Month: June 2019

A former employee of Lincoln University filed a lawsuit against the institution May 31 over alleged discrimination on the basis of race. Sheila Gassner, a 55-year-old white woman, worked for the public university for nearly 30 years before her discharge on July 31, 2018. Most recently serving as LU’s executive director of facilities and planning,

A gas leak closed a major central Columbia road Wednesday afternoon and police were diverting traffic onto side streets. Boone County dispatchers issued an alert about traffic congestion on West Broadway at Westwood Avenue a little before 3 p.m. because of a natural gas leak. Columbia police were at the scene diverting eastbound Broadway traffic

A man who pleaded guilty Wednesday to trespassing on Columbia Public Schools property was booked Monday into the Boone County Jail on suspicion of driving on a suspended or revoked license. He isn’t likely to face charges in Monday’s arrest, but he is currently charged with trespassing at another school in April. Boone County Sheriff’s

Bubblecup Tea Zone’s location on Grindstone Parkway on Friday had its first routine inspection since it opened. During that visit, Columbia/Boone County Health Department inspectors gave the eatery five critical and five non-critical violations. The 10 violations total were the most out of any establishment inspected since June 12. The Grindstone location is Bubblecup’s second

A 29-year-old Missouri man has been sentenced in the stabbing death of a woman in Sedalia. Justin Lewis, of Lincoln, was sentenced Tuesday to 30 years and nearly 31 years, to be served consecutively, for the January 2018 death of 33-year-old Heather McClellan. Lewis was convicted in April of second-degree murder, armed criminal action and

WEDNESDAY: Showers and thunderstorms push in this morning and look to redevelop later this afternoon. Some could be strong south of Highway 54 with small hail and isolated strong wind gusts. Highs reach the upper 70s to low 80s . TONIGHT: Showers will be on their way out, finally exiting the area after midnight, but

A trailer caught fire Tuesday night in Rolla, and the Missouri State Fire Investigator determined the fire was an arson. The Rolla Rural Fire Protection District went to a trailer on County Road 8240 for a reported structure fire. When crews arrived, they found a travel trailer with moderate smoke showing. Crews battled the fire

The Higbee Senior Citizens Center will suspend operations beginning June 28 due to issues with funding. The city of Higbee is working with the center to come up with a solution, said center administrator Linda Peterson. The city is considering using half of the building on Railroad Street for meetings and other events while the

Crews worked to clean out hangars at the Jefferson City Memorial Airport on Tuesday as floodwaters receded. The airport began flooding more than three weeks ago and was covered in more than 5 feet of floodwater in some places while the Missouri River was in a major flood stage. Nicholas Haill, a line manager at

The man accused of killing another inmate in Audrain County has drug-induced paranoid schizophrenia, according to his mother. Ryan Blair is accused of killing Michael Eisenhauer. The Audrain County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post that Michael Dale Eisenhauer, 42, of Centralia, was pronounced dead at SSM Hospital in Mexico after an assault by

The Centralia Police Department announced on its Facebook page it will start to use a community watch program. The department used the program in the past but decided it would benefit the town again. Centralia Mayor, Chris Cox, said he has been working to support the department’s decision. “I remember when I was a youngster

The Columbia City Council plans to send a letter to the Columbia Public Schools Board of Education requesting the school district pay more for the services of police officers. CPS currently staffs four school resource officers (SRO) from the Columbia Police Department. Terms of the annual agreement are outlined in a contract. CPS and the

WASHINGTON (AP) – Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer took a ball off the face during a bunting drill on Tuesday. Manager Dave Martinez said before the Nationals faced the Phillies that he hadn’t yet gotten a chance to check on Scherzer. The three-time Cy Young Award winner is still scheduled to start one of the

Preliminary results show voters favored Chris Redel over Lisa Buhr for Board of Alderman Ward 2 in Holts Summit. Buhr received 39 votes and Redel received 59 votes. According to the Callaway County Clerk’s website, on Friday a verification team will return to finalize the certification. Tuesday’s special election came after Buhr and Redel tied

A judge has sentenced a Moniteau County man to seven years in prison for the death of his infant son. Christopher Buxton, 33, entered an Alford plea — in which the defendant pleads guilty but maintains that he did not commit the crime — to involuntary manslaughter Monday and was immediately sentenced. His case had

Two Boonville Correctional Center inmates are now charged after they were allegedly found with drugs in the prison. According to court documents, prescription drugs were found on May 20, hidden in a letter addressed to Ronnie Stephens, 34. Earlier on May 9, Eric Conley, 49, allegedly had another man throw a package over the fence.

The Mid-County Fire Protection District and the Missouri State Fire Marshal’s office are investigating the cause of a Camdenton house fire. Firefighters responded to the home on Round Table Drive in the Camelot Complex around 9:08 a.m. Tuesday. The Mid-County Fire Protection District said around 30% of the home was damaged by fire, smoke and

Crews with the Missouri Department of Transportation reopened the Missouri River Bridge north of Boonville on Tuesday afternoon. Officials closed the bridge due to flooding June 3. Crews also opened Route 87 north of Boonville, but Routes 5 and 40 north of the bridge are still closed. Officials said those areas will remain closed until

The Jefferson City Housing Authority held its monthly meeting Tuesday morning with tornado recovery filling most of the agenda. Capital City Apartments, significantly damaged in the May 23 tornado, is a low-income housing complex on East Elm Street operated by the authority. Cynthia Quetsch, the authority’s executive director, said five of the 44 units in

TONIGHT: Partly to mostly cloudy and muggy. Temperatures fall into the mid-60s. Showers and storms return after midnight. WEDNESDAY: Scattered showers and thunderstorms likely. Some could be strong south of Highway 54 with small hail and isolated strong wind gusts. Highs reach the upper 70s to low 80s. EXTENDED: Storms exit with the front on