Category: kmiz-local-news

Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Despite it being over a week since the City of Columbia’s first major snowfall of the season, city sidewalks continue to be packed down with snow and ice.

According to Leigh Kottwitz, Neighborhood Services manager with the city’s Community Development Department, the City has received 107 cases and received fewer than 10 complaints for snow-covered sidewalks since the storm.

Problem areas include areas downtown, the Benton-Stephens neighborhood and the Paris Road Corridor.

“When we receive complaints about this issue, often it touches many properties,” Kottwitz said.

“The variability of the sidewalk clarity downtown is wild,” Columbia resident Elizabeth De Kunffy said. “I’ve slipped a few times, especially in the alleys, I have to walk through an alley to get to my apartment, so that’s been really bad.”

According to section 302.3 of the International Property Maintenance Code and City of Columbia Code of Ordinances 24-12, the city’s ordinance requires sidewalks to be free from “snow, ice and other hazards.” This is the responsibility of people who “own or occupy” a property.

The ordinance is in place for pedestrians and wheelchair users. Kottwitz added there have been reports of pedestrians walking onto the road to avoid snowy areas.

“The ordinance is to have a walkable community and also one where, if people are walking or using wheelchairs, that they have a safe path,” Kottwitz said.

“We also have a few residents in our building who are in mechanical wheelchairs, and I’ve seen some problems with them being able to get over piles of snow and patches of ice,” De Kunffy said.

When the city receives a complaint, it goes to the location to verify if there is a sidewalk violation. If there is a violation, the property owner is contacted. Repeat offenders are given warnings and possibly could be charged with a misdemeanor, which could result in a minimum fine of $750.

Kottwitz said the city has not had a history of prosecuting homeowners; however, they do keep records of homes that violate the ordinance.

“We’ve gotten a good response in many cases, sometimes it’s, just, ‘Hey, I didn’t even think about this, it didn’t dawn on me that I needed to keep the sidewalk clear,'” Kottwitz said. “We really want to raise people’s awareness about this issue, I think there’s a lot of folks that maybe if they don’t use the sidewalk, maybe they don’t realize the importance of following the city ordinance.”

Below-freezing temperatures are expected in the upcoming evenings so it is recommended that homeowners treat the snow during the afternoon hours.

“Just because you’re getting that slush,” ABC 17 Chief Meteorologist Jessica Hafner said. “I would try to get that first layer off because if anything is melted underneath, that’s going to be harder to get down and then you can probably put some salt on that and allow that to melt before the sun goes down.”

De Kunffy added that being in a pedestrian-heavy city, Columbia could do more to address the issue.

“I feel like if the businesses are solely responsible for clearing the sidewalks, we can’t expect them to have the resources to do it as well as the city could,” De Kunffy said. “The fact that only the roads and not the sidewalks are clear really reads to me that the city prioritizes cars over pedestrians, which is really disappointing.”

Complaints can be made to the city through the contact center: (573) 874-3489.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Dark and watery soil that construction crews encountered in Sedalia last month was determined to be nonhazardous, the city wrote in a Monday press release.

The release says possible soil issues were discovered by crews on Jan. 16 near the former Sutherlands property, Memory Lanes Bowling Alley and the new fire station. The city wrote that it had expected to possibly run into issues and had put together a plan to address those situations last year.

The city wrote that testing on the soil was already occurring when “a passerby took photographs showing darker soil and a small pool of liquid. Shortly thereafter, a second party reported their observations and complaints to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.”

“At that time, it was confirmed that no tanks had been identified or confirmed, the soil had already been properly isolated and contained, and the site response was being managed in accordance with the pre-established Soil & Groundwater Management Plan. No additional corrective action was required beyond the procedures already in place,” the release stated.

The soil was eventually determined to be suitable for the landfill.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Nordstrom Rack will open a new location in Columbia later this year, the chain announced in a Monday press release.

The business has four locations in Missouri, according to its website, including two in St. Louis, one in Manchester and one in Des Peres. Nordstrom Rack is the off-price division of Nordstrom, according to the release.

The 25,000 square-foot store Columbia location will be placed at the Shoppes at Stadium near the new Trader Joe’s.

“We look forward to being a part of the Columbia community and serving our customers with an amazing offering of great brands at great prices,” President of Nordstrom Rack Gemma Lionello said in the release. “We’re excited to grow our footprint in the Columbia market and introduce new customers to the Nordstrom experience.”   

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Josie Anglin

Homelessness Report (January 2026)Download

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A report from the city of Columbia shows that homelessness fell in 2025.

The report states that 309 homeless individuals were counted during the annual survey in Boone County in 2025. That’s down from the 323 people recorded the year before.

The count was conducted on one night in January and does not include people who are staying with family or friends or living in hotels. Columbia is looking at how five other Midwest cities address homelessness, and plans to transition from a reactive to a proactive plan aimed at putting unhoused people in permanent homes.

The highest number of homeless people counted in Boone County over the last four years was 326, in 2022. The highest number of unsheltered people was recorded in 2024, at 85.

 

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A group of people sued Hawthorn Bank and Cole County on Friday in order to block the land auction of a piece of land that was intended to become a county park by its former owner.

Gary Scheperle, Mark Knapp, Tony Porter, Steve Brandt, Gary Bemboom, Tony Brenneke and Charles Steck are listed as the plaintiffs in the case.

Nearby landowners have organized to stop the bank’s auction of Lawrence Renn Jr.’s land for several months. Friends of Renn have said the cattle farmer left the 178 acres in Elston to the county for use as a park. The group claims the administrator of Renn’s trust, Hawthorn Bank, was not being honest with the county on how much money the trust had when the commission discussed the issue in 2024.

Mark Knapp and others had asked for a 60-day pause to sort through and verify trust documents, previous reporting shows.

The petition from the group asks the judge to remove Hawthorn Bank as a trustee, to give temporary relief by blocking the Feb. 7 auction and to appoint a successor trustee. It also asks the judge to set aside a consent judgement issued in Hawthorn Bank’s lawsuit against the county in 2024.

Judge Daniel Green recused himself from the case on Monday, according to court filings. Judge Joseph Shetler was assigned to the case on Monday and a civil setting was scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, the day before the auction is set to take place.

The Cole County Commission last week said it would not sue Hawthorn Bank to stop the land auction, with Commissioner Sam Bushman claiming the county had “no valid ground” to sue.

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Josie Anglin

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia City Council will consider changes to how the city responds to emergencies at Monday night’s meeting.

The proposed changes would make the Columbia Fire Department chief the city’s emergency operations manager. It would also make the Columbia Fire Department the lead agency in responding to disasters.

Every city department would have to designate one person to participate in the City’s emergency plans if this proposed plan goes into effect. Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer said this change clarifies which is the lead agency in emergencies.

Boone County would remain in command of the response to countywide emergencies and oversee countywide training.

The item is listed on the council’s consent agenda and is expected to receive a vote.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who was found guilty last month of murdering a Hermann police officer in 2023 will be sentenced in June.

Kenneth Simpson, of Steelville, was found guilty on Jan. 24 of first-degree murder, first-degree assault, two counts of illegal gun possession, one count of illegally possessing a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action. 

A jury on Friday recommended that Simpson should face the death penalty.

Court filings made public on Monday show Simpson will be sentenced at 1 p.m. Friday, June 12 at the Franklin County Courthouse.

Simpson was accused of shooting and killing Sgt. Mason Griffith and wounding Officer Adam Sullentrup in March 2023. The trial started Jan. 20 in Franklin County after it was moved from Gasconade County in 2023, where the shooting happened.

Simpson shot both men within 15 seconds on March 12, 2023, at a Casey’s convenience store in Hermann.

Police caught Simpson following a more than 12-hour standoff. The state of Missouri, on Sept. 14, 2023, filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Simpson.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Gravois Mills man was charged in Morgan County after he allegedly assaulted a man and fired a gun into a home early on Saturday.

Jacob Roberts, 26, was charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action, first-degree burglary, unlawful use of a weapon and first-degree property damage. He is being held at the Morgan County Jail without bond. An arraignment was scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday.

The probable cause statement says deputies were called at 12:45 a.m. after Roberts allegedly broke a television during a fight with the victim. Roberts allegedly started destroying property after an argument started about an ex-girlfriend, the statement says.

Another fight allegedly occurred in the driveway of the home, the victim ran back inside the home and Roberts fired a shot through a fall in the garage, the statement says. Deputies eventually found a bullet in a door in the home along with damage, the statement says.

Deputies tried initially calling out to Roberts in his nearby home and called his phone several times with no answer, the statement says. When he eventually picked up the phone, he was asked by police about firing the gun, to which Roberts allegedly said “that’s a whole separate issue,” court documents say.

Another person who knew Roberts allegedly arrived on scene and informed law enforcement of a phone call they had with Roberts in which he allegedly acknowledged the fight and claimed he would go to jail, the statement says.

Guns were found in Roberts’ home and truck, the deputy wrote.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A woman who was the subject of an endangered person advisory on Saturday was found dead in her wrecked vehicle the next day.

The Camden County Sheriff’s Office issued the alert Saturday, saying Amanda Rodgers, 35, had been seen leaving Eldon around 3 a.m. in her Chevrolet Malibu. The alert says Rodgers went to pick up her children in the Camdenton area but never arrived.

The Miller County Coroner’s Office wrote in a Facebook post that Rodgers was found dead Sunday on Highway 54 near Howser Road. She was pronounced dead at 1:43 a.m. Sunday, the post says.

The vehicle was obscured by a fallen tree and difficult to see from the road, the coroner’s office said. A Miller County deputy who was searching the area found it.

Foul play is not suspected, and the coroner says the death appears consistent with a car crash. The investigation is ongoing.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man was sentenced to 30 years in state prison Friday after he pleaded guilty to a Christmas 2023 murder.

Jeffrey E. Skaggs pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and child endangerment before Judge Brouck Jacobs. Jacbos sentenced Skaggs to 30 years in prison for murder and seven years for child endangerment.

The sentences will be served concurrently. Skaggs will receive credit for time served.

Skaggs was charged in January 2024 with the death of a 41-year-old woman in the 6000 block of East O’Rear Road. Authorities have not publicly identified the victim. That June, a grand jury indicted him on a charge of first-degree murder.

Skaggs allegedly admitted to assaulting the woman moments before she died, according to court documents. Deputies say a video recording from the victim’s cellphone showed part of the assault, which allegedly showed Skaggs assaulting the woman while she was holding her 1-year-old child.

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