Month: December 2014

A new report by the U.S. Justice Department is outlining statistics on campus sexual assault. This comes at a time of renewed attention to the issue after Rolling Stone magazine backs away from its report on an alleged gang rape at the University of Virginia. It’s also a topic ABC 17 News has been following

One of Missouri’s main retirement systems has temporarily blocked online access after discovering attempts to hack into its members’ accounts. The Jefferson City News Tribune reports that the Missouri State Employees Retirement System sent about 81,000 emails and 20,000 letter to members Thursday explaining the situation. It says someone gained “unauthorized access” to four members’

The Board of Health completed its report for the Columbia City Council regarding three smoking-related ordinances. The Board endorsed raising the legal age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21 in Columbia, raising the same age requirement for vapor products and e-cigarettes and banning the use of vapor products indoors. “One of the major

Officials have confirmed a man who was reported missing from Ellis Fischel Cancer Center has been found safe. 51-year-old Douglas Thulin was last seen walking away from the facility toward a parking garage Thursday afternoon. It’s not clear why he left the hospital in the first place.

A mistrial was declared Thursday after the jury could not agree in the case of a Marshall woman charged in a January 2012 shaken baby case. Closing arguments in Saline County wrapped up Thursday in the trial for Nakisha O’Bryan. Court documents said she was watching the baby two years ago when her husband, Joshua

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – Johnathan Williams III and Keith Shamburger each scored 16 points for Missouri, which converted all eight of its free throw attempts in the final minute, to escape with a 78-73 win against Elon on Thursday. After trailing for all but the first 24 seconds of the game, Elon used an 11-0

State lawmakers are raising questions about the state’s response to the unrest in Ferguson after November’s grand jury ruling. The Joint Committee on Governmental Accountability had its first hearing at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. This comes in the aftermath of the Ferguson riots after the grand jury’s decision not to indict Darren

Three organizations in Columbia are working together to build a new housing facility and shelter for homeless veterans. It is called, “Welcome Home, A Community for Veterans,” a shared project of the Columbia Housing Authority, Harry S. Truman Memorial Veteran Hospital and Welcome Home, Inc. The new veteran campus will offer permanent housing, short-term shelter

Gas prices continue to plummet and people in the oil business said you can expect them to drop even more over the next two months. The reason? Oil companies drilling in North America. This is the first time since 2009 oil has dropped below 60 dollars per barrel. Lower gas prices aren’t the only thing

Have you ever wondered if the daycare you’ve chosen meets all the requirements and certifications? Several Jefferson City daycare owners told ABC 17 there are actually quite a few things you need to do to operate your own home daycare. “I figured a reference from a person that had their children here is going to

A jury has found a Mid-Missouri woman guilty of seriously injuring a child at her Cole County home daycare in 2010. Shelley Richter was charged with first degree child endangerment for the incident that left 7-month old Lane Schaefer blind and with brain damage. Richter was convicted of child endangerment last year, but was granted

A woman was arrested Wednesday for endangering the welfare of a child after a child tested positive for cocaine. The Pettis County Children’s Division contacted the Sedalia Police Drug Enforcement Unit to investigate in November. A hair follicle test showed a 2-year-old child was positive for cocaine. 18-year-old Shania Claxton was arrested for 1st degree

A police patrol car was involved in a car accident in Columbia Wednesday night. The accident happened at around 9:30 p.m. at the intersection of Rangeline Street and Brown School Road. Police officials say a vehicle traveling northbound on Rangeline t-boned a patrol car on the driver’s side. The officer was taken to the hospital

December is typically a cloudy month with on average 17 cloudy days, 6.3 partly cloudy days and only 7.7 clear days. In the first 10 days of December 2014 we have only seen around 16 hours of sunshine and the clouds will be stubborn to clear through early next week. Despite the lack of sunshine,

A man has been charged in a fatal Osage County boating accident that happened on the Gasconade River this past summer. Osage County Prosecutor Amanda Grellner charged Daniel Berhorst with misdemeanor boating while intoxicated. Berhorst crashed head-on with another boat, killing two people in July. Prosecutors told ABC 17 there will be no manslaughter or

A man who was found guilty of setting his wife and home in June 2013 was sentenced to 53 years in prison in court Wednesday. Randolph County Prosecutor Mike FusselmanchargedHunt with first degree arson, assault, and armed criminal action. Connie Hunt, the victim, watched as Judge Scott Hayes called Willard Hunt’s crime “reprehensible.” Judge Hayes

Many businesses are increasing their safety measures after four armed robberies in north Columbia in less than a week. Abc 17 talked to several businesses in the areas of the robberies to see what they are doing. Most of them, if not all, are taking the recent elevation in crime very seriously. One business was

The prosecution rested their case Wednesday morning following more testimony in day 3 of a trial for a Mid-Missouri woman charged for a deadly crash on I-70. Two more witnesses, including the man who tested Kelli Smith’s rape kit, and an investigator with the Highway Patrol testified in Montgomery County Court Wednesday. After the prosecution

ABC 17 first reported the contract termination of Columbia Star Dinner Train on Tuesday. The owner of the Columbia Star Dinner Train said he has been in the process of changing ownership of the train since October. He said they started experiencing some unexpected finance issues. Owner Allen Brown said the company does owe the

ABC 17 reported Tuesday night members of the Jefferson City community met to voice concerns over a possible name change to a historic street. Lincoln University put in a request to change the name of Lafayette Street to University Avenue. Community members said the name change would have erased one of the last remaining symbols