to “examine improving visibility” to the west of culvert and had asked the city to add a turn lane.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A portion of Park Avenue in Columbia near Frederick Douglass High School will close later this week through Feb. 27, according to a Monday press release from the City of Columbia.

Beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday, a contractor for the Columbia Housing Authority will close Park Avenue between North Providence Road and North Fifth Street. Crews will complete water line connections and replace concreate for a part of the East Park Avenue Apartments project, the release says.

Southbound traffic on Providence Road will not be allowed to turn left onto Park Avenue, the release says. Detour signs will be posted to direct traffic to East Ash Street, the release says.

At least one sidewalk in the area will remain open.

Everything is expected to be reopened by 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27.

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Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia City leaders unanimously approved a new design to the Douglass Park basketball courts during Monday night’s council meeting.

The city had been having discussions about changing the basketball courts since 2023. It was announced in 2023 that the courts would honor Willie Cox, a former assistant coach of the University of Missouri women’s basketball team who died in 2019. Cox also hosted basketball camps at Douglass Park.

Columbia Parks and Recreation voted last month to move forward with an alternative design, after residents pushed back on earlier design concepts claiming it focused too much on the university. The two courts will now be painted blue and gray with white court lines. The west court will also include “Douglass Bulldogs” on each baseline, while the east court will include “Moonlight Hoops – Est. 1989.”

Several residents from the public thanked the city for their willingness to listen to their concerns throughout the process, and expressed the need for additional security at the park. Mayor Barbara Buffaloe also thanked residents for their tenacity in speaking up.

Parks and Recreation Director Gabe Huffington also told the council on Monday that the department intends to install a water fountain with a bottle filler on the east side of the basketball court. That would require an additional $10,000 in park sales tax funding. The water fountain would be open from April through October each year, according to city documents.

Huffington also said Monday night the city is planning to have additional public engagement about the park in 2026. Discussions regarding additional security at the park will be included within those, he said.

Columbia resident Anthony Johnson was vocal throughout the discussions about ensuring the park’s history was preserved through the new design. He told ABC 17 News before Monday night’s vote he would be in favor of the new design. He said he grew up in Columbia and remembers playing on the courts as a child, something he described as a place of unity for the community.

For Johnson, the new design of the courts is bigger than basketball.

“If you look back at the history of Columbia we were segregated, this area down here, this downtown area…this is where the Black people had to live. Our businesses, our homes like this was our community,” Johnson said.

Johnson said he’s excited to re-build the park and some of the programs the city used to have at it. He said discussions are continuing about bringing back Moonlight Hoops.

According to city documents, the theme and the color blue were the most-popular ideas presented by residents during the public engagement portion of the project.

Columbia Resident Stephen Cooper said he’s lived in Columbia his entire life and remembers playing basketball on the courts daily as a child. He said including the name “Douglass Bulldogs” on the court was fitting.

“This is history. You know, it goes way back. A lot of us come up through the projects down there so if you would name it anything else, there’s no history there,” Cooper said.

Renovations will cost roughly $900,000, with funding from the University of Missouri, the Veterans United Foundation and the 2021 Park Sales Tax. Planned upgrades also include new rims, LED lighting and a park shelter.

According to the city, $495,000 will come from a 2023 fiscal year grant, $321,000 will come from the park sales tax and $100,000 is being sourced from donations. Improvements to the courts are expected to begin immediately after approval and must be completed by September 2026 to meet grant requirements, according to Huffington.

Johnson said he believes the most important part of the process is that it was a community-led project. He said the process serves as a stepping stone for him and is hopeful the changes send a message.

“I hear so much they don’t listen to us so what’s the point of wasting our time? That’s people’s reasons for not voting, for not showing up for different things,” Johnson said. “So, this was a process that was done and we came together and expressed how we felt about it and were able to get a different outcome.”

Documents also state that Parks and Recreation has met with funding donors who want to add a Mizzou-themed basketball court honoring Cox in an alternate park location in the city. A decision on that will be made after the city finishes improvements to the Douglass Park courts, Huffington said.

Douglass park council docDownload

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