Category: kmiz-local-news

Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Thousands of fans are expected to return to Memorial Stadium Saturday as the Mizzou Tigers are set to face the University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns at noon.

Mizzou Athletics announced Thursday that the game, originally scheduled to start at 3 p.m., would be moved up to noon to avoid the worst of the extreme heat forecast this weekend.

Due to the heat, fans are allowed to bring one sealed disposable water bottle. Refill stations will be open inside the stadium.

To help promote safety and a positive game day experience, Mizzou Athletics asks fans to be responsible and follow tailgating rules.

Any tents or canopies cannot be bigger than 10 feet by 10 feet and are not allowed to block sidewalks or driving lanes. Both gas and charcoal grills are not allowed in the grass. Fire pits are not allowed in tailgate lots.

At each lot, parking attendants will have free blue recycling bags that fans are encouraged to use. There are also designated hot coal bins at the entrances of every lot to prevent fires. All hot coals that are used for grilling must be completely put out and thrown away.

Generators are prohibited from campus parking garages and must have a muffler to keep noise down.

Personal drones are not allowed on Mizzou property and all animals must be leashed and cleaned up after.

Noisemakers, pets and any signs larger than two feet by three feet are not allowed inside the stadium.

When entering the stadium, fans are asked to avoid bringing a bag into the stadium. However, small clutches and large plastic bags are allowed.

Any bags that are larger than 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches must be clear and not exceed 12 inches by 6 inches by 12 inches. This can be a standard clear tote or a one-gallon plastic freezer bag.

Popular bags like backpacks, fanny packs, and cinched bags are not allowed.

Every fan is allowed one bag and can also put extra items on their person in their pockets or around their neck. In the case of needing a non-approved bag for medical reasons, fans are encouraged to call ahead to verify if they qualify. Fans with medical exceptions also need to go through special screening at gates 2W and 2E.

The university asks fans to remain respectful and to report any dangerous or disruptive behavior to a university official.

Fans are also reminded to follow the new stadium entry rules to help with foot traffic during construction. This requires all fans to enter the venue on the same side of the stadium as their seats for the remainder of the 2025 season. Ticket scanners will not grant access to fans who attempt to enter from the incorrect side.

Click here to follow the original article.

Meghan Drakas

MILLER Co. (KMIZ)

A Miller County mother is searching for answers as Friday marks the fourth anniversary of her son’s disappearance.

“It’s difficult, it’s always going to be difficult until we have some answers,” Chyenne Noriega said. “But I have my four other boys that have kind of helped pull me together and keep the family strong.”

David Michael Bowers Jr, center right, with family. (credit: Chyenne Noriega)

18-year-old David Michael Bowers Jr. was last seen on Sept. 12, 2021, in Affton, Missouri.

His mother, Chyenne Noriega said her eldest of five went missing while he was on a trip with some people. She says the group claims their car broke down, and when police arrived at the scene, Bowers ran off.

In August 2024, the Miller County Sheriff’s Office said the case was still an active investigation and it had followed up on many leads, but the agency has not posted about the case since.

Noriega said initially she felt the case fell through the cracks for the Sheriff’s Office, but since last year, she says there has been more communication with their family. She says in the last year, law enforcement has told her one of the people with Bowers that night took and passed a polygraph test.

“I would like to know what he was asked specifically and kind of how that went,” Noriega said. “They have talked to one of the other individuals that kind of held on to the same story. He also agreed to take a polygraph, but he hasn’t been scheduled to do so yet.”

David Michael Bowers Jr. (credit: Chyenne Noriega)

She said if the people who were with her son that night are telling the truth, it gives her some hope.

“Maybe he did, you know, actually run off and could be somewhere,” Noreiga said. “We don’t know if he would willingly be somewhere…it’s St. Louis, so you know, it’s not a very safe place to be, especially if you’re not familiar with [it]. He did suffer with some mental health issues, so it’s very [possible] that he could be out there and not know who he is.”

Bower’s mother says she wants to continue to get the word out about her son’s story because she says there’s a possibility he is still alive.

David Michael Bowers Jr. (credit: Chyenne Noriega)

Friday night, the family held a candlelight vigil at the Bagnell Dam Overlook in Lake Ozark.

“We’ve done these in the past years, and of course, we always hope that we don’t have to do another one,” Noriega said. “But until we have answers, we will continue to keep doing it and bring attention to him.”

His mother said the overlook was a place her son liked to visit. She says she misses hearing her son’s laugh.

“His laugh is so distinguishable from anyone else’s laugh,” Noriega said. “He could be in another room with his brothers and they’d be playing a game or wrestling around or something…just hearing his laugh, I miss it.”

Noriega says she prays every day, and her son is the first thing that comes to mind when she wakes up and the last thing she thinks about at the end of the day.

David Michael Bowers Jr. (credit: Chyenne Noriega)

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said Bowers was last seen in a white and black hoodie, jeans and white tennis shoes. The patrol said he has dreadlocks with blonde and green tints, multiple scars on his arms and several tattoos, including an eye image on his right thumb and a tattoo of Homer Simpson. Noriega said the family has since realized the tattoo is of Bart Simpson, not Homer.

Tattoo of Bart Simpson on the arm of David Michael Bowers Jr. (credit: Chyenne Noriega)

Bowers stands at 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighs 128 pounds.

ABC 17 News asked the Miller County Sheriff’s Office for an update on the case, but did not hear back.

If you have any information, contact the Miller County Sheriff’s Office at 573-369-2341.

Click here to follow the original article.

Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Housing Authority on Monday started the demolition of the Park Avenue public housing apartments, to replace 79 units aged units.

Demolition began this week on the first two blocks, with the third block scheduled to come down sometime next year. In total, 70 units will be torn down and replaced with 79 updated units. According to Columbia Housing Authority CEO Randy Cole, 50 of those units will be removed during the first phase.

The apartments, originally built in 1964, have exceeded its life cycles and suffer from poor insulation, deteriorating foundations, outdated electrical systems and failing HVAC systems. The upgraded units will offer between one and four bedrooms.

“Each unit will be very energy efficient and built to high standards,” Cole said. “They’ll have dishwashers, high-speed internet, quality finishes, a very good-quality project. It’ll be really nice housing for our residents for many years to come.”

The resource center on site will also be upgraded and will include the Annie Fisher Food Pantry that has provided 100,000 pounds of food to residents. It will also offer a meeting space for staff and nonprofits.

“The county has put $5 million in ARPA funding, and the city put in $2 million as well,” Cole said. “Plus another million dollars of CDBG funds, and then we had over close to $14 million in tax credits through the Missouri Housing Development Commission for the project, and then we also have some equity and long-term financing into the project as well,”

When the project was first proposed, the estimated cost was $23 million. But due to inflation, that figure has now increased to $27 million.

After demolition is complete, Cole said the next step will be to prepare the site for construction. That includes extensive site work such a soil preparation and infrastructure installation. The goal is to pour the foundations before winter so walls can go up soon after.

“We’ll see some buildings come online mid-next year on these first two blocks and once those are ready, we’ll move people back in,” Cole said. “We’ll also move people in from across the street to the north, and so once we get that fully cleared, we’ll start in on demolition on that project as well.”

The second phase of the project, which includes units on the north side, is expected to be completed in 2027. Residents were relocated about a month ago, according to Cole. The Columbia Housing Authority covered all moving expenses.

“It means a lot to our residents, they really like living here downtown, really close to jobs, amenities, all kinds of good things to be close to walkability, “Cole said. “I think the community investing so much in our residents as really a state matter for how much we value, people in our community and value them having nice, affordable, high quality housing.”

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 75-year-old woman from Versailles had to be flown to University Hospital on Friday afternoon after she was seriously injured in a crash, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The crash occurred in Route MM, east of Spruce Lane, in Camden County.

The report says the crash happened as the 2019 Can Am BRP – driven by the woman – was heading westbound when it overturned. The woman was ejected from the vehicle, the report says.

She was wearing a safety device, the report says. The vehicle had minor damage.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

Click here to follow the original article.

ABC 17 News Team

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri high school football kicked off Week 2 of the 2025 season on Friday.

Scores from Mid-Missouri teams are posted below.

Click here to follow the original article.

Meghan Drakas

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Love Columbia says the construction of its new Love Forward Homes apartment complex is going well and it will start welcoming families in January.

“We are thankful to the many skilled workers in Columbia who have kept us on track,” Love Columbia spokesperson Caroline Roush wrote in an email.

The complex in downtown Columbia will have six, three-bedroom units and four, two-bedroom units that can house up to 10 families in the Love Forward Homes Program.

The Love Forward Complex on East Ash Street in Columbia on Sept. 12, 2025.

Individuals in the program can get four-to-nine months of housing in a transitional home with financial, housing and career coaching. During this time, Love Columbia says families save 30% of their income to pay off debt or to pay for future housing expenses, such as a deposit on an apartment.

Love Columbia says in 2024, it provided 4,144 hotel nights to 162 households along with 1,788 nights of shelter to 13 families in the Love Forward Homes program.

A look inside the Love Forward Homes Complex on East Ash Street in Columbia on Sept. 12, 2025.

The complex broke ground in October 2024 on East Ash Street. Love Columbia shared a video on social media, showing the progress of the buildings construction. Roush said Love Columbia is hoping to have access to the completed building by December to fully furnish it.

Love Columbia says the estimated cost for the apartment complex is $3.4 million and is being paid for with federal American Rescue Plan Act money from the city and Boone County, which kickstarted the original plan for a six-unit complex. In March 2024, the project was estimated to cost $1.6 million. Love Columbia says after a $1.1 million gift from The Crossing Church, the plan expanded to a 10-apartment complex.

Love Forward Homes Complex in downtown Columbia in early March 2025.

Love Columbia says additional groups — including the William Guitar Little Foundation — have partnered with the organization to help bring this 10-plex to life.

The expansion of the complex along with inflation costs helped to add to the larger final costs, the group says. Roush said the early estimate of $1.6 million did also not include furnishings, a playground, fencing, city permitting and fees for the design.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The University of Missouri has again declined an application submitted by Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine that would have allowed the group to participate in this year’s homecoming parade.

A university spokesman wrote in an email on Friday that the group was declined participation because of “safety concerns.”

MSJP was barred from participating from last year’s parade for similarly cited reasons. Previous letters to the group issued by UM President Mun Choi cited disturbances at other campuses, as well as “actions of some MSJP members at Speakers Circle on Oct. 7,” previous reporting shows.

“Yes, the Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine application to participate in the 2025 Homecoming Parade was not approved due to safety concerns for members of the organization and other homecoming participants,” university spokesman Travis Zimpfer wrote in an email to ABC 17 News. “Given the university’s commitment to the right to freedom of expression, the university has offered to provide another location on the day of Homecoming Parade for the group to share their perspectives.”

This comes as the university says it has updated its policy on what is accepted at the parade and a lawsuit was filed last month by CAIR — the largest Muslim civil rights organization in the country.

According to the policy, the purposes of the parade are to: 

Celebrate MU’s traditions and accomplishments

Cultivate alumni connections

Honor University-selected achievements of MU students, personnel and alumni

Rally support and enthusiasm for the homecoming football game

The policy also reads: 

“It is not an open forum for expression on topics identified by participants, but rather is limited to expression on topics identified by the University for the purposes noted above. The University provides ample other opportunities for participants to express themselves on topics of interest to them.” 

Previous reporting indicates MSPJ argued that before the group’s application was denied for last year’s parade, the university asked the student group to not carry a banner reading “END THE GENOCIDE,” despite allowing fraternities to display “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN” banners. 

ABC 17 News has reached out to MSJP.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

Editor’s note: The headline and lead have been clarified.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson will not file charges in a fatal shooting that occurred in May at the Nifong Boulevard McDonald’s.

No charges will be filed against Ryan Woods. Johnson in a letter to the Columbia Police Department claimed that Woods shot in self-defense after a fit of road rage was reported.

“We have concluded that Ryan Woods’s actions were justified as self-defense and defense of another,” Johnson wrote in the letter.

A man and a woman were shot the afternoon of May 18. Police previously said Derek Gonzalez, 32, of Columbia, was pronounced dead at an area hospital after he and another driver “encountered each other in traffic” that day. The drivers pulled into a McDonald’s parking lot and fired shots at each other, police wrote earlier this year.

“The incident began on Grindstone Parkway near Hawaiian Brothers, where a blue Hyundai Elantra driven by Derek Gonzalez pulled out in front of a black Dodge Caravan driven by Ryan Woods. Woods stated he had to swerve to avoid a collision. Gonzalez then got behind the Caravan and began following Woods and Crawford. Woods continued to the McDonald’s parking lot where he pulled into the drive-through line,” the letter says.

The letter goes on to say that Woods fired a warning shot at the McDonald’s building after Gonzalez punched out the driver-side window of Woods’ vehicle. Gonzalez then fired a shot into Woods’ vehicle multiple times, hitting a woman in Woods’ vehicle.

In an interview with ABC 17 News, Johnson described how he thinks Gonzalez could have felt like he was defending himself following Wood’s warning shot.

“If you’re the initial aggressor in a fight, you can’t use self-defense. So if you start a fight, or start even threatening that you’re going to injure somebody, you can’t use self-defense unless you withdraw and clearly communicate to the other person that you want to end the fight,” Johnson said.

Woods then allegedly got out of the vehicle while Gonzalez had his gun pointed at him, the letter says. Woods then fired a shot and kicked away Gonzalez’s gun, documents say. The letter says Woods then put his gun away in his car and immediately called 911.

Johnson called the state’s self-defense laws broad and emphasized the importance of understanding them.

“In Missouri, if somebody believes that they’re in imminent risk of deadly force, that could be if you’re pointing a gun in their direction,”John said. “Under some circumstances you could open yourself up to getting shot.” 

Police at the time claimed that no charges would be filed, but said in May the investigation was ongoing.

“After a thorough review, we have determined the evidence does not support criminal charges against Mr. Woods. This is a tragic loss of life, and our hearts go out to Mr. Gonzalez’s family. At the same time, the evidence shows Mr. Woods acted in lawful self-defense under the laws of Missouri,” the conclusion of the letter says.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Prosecutors in Boone County are considering reducing charges for a man charged with murder in a 2023 overdose death

Derek Miltimore, 33, of Columbia, is charged with second-degree felony murder, delivery of a controlled substance, second-degree drug trafficking, two counts of drug possession, one count of unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action. He is being held without bond at the Boone County Jail.

Prosecutors on Thursday filed a proposal to get rid of the charges of murder and delivery of a controlled substance.

Miltimore is one of two people accused in the May 2, 2023, death caused by fentanyl overdose.

Chase Rieves, 34, of Columbia, was also charged in the case with second-degree felony murder, delivery of a controlled substance and drug possession. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. He has a jury trial scheduled for June 2026 and an arraignment set for 1:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20, 2025.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Pulaski County school was put on a temporary lockdown on Thursday as a man was getting arrested.

Ronald Brown, of Orrick, Missouri, was charged with resisting arrest. A warrant was ordered on Friday and no hearings have been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says law enforcement tried to serve a warrant at a Crocker, Missouri, address for Stephen Jenkins in relation to drug charges. That man was not home but he was found in a vehicle later with Brown.

As police served that warrant, they asked for Brown’s information and he started walking away, the statement says. Police told him to stop, but Brown then ran away to a wooded area near the Crocker School District, the statement says.

The school was put on a lockdown as Brown was detained, the statement says. Brown allegedly told law enforcement that he ran away because he had an active warrant, court documents say.

Click here to follow the original article.