Month: March 2016

A Columbia man pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to his role in a cocaine ring and to being a felon in possession of guns. Marcus Jordan pleaded guilty to intentionally letting people use his home on Sanford Avenue to make and sell the drug. The plea agreement says investigators and witnesses identified the address

Two cases of possible animal abuse are being investigated in Cole County. Cole County animal control responded to a report of horses being mistreated Wednesday on Blackburn Road, which is southeast of Russellville. Officials are still trying to reach the owner. “The horses aren’t, they’re not in the best of shape, but they’re not in

The Boone County Sheriff’s Department confirms it’s conducting an investigation involving Osage County Sheriff Michael Dixon for “activity” that happened earlier this month in the county. The department would not give a specific date or location of the activity under investigation. “We are conducting an investigation regarding Sheriff Dixon’s activities in Boone County early in

After months of investigation, the Mayor’s Task Force on Pedestrian Safety is set to release its final report on Friday. In the report, the task force recommends the city of Columbia should adopt a “Vision Zero” policy. The report states that “Vision Zero influences road design, enforcement, and culture to bring about a marked reduction

Members of the ACLU, PROMO and the Human Rights Campaignwere joined by religious and business leaders at the capitol to protest SJR 39. Currently before the Missouri House of Representatives, this constitutional amendment would prevent the state from penalizing religious organizations or other wedding-related businesses from catering to same-sex marriages. Supporters say this move would

COLUMBIA, Mo- Thousands of students are on spring break this week, leaving the grandparents open to scam. When major Universities break, scammers prey on the people who stay behind. The elderly usually stay at home and are more susceptible to falling victim. What typically happens is a scammer will call and claim that they are

A Joplin man is suing the Missouri Commission on Human Rights after they refused to act on his claims of sexual harassment at work. Andrew Farthing used to work at a Home Depot hardware store in Joplin, and claims his co-workers harassed him using slurs typically targeted against homosexuals. Farthing says his bosses did nothing

Fulton officials have some big plans, and they are asking taxpayers to help pay for them. They are holding a public form at city hall starting at 6 p.m. on Thursday. Council members and the mayor will be available to answer people’s questions. The half-cent sales tax appearing on April 5 ballots next Tuesday is

A plan is moving forward raising the state’s gas tax by almost 6 cents a gallon. The measure passed the state Senate on Wednesday. It still needs one more vote to reach the House, before going to voters. Missouri’s taxes are currently 17 cents a gallon, which are some of the lowest in the country.

Jeffrey Nichols is one of two suspects charged in a 2013 Easter Sunday crime spree that left a 92-year-old woman dead. On Thursday Nichols’ upcoming trial date on May 11 was delayed, pending an appeal. Officials claim Nichols and another man, Christopher Lewis, killed Carmalita Kaser using a machete-like knife they stole from Moberly’s Wal-Mart

A member of the Miami, Florida police department has been hired to be the new police chief in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson. Major Delrish Moss will take over the department, which was heavily scrutinized and criticized following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in 2014. Darren Wilson, the former Ferguson officer who shot

Missouri senator Roy blunt met with Missouri Task Force One Thursday morning. The task force gets deployed to rescue missions across the country. They helped with the September 11th attacks in New York, they went to Joplin, Missouri after the 2011 tornadoes, and they also helped with the winter floods Missouri had in late 2015.

Repair work is underway on a sinkhole that opened up in Jefferson City this week. According to Britt Smith with the public works department, the hole was caused by an abandoned pipe connected to a sewer manhole. The pipe is cracked and had been taking in gravel and dirt. Smith says part of the problem

The number of scams that are reported in Missouri are continuing to rise. 420 scams were reported since 2015 and most of those scams are currently active. The Better Business Bureau launched a scam tracker about a year ago, which will tell you exactly what scams are happening in your neighborhood. The BBB told ABC

The cold front which brought rain and storms to Mid-Missouri Wednesday will move east of the area Thursday afternoon allowing drier and slightly cooler air to move in. A secondary cold front moves through Friday morning and will cool temperatures more, keeping daytime highs in the 50s to end the work week. There is a

It just takes two calls to tie up Dave Colbert’s staff at the Montgomery County Ambulance District. The district keeps four people ready at all times of the day, every day of the year, to run two ambulances. Stationed in Montgomery City and New Florence, the district covers more than 400 square miles, leaving the

Third and fourth ward Columbia city council candidates as well as the candidates for mayor met Wednesday afternoon for the last debate before the April 5th election. Third Ward city council candidates include incumbent Karl Skala and Tom Leuther. Fourth Ward city council candidate Ian Thomas sat by himself at the candidate table because his

Emergency crews were called to clear the scene of a fallen branch from a tree that fell on a power line in Boonville Wednesday afternoon. The Boonville Fire Department told ABC 17 News high winds played a factor. Sarah Toombs, a resident, says her car was just beneath where the branch fell, “My car was

The Columbia Police Officers’ Association is throwing its support behind candidate Tom Leuther for Third Ward City Council member. The CPOA said electing Leuther is in the best interest of the law enforcement community. The CPOA said incumbent Karl Skala has an anti-police voting record. “There are a number of issues, important issues, where he

Strong storms in southeastern Kansas are moving northeast and could stay organized as they move into the Lake of the Ozarks area 10-11 PM Wednesday night. High resolution forecast models indicate these will arrive near HWY 65 close to 10 PM and track to the east-northeast, mainly affecting areas south of I-70. (See maps in