Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Wednesday marked two years since the death of Boone County Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Matthew Tobben.

BCFPD honored Tobben on Wednesday by lowering its flags at half-staff.

“We honor his memory and remain committed to carrying forward the values he exemplified throughout his career,” BCFPD Fire Chief Doug Westhoff said in a press release. “We will never forget Assistant Chief Matt Tobben or the sacrifice he made in the line of duty.”

Tobben, 42, died during a water rescue on July 8, 2024, when his boat lost power and capsized near Bear Creek.

Columbia firefighter Derek Abbott and the two people rescued were thrown into the water and emerged, but Tobben never resurfaced. An autopsy determined Tobben drowned.

Tobben served with BCFPD, Missouri Task Force 1 and the Union Fire Protection District during his 19-year career.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services on Wednesday published its multi-year maternal mortality report.

The report included data from 2019-23 and determined there were 340 deaths in total. The mortality rate of Black women who went through pregnancy was 2.5 times higher the rate of white women’s, the report says.

The pregnancy-related mortality ratio in total was 31.2 deaths per 100,000 live births, the report says.

The Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review Board determined 79% of pregnancy-related deaths were preventable. IT also determined all deaths due to mental health conditions were preventable.

An average of 68 women in the state died while pregnant or within a year of pregnancy during the study period, with the highest total being 85 deaths in 2020, the report says.

“Analysis of data and related patient records indicates cardiovascular diseases and mental health conditions (including substance use disorders) were the leading underlying causes of pregnancy-related deaths, followed closely by infections (pneumonia, COVID-19, etc.),” a press release from the DHSS says.

Recommendations to combat the mortality rate, according to the report, include:

Implementing community violence intervention programs with a focus on reducing homicides among pregnant and postpartum women.

Local housing authorities implementing policies that prioritize housing for pregnant and postpartum women

Investing in urban infrastructure.

2023annual-reportDownload

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Olivia Hayes

Editor’s note: This article has been adjusted to reflect the correct city council meeting date.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two local downtown business owners are putting their support behind a proposal for an urban camping ordinance for downtown Columbia.

Executive Director of Columbia’s Downtown Community Improvement District Nickie Davis said the CID plans to submit a proposal letter to the City Council on Friday, ahead of its July 20th meeting. Davis said the letter will also be signed by some downtown business owners.

“What we have right now, it’s very scattered through all the different ordinances that we have as a city. It’s not entirely clear what is enforceable, what’s not enforceable. We know that many of the ordinances that this urban camping ordinance would contain are things we already have on the books,” Davis said.

Dimetrious Woods, owner of Essentialz Neighborhood Bodega on the corner of Ninth Street and East Broadway, said he signed the proposal letter in support of the move.

“I looked into it and I seen that it wasn’t a criminalization or anything on a negative end. It seemed like more of a respect thing, more of an organized thing,” Woods said.

Woods and his business are no strangers to unhoused individuals and said his relationship with them is built on respect.

“Most of those people happen to be my customers,” Woods said. “I have to be assertive at times, but I offer respect back and it seems to work out somehow.”

Davis said the proposal was inspired by a city staff retreat to Columbia, South Carolina, during the fall of 2025, but the idea got put on the back burner.

“With our new block-by-block safety ambassadors, it’s really important that we have a clear understanding of what we have on the books as far as people sleeping downtown, people sitting on the sidewalks,” Davis said.

Woods expressed the need for respect to remain at the core of any formal ordinance passed.

“They kind of protect my front, they know I want it clean, so they definitely don’t sleep under our porch because I would have an issue with that,” Woods said. “Just explain to them this is what’s expected. I think it may go over well.”

Jim Yankee, owner of Flat Branch Bank and founder of Flat Branch Home Loans, said he hasn’t signed the CID’s proposal letter yet, but he plans to.

“The police need something to be able to enforce, when somebody is obviously creating a bad situation,” Yankee said.

Davis said one suggestion on the table for the potential ordinance is a “three-strike rule.”

“It’s a warning, it’s a citation and then it’s actually a little bit more serious after that third warning,” Davis said.

Yankee voiced his support for the strike system.

“The biggest thing is being able to to force them to go get help and get services. They’re not receiving the services that they need camping out in the park at night. A lot of these people have addiction issues, they have mental health issues,” Yankee said.

Major Nancy Powers, with the Salvation Army Columbia, expressed concern over a lack of wrap-around services in the community to keep people transitioning out of an unhoused lifestyle stable.

“The problem is so deep rooted that ‘housing first’ is not the answer,” Powers wrote in a statement to ABC 17 News. “Putting people who have been abused, trafficked, given drugs since childhood, never known a safe environment, have no life skills, don’t know the difference between sex and love, in an apartment sets them up for one more failure.”

Powers said she moved to Columbia from a city with an urban camping ordinance and questioned its effectiveness.

“The homeless did not follow it, the City was faced with horrid PR as their staff went in and threw away all the camping supplies and personal items,” Powers wrote. “The homeless got more clever in their camps and set traps and city staff started getting injured, some seriously injured.”

Davis said the CID is looking for a three-month turnaround to get the ordinance in place. If the need for more time arises, Davis said a six-month timeline could also occur. Woods believes a 90-day turnaround is doable, especially with the new Downtown Safety Ambassadors patrolling in the area.

“They could take charge or that responsibility to help CPD get valid information out and everything and be kind of a bridge to making that work,” Woods said.

The City Council will not on the ordinance on Monday, but Davis said the first step is re-starting the conversation around it.

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Melissa Houston

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia collected nearly 110 tons of recycling materials in the first 10 days after curbside pickup resumed.

Utilities spokesman Jason West told ABC 17 News that is more than 25 tons of recycling materials that were collected during the same period in 2025.

An EF-1 tornado hit the city’s recycling facility on April 20, 2025, which led to the temporary stoppage of curbside pickup. Materials were recycled again during curbside pickup last summer, but weekly curbside recycling started again in the city on June 15.

After the tornado halted normal sorting operations at the Material Recovery Facility, Superintendent Tom Elliott said it is now back to normal operations, though weather conditions and staffing constraints persist.

“The number of people we’ve, are currently employing is less than it was at the time of the tornado,” Elliot said.

West said currently have eight employees out of the 16 spots available, making them halfway staffed. Staffing issues had caused issues for recycling pickup in 2023.

Because the tornado stripped away the structural coverage at the plant, operations are dependent on weather conditions.

“Very light rain; we’ll cover the equipment until it stops. We can do a little bit,” Elliott said. “But if it’s very much rain at all, then we button down, we tarp everything, and then we wait until we have better, better weather.”

In extreme heat conditions, Elliott said crews are still working. With there being no electricity yet in MRF, there is no place to connect any cooling devices so they must go to their neighboring buildings to cool down.

“We have cooling breaks up at both the other buildings, which are standing,” Elliott said. “They also have air conditioning, two things that this site does not currently have.”

Pick up at recycling drop-off sites were halted after the tornado hit. Right now, Elliott said there is talk of reopening the public recycling drop-off sites, but the main priority is starting construction to rebuild the plant so there is no set date on when drop-off sites may reopen.

Glass containers are still not able to be processed at the MRF due to it being considered contamination for the mills that sort and process them, Elliott said. The recycling plant also get charged for every ton of glass it sends based on the contamination rate, according to Elliott.

However, Elliott said that the city is exploring the option of making glass recycling available. He said a collection event at the Grissom Building went well.

“There is no option in the City of Columbia for glass recycling,” Elliott said. “Probably looking at a dedicated drop-off container placed for glass only.”

According to Elliott, the new facility will be constructed directly on top of the old MRF site, with the option to accommodate future expansion. He said there is no set date for when construction will start to rebuild the plant, but he estimates that it will start towards the end of this year.

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Sutton Parker

COLUMBIA Mo. (KMIZ)

A teenage girl accused of stabbing another youth in April will not stand trial, according to the Boone County Juvenile Office.

Boone County Juvenile Officer Angie Bezoni told ABC 17 that the girl accused of stabbing someone in central Columbia will not face adult charges. Instead, the Juvenile Office recommended the girl to the Missouri Division of Youth Services.

“We did not recommend certification. We recommended she be committed to the MO Division of Youth Services (DYS) until she turns 19, and that is what the judge ordered,” Bezoni said.

Bezoni added that instead, the girl will be placed in a residential treatment facility until she completes a program.

“Then she will be released to an appropriate adult caregiver on aftercare services, with a DYS Service Coordinator supervising her progress in the community,” she said.

It is unknown what facility the girl will be placed in, as Columbia is not currently equipped with the resources needed for residential treatment. Residential Treatment Facilities are operated by the Division of Youth Services, which is part of the Department of Social Services.

According to the Department of Social Services website, DYS offers treatment services through different types of residential care facilities across the state for youth who would benefit from a more structured setting than the community.

Baylee Watts, the spokesperson for the Department of Social Services, emphasized the residential program allows youth to continue their personal development and education.

“They still live in a setting where they’re going to school and taking part in different kinds of counseling. And so that’s probably the biggest benefit,” she said.

DYS offers three tiers of residential care designed to match the specific needs of youth. Options range from least-restrictive group homes with high community engagement to moderately structured facilities with increased supervision.

The most intensive option is secure care, which places youth in highly structured environments with educational programs customized for them, including basic, remedial, special and vocational programs.

Watts added the overall goal for the program is to rehabilitate juveniles to become productive citizens.

“Really the goal of the division of youth services is that every young person that’s served by them will end up becoming a productive citizen and leading a fulfilling life, by providing individualized and comprehensive service to enable the youth to reintegrate into their home community eventually,” she said.

According to the DYS 2025 Annual Report, last year, there were 542 youth committed to the care of DYS, with 6% committed for juvenile offenses. In the central area — the region that accounts for most of Mid-Missouri — there were 26 individuals committed. Out of those 26, 13 were in Boone County and nine were in Cole County.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Boone County judge dismissed the final group of defendants who were remaining in the wrongful death lawsuit surrounding University of Missouri student Riley Strain.

Strain died during a fraternity trip to Nashville, Tennessee, in 2024. Strain’s family sued the Delta Chi fraternity and its members, claiming the chapter did not follow its protocols for keeping members safe.

Strain was kicked out of a bar the night of March 8, 2024, and video showed him walking through downtown Nashville by himself, previous reporting shows.

His body was later discovered floating in the Cumberland River on March 22, 2024. Strain’s autopsy and toxicology report showed that alcohol contributed to his accidental drowning. Nashville police stated that “no foul-play-related trauma was observed” after Strain’s body was found.

Judge Joshua Devine had dismissed several defendants in the case in December. The remaining defendants were dismissed on Wednesday for similar reasons to the Dec. 17 ruling.

“While the Court has great sympathy for the profound and tragic loss suffered by [the Strain family], it is unaware of any court in the United States which has recognized the existence of a so-called ‘special relationship’ that might give rise to a claim for damages based on a duty owed by one adult fraternity member to another due to their shared status as ‘fraternity brothers,’” the Dec. 17 ruling says.

Wednesday’s ruling also says a number of the defendants were unable to be served a summons.

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Matthew Sanders

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Declaration of Independence was read Wednesday at the Cole County Courthouse, one of hundreds of sites across the country that hosted readings.

The events marked the 250th anniversary of public readings of the Declaration a few days after it was written.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man was charged with a felony on Tuesday in Morgan County after he allegedly pulled out a gun during a road rage incident on Monday.

Robert Riggs, 60, of Cole Camp, was charged with unlawful use of a weapon. He was brought to the Morgan County Jail and posted a $10,000 bond on Tuesday. Riggs applied for a public defender and a counsel status hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 21.  

The probable cause statement says a family was riding in a vehicle in Stover when Riggs pulled out a gun and pointed it at them.

The driver drove to the Cole Camp Police Department after Riggs allegedly yelled at them when they pulled into a church parking lot, the statement says. The driver allegedly told deputies that they tried to pass Riggs and another biker, but Riggs would not allow them to pass, the statement says.

After the family did pass Riggs, he pulled up beside them and pulled out a gun, court documents allege.

Riggs spoke with police at a Casey’s in Cole Camp and claimed that the family’s vehicle almost hit him while they tried to pass, the statement says. He also allegedly claimed another vehicle was coming from the opposite direction and that it was unsafe to pass, the statement says.

He allegedly admitted to pulling out the gun, but denied pointing it at the family, claiming he “got his point across,” court documents say.

The driver of the other vehicle was able to confirm Riggs’ identity after police showed them a photo a deputy took of him, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A portion of East Ash Street in downtown Columbia will close for about a month beginning on Thursday so a mural can by painted on a building at 110 Orr Street, a Wednesday press release from the City of Columbia says.

The closure between Orr and St. James streets will begin 7 a.m. Thursday and is expected to last through 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, the release says.

Westbound traffic on East Ash Street will be detoured north via St. James Street to Park Avenue or south through Hubbell Drive, the release says. Barricades will be placed on the road to prevent traffic from entering the area.

Sidewalks and parking lanes in the area were already closed as crews work to build a new park at a former superfund site. That closure is expected to last through Nov. 27.

The empty lot at Orr Street and Park Avenue used to be owned by Ameren. Previous reporting from 2023 says the site was determined to be a contaminated Superfund site and was cleaned up starting in 2014. The park will be named North Village Park.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia is expected to receive the required waterway permit from the Department of Natural Resources, with an ordinance to manage encampments near bodies of water up for a final vote in the coming weeks.

“The department expects to issue the permit by the end of this month,” DNR spokesman Brian Quinn said in a statement.

If approved, the measure would update City Ordinance 12A-178, which bans dumping trash, yard waste and other debris into waterways, adding, “human waste or litter from encampment activities or other gatherings in close proximity to any waterway.”

Columbia illegal dumping memoDownload

The update was created as part of the City’s stormwater management plan, which is required for the DNR’s MS4 permit. The MS4 permit is a federal EPA regulation that helps control the area’s water quality by preventing pollutants and trash from entering the water, while allowing the city to dispose of its sewage legally.

DNR has not been satisfied with Columbia’s current stormwater management plan and previously required the City to create ordinances that resolve the issue of pollution from homeless camps. DNR has stated that Hinkson Creek, Grindstone Creek and Hominy Branch contain E. coli from human waste from homeless encampments near the streams.

The measure is up for final reading by the City Council on July 20.

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