Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The University of Missouri Police Department is looking for a man who allegedly exposed himself Wednesday afternoon near Stankowski Field.

A press release from MUPD says witnesses saw the man expose himself before leaving. The release says he was last seen driving a white 2024 Volkswagen Jetta with a Minnesota license plate that reads RAX207.

Stankowski Field is located on Tiger Avenue between Kentucky Boulevard and Rollins Street, near University Hospital.

The investigation is ongoing. MUPD is encouraging anyone with information to call 573-882-7201 or Crimestoppers at 573-875-8477.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

A former University of Missouri basketball prospect accused of sexual assault is set to be in the Boone County Courthouse for a preliminary hearing on Thursday.

Keiner Asprilla, 18, was charged with first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy and second-degree kidnapping. A police report states the alleged assault happened in September at the Tiger Hotel in downtown Columbia when Asprilla was at the University of Missouri for a campus visit.

In a probable cause statement, the victim said she was drunk and with friends who met up with a group of men. Her friends “went to do something else,” and then she went to the Tiger Hotel with Asprilla and his group.

Asprilla allegedly asked the other men to leave so he could be alone with the victim, according to court documents. The victim rejected multiple advances and actions, but the victim stated that Asprilla sexually assaulted them more than once.

Asprilla is being charged as an adult after a petition was filed in juvenile court in January.

Asprilla will be at the Boone County Courthouse on Thursday at 9 a.m. before Judge Kimberly Shaw.

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Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the “one big beautiful bill” touted by President Donald Trump in the early hours of Thursday morning, a sweeping tax and immigration package that includes significant reductions to Medicaid and Medicare funding.

Among the biggest impacts is a $700 billion cut to Medicaid throughout the next decade. Advocates say that could leave millions of Americans, especially low-income families in Missouri, without health coverage.

“Medicaid helps keep Missourians healthy so they can work, succeed in school and contribute to their communities, and about 9-in-10 Missourians with Medicaid health insurance are already working or qualify for an exemption because of a disability, caregiving, or school,” said Amy Blouin, president and CEO of the Missouri Budget Project.

Missouri Budget Project spokesperson Traci Gleason said the impacts could be widespread.

“It’s estimated at least 90,000 Missourians would lose medicaid just based on one provision of the bill, broader health care provisions suggest that about 200,000 Missourians would lose health care,” Gleason said. “Even if those populations aren’t targeted by the cuts that were made in the bill the additional red tape and administrative provisions will result in health care cuts for all Missourians,”

Provisions include, work requirements that would apply to recipients without disabilities between 18-65 years old who do not have a child younger than 7 years old.

Other provisions include, frequent eligibility checks, cutting federal funds to states that use Medicaid infrastructure to provide health care coverage to undocumented immigrants and banning Medicaid from covering gender transition services for children and adults.

The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that more than 1 million Missouri residents are enrolled in Medicaid.

Medicare could also be cut by about $500 billion. These cuts could decrease access to care and increase out-of-pocket costs, especially for seniors. In Missouri, rural hospitals would be directly impacted, as many are already on the brink of closure and rely on Medicaid to keep doors open.

“Medicaid helps rural health care providers stay afloat so they can serve everyone in their communities,” Blouin said. “Many rural hospitals are already on the brink of closing, and decreased Medicaid funding could push them over the edge.”

“The loss of Medicaid patients and Medicaid dollars means a lot of those folks are going to shut down and rural Missourians won’t be able to access care or will have to drive a lot further to be able to be seen,” Gleason added.

The bill includes a $300 billion cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The cuts would put the cost on states and families

“SNAP benefits are spent directly in local stores,” Blouin said. “Federal funds from both programs directly support critical jobs in our communities, which then fuels additional economic activity in Missouri.”

The Missouri Hospital Association said in a statement “Although the U.S. House has adopted a bill, the Senate will now work on their own version of the legislation. We can’t know what differences might arise from their version of the legislation. Massive cuts to either program would be devastating for enrollees and providers. Where cuts are made matters relative to that harm. Additionally, large scale cuts could blow an enormous hole in the state’s budget. We are at the end of the first phase of a negotiation. Until the Senate alternatives appear, it’s all speculation. However, the House’s version represents powerful storm clouds on the horizon for Medicare, Medicaid and the millions of Missourians who count on the coverage they provide.”

The bill now heads to the Senate, where pushback and changes are possible.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A press release from AAA shows that drivers in Columbia are paying more for gas this upcoming holiday weekend than anyone else in the state.

The average price of fuel at Columbia gas stations is $2.98 per gallon of regular unleaded fuel, according to AAA. The statewide average is $2.87 per gallon, while the national average is $3.19. The state average is 34 cents lower than the same day last year and the national average is 42 cents lower, according to the release.

The lowest prices in the state can be found in Joplin at $2.78 per gallon. Information provided by AAA shows that Jefferson City and Kansas City are sitting at $2.94 per gallon and are at 45-cent and 17-cent decreases from a year ago, respectively.

St. Louis is seeing prices at $2.88 per gallon, which is 30 cents lower than last year, the report shows. Cape Girardeau is at an average of $2.82, which is 39 cents lower than last year.

The release says the price decreases are from a result of “declining crude oil prices and healthy gasoline supply.” The release also says that gas demand decreased from 8.79 barrels per day last year to 8.64 million.

The release says this is the lowest Memorial Day gas prices since 2021.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia Public Schools will have its last day of classes on Friday.

CPS wrote in an email to students’ families that state officials gave the district a waiver allowing classes to be out of session next Tuesday. The district had planned for a shortened day Tuesday — one day after Memorial Day — to meet state requirements for instruction time before the waiver was granted.

Friday will be an early release day, the district says.

The email thanks families for being patient and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for reevaluating the case and granted the waiver after initially denying it.

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Jessica Hafner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

As of this week, Missouri leads the nation in the number of tornado warnings issued since Jan. 1, with 140 more warnings than normal.

The severe weather season ramped up in March and has been relentless ever since. Missouri typically averages around 50 tornadoes (2000-2024 average), and we have had more than 60 confirmed so far since Jan. 1.

Flooding was also an issue at the end of March into early April across southern and southeast Missouri, and on a day with multiple tornadoes reported, we also had dozens of wildfires raging across the state.

SEMA spoke with ABC 17 News on a rare quiet day in early May, as staff regrouped following damaging winds in the Springfield area. SEMA Director Jim Remillard said his decades of work with the Missouri State Highway Patrol prepared him for the role, but the experiences are always personal, no matter the magnitude of the storm.

“I always try to be very conscious of it’s an individual experience. It could just be five houses that are damaged or destroyed, but it’s five homeowners and five properties that we need to be aware of,” he said. “I try to remember the fact that it’s personal to the people experiencing the event.”

Before and after the storm

The National Weather Service in St. Louis provides briefings, and staffing is arranged ahead of time according to the forecast and expected severity of the incoming storms.

That staffing, or emergency support functions, consists of MSHP, MoDOT and the Missouri Division of Fire Safety. When severe weather is likely, those staff members report to the State Emergency Management Operations Center in Jefferson City.

In some cases, the forecast can warrant a preemptive state of emergency declaration from the governor, which allows for a faster post-storm response.

“It allows the state to respond to the community needs, and most of those are emergency protective measures just to save life,” Remillard said. “It allows us to rent generators to provide emergency life support, those types of things.”

Gov. Mike Kehoe said advancements in technology over the past several years have reduced response time following disasters.

“Our predictability, working with our partners at the National Weather Service and weather experts about what’s going to happen, has really allowed us to get a little bit more in front of these storms,” Kehoe said. “For both the tornadoes and flooding [earlier this spring], we were able to declare a disaster earlier to activate the National Guard and get some more preparedness out in the communities. Task Force 1 was deployed in advance as well. With technology, we can now geofence where those units are in certain areas. We can identify the commanders on the ground to make sure they know not only is that community in peril, but your personnel, make sure they’re in a safe place.”

Geographic information systems mapping is a newer tool that SEMA uses to keep track of damage assessments, tornado paths, pictures and incident reports.

“The nature of GIS is spatially related, so the types of information can vary a lot. We map damage assessments collected by the National Weather Service whenever they go out to survey after an event, as well as information from some of our strike teams, like Task Force 1. We’re also taking in weather data, so making sure that’s tracked so we have good indicators on what is the severity of the event in different portions of the state,” SEMA GIS specialist Lucius Creamer said.

GIS specialists can also keep an eye on hot spots to stay ahead of potential wildfires using satellites, and potential levee failures in flooding situations by using flood inundation mapping provided by NOAA.

After a storm hits, partners at the SEOC begin communicating with local emergency managers to get a grasp of the situation in their counties and from there dispatch troopers for life-saving response. Regional coordinators then go in and analyze the damage and assess the need for public and or individual assistance.

Damage assessments

To request a joint assessment with the federal government for public assistance, the total statewide damage cost must meet or exceed around $11.6 million. The table below shows the threshold each county in Mid-Missouri must meet. Individual assistance is a bit more subjective and depends on the number of homes and degree of damage.

County
Damage threshold

Audrain
$119,482.08

Benton
$91,539.68

Boone
$866,639.20

Callaway
$209,015.76

Camden
$201,756.40

Chariton
$34,965.76

Cole
$364,756.88

Cooper
$80,726.16

Gasconade
$69,827.68

Howard
$47,912.72

Macon
$71,786.48

Maries
$39,799.04

Miller
$116,687.84

Moniteau
$73,032.56

Monroe
$40,903.52

Montgomery
$53,439.84

Morgan
$99,148.32

Osage
$62,653.28

Pettis
$202,865.60

Phelps
$210,691.36

Pulaski
$254,667.60

Randolph
$116,659.52

Saline
$110,131.76

Kehoe has requested joint damage assessments with FEMA in coordination with SEMA for rounds of severe storms in March and April, and most recently following an EF-3 tornado that tore through St. Louis and claimed five lives on May 16.

Another tornado killed two people in southeast Missouri that same day.

State Disaster Recovery Coordinator Amanda Wilbers works with the state’s recovery support functions, including community assistance, health and human services, infrastructure, housing and agriculture. Ten regional coordinators are positioned across the state to scope out damage and relay needs back to SEMA.

Wilbers said one of the most important things people can do before a disaster is make sure they’re insured.

“We show up in communities that have just been devastated by a tornado, and a lot of the people didn’t have insurance or even renter’s insurance. So it’s very difficult to see that someone who maybe was already struggling to survive or with poverty has now lost their home in addition to that,” she said.

Destructive storms can turn neighborhoods upside down in a matter of minutes, leaving people wondering where to turn for help. That’s where faith-based and non-governmental organizations step in.

State Preparedness Coordinator Melissa Friel helps get those boots on the ground immediately.

“We work collaboratively to make sure that Missourians receive the greatest resources possible. You know, in Missouri, we have so many old big trees that fall on properties and fall on houses. They remove those kinds of debris. They feed folks, shelter them, provide emergency supplies like rakes, shovels, and also financial assistance to those impacted by storms,” said Friel. “They were in Joplin for about 10 years before the community was completely recovered.”

She said some of those same organizations were in Jefferson City for years following the 2019 tornado, a storm that hit too close to home.

“You go into these impacted areas and provide assistance, but there’s something different of being in your own community. I was listening to the scanners that night as we were monitoring the situation, and I’d hear a firefighter’s voice, ‘there’s so and so speaking,’ you just hear the timbre of the voice and the concern they’re having. These are our neighborhoods, these are our neighbors, our friends who were impacted, so that was truly an interesting and unique experience,” Friel said.

Being prepared

Almost every corner of Missouri has been touched by severe weather this spring. The most recent violent storm packed winds of 150 miles per hour as it tore through parts of St. Louis on May 16.

The severe weather season isn’t over, so it’s important to keep practicing your safety plan.

“Who are you going to call in a disaster, what are you going to do, if you don’t have a basement, where are going to go to be safe when Channel 17 lets us know there’s severe weather on the way? Who are your outside contacts? Oftentimes, phone systems get jammed, but you can text. I learned that in Joplin. I was able to text with our responders on the ground in Joplin,” Friel said.

May 22 marks 14 years since an EF-5 tornado hit Joplin, killing 161 people. Locally, it marks six years since an EF-3 damaged Jefferson City. Both communities came back together, stronger.

“It’s tragic, and to see what happens to these communities, your heart certainly goes out to them. But just as soon as you see tragedy you also see Missouri greatness. You see people coming out of nowhere, helping neighbors and helping people they’ve never met before. And you see communities get together and respond. In a little town, Piedmont, in the March storms, all of a sudden churches start opening up their basements, food pantries sprung up. People just start helping others when they really had no other place to go. It’s very inspiring to see how Missourians react to help each other, because we really are a great state and we have big hearts,” Kehoe said.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Randolph County received a “poor” rating in an audit by the state auditor’s office after the review turned up “numerous mistakes” made by the county clerk’s office.

The auditor’s office announced on Thursday that the clerk failed to comply with state law, which will require the Higbee Fire Protection District to put a bond issue up to voters for a third time.

The clerk made “made numerous errors when reporting the assessed valuation of each taxing jurisdiction, and may have caused the county to collect excessive property taxes,” a press release says.

When the Higbee Fire Protection District tried to register the bonds with the auditor’s office, the office determined the August and November elections did not comply with state law because sample ballots were not published.

Higbee FPD asked for a bond measure twice last year, which was approved by voters both times. An August release from HFPD said a clerical error led to the wrong amount being put on the August ballot and required a new vote.

“This audit has revealed serious failures within the County Clerk’s Office that need to be addressed immediately. A lack of understanding of how to carry out the duties of the office has caused significant errors in assessed valuation totals for every taxing district in the county, and will force taxpayers to pay for a third election to approve bonds to be issued for the Higbee Fire Protection District due to failing to properly notify voters. These kinds of mistakes simply can’t happen, but because they did, our report gives the office a set of recommendations that, if followed, will prevent such egregious errors from happening again,” Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick said in the release.

The audit also found that County Clerk Terri Maddox reported incorrect assessed valuation totals for the 2024 tax year.

Overpayment of sheriff

The audit also states that the County Commission authorized mid-term salary increases to the sheriff totaling $42,804, in violation of constitutional provisions and state law. Aaron Wilson was the sheriff in 2024.

The audit says the county clerk said the commission “believed it was required to increase the Sheriff’s salary due to the change in state law. The County Commission did not seek a written legal opinion on this matter; however, the County Clerk did discuss the issue with an attorney and the issue of a mid-term salary increase was mentioned.”

It states that the sheriff received $22,343 in excess compensation.

“Because the salary increase was greater than $10,000, the amount should have been paid in 5 annual installments. However, the County Commission increased the rate of pay for the sheriff 6 times between March 2022 and July 2024 as detailed in Appendix A,” the audit states.

Wilson denies he was overpaid.

“SB510 repealed the mid-term pay stating it was constitutional and allowed. The county commission did everything correct per statute,” Wilson wrote in a text message to an ABC 17 News reporter.

Other issues found through the audit included the public administrator not filing 10 settlements within a timely manner, the commission not complying with Sunshine Law by not adequately documenting closed meetings and that the county is without a records management policy with electronic compliance with the Missouri Secretary of State Records Services Division.

Randolph County auditDownload

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Mitchell Kaminski

Editor’s note: Information about the flights was updated after a source error was corrected.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

United Airlines will start flying again out of Columbia in the fall after nearly four years without local flights.

City officials in a Thursday news conference announced the resumption of United service on Sept. 25 at Columbia Regional Airport. The carrier will schedule two flights daily to Chicago O’Hare and once daily to Denver. 

Reservations for flights became available at 5 p.m. Thursday on United’s website.. Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe said during Thursday’s press conference that Denver was one of the city’s most underserved business markets. 

“We’ve heard back from the business community that they have multiple, whether it is a conference or they have another satellite office in the Denver area, but also just that additional going west, an additional opportunity to go west will connect them to even more destinations that help them recruit and retain their business interests here,” Buffaloe told ABC 17 News. 

A 2025 community summit report from the city found Denver was the top choice for a new direct flight from Columbia Regional Airport. Denver received 28 of the 89 total votes, leading a list of destinations that included New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Orlando, Houston and Washington, D.C.

New York came in second with 14 votes.

University of Missouri System President Mun Choi also spoke at the news conference, highlighting the 3,000-4,000 MU students who live in the Chicago area. The flights will also expand the university’s reach in Denver, he said.

“We also have a very big market of potential students in the Denver region. So this is another way for us to expand to the reach of Columbia University, Missouri, to those markets,” Choi said during Thursday’s press conference. 

City officials said in November that they had received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to resume flight service to Denver. Those flights were halted amid lagging ridership in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Airport Manager Mike Parks said the city and United have been in conversations during the intervening period.

“We had a great relationship with United while they were here. We’ve continued that relationship, continuing to have a conversation with them about the mid-Missouri need for that service to return to Columbia,” Parks said. 

United will operate a CRJ-550 for the Chicago flights, according to a City of Columbia release.

American Airlines already offers multiple local flights a day to and from Chicago and Dallas/Ft. Worth.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City man on Thursday was charged in Cole County with having child pornography.

Austin Russell, 27, is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says the Boone County Sheriff’s Office Cyber Crimes Task Force received a tip on Jan. 3 from an online-based reporting system about multiple child porn files being uploaded. The platform was not identified in court documents.

The statement says that law enforcement received information from an internet provide rabout an IP address registered at Russell’s address.

Russell was interviewed on Wednesday at the Jefferson City Police Department and stated the email address associated with the account was his, the statement says. He also allegedly identified images associated with the account, the statement says. He allegedly sent images to other users he communicated with, court documents claim.

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Matthew Sanders

The Pentagon made it official Wednesday — the government has accepted a gift of a Qatari plane meant to replace the aging Air Force One.

President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would accept the Boeing 747 as a gift from the government of Qatar was met with strong opposition, including from some in his own party. Opponents point to security worries, Qatar’s history of backing terrorism and whether Qatar will expect something in return for the gift.

Do you think the government should have accepted Qatar’s offer? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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