Category: kmiz-local-news

Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s counting period for the Memorial Day holiday weekend kicked off at 6 p.m. Friday.

“Every available trooper will be on the road or on the water, enforcing Missouri laws and assisting those in need. Troopers on the roadways will focus their attention on hazardous moving violations, speed violations, and impaired drivers. The Patrol will be participating in Operation C.A.R.E. (Crash Awareness Reduction Effort) during Memorial Day weekend,” a press release from MSHP says.

The period runs through 11:59 p.m. Monday.

Whether it’s on the boat or on the water law enforcement expects the weekend to come with its challenges, especially at the Lake of the Ozarks, a summer hot spot for many travelers in the Midwest.

Marine State Trooper Dylan Green and Camden County Sgt. Stephen Riner said driving and boating under the influence of drugs or alcohol will be the biggest thing they are looking for.

“Usually what we’re seeing is the slurred speech, the inability to grab the appropriate items that we ask for, such as life jackets or IDs,” Green said.

The signs may change a bit with the different terrain.

“Inconsistent driving behavior, speed up, slow down, the exaggerated swerving, they’ll have their brights on because they’re having trouble seeing and that can be a sign of that type of impairment,” Riner said.

While seatbelts are required in the car, they aren’t required on a boat and neither is wearing a life jacket. However, one life jacket has to be accessible for every person on board, according to Green.

“What is accessibility? Can’t be in a locked compartment,” Green said.

Violators of the life jacket rule could receive a citation or even have their voyage terminated until they have the proper safety gear on board.

Riner urged drivers to reconsider drinking and driving this weekend, and warned sober drivers to stay alert for those that may be impaired on the roadways.

“We live in the age of Uber, Lyft and taxi cabs, please don’t drive. It isn’t worth the risk,” Riner said. “If you are not partaking in any of that and you’re just trying to go to work today or throughout the weekend, be very careful because unfortunately, those people that do take that risk are going to be out.”

Green said boaters should also watch out for debris in the water after recent storms in the Mid-Missouri area.

The release says during last year’s holiday weekend, there were 868 crashes around the state that injured 356 people and killed four. There were 81 people arrested for driving while intoxicated.

MSHP also recorded three boating crashes during last year’s counting period.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man was charged with seven counts of driving while intoxicated in an April 3 crash on Interstate 70 that caused serious injuries.

Samuel Jacob Creasy was charged on Friday. He was arrested in April and posted a $1,500 bond. An initial court appearance is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The probable cause statement says vehicles were crashed near the 122.8-mile marker and that Creasy admitted to troopers that he caused the crash and that it was his fault. A breath test was conducted at the scene and his blood alcohol content was .122, the statement says.

Another test was conducted about an hour later and his BAC was then .11, the statement says. The legal limit to drive is .08.

Previous reporting indicates that Creasy drove a 2021 Ram 3500 on the Interstate 70 when he tried passing two vehicles and ended up hitting both.

A Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report shows three people in the crash were seriously injured and four had minor injuries. All seven were brought to University Hospital by ambulance. Three minors were injured – one seriously – in the crash, the report shows.

Creasy refused treatment at the scene and had no reported injuries, according to the statement and crash report.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Friday’s game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds has been postponed because of weather conditions, the Reds announced in a social media post.

The game was originally going to be aired on FOX 22. The teams will play each other in a doubleheader on Saturday.

The first pitch of the opening game is set for 12:10 p.m. and the second game – which will air on FOX 22 – will start at 6:15 p.m.

Tonight’s Reds-Cardinals game has been postponed and will be made up as the first game of a split doubleheader tomorrow, May 23, at 1:10 PM.

More info ➡️ https://t.co/qLFz43s3WP pic.twitter.com/d00pT9SzUO

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 22, 2026

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A home health aide was charged on Friday in Cole County after authorities claimed she stole $2,200 from an elderly woman in October 2025.

Elondra Johnson-Lopez, of Holts Summit, was charged with stealing more than $750 and financially exploiting an elderly person. She was not listed on the Cole County Jail roster on Friday. A warrant was issued and a $2,200 bond was set.

The probable cause statement says a 78-year-old Cole County woman called law enforcement on Oct. 17, 2025, after seeing someone had charged $2,200 to her bank account without her permission.  Law enforcement checked with the bank and determined the victim’s account information was used to pay Johnson-Lopez’s rent, the statement says.

Johnson-Lopez was a home health aide for the victim in May 2025. Lopez allegedly spent $1,3500 on Sept. 19 and $850 on Oct. 10, the statement says. Deputies contacted Johnson-Lopez and she allegedly admitted that she was not given permission to use the victim’s money, the statement says.

She allegedly saved the victim’s bank information after she found it while working at the victim’s home in May, court documents say.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An Osage Beach man has been charged with first-degree sodomy after he allegedly gave a youth alcohol and forced them into sexual acts.

Jeffrey Alan Hull, 49, was charged Thursday in Miller County and is being held at the county’s jail without bond. A case review is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday, June 1.

The probable cause statement says a friend of the victim called Lake Ozark police while the assault was occurring.

Police arrived and found the victim near the office of a campground and eventually found the camper where Hull was stating, the statement says. The underage victim allegedly told police that Hull put alcohol in their drink without them knowing about it before the assault occurred, the statement says.

Hull allegedly acknowledged knowing the victim’s age, giving them alcohol and partaking in the assault, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City Sam’s Club employee was charged with a felony after she allegedly stole $2,664.29 from the business.

Samantha Gates, of Barnett, was charged on Friday in Cole County with stealing more than $750. A warrant was issued and a $2,664 cash only bond was set. She was not listed on the Cole County Jail roster on Friday.

The probable cause statement claims Gates was using members’ accounts to steal cash.

“Management checked the defendant’s transactions and discovered 32 instances between 11/02/2025 and 11/28/2025 where she would complete a transaction with a customer and leave their account open,” court documents say. “She would then select items previously purchased by the member, complete a return on those items and then remove the cash and put it in her pocket.”

The business gave law enforcement a log of the transactions and receipts, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Gov. Mike Kehoe is requesting that FEMA approves a disaster declaration for counties that were affected by strong storms at the end of April.

Kehoe is requesting FEMA individual assistance for Randolph, Saline, Clay, Gentry, Green and Holt counties after more than 140 households were verified to have damage that were not covered by insurance. The release says more than half of the residences renter-occupied homes.

Public assistance is also being requested for Randolph, Saline, Howard, Monroe, Ripley, St. Francois, Carroll, Chariton, Green and Holt counties. If approved, nonprofits and local governments can seek federal assistance.

The release claims officials determined more than $36 million in damage occurred to public infrastructure and emergency response costs.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Wellsville man has been charged with several child sex crimes.

Jerry Wayne Fischer was charged on Friday in Montgomery County with three counts of second-degree statutory rape and five counts of second-degree statutory sodomy. A no-bond warrant was served. An initial court appearance is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The probable cause statement says Fischer allegedly raped and sodomized a youth more than 10 times during the summer of 2022 to November of the same year.

More than one assault occurred at a cemetery and the victim’s mother allegedly found Fischer assaulting the victim on one occasion, the statement says.

The victim allegedly reported the assaulted on Nov. 18, 2022.

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Matthew Sanders

JEFFERSON, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri voters will see four statewide issues on their August primary ballots.

Gov. Mike Kehoe on Friday chose to put those measures on the August ballot instead of the November general election ballot, according to a release from Kehoe’s office.

The highest-profile measure would phase out income tax and create the legal power to place taxes on more goods and services. It would also require local governments to reduce property taxes to offset tax increases.

Local governments have already started putting sales tax increases on ballots, in part in anticipation of the measure becoming law, if approved. Columbia and Boone County each plan to seek public safety sales taxes in August.

Other statewide measures on the August ballot:

A continuation of the statewide tenth-of-a-percent soil and water conservation sales tax;

A requirement that all charter counties elect a county assessor

A constitutional amendment that would make it harder for a measure to make the ballot by citizen petition

Other ballot measures would appear on the November ballot. One of them is Amendment 3, which seeks to overturn abortion protections that voters approved in 2024.

A ballot measure that has not yet been certified, but could still appear on the November ballot, is one that puts the state’s new “Missouri First” congressional map to a vote. The Missouri General Assembly approved the map last year amid a White House push to get more Republican seats in the House. Democratic states followed suit.

The map breaks up the current Democratically safe Fifth District, represented by Emanuel Cleaver, in Kansas City.

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CNN Newsource

By Kevin Liptak, Kaitlan Collins, Kristen Holmes, CNN

(CNN) — Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced Friday that she’s resigning at the end of June, citing her husband’s diagnosis with cancer.

“Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026,” she wrote in a letter President Donald Trump. “My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer. He faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months. At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle.”

Over the last few weeks, White House officials heard rumors that Gabbard was planning to leave. But as of two weeks ago, she was denying she was leaving the administration, a senior administration official said.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did Gabbard’s office.

Her tenure was riddled with contradictory and confusing messaging, particularly on the US war with Iran, which at times put her at odds and out of favor with the White House.

Gabbard will be the latest Cabinet member to depart, following Trump’s recent ousters of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Gabbard is an Army National Guard veteran and former Democratic congresswoman who represented Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District, making history as the first American Samoan and practicing Hindu in Congress. She ran for president as a Democrat in 2020, touting herself as an Iraq War veteran with an anti-interventionist foreign policy, before leaving the party two years later.

She went on to endorse Trump in 2024, campaigning with him and helping him prepare for his debate with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Gabbard joined the GOP before the election and served on Trump’s transition team after he won. Trump tapped her to serve as director of national intelligence, the top post overseeing the 18 agencies that make up the intelligence community.

This story has been updated with additional details.

The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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