Month: August 2015

Columbia city council members, mayor Bob McDavid and city manager Mike Matthes met at city hall Saturday to work on the upcoming 2016 fiscal year budget. Leaders heard from several city departments including public transportation and community development. The estimated budget allows the city to spend more than $441,000,000. The budget’s main focus would include

Week 1 of SportsZone Football Friday 2015 Jefferson City 64 at McCluer North 34 FINAL Helias 9 at Nixa 31 FINAL Blair Oaks 42 at Moberly 18 FINAL Harrisburg 6 at Tolton 54 FINAL Mexico 39 at North Callaway 6 FINAL Osage 21 at Fulton 33 FINAL California 6 at Boonville 9 FINAL Fayette 0

On Friday, more than a hundred people, including community leaders and volunteers gathered in Douglass Park to rally against recent violence in Columbia. This comes after the latest Tuesday night shooting on Park Avenue. “It’s ironic, but we had planned this a couple of weeks ago and now we’ve got some violence that just happened

Jefferson City police were out in full force Friday enforcing school zone laws. Sergeant Doug Ruediger supervises the JCPD traffic unit. He said even though officers are heavily enforcing laws today, they are still active “all year long.” “Our department take a very aggressive stance when it comes to school zone speed enforcement,” he said.

Columbia police are stepping up enforcement in school zones and on Thursday, ABC 17 News took a look at one school where speeding has been a big problem. ABC 17 News rode along with an officer in the Traffic Unit as school was letting out at New Haven Elementary school. Between 1:30 and 3:00 p.m.,

Work has now started on the new Islamic school in downtown Columbia near Fifth and Locust streets. City officials were at the ground-breaking ceremony Friday, including Mayor McDavid. The facility will include a full-time elementary, but it will also have many areas and serve several purposes, everything from a commercial gym to a free health

One person is in custody after a high-speed chase in Boone County. Detective Tom O’Sullivan with the Boone County Sheriff’s Department tells ABC 17 News the chase started near Finger Lakes State Park on Highway 63. O’Sullivan says authorities used spike strips to stop the vehicle near Rocky Fork Creek and Highway 63. He says

University of Missouri Police have put procedures in place to allow supervisors to call into communications to get MU Alert messages out quicker. The changes come after Mark Adair, a suspect who assaulted a woman in the Moser’s parking lot near the connector back in April, was shot in the Hitt Street garage. Adair was

The University of Missouri will once again cover health insurance for eligible graduate students. Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin announced Friday afternoon that the school will defer plans to cancel health insurance coverage for grad students. University officials announced last Friday that they would no longer cover health care for graduate students enrolled at the school.

A few storms are possible early in the day Saturday as a wave of low pressure aloft passes through. These will develop as early as midnight south of I-70 and spread to the northeast into Saturday morning and out of the area by noon. No severe weather is expected with these storms. Most of Saturday

A highway patrol trooper is preparing to fight for his former job. Corporal Randy Henry says he was unfairly punished when he took a stand against the department’s handling of the Brandon Ellingson case. Brandon Ellingson was the 20-year-old man who drowned in the lake of the Ozarks while in the custody of the highway

The Missouri Department of Transportation will begin replacing three interstate 70 bridges in Columbia starting next week. On Monday, Aug. 24, crews will start replacing the bridges at Business Loop 70, Garth Avenue and Rangeline Street. The westbound lane of I-70 will shut down on Aug. 26 and 27 from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m.

After a century of burning coal for energy, Columbia’s Municipal Power Plant will stop the practice by October. Plant superintendent Christian Johanningmeier said the Water & Light Department made the decision after state and federal rules changing the operation of coal-burning plants. The Environmental Protection Agency’s rules on coal combustion residuals, or CCRs, begin October

One person is in custody after reportedly firing a shotgun in Cole County. Authorities tell ABC 17 News the man threatened someone with a the weapon at a mobile home park in Taos, just southeast of Jefferson City. The suspect then apparently walked into the woods and fired the shotgun, starting a brief chase. Authorities

For the start of the high school football season the weather looks great. Temperatures will start off warm at the start of the games with mostly clear skies, a mild evening and a light southerly breeze. Warm, moist air will move in from the southwest late Friday night as a wave of low pressure aloft

The Battle High School radio tower that was supposed to be up by now is not. The tower would enable crews to talk to one another and joint communications during emergency situations in the high school’s area. No tower means emergency crews inside the high school can’t communicate with crews outside or with joint communications.

A Missouri man sentenced to serve life in prison without parole for marijuana will soon be free. Dan Viets, the attorney for Jeff Mizanskey, announced Thursday afternoon that his client is to be released from prison on Sept. 1. Mizanskey has served more than 21 years for nonviolent marijuana offenses. In May, Gov. Jay Nixon

Students and staff at a Mid-Missouri school are back in class Thursday afternoon following a fire. Jefferson City firefighters were called out just after 9:30 a.m. to the Trinity Lutheran School at 812 Stadium Boulevard. School officials had already evacuated students and staff from the building when JCFD crews arrived. Authorities tell ABC 17 News

IKEA has recalled the Patrull Nightlight because it poses an electrical shock hazard. Nearly 400,000 nightlights have been recalled. The lights come in white, orange and pink. They automatically turn on in the dark. No accidents have been reported in the United States, however there was one reported in Austria where a child suffered minor

A 77-year-old man is dead after crashing an ATV in Callaway County. It happened just before 4 p.m. Thursday on County Road 453 near Mokane. Authorities have not yet released his identity until all of his family members are identified. ABC 17 News has a crew on the scene. Watch ABC 17 News at 9