Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An 18-year-old man from Moberly was seriously injured Tuesday in a motorcycle crash on Highway 63 in Cairo, a Missouri State Highway Patrol report says.

The report says the man rode a 2006 Harley Davidson southbound and failed to yield to a 2010 Toyota Sienna that was driven by a 43-year-old Madison, Missouri, woman.

The man had serious injuries and was brought to University Hospital by ambulance, the report says. The bike had extensive damage and the Toyota had minor damage, the report says. The man wore a helmet and the woman was wearing a seatbelt, the report says.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man proposed to a woman at the top of the Empire State Building after unfurling a flag that preached the power of love.

The couple had not been identified early Wednesday afternoon.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A lane closure on eastbound Interstate 70 in Columbia caused by emergency pavement repairs is expected to reopen before Thursday morning’s rush hour, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation.

One lane of eastbound I-70 and an eastbound off-ramp closed Wednesday after a large pothole developed near the construction zone, prompting emergency repairs.

Contractors closed the ramp from eastbound I-70 to Providence Road and the driving lane of eastbound I-70 near mile marker 126.5 beginning at 10 a.m. Wednesday. MoDOT expects the closures to remain in place through early Thursday morning.

Spencer Robinson, MoDOT’s Improve I-70 program director for the Rocheport-to-Columbia project, told ABC 17 News the agency decided to accelerate repairs after conditions deteriorated in recent days ahead of the holiday travel period.

“We had a large pothole start forming over the weekend and progressively got worse over the last few days,” Robinson said. “This thing is 20-feet long and about a dozen feet wide, so a very large area we’re talking about was creating a very rough patch.”

Robinson said the timing of the repair was driven in part by anticipated Independence Day travel and reduced staffing availability later in the week.

“Heading into a busy holiday season where we have a lot of crews that take off for a long weekend, we’re not going to be able to respond as quickly,” Robinson said. “We felt the need to get in there and get this addressed now ahead of Thursday morning before the busy travel rush.”

According to Robinson, the damaged section is among the oldest remaining pavement within the construction limits.

“We’ve replaced several of the other pieces surrounding it in the area,” Robinson said. “This is one of the older pieces of pavement on I-70. It’s probably in the neighborhood of 50-to-60 years old, so it’s definitely past its design life.”

Robinson said backups caused by the deteriorating pavement increased travel times through the area to roughly 15-20 minutes compared with the typical three-to-four-minute trip.

MoDOT said the ramp from Providence Road to westbound I-70 will remain open and will no longer close overnight Wednesday as previously planned.

The emergency repairs come as crews continue work on the larger Improve I-70 project between Rocheport and Columbia, which includes replacing the Providence Road bridge and expanding portions of the interstate.

MoDOT is monitoring a small number of other aging pavement sections in the corridor but does not expect widespread issues before reconstruction work reaches those areas.

Just before 7 p.m. Wednesday, Robinson told ABC 17 News the department remained on track to reopen the right lane before Thursday morning’s commute.

Despite weather delays earlier this year, Robinson said construction of the overall project remains on pace.

“We are on or ahead of schedule in every phase of construction right now,” Robinson said. “We’ve been fighting a lot of rain through the early part of this year. That slowed us down more than we’d like, but crews have been powering through and working around it.”

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Police Department issued at least one citation Wednesday after residents protested the city’s median ordinance.

An ABC 17 News reporter in the area saw around a half-dozen residents protesting at 10 a.m. in medians at the intersection of North Providence Road and Business Loop 70.

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt. I mean, none of us do, but we’re denying people the right to make a living, they have that freedom of speech,” said Jeff Stack, who is with the Mid-Missouri Fellowship of Reconciliation.

Protesters argued the rule violates the First Amendment and unfairly targets unhoused people, disguised as pedestrian safety.

“The city spent almost $100,000 on an independent study about pedestrian-related traffic accidents, and the vast majority of them happened near campus, especially on College Avenue, where there are students,” Columbia resident Dirk Burhans said. “So, this is really about getting homeless people out of view.”

“People have the [right to] panhandle, it may be a little bit uncomfortable for the mayor or for some city leaders, for Mun Choi maybe and other university officials,” Stack said. “They don’t like seeing people on the streets in such a way because it gives our city a bad name, a bad image. Well, there is poverty in our community.”

Burhans and other protesters were later escorted off the medians by CPD around 11 a.m., with the protest ending around noon.

Burhans later told ABC 17 News the officers were polite and gave him several chances to leave the median, with Burhans asking for a citation to move. An officer was seen giving Burhans a ticket, which Burhans confirmed was for a later court date.

According to the ACLU, panhandling does fall under the First Amendment. However, cities can police how and where people do it.

The Columbia City Council passed the ordinance Feb. 2 on a 5-2 vote. Ward 1 Councilwoman Valerie Carroll and Ward 2 Councilwoman Vera Elwood voted against the measure, while Mayor Barbara Buffaloe was among those who voted in favor.

In a Facebook post Wednesday, Buffaloe acknowledged residents had a right to protest while also pushing the safety benefits of the ordinance.

“I also supported this ordinance because I believe we can protect free expression while also addressing serious safety concerns on our busiest roadways,” Buffaloe said in the post.

Buffaloe added that her car accident in June reinforced her safety concerns about roads in town.

The City of Columbia outlined the ordinance’s criteria and identified the areas where it applies on its webpage:

Prohibits crossing a major road anywhere except in a crosswalk, a pedestrian-control signal, or an intersection if those things aren’t available.

Prohibits being on a median fewer than six feet wide except when crossing the road.

Prohibits getting out of cars while in a traffic lane or within a major intersection.

Prohibits approaching cars on a major road unless the car is legally parked.

Prohibits people in vehicles from engaging with pedestrians at major intersections.

Intersections that are affected include:

Intersections with a speed limit of 35 miles per hour or greater.

Traffic volumes greater than 15,000 vehicles per day.

Medians less than six feet wide are designated as a major corridor intersection.

Those who violate the ordinance can face a fine of up to $500, but no one would face jail time for a violation. The 47 identified crash areas where data shows the highest risk of pedestrian-vehicle crashes are where officers will prioritize enforcement, according to the city. Some of those areas include:

College Avenue and University Avenue

College Avenue and Rollins Avenue

Stadium Boulevard and Monk Drive/Champions Drive

Business Loop 70 and Providence Road.

Several intersections in the city are affected, with the five busiest intersections being:

Providence Road and Stadium Boulevard

Providence Road and Broadway

Broadway and Stadium Boulevard

Broadway and College Avenue

Broadway and Old Highway 63

Drivers can no longer hand items to pedestrians from their vehicles. The ordinance also prohibits drivers from stopping in travel lanes in a way that creates a traffic hazard or from allowing occupants to exit a vehicle in a travel lane or major corridor intersection, except during an emergency.

CPD will release the number of citations they received Wednesday on Thursday after all reports are collected.

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Matthew Sanders

An ordinance that prevents people from standing on medians along busy roads in Columbia is taking effect.

The police have been on an education campaign, informing panhandlers about the ordinance ahead of Wednesday’s effective date. But the ordinance is still meeting political resistance from people who say it unfairly targets those same panhandlers and restricts civil rights.

A protest is scheduled for Wednesday morning against the restrictions taking effect.

Do you think enforcement of the new ordinance will keep people off the medians? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 20-year-old Stover woman was seriously injured Tuesday in a crash on Ivy Bend Road in Morgan County, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says a 20-year-old Stover man and the woman were riding on a 2006 Yamaha Road Star 1700 motorcycle that was heading northbound. The man failed to negotiate a curve, causing the bike to cross the center line, go off the left side of the road and overturn, the report says.

Both people were thrown from the motorcycle. Neither person wore a helmet, according to the report.

The report says the woman had serious injuries and the man had moderate injuries. Both people were brought to Lake Regional Hospital by ambulance, according to the report.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Boone County Commission on Tuesday passed a multi-million-dollar contract for gravel road pavement throughout the county.

The commission unanimously approved a $4.62 million purchase order with Capital Paving and Construction LLC.

The total and locations, according to meeting documents, includes:

Location
Dollar Amount

Boothe Lane (North) upgrade)
$516,099.90

Boothe Lane (South)/Brennen Drive/Finnegan Court upgrade
$842,121.05

Coats Lane upgrade
$539,648.94

James Sapp Road upgrade
$428,105.80

JD Sapp Road/Franklin Road upgrade
$438,020

Robbie Forbls Road upgrade
$275,324.55

Willet Road upgrade
$1,160,679.75

10% Contingency
$420,000.00

TOTAL
$4,619,999.99

The commission also approved a contract with In2Action for a re-entry coordinator for Boone County Community Services and the Boone County Jail.

Boone County Community Services Director Joanne Nelson told ABC 17 News in an email the person in that position “will support individuals transitioning from the Boone County jail back in the community. The navigator will help these individuals to connect with recovery services, housing, employment support with the goal to help them to be successful when they transition back into the community.”

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Melissa Houston

COLUMBIA, Mo. (Kmiz)

Missouri leaders are getting ready to discuss further restrictions on transgender athletes following Tuesday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision.

The higher court upheld the power of the states to ban transgender athletes from participating in certain sports, ruling that these restrictions do not interfere with Title IX regulations.

Missouri state Rep. Brian Seitz (R-Branson) is in support of the Supreme Court ruling, saying “it is the biggest win for women’s sports since Title IX.” Seitz said the ruling is in line with what Missouri did just a few years prior.

“I’m just glad that the Supreme Court saw fit, what, to rule on what we saw in Missouri as a no brainer three or four years ago,” Seitz said.

The decision saw support online from a number of GOP members in the state, including Gov. Mike Kehoe, State Sen. Rock Brattin (R-Cass County) and US Rep. Bob Onder.  

Under current state law 163.048, Missouri’s public, private, charter and higher education institutions are permitted to only let student athletes compete in designated sports that align with their biological sex as listed on their birth certificate.

The only exception stated to this law is when a female student participates in an athletic competition designated for male’s students if the school does not have a corresponding female sport offered.

This law was enacted in 2023, and the Missouri Senate placed a sunset clause to give officials more time to research. This law is set to end on Aug. 28, 2027.

With the sunset clause ending in a year, Seitz is looking to make this law permanent and said the ruling from the higher courts has caused a “greater sense of urgency.”

However, a local LGBTQ+ community center The Center Project is not in support of the Supreme Court’s ruling.

“I am incredibly disappointed to see the Supreme Court uphold what I would consider to be a discriminatory ruling,” said Vera Elwood, who is the Youth Project Coordinator at The Center Project and the Ward 2 City Councilwoman.

Elwood said this law is seen more than just a restriction on sports teams, it is affecting the lives of those who are already at high risk.

“I think for some people they can look at it and think, ‘well, it’s just a soccer team,'” Elwood said. “But when you’re being singled out in this kind of way, we might, you know, we might lose kids.”

Elwood said the stakes for transgender youth is higher due to them being more at risk for mental health illnesses. She hopes that the state representatives can prioritize the well-being of students.

“I hope that we as a state and as a community can find ways to protect our most at risk our most at need youth,” Elwood said.

As state leaders prepare to revisit the law, a discussion over whether a middle ground even exists starts to be seen.

Seitz claims participating in co-ed sports is an appropriate alternative, but “as far as women’s sport, I think biological sex has to be protected, it’s a matter of fairness.”

And for Elwood, there is no compromise on an issue that she says goes beyond just sports.

“I also don’t see a middle ground on inclusion in sports, inclusion in school activities,” Elwood said. “You either get to be on the team, or you don’t.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Police Department announced on a Tuesday evening social media post that it was looking for an at-risk man with dementia.

Police were looking for John Linder, 76, of Columbia. He was last seen around 6:15 p.m. in the 200 block of North Stadium Boulevard while driving a dark gray 2025 Jeep Cherokee.

Police wrote at 8:08 p.m. that they had found Linder.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has sent its proposed “A-F” grading system for school districts to the governor’s office.

A Tuesday release from DESE says this submission responds to an executive order signed in January. The release says DESE will give annual grades for districts, school and charter schools.

“The goal for the A–F school grading framework is to provide families and communities with a simple, comparable, and rigorous picture of school performance,” DESE Interim Commissioner of Education Stacey Preis is quoted in the release.

Kindergarten through eighth grade will have “student academic achievement, value-added growth, and growth toward proficiency in English Language Arts (ELA), literacy, mathematics, and science,” the release says. High school grades will include “student academic achievement and value-added growth in ELA, mathematics, and science, as well as Success Ready Graduate measures and four-year graduation rate,” the release says.  

EO 26-01 Response 2026-06-30_AOD_0Download

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