Category: kmiz-local-news

Mitchell Kaminski

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Jefferson City Council members heard a detailed presentation from city staff this week outlining proposed changes to the city’s parking meter system, enforcement trends and long-term financial challenges facing the parking program.

The discussion took place on Wednesday at City Hall during a council work session, and no public comment was taken.

City staff told council members the parking fund’s balance has declined significantly over the past year. In October 2024, the fund stood at about $4.2 million. As of this spring, it had dropped to more than $1 million, largely due to roughly $3 million being allocated toward the city’s planned downtown parking garage.

Looking ahead, staff estimated annual operating costs for the parking system — including staffing and basic operations — will reach about $1.3 million by 2027.

The city currently manages 19 parking lots and about 965 on-street parking spaces. Without factoring in the new garage, staff estimated the 20-year capital maintenance cost for the system at $5.1 million, or about $260,000 annually.

The planned Madison Street parking garage is projected to cost about $20 million. If financed over 30 years at 4% interest, the monthly debt service would be roughly $95,000, according to city staff.

A major focus of the presentation centered on aging parking meters and the need for upgrades. Staff said the city has roughly two years left before it will need to begin “cannibalizing” existing meters for parts. The current meter housings are no longer manufactured, limiting replacement options.

Staff said the city can currently assemble 31 meters using available parts. Installing an existing meter costs about $1,125, while installing a single new meter costs about $724. Replacing all outdated meters with new models would cost an estimated $1 million. New meters would include updated technology and allow drivers to pay with credit cards.

In January, the Jefferson City Council approved a parking fine hike with an 8-2 vote. Parking violations were approved to be $25 across the board. A fine for metered parking was previously $6.

Jefferson City is also mulling over rate increases for parking meters. The proposed rate structure would affect on-street parking, off-street parking and the parking garage being built on Madison Street.

City staff provided historical context, noting Jefferson City installed its first fee-based parking meters in 1940 at a rate of 5 cents per hour. Adjusted for inflation, that rate would now equal roughly $1.10-$1.40 per hour. Currently, about 60% of meters charge just 35 cents per hour, with rates ranging up to $1.

Under the proposal presented to the council, the city would introduce a tiered-pricing system. A proposed “red zone” would have a two-hour maximum at $2 per hour, a “blue zone” would allow two hours at $1 per hour, and a “green zone” would charge $1 per hour with no time limit during the first year. Beginning in year three, rates would increase by 3% annually. Year two would include a $1.50 core rate and a $2 premium rate.

Staff estimated that High Street alone could generate an additional $200,000 annually at a $1-per-hour rate. The proposal is aimed in part at encouraging turnover and moving long-term parking away from the Capitol area.

If approved, staff projected parking revenue would increase by about 121% in the first year and by 188% by the fifth year.

City staff also addressed recent increases in parking citations. ABC 17 News records showed a sharp rise in expired meter tickets in January. From Jan. 6-Feb. 2, 2025, 182 tickets were issued. During the same period in 2026, 1,022 tickets were issued.

Despite the increase, staff said the number of tickets per officer per day remained similar. In January 2025, officers issued an average of 26 tickets per day over seven enforcement days. In January 2026, officers issued an average of 25.55 tickets per day across 20 enforcement days with two officers.

City spokesperson Molly Bryan said several factors influenced citation numbers, including weather, staffing, downtown events, legislative sessions and protests.

Parking enforcement in January 2025 was limited by severe winter weather and staffing shortages. A major snow and ice event forced closures and delayed openings early in the month, and parking staff were reassigned to emergency response duties such as clearing sidewalks, garages, and crosswalks. Only one officer was available for enforcement for much of that month.

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Parents of a Virginia man killed in a 2018 online sale meet up turned shooting say they were moved to put up billboards promoting ‘safe online exchanges’ after a Columbia man was killed in a similar way.

Michael and Diane Grey tell ABC 17 News that they knew they needed to take action after hearing about the death of Michael Ryan Burke. Burke was shot to death on Jan. 18 in the 1400 block of Ridgemont Court. Court documents allege Burke had used Facebook Marketplace to arrange to arrange a cellphone sale.

Three adults and a juvenile were charged in Burke’s shooting death.

“The first thing I did was I got on the phone with Lamar and said I want to put billboards up in Columbia, Missouri,” Michael Grey said.

The Grey family and their group “Justice For Joshua Grey” is working with Lamar Advertising to put up 11 billboards in the Mid-Missouri area. There will be nine electronic billboards around Columbia: One in Ashland, one near Jefferson City, one near Boonville and six around the Lake of the Ozarks. Since Columbia doesn’t allow electronic billboards, they are having static ads printed and placed in the city soon. Another seven will appear in Kansas City and Springfield.

Joshua Grey was killed similarly to Burke in 2018, while meeting up to sell a phone that was originally arranged online.

“Josh went online and he went on an app called Let Go, very similar to Craigslist or Marketplace, and a gentleman said meet me at this corner store at 1:30 in the afternoon. So Josh did,” Michael Grey said. “The store had a video surveillance camera in the back. It showed Josh getting out the car. Josh walks over, he hands out the phone and a 15-year-old kid pulls out a gun and shoots Josh.”

Joshua’s mother, Diane Grey, said many people can avoid a similar situation happening to them by keeping an eye out for red flags early on.

“You don’t know who’s at the end of that keyboard,” Diane Grey said. “They changed the location multiple times, like they were going to meet at a certain place and then they said oh I can’t get a ride there, can we meet here?”

She also detailed tips to keep in mind for people looking to make a safe online exchange or sale, but have no safe online exchange zone in their area.

“Take somebody with you, make sure somebody knows where you’re going and what you’re doing,” Diane Grey said. “A very public place where there’s there’s security cameras everywhere, some place that you know is well lit, a lot of activity is going on.”

Michael and Diane said they look to eventually take their call-to-action directly to the online platforms.

“When you’re buying or selling or something what should happen is something should pop up and it’s says hey, here are the safe exchange zones in this zip code,” Michael Grey said.

The Grey Family has billboards in seven states now, including Missouri. They want to have their billboards and message in all 50 states one day.

“There’s probably other people that have been in the same situation and maybe the same thing has happened but we just don’t hear about it,” Michael Grey said. “That’s why these billboards are so important. Safe exchange zones save lives.”

Columbia has three safe exchange zones recommended by law enforcement. The Boone County Sheriff’s Office and the University of Missouri Police Department’s lobbies or parking lots. Along with the Columbia Police Department’s online exchange zone in its downtown department. CPD told ABC 17 News its still working to get a sign put up for the zone.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Callaway County Ambulance District will put a question about a use tax on the April 7 ballot, it announced in a Wednesday social media post.

The tax is “designed to maintain stable funding for emergency medical services as consumer purchasing patterns continue to shift online,” the post says. It would apply to online and out-of-state purchases when there are no local taxes collected on a sale. It would not increase the current local sales tax rate, the post says.

The funds, if approved, would be used for replacing and maintaining equipment, purchasing medical equipment, support training and certifications for EMTs and paramedics and maintain 24/7 emergency response coverage, the post says.  

The official ballot language reads:

“Shall the Callaway County Ambulance District be authorized to impose a local use tax at the same rate as the Callaway County Ambulance District sales tax, provided that if the Callaway County Ambulance District sales tax is reduced or raised by voter approval, the local use tax rate shall also be reduced or raised by the same action?”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A grand jury indictment was filed on Tuesday in Cole County against a man accused of shooting and killing a man on Jan. 9.

Malcolm Mayes, 29, of Jefferson City, is charged with second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and single counts of unlawful use of a weapon, illegal gun possession. He is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond. An arraignment is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday, Feb. 9.

He is accused of shooting Jeremy Greer in the 800 block of Mulberry Street. Greer drove himself to the hospital after the shooting, court documents in previous reporting say.

Police said Greer, 39, was found at the Capital Region Medical Center and was later flown to University Hospital in Columbia, where he died. Multiple witnesses described seeing Mayes run to his car with a gun in his hand immediately following the shooting, according to court documents.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A former West Middle School teacher who was charged with several child sex crimes last month was given a home-detention order after he received a bond.

Zachary Hutchinson, 38, of Columbia, was charged on Jan. 21 in Boone County with three counts of second-degree statutory sodomy, one count of child enticement, sexually exploiting a minor, giving pornographic material to a minor (a misdemeanor), second-degree promoting child porn and possessing child porn.

His bond was amended to $25,000 on Tuesday, according to court filings. He is not currently listed on the Boone County Jail roster. He was ordered to home detention on Tuesday under the supervision of Adult Court Services.

He is not allowed to have access to any electronics or use the internet and cannot have no contact with the victim or other children, court filings show.

The probable cause statement says Hutchinson encouraged the victim to go into his vehicle to perform sexual acts. The victim’s mother allegedly found nude photographs of Hutchinson on the victim’s phone and additional messages appeared to show Hutchinson making plans to meet with the youth.

Text messages described in court documents took place over the course of several days and showed explicit conversations and details of illicit photos between Hutchinson and the victim.

The incident did not involve Columbia Public Schools or any of its students, a district spokesperson said when charges were initially filed. The Columbia Police Department also stated in a social media post that Hutchinson and the victim “did not meet as a result of his employment, nor did any known contact occur on school property.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway filed a discrimination lawsuit on Wednesday against MSHSAA in the Eastern District Court of Missouri.  

Hanaway accuses the Missouri State High School Activities Association of two counts of unlawful race and sex discrimination, unlawful discriminating with respect to conditions of employment and discriminatory protection of the full and equal benefit of all laws.

The lawsuit stems from an accusation made in November by a whistleblower who claimed they were not eligible for an at-large position on MSHSAA’s board because they are white and male. The accusation led to Hanaway and State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick to launch an investigation.

Previous reporting on the incident shows an article in MSHSAA’s constitution “does not serve as a blanket disqualification preventing administrators from running for or serving on the Board of Directors. Rather, the eligibility requirements are tied to specific seats, and by design they ensure balanced representation across both geographic regions and demographic groups.”

MSHSAA had stated on Nov. 19 that the provision was put in place more than 20 years ago. MSHSAA, in response to Hanaway’s lawsuit, stated in a news release that it is a private organization and the lawsuit is an attempt to have the state exercise control it should not have.

“The lawsuit filed by the Attorney General seeks to impose state control over the internal governance of a private association,” MSHSAA stated. “Missouri did not create MSHSAA, does not fund it, and does not oversee its operations. Nonetheless, the state now asks a federal court to dictate who may serve on MSHSAA’s volunteer Board of Directors and how its 724 member schools structure their leadership.”

“MSHSAA’s nomination policies and actions are racist and unlawful,” Hanaway was quoted in a Wednesday press release. “No organization, and certainly not a policymaking entity in charge of our children’s activities, will be allowed to defy and ignore federal anti-discrimination laws.”

In the court document Hanaway filed, the state wants a federal judge to bar the association from denying a person based on race or gender for at-large positions.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A former Pettis County deputy who shot and killed a 25-year-old Sedalia woman in June 2020 had his child pornography case moved from Pettis County to Cooper County on Wednesday.

Jordan Schutte, 40, of Sedalia, is charged with child porn possession and first-degree promoting child porn. He is being held at the Miller County Jail on a $75,000 bond. A case review is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday, April 13. He was indicted by a grand jury last week.  

The probable cause statement says law enforcement received a CyberTip on Aug. 12, 2025, about child porn being uploaded to a SnapChat account. The account’s phone number matched Schutte’s and the phone number was verified for the account by SnapChat in 2022, the statement says.

The statement says Schutte allegedly posted child porn to his “private” SnapChat story.

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Alison Patton

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Cole County judge on Wednesday did not OK the Secretary of State’s request to rewrite the ballot language for a referendum that would put the new congressional map on the November ballot.

Judge Brian Stumpe did not deny the request during the case hearing, either; the request will be considered with the case, which is set to go to trial Monday.

This is the latest hearing in a string of lawsuits challenging the new congressional map that the General Assembly passed in a September 2025 special session. The map is likely to cut out U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Kansas City) from District 5 and flip his seat to Republicans.

Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’ legal team is arguing the ballot title written is unfair and prejudicial because of the words “gerrymandered” and “protects incumbent politicians,” according to court documents.

People Not Politician filed the lawsuit.

“It’s not every day you see the defense move for the relief on the other side. However, the evolution in the Secretary’s position that I just described does compel us to secure a fair and sufficient summary statement,” Hoskins’ attorney Kathleen Hunker said.

Hoskins wrote the ballot language last year, after the group backing the referendum, People Not Politicians, submitted more than 300,000 signatures to Hoskins for certification.

“Do the people of the state of Missouri approve the act of the General Assembly entitled ‘House Bill No. 1 (2025 Second Extraordinary Session),’ which repeals Missouri’s existing gerrymandered congressional plan that protects incumbent politicians, and replaces it with new congressional boundaries that keep more cities and counties intact, are more compact, and better reflects statewide voting patterns?”

People Not Politicians attorney Chuck Hatfield argued the state needs to change specific sections of the ballot language, but shouldn’t be able to rewrite the whole question.

“I don’t remember the Secretary of State ever before admitting that they had drafted unfair and prejudicial language, like they have here, and I think we’re entitled to learn more,” Hatfield said.

Hatfield wanted to bring in the director of elections, Chrissy Peters, to the Secretary of State’s Office for questioning, which Hoskins’ attorney is challenging. Stumpe sided with the state and denied Hatfield’s deposition.

Hatfield said he wanted to know how Hoskins came up with the description of the map as keeping more cities together, which is more compact and reflects voter patterns.

Hunker argued Peters wouldn’t know anything about that.

“Mrs. Peters does have relevant information, but the elections division does not actually develop the summary statements. She has no personal knowledge in her capacity as the director of elections,” Hunker said.  

Hunker also argued the new 2025 congressional map and the 2022 map should be the only things used in court.

Hatfield said he would have questioned Peters and another state official on Thursday, but because Stumpe already made a ruling, the deposition will be skipped, and the case will go to trial Monday.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A motion was filed on Friday seeking to move a teenager accused in a January 2025 Columbia shooting to the Boone County Jail.

Samiyon Myers, 16, of Columbia, is charged with first-degree assault, delivery of a controlled substance, two counts of armed criminal action, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, one count of shooting at a car and second-degree drug trafficking.

Myers’ information appears on the Boone County Jail’s roster, though a sheriff’s office spokesman clarified in a Wednesday email that booking information for a juvenile is filed with the Boone County Jail once they are certified as an adult. An additional court order must be placed in order to move the juvenile to the jail from the juvenile office.

Myers is accused of shooting at a vehicle filled with people on Jan. 19, 2025, in the 2100 block of West Worley Street, court documents in previous reporting say. Witnesses claimed the suspects ran to the McDonald’s at 415 North Stadium Blvd. Six juveniles were taken into custody, according to the probable cause statement. Half of the juveniles were released to their parents.

A gun was found in a bag near Myers and video from the Columbia Mall allegedly showed Myers firing the gun at a vehicle, the probable cause statement says. Police saw bullet holes in the vehicle and were able to identify Myers by the color of his underwear, court documents in previous reporting say.

Friday’s motion says accused Myers of several incidents since May 2025, which included assaults, verbal threats and allegedly demanding to be transferred to the jail.

A motion hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20.

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Lucas Geisler

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Senate passed new rules on Tuesday that could make it harder to force an end to debate in the chamber.

The chamber voted 23-11 on two new rules, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin (R-Shelbina). One change requires more signatures on a motion to vote on the “previous question.” It now takes 18 senator signatures to move forward with such a move, up from 10. A “previous question” motion still needs 18 votes to pass.

The use of the maneuver in the senate came under criticism last session by Democrats, who had their late-session filibuster ended by it. Republican senate leaders forced votes on an abortion resolution for the 2026 ballot and a rollback of paid sick leave voters approved in 2024. Democratic senators had promised to slow down the session this year because of those moves.

Senate records show 11 GOP senators voted against the rule changes.

The resolution also requires any Senate bill that comes to the chamber with amendments from the House of Representatives sit on its calendar for one day before taken up. Senate Democrats posted yesterday the measure would save taxpayers money from “costly mistakes made by the GOP-led Legislature.”

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