Category: kmiz-local-news

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The University of Missouri Athletic Department is changing how students can claim their tickets for football games after widespread issues occurred while trying to get tickets to this past week’s game against Kansas.

A university spokesman shared an email showing the school is switching to a lottery system.

“The long ticket queue? Gone. The queue’s occasional technology hiccups? Gone. The Monday morning claim time? Gone,” an email sent to students says.

The school says students will receive a link each Monday before Game Day to enter their names into the lottery. They have until 11:59 p.m. Monday to enter and will be notified by Wednesday morning. The chances of getting a ticket is dependent on the class a student is considered, along with what game is upcoming, the email shows.

The email says this is how tickets will be allocated:

Louisiana (Saturday, Sept. 13)

30% to freshmen, 30% to sophomores, 20% to juniors, 20% to seniors and up

South Carolina (Saturday, Sept. 20)

30% to freshmen, 30% to sophomores, 20% to juniors, 20% to seniors and up

UMass (Saturday, Sept. 27)

30% to seniors and up, 30% to juniors, 20% to sophomores, 20% to freshmen

Alabama (Saturday, Oct. 11)

30% to seniors and up, 30% to juniors, 20% to sophomores, 20% to freshmen

Texas A&M (Saturday, Nov. 8)

30% to freshmen, 30% to sophomores, 20% to juniors, 20% to seniors and up

Mississippi State (Saturday, Nov. 15)

30% to seniors and up, 30% to juniors, 20% to sophomores, 20% to freshmen

If there are not enough students from a particular class entering the weekly lottery, the rest of the tickets will be distributed equally among the rest of the classes, the email indicates.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The family of a woman killed in a crash on Highway 63 claims the manufacturer of Jeep failed to install safety features that could have prevented the deadly collision.

The family of Ashley Apel filed the wrongful death lawsuit in Boone County court on Wednesday against FCA USA and Stellantis. The lawsuit claims the crash was caused by defective equipment in the Jeep that hit Apel’s vehicle.

The petition accuses FCA and Stellantis of strict liability and negligence in Apel’s death, as well as negligence by Garrett Hunt, of Higbee, the driver of the Jeep.

Apel was one  one of the three people who died in the Jan. 23 crash that occurred near Breedlove Drive. The vehicle was stopped in traffic because of another crash when a Jeep rear-ended it, killing her. She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report.

Summons were issued for the defendants on Wednesday. Apel was a teacher at the Moberly School District. Other teachers were also injured in the crash, the school district said earlier this year.

Hunt is also facing criminal charges for his role in the crash, including illegally using an electronic device in a crash that resulted in a death and two misdemeanors: Reckless driving and illegally using an electronic device in a crash where someone was seriously injured. A hearing is scheduled in that case for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14.

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

University of Missouri leaders gathered Thursday to announce the groundbreaking for two new additions to the University of Missouri Research Reactor facility.

The UM Board of Curators approved the additions in its April 2024 meeting.

The first addition will include 11,200 square feet and house three production lines for making FDA-approved lutetium-177. The second addition will be 17,900 square feet and provide space for storage and support functions for the API production lines.

Lutetium-177 is an active pharmaceutical ingredient used in cancer-fighting drugs. University officials say these new additions will greatly increase the number of medical doses available for patients around the world.

“The University of Missouri is the only producer of Lutetium-177 in the nation, and we are treating hundreds of thousands of patients per year,” MURR Executive Director Matt Sanford.

Mike Mangano, president of ABK Biomedical a MURR partner, spoke at the ground-breaking ceremony about the impacts already being seen in clinical trials of the drugs being made at the facility.

“Our third patient just had a liver transplant last week and so we have at least three patients that are completely cured of cancer,” Mangano said.

The drugs being made at the MURR facility aren’t just for liver cancer. MURR is the only source in the United States for four medical radioisotopes used to treat more than a dozen types of cancers

“We use it for all kinds of cancers, particularly for our company, bone cancer has been one of those. We’re doing a lot of work now in pancreatic cancer in these areas,” Steve Ellebracht, of IsoTherapeutics, said.

Dale Klein, a former commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said the new additions will help define the future of nuclear science.

“Future engineers, radio chemists, medical researchers and regulatory leaders. Every time a student stands at the console of the reactor or works in the labs, they’re taking part in a tradition of excellence that spans decades,” Klein said.

UM System President Mun Choi said that the university projects the new additions will bring thousands of jobs to the region.

“With our current capabilities and facilities we have about 300 people that work at that facility 24/7. So we want to have a facility that is double the size plus combined that with manufacturing jobs that we’re able to attract with clinical studies that can be done,” Choi said. “Manufacturing plants, logistics distribution center, hospitals that have more capabilities for first-of-a-kind clinical trial that will bring in more economic development to this region.”

Choi said the two new additions discussed at Thursday’s ceremony are industry funded and will cost about $50 million. The university expects them to open within the next two years, according to Choi.

The university is also continuing to plan and design of its MURR Next Gen facility on Discovery Parkway in Columbia, securing $40 million to build another radioisotope facility with that development.

“We’re going to have a tour of the of the manufacturing plant in Korea later this year, which will help us help inform how best to make the design of that reactor,” Choi said.

The university plans to have the MURR Next Gen facility finished within the next eight years. Choi explained their biggest roadblock right now is funding the project. The University is in the thick of raising the funds for the $1 billion bill that comes with the build.

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Alison Patton

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The first meeting of Gov. Mike Kehoe’s special session starts Thursday at noon with the special redistricting committee.

This committee will hear testimonies from the public on House Bill 1, and then go into executive session right after to discuss the proposed legislation, committee chair Richard West (R-Wentzville) said Wednesday.

The meeting will proceed despite the NAACP’s attempts to stop the session with a temporary restraining order, according to previous ABC 17 reporting. The organization argues it’s illegal to redistrict outside of the 10-year census.

Republicans claim the Missouri First Map splits fewer counties, but Democrats argue the new map would dilute Democratic votes.

The Missouri First Map would expand the Fifth District, which is primarily Kansas City’s district, to also include portions of Boone County north and west of Columbia.

House Minority Leader Ashley Aune (D-Kansas City) filed her own proposed map on Thursday. That proposal keeps the Fifth Congressional District within the Kansas City area. Audrain, Boone, Cole and Miller counties would mark the westernmost counties of the Third Congressional District, stretching west to St. Charles County.

Rep. Aune map, HB2Download

The National Democratic Redistricting Committee met Thursday morning to breakdown the intentions of the map.

“Despite overwhelming opposition from the people, Missouri Republicans are proposing a congressional map that would split apart the state’s most populous city and turn the Show-Me state into one of the most egregiously gerrymandered states in the country,” said John Bisognano, president of the NDRC.

The election committee will discuss initiative petition reform Thursday at 1 p.m. to take up House Joint Resolution 3.

Several proposed legislations have been submitted regarding initiative petition reform.

Check back for updates.

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Marie Moyer

CALIFORNIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

California, Missouri’s police chief is warning homeowners of a recent wave of pranksters jumping on the decades-old tradition of “ding dong ditching.”

Chief Scott John noticed an uptick in the prank in July when people began posting themselves ringing doorbells and knocking or kicking doors and running away on TikTok. The department later put out a Facebook post bringing awareness to the trend.

“In today’s world, it’s not the innocent childhood prank that it was 20, 30 years ago, people are more nervous, they’re more timid about the knocks and bangs in the middle of the night,” John said. “In my experience, I’ve actually seen where some people have used deadly force in situations it shouldn’t be used and I was concerned that an accident may happen.”

Since July, John reports that complaints of ding dong ditching decreased but picked back up recently around the start of the school year.

This increase comes after this past weekend, when 11-year-old Julián Guzman was shot and killed by suspect 42-year-old Gonzalo Leon Jr. in Houston Saturday night while ding dong ditching homes with his cousin.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Patrol Public Information Officer Sergeant Bradley Germann tells said that he hasn’t heard of the patrol recently handling any ding dong ditching cases, adding that the DDCC specifically has not worked on any cases.

Former prosecutor Bill Tackett told ABC 17 News that homeowners in Missouri have no grounds for self-defense when someone knocks on their door, regardless of how many times it occurs.

“It would be misdemeanor harassment at the most, it doesn’t rise to the level of the Castle doctrine or stand your ground because you’re not in immediate threat of somebody trying to kill you or cause you harm,” Tackett said.

Tackett also brought up the death of Ralph Yarl in the Texas shooting. In Kansas City Mo., April 2023, 16-year-old Yarl was shot after mistakenly knocking at the wrong address to pick up his siblings.

“It was a young African-American male who simply was trying to pick up his brother and went to the wrong house and was shot by somebody who was trying to claim the Castle doctrine,” Tackett said. “It’s not and neither doctrine covers what happened.”

John recognizes that the prank can be disruptive, but recommends homeowners stay inside and avoid confrontation.

“Even the first time it occurs, it can be construed as disturbing, the peace, ding dong ditching on people’s doors in the middle of the night could cause someone alarm, could cause them fear or safety, you don’t know what kind of past trauma that they have,” John said.

“The biggest thing to keep in mind is if they haven’t entered your dwelling yet, don’t take action other than to call 911 and be prepared to protect yourself inside your dwelling,” John adds.

John also advises pranksters to find another way to have fun for their overall safety.

“When they’re running or running in the dark, there could be obstacles in the yard, there may be building a fence or maybe a pothole that they’re going to fall in or break your leg, you could run out and be hit by a car,” John said.

Homeowners are also advised to use doorbell cameras to communicate or record evidence if needed and to contact police if it becomes a real concern.

Leon was charged with murder and put on a $1 million bond on Wednesday.

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Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Fire Department has purchased a software program that uses real-time data analytics to improve overall performance.

Earlier this year, the City of Columbia approved the software, known as Darkhorse Emergency, at an annual cost of approximately $44,000.

During a candidate forum last year, Columbia Fire Department Chief Brian Schaeffer expressed his vision of wanting Columbia to be at the forefront of technology, using artificial intelligence. That vision became a reality when the fire department started using the system in July.

“Darkhorse is a software program that integrates with our computer-aided dispatch and our records management system to take all of the information that’s out there in our system,” Schaeffer said, “inclusive of our calls of service, over the last five years and all the parameters: things like how long it took us to get there, or what the time of the day was, what the traffic, slowdowns were occurring during that specific time.”

Additional data, such as road speeds, road complications, speed bumps and system occurrences, are fed into the program, allowing the fire department to ask questions like where additional staff may be needed or where a new fire station should be built.

The program is monitored by the fire department on a minute-to-minute basis, Schaeffer said, and it helps make decisions for the future.

“Recently, with Station 5 and Station 10 and probably future Station 11, Station 12, as we continue to build, tax dollars are finite,” Schaeffer said. “Every dollar that we invest, we want to make sure that investment works for today, but it also works for 20 years from today.”

CFD is required to get an “A” rating or a 90% when responding to every single call, Schaeffer said. By using the Darkhorse program, the department can predict how changes, such as relocating fire trucks or increasing staffing at a station, will impact their overall rating. This allows for data-driven decisions that help maintain or improve performance standards.

Schaeffer said the department wants to hit its standards 90% of the time, and extra resources can help meet those goals in some parts of town.

Darkhorse Emergency can also highlight risk areas throughout Columbia.

The software looks at modifiers such as the low-income population, the population that is 65 and older, people with a disability and the number of children under 5.

Schaeffer used University Hospital as an example. It has a “very high risk” of needing CFD’s services — in the 97th percentile, Schaefer says.

Probabities are based on past patterns, he said.

The program also uses AI-generated projections for up to five years to determine the most effective locations for fire stations, based on current jurisdictional boundaries. The department can run scenarios like not having any existing fire stations in Columbia. The program will then identify locations for new stations using parameters provided by the fire department.

“The station [Station 2] would move a little bit to the south,” Schaeffer said.” But interestingly, Station 5 is in the exact same place. So when we looked at moving Station 5 because it’s 50 years old, it needed to be replaced.” We ran the Greenfield and lo and behold, we are in the right place based on current and future growth.”

Since beginning to use the Darkhorse software in July, Schaeffer says it has already made a difference at CFD.

“We’ve made assumptions on the performance of the system, and really, what we’re capable of, meeting our goals and establishing some levels of excellence that before we had tucked away as, ‘One day we’ll get to this,'” Schaeffer said. “Well, now we’ve got the ability to not only get to this, but model it and then take that information that we garner from that model or that scenario and put it on the street.”

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Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Workers from the union chapter LiUNA 955 are demanding better pay from MU Health Care, ahead of wage negotiations planned for later this month.

About three dozen workers gathered outside of University Hospital on Wednesday afternoon, with the hopes of making MU Health Care hear their concerns. According to union representative Andrew Hutchinson, workers are asking for wage increases, claiming some workers’ pay doesn’t align with the increased cost of living.

“They’re asking for their critical staffing pay of $2.50 an hour to be put into their base wage and for an end to poverty wages so everyone at the hospital makes at least $19 an hour and then just across the board, wage increases,” Hutchinson said.

According to Hutchinson, MU Health Care created a $2.50 pay increase tied to critical staffing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of those people included people who clean the hospital, sterilize surgical equipment and take out the garbage.

Hutchinson said the issue for these workers is that the pay is not included in their base pay and therefore can be taken away.

“It’s something that every couple of months they get an email saying ‘as a reminder this expires on this day. It may or may not be renewed,” Hutchinson said. “That’s been going on for five years. What that means is if you’re an employee who makes $16 an hour and $2.50 an hour of that is subject to disappear at a moment’s notice, that’s scary.”

Daryl Wieberg was one of the protesters who attended Wednesday’s rally. He’s worked in the maintenance department at the hospital for more than a decade. He says he began working for the company due to its benefits.

However, Wieberg said the wages some workers are paid now make it hard to have anything to look forward to as an employee.

“We supposedly get number one workplace type scenario, but it’s not in the service department because the service departments are well underpaid to the outside,” Wieberg said. “It’d be hard to find a new job and start all over, but you know it’d be nice to have that extra money and looking at people leaving, starting at the bottom of their pay scale is more than what I can make here now, so it makes you really consider doing it.”

The union’s negotiating team will meet with MU Health Care administration on Sept. 26.

MU Health Care spokesman Eric Maze told ABC 17 News via email on Tuesday that wage discussions had not begun, and no proposals had been made. Maze said on Wednesday that MU Health has consistently paid 2-3% annual increases since 2021.

Maze said an annual increase is planned to be paid again in January.

“We regularly review employee compensation and have several tools to ensure that pay decisions are made based on relevant job characteristics, such as job type and specialty area, as well as the employees’ education, experience and performance,” Maze said. “A market compensation analysis is performed annually each August to identify areas that need additional investment and wage adjustments.”

According to Maze, critical staffing plans are still in use and are reviewed every 12 weeks.

Matthew Hocker has also worked for the hospital for more than a decade, working as a housekeeper. Hocker gave a speech at Wednesday’s rally, claiming parking rates have doubled over the years, which is something workers have also included in their list of grievances.

The irregular work hours for employees also don’t allow them to use the shuttle system the university offers, Hutchinson said.

Hocker also said workers’ sick time is being dictated, claiming they’re being told they have to go through certain channels in order to be able to use it. Hocker said he’s found it difficult to get out of bed some days due to his frustrations and said he feels as though many of their complaints have fallen on deaf ears.

“They’re just ignoring us. They’re basically just saying suck it up and deal with it,” Hocker said. “I think that every single employee, including from housekeeper to up, needs to have a decent wage…and they need to go back to sick time, put it all in one pot and let us decide how we use our time.”

Rep. Gregg Bush (D-Columbia) also showed support at the rally, saying he started working as a janitor years ago and understands many of the hardships workers are going through.

“The only way we get through it is by being together,” Bush said.

MU Health Care made $45 million in its fiscal year 2025, according to previous reporting. Experts expect to see higher profits in the next fiscal year after a financial catch-up period with Anthem. The insurer and MU Health spent months without an agreement, though they eventually reached a retroactive deal.

The union and the city of Columbia reached a deal on Tuesday, following months of negotiations.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Audrain County’s sheriff posted on social media Wednesday that the arrest of a Marion County, Missouri, fugitive led to the large response in Vandalia the night before.

Sheriff Matt Oller wrote in the post that deputies got reports about a wanted man in the area of Home Street and Central Avenue in Vandalia late Tuesday into Wednesday. The man was later identified as Scott J. Adams, 41, of Bowling Green, wanted for a misdemeanor sexual abuse charge out of Marion County.

Law enforcement officers set up a perimeter and “methodically” searched it, Oller wrote.

Adams was arrested at Walsh Boulevard and Lincoln Street, Oller wrote. An MSHP trooper suffered a leg/ankle injury and was taken to University Hospital, though Oller didn’t give more details about the injury.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Hartsburg contractor is wanted by authorities on two felony charges for allegedly taking $10,000 from a customer and not performing the work.

Ryan A. Gilmore was charged Tuesday with felony stealing and deceptive business practices. He was not in the Boone County Jail on Wednesday.

Gilmore, under the business name Cameo Construction, took $10,000 from an Ashland man in 2022 for roof replacement, according to a probable cause statement. Gilmore never completed the work and did not refund the money, the statement says.

The state is seeking a $10,000 cash-only bond.

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Matthew Sanders

WASHINGTON, D.C. (ABC NewsOne)

A bipartisan group of House members, including Democrat Ro Khanna and Republicans Thomas Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene, joined victims of Jeffrey Epstein in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to push for more transparency over the case of convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

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