Category: kmiz-local-news

Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri lawmakers reconvened in Jefferson City on Monday for a special legislative session called by Gov. Mike Kehoe.

Kehoe called the special session after lawmakers failed to pass several proposals during the regular session. A total of 17 bills were introduced on day one of the special session.

During a press conference, Kehoe emphasized what initiatives he wants the special session to focus on. One top priority is stadium funding to keep the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals in Missouri.

The Show Me Sports Investment Act would give the state’s professional sports teams access to state funding for stadium projects through new bonds, but only if certain requirements are met.

The project must cost at least $500 million and involve stadiums with more than 30,000 seats. The state could cover up to 50% of the total cost, and eligible teams could also access a tax credit worth up to 10% of their investment.

The state is facing competition from Kansas, which has offered to fund up to 70% of new stadium costs under new tax revenues. The teams have until June 30 to decide whether to extend their leases past 2031 or move to Kansas.

Senator Rick Brattin introduced Senate Bill 10 during the first day of the special session.

The bill would push back on using taxpayer dollars to fund new or renovated stadiums and propose the “no taxation, no donation act.” The proposal would allow Missourians to voluntarily donate toward stadiums, and depending on how much they donate, they would receive perks like free parking.

The measure would also cap food and beer prices at stadiums to avoid price gouging.

Senate President Pro-Tem Cindy O’Laughin said it comes down to the teams’ owners.

“People want to bring the owners into the conversation, but for them it’s a business decision, but for me it boils down to do you want to make an offer that you think is reasonable, do you want to keep the chiefs and royals, then they have to decide,” O’Laughlin said.

Other priorities to be addressed in the special session include assistance for families affected by recent severe storms across the state. Kehoe wants lawmakers to approve a tax deduction for insurance deductibles paid by homeowners repairing damage from this spring’s storms, including a proposed $25 million in emergency housing aid and a $5,000 tax deduction for tornado victims.

Budget appropriations are also a priority during the special session, including funding for the NextGen MURR project — a proposal that failed to pass during the regular legislative session. The original allocation in House Bill 19 included $50 million for the University of Missouri Research Reactor, but Kehoe is now asking for half of that amount.

Stephen Webber (D) Columbia and Minority Floor Leader Doug Beck are both pushing for more funding for MURR.

Webber introduced Senate Bill 12 on Monday, which he said is similar to the house bill that originally called for $500 million in state projects like MURR.

Webber said the bill passed out of the senate with nearly unanimous support from senators in the regular session, and he’s now asking for an increase in funding for MURR.

“I am filing it at $75 million because if there is going to be a $25 million off of deals made in this chamber, I figure we might as well vary it in the other direction,” Webber said.

Other budget appropriations included in House Bill 19 are funding for a mental health facility in Kansas City and livestock barns at the state fairgrounds.

“We’re hoping to get the full amount for the cancer research, we’re hoping to keep the mental health hospital in there, and then we need that relief for the victims. If you’ve been in North City, it’s troublesome we’re not out there with more resources for these folks,’ Beck said.

Governor Kehoe hasn’t given a specific timeline for when he wants lawmakers to wrap things up, but under the law, special sessions can last up to 60 calendar days.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Blue Alert was issued Monday morning by the Missouri State Highway Patrol after a police officer was shot in Lee’s Summit.

MSHP put an alert out around 8:45 a.m. after a suspect was named in a shooting in Lee’s Summit.

A Blue Alert is issued after a member of law enforcement is killed or seriously injured in the line of duty.

Officials are looking for Thomas Eugene Tolbert, 27, after he allegedly shot at an officer during a chase.

Lee’s Summit police said officers were called to a domestic disturbance around 11 p.m. Sunday night. The first officer arrived at the scene and while waiting for another officer, they saw Tolbert running from the scene.

Police said the officer was shot multiple times by Tolbert. The officer was taken to an area trauma center with serious injuries.

The Highway Patrol said he left the scene in a car that was found in Grandview, Missouri. The alert also stated Tolbert has a history of aggravated assault and shooting at law enforcement.

The alert was sent to phones in Northwest Missouri; specifically, Cass, Clay, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Platte and Ray Counties.

This is a developing story.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A St. Louis man charged after a five-hour-long standoff with the Columbia Police Department made his first court appearance Monday.

Octavious Bradshaw, 29, appeared virtually from the Boone County jail in the Boone County Courthouse on Monday.

Bradshaw was charged with second-degree domestic assault, unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action and child endangerment.

According to court documents, police were called to the 2700 block of Summit Road early Saturday for a domestic disturbance.

Upon hearing his charges, Bradshaw was confused and asked why he was charged with armed criminal action and child endangerment, claiming he never had a gun.

Police said Bradshaw ran into the house upon their arrival. Officers found a female victim with bruising to her face, small cuts on her face and hands and a chipped tooth.

Officers said the victim told them Bradshaw was intoxicated and got angry with her before he started hitting her. Bradshaw allegedly pulled a handgun and held it to her head. The victim told police she was holding a child, the second victim, when this happened.

While not mentioned in court documents, at court Judge Kayla Jackson-Williams said that Bradshaw’s child endangerment charge came from him threatening the female victim while she held a 17-year-old minor. Jackson-Williams also confirmed in court that the female victim shared a child with Bradshaw.

While trying to leave the home, police said the victim told officers Bradshaw racked the slide of the handgun and threatened to kill her. The victim also said he threatened to kill the second victim.

Court documents state Bradshaw is also accused of pushing the victim into a glass door, along with punching and kicking her while she begged him to stop.

Prosecutors said in online court documents that Bradshaw ran inside the home even though he was told to stay outside. This is when Bradshaw allegedly locked himself inside the victim’s home with the second victim.

According to Jefferson City’s Rape & Abuse Crisis Service, Missouri is ranked third in the nation for domestic abuse cases.

“I think part of it is domestic violence for a long time, and in some parts of the state, but still to this day, is not recognized as a crime necessarily, it’s seen as a family matter and it’s something that stay within the family,” Executive Director of RAC Angela Hirsch said.

Documents stated officers would not go into the home as Bradshaw was armed.

Another person and a second child were inside the home, according to police.

“Oftentimes, we see children caught in the crossfire of domestic violence, the kids that we serve here in RAC who come in to shelter with their non-abusive parents have been physically harmed because they’ve been held during a violent act,” Hirsch said.

Sergeant Ryan Brunstrom told ABC 17 News that when officers arrived, they encountered a female victim and a male suspect who barricaded himself in the residence.

“We called in our SWAT team and our crisis negotiation team were able to basically talk him out of the residence. He surrendered peacefully, no injuries,” Brunstrom said.

Bradshaw came out of the home willingly after a five-hour standoff with police.

He was booked into the Boone County Jail without bond. His bond hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. on June 9.

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Matthew Sanders

Summertime is here, and that always means more road work.

This year, a couple of big projects are causing travel headaches in Mid-Missouri. One is the work to improve Highway 54 in Jefferson City, and the other is the project to expand Interstate 70 to three lanes throughout the region.

These projects affected thousands of people on their daily travels to and from work and home or other destinations. Are you one of them?

Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Olivia Hayes

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Construction crews are moving into Phase 2 of improvements on Highway 54. Drivers may be affected by road and ramp closures.

Beginning on Tuesday, four ramps will be closed for road work on the stretch of highway near Linden Drive and Stadium Boulevard.

Closures include:

The eastbound off-ramp to Madison Street

The westbound off-ramp to Stadium Boulevard

The Madison Street on-ramp westbound

The Christy Drive on-ramp eastbound

Crews will narrow down that portion of the highway to one lane in both directions.

The Ellis Boulevard Overpass Bridge is also due for maintenance. Local crews will close down that bridge for nightly maintenance Sunday through Wednesday.

These improvements are a part of The Missouri Department of Transportation Bridge Bundle for Jefferson City. The Bridge Bundle aims to address driving surface issues on 11 bridges in Jefferson City, including deck repairs and overlays. MoDOT says the road work will help extend the life of many Jefferson City overpasses.

The Bridge Bundle is expected to be complete by October 2025.

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Haley Swaino

BOONE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A house fire in northern Boone County Thursday night started in an electric outlet on the back side of the house, Boone County Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Gale Blomenkamp told ABC 17 News in an email Saturday.

BCFPD was called to a home in the 14300 block of North Old Number 7, just south of Highway 124, between Harrisburg and Hallsville, at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Around 10:40 p.m., the fire appeared to increase in size. Around 40 firefighters responded to the fire, and there were no casualties, according to Blomenkamp.

Fire crews left the scene around 5:15 a.m. Friday, after battling the flames throughout the night. Firefighters returned just before 6 a.m. to find more smoke coming from the home.

“We did not go back out today,” Blomenkamp said in an email Saturday. “Investigators were there yesterday [Friday] and determined the fire started in a GFCI [ground fault circuit interrupters] electric outlet on the back side of the house.”

Crews battled hotspots for several hours before leaving the scene, according to previous reporting.

Blomenkamp spoke to ABC 17 News on the scene, explaining how difficult it was to put out the house fire due to limited water supply from a lack of hydrants in the area. He said crews were able to get their water trucks refilled and back to the scene in order to maintain operations.

Blomenkamp further explained the difficulty of fighting this house fire on Friday, expressing that it was similar to dealing with four separate structure fires.

“A lot of separate hidden attic spaces and fake dormers that are on the front of the structure. Those are very difficult to extinguish,” Bloemnkamp said. “The roof was on fire by the time we really arrived and got to work. So when the roof’s on fire, it’s hard to put that out from below.”

An ABC 17 News reporter on scene when the firefighters returned saw eight Boone County Fire Protection District trucks, one Columbia Fire Department ladder truck and a Boone Health EMS ambulance.

Flames were still coming out of the home at 10:30 p.m. An ABC 17 News photographer saw three firetrucks, seven service vehicles and an EMS vehicle.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A crash early Friday morning killed a 62-year-old Jefferson City man.

The crash occurred at around 12:45 a.m. in Morgan County on private property North of Dunwandrin Road when a Jefferson City man driving a golf cart eastbound on private property hit a rock and was thrown from the vehicle. The golf cart ended up running over the driver after he was thrown.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene and was not wearing a seatbelt. This is Troop F’s third death in May and 15th death in the year.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 33-year-old woman from Saginaw, Michigan, was killed in a single-vehicle crash Friday night.

The crash happened at around 10 p.m. in Saline County on I-70 EB. The woman was driving a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze East when she drove to the right side of the road and hit a bridge. She was pronounced at around 10:20 p.m. by a Saline County Deputy. The car was totaled.

Next of kin was notified; it is unknown if the woman was wearing a seatbelt.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia Police arrested Octavious Bradshaw, 29, of St. Louis after a five-hour standoff Saturday morning in the 2700 block of Summit Road.

Bradshaw was arrested on charges of unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, first-degree domestic assault, fourth-degree domestic assault, felony resisting arrest, second-degree property damage, felony warrants, and a misdemeanor warrant.

Around 4:30 a.m., officers responded to a domestic disturbance at 2711 Summit Road where an alleged victim reported having been assaulted and threatened with a weapon. The victim identified Bradshaw as the suspect, according to a news release from CPD.

Bradshaw was reportedly inside the home with another adult and a child.

Sergeant Ryan Brunstrom told ABC 17 News that when officers arrived, they encountered a female victim and a male suspect who barricaded himself in the residence.

“We called in our SWAT team and our crisis negotiation team were able to basically talk him out of the residence, he surrendered peacefully, no injuries,” Brunstrom said.

A Bearcat armored vehicle was also at the scene. One witness at the scene told ABC 17 News that he saw guns pointed at the home.

Brunstrom said Bradshaw came out of the home willingly after the five-hour standoff.

The scene was cleared, and Bradshaw was taken into custody around 9:30 a.m.

The CPD Criminal Investigation team was seen investigating inside the home.

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Katie Greathouse

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Boone County Sheriff’s Office warned residents about a new scam involving fake documents to trick people into sending money.

The Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Friday social media post that the scam involves someone sending fake copies of what appears to be a federal arrest warrant and a “mobile escort orders” document.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, this is a new tactic that scammers are using. The agency has previously warned about scammers impersonating deputies and trying to collect money over the phone. 

Common scams include calling a potential victim and telling that person they missed a court date, failed to pay a fine or disobeyed a court order. The Sheriff’s Office wrote that these scams typically involve “a demand to stay on the phone with them and to send money through a cryptocurrency machine or provide payment in some other way.” 

Authorities say they do not call and try to collect money over the phone, and they also do not deal with warrants over the phone.

If you are suspicious of a call, the Sheriff’s Office advises that you hang up. Officials remind residents they should never give out personal information, including credit card and bank account numbers.

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