As the April tax filing deadline approaches, criminals are out in full force looking for ways to take your money and personal information. According to the Internal Revenue Service one of the most common deceptions during tax season continues to be the telephone scam. Since October 2013, the IRS says scams have cost more than
Continue Reading
City leaders have yet to touch money raised from a fee charged to developers for closing streets, sidewalks and parking spots downtown. The Columbia City Council passed an ordinance in Dec. 2016 charging developers by the linear foot of the public facilities it closed for construction. The ordinance states that that money can be used
Continue Reading
When Lincoln University severed its ties with the not-for-profit Lincoln University Foundation on Dec. 31, it brought a relationship of nearly 40 years to an end. The move also prompted ABC 17 News to look closely at the reasons for the separation and whether finances played a role the breakup. That examination turned up information
Continue Reading
NOTE: This story has been updated to identify some people in the video. Security camera footage outside the Battle High School locker room in Jackson, Missouri shows who went into the building and when. The state of the visitor’s locker room has been one of several issues both Columbia Public Schools and Jackson R-2 School
Continue Reading
Zaxby’s on Cinnamon Hill Lane in Columbia is back open after a small fire forced it to shut its doors a week ago. Scott Clardy, assistant director of the Columbia/Boone County Public Health Department said a small grease fire started in Zaxby’s kitchen Oct. 9. Clardy said whenever first responders are alerted to fires at
Continue Reading
Up until last school year, nearly two years had passed since Jefferson City Schools fulfilled its yearly requirement for fire drills. An ABC 17 News Investigation in 2017 uncovered that no schools within the district completed their monthly fire drills and some schools didn’t even record one fire drill for an entire year. Since the
Continue Reading
The Missouri Lottery generated $1,400,216,223 of revenue in 2018, according to unaudited data from the program’s headquarters. Of that sum, $306,072,098 was forwarded to public education. In the 2018 fiscal year, $306,072,098 was allocated to public education, an amount that has steadily grown since the lottery’s inception in the 1980s. For every dollar that was
Continue Reading
Boone County/Columbia Public Health Department inspectors have been to more than a dozen restaurants since last Wednesday. When inspectors visited Perche Creek Cafe off Highway 40, they found evidence of mice, among other items that were considered violations. Perche Creek Cafe’s owner Cheri Perry said the droppings were near the business’ back door. Perry said
Continue Reading
The attorney for the Columbia police officer that hit and killed a child asked the prosecutor on the case to consult a forensic video expert, according to a letter obtained by ABC 17 News. According to a crash report, Gabriella Curry, 4, was struck on Jan. 4 when Officer Andria Heese, 27, tried to park
Continue Reading
ABC 17 News made a records request for the expenses related to the September trip to Memphis to visit the National Civil Rights Museum. The majority of the money spent on the trip went toward travel and lodging. According to the document, $3,612 went toward the hotel, Peabody Memphis. This covered a total of 25
Continue Reading
ABC 17 News’ Behind the Kitchen Door looked at health inspection reports for Boone County businesses for the month of September. Below are the findings from that review. If an eatery did not have a reinspection date, all critical violations were corrected while the inspector was at the establishment conducting the inspection. Sycamore 9/30, all
Continue Reading
Mayor Brian Treece wanted Columbia City Council members Ian Thomas and Michael Trapp to “evaluate” their ability to serve on the council, according to emails obtained by ABC 17 News. Treece sent a draft statement to at least three council members that they would release to the media after the Cole County Prosecutors Office charged
Continue Reading
More than half of businesses inspected in Jefferson City were cited for one or fewer health code violations last month. The Jefferson City Department of Environmental Health Services released its report of monthly restaurant inspections Sept. 3, detailing inspection results at 33 food establishments. The report shows that more than half of the establishments checked
Continue Reading