Editor’s note: A source error led to Smith’s name to be initially spelled incorrectly. The name has since been corrected. COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The woman at the center of a Columbia AMBER Alert on Thursday is now charged with three felonies. The Boone County Prosecutor’s Office charged 24-year-old Joy A. Smith with two counts of
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Dozens of Montgomery County residents packed the County Commission Room Thursday to voice their concerns against a possible Amazon data center entering the region. A major concern for residents is the data center’s environmental impacts, including noise pollution, chemical runoff and over-pumped wells. According to the International Energy Agency, large-scale data centers
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – A co-defendant in a 2024 Columbia murder case wanted more time on Friday to consider a possible plea. Daevion McCray and his attorney told Judge Joshua Devine they wanted more time to discuss the plea at a 9 a.m. hearing in Boone County court. Devine reset the hearing for Monday at
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Federal and local police conducted a “warrant sweep” across Columbia on Thursday morning for those wanted for various federal crimes. Dixon Land, the FBI field office spokesman in Kansas City, told ABC 17 News that agents worked with state and local police on Thursday to arrest those wanted on felony warrants. ABC
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – A woman is recovering after a truck she was in hit a train in Jefferson City on Tuesday. A crash report from the Jefferson City Police Department said a driver hit the Union Pacific train at the tracks on Hughes Street near Industrial Drive just before 3 p.m. The release said
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Jefferson City council member said he plans to run for Cole County’s top election official next year. Jeff Ahlers filed paperwork on Nov. 3 with the Missouri Ethics Commission to run for Cole County Clerk in 2026. Ahlers said he plans to run for the Republican nomination in August’s primary to
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) One person was killed in a rollover crash Friday morning that closed a highway northeast of Columbia. Boone County fire crews responded to a call about a truck that rolled over on Route HH, according to assistant chief Gale Blomenkamp. Blomenkamp said at the scene that one person in the truck was
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – A federal judge will allow a lawsuit against the University of Missouri to continue over the exclusion of a Palestinian rights student group from the 2024 Homecoming parade. Judge Stephen Bough ruled against MU on Wednesday in its request to dismiss the case against system president Mun Choi. The school argued
Continue Reading
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) – A Cole County judge denied the Missouri NAACP’s request to put an early hold on the state’s new congressional map. Judge Chris Limbaugh’s two-paragraph order on Friday rejected the group’s ask for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. The NAACP, along with three Missourians, wanted a judge to halt
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – Missouri’s Cold Weather Rule restricting when utilities can shut off people’s gas or electricity is expanding under a new state law. Investor-owned utilities cannot shut off people’s services for nonpayment for 72 hours after temperatures reach below freezing during the day from November 1 to March 31. Those shutoffs were before
Continue Reading
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Jefferson City’s lawyers say the lodging association suing over the city’s tax on hotel stays shouldn’t be allowed to bring the lawsuit. An attorney for the city filed a motion to dismiss the case on Thursday. The motion says the non-profit suing the city, the Jefferson City Lodging Association, started just
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – Gov. Mike Kehoe said the state will spend more than $15 million to cover some food programs as the federal government shutdown continues. Kehoe said in a news release on Wednesday that he would redirect money toward two programs aimed to help feed people in the state. The state plans to
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) State and local leaders are warning the public about rising road deaths in Missouri for 2025. Officials say 745 people have lost their lives on state roads this year, which is more than two deaths on average per day. The Missouri Department of Transportation, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Cole County
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – Boone Health plans to build a new health clinic in Howard County. The provider announced on Thursday that it is building a new clinic in Glasgow, about 20 minutes northwest of Fayette and 50 minutes away from Columbia. The new clinic will allow them to add more staff and install an
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – Travelers Insurance officially appealed a Cole County judge’s decision to award Ryan Ferguson more than $45 million for his wrongful conviction. The insurance company filed a notice of appeal with the state’s Western District Court of Appeals on October 21. Travelers Insurance will challenge applications of the law and different ways
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Two Columbia-based attorneys are preparing to run for a Boone County judge set in 2026. Bill Ellis and James Egan have both announced campaigns for the Division 9 associate circuit judgeship in Boone County. Ellis plans to run as a Democrat and Egan plans to campaign as a Republican. The two are
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Department of Justice will begin handling claims of a Columbia businessman misusing a pandemic-era relief plan — an allegation he denies. Federal attorneys unsealed the case on Oct. 7 against Greg DeLine and three of his companies — GKD Management, Midwest Mortgage Association and Amega Sales. The DOJ is considering whether
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia arson and murder suspect will get two more weeks to discuss a possible plea with his attorney. Steven Strumpf, 31, was in the Boone County Courthouse on Tuesday for a hearing in his 2024 murder case. Judge Jeff Harris allowed Strumpf and his attorney, Manuel Tatayon, to discuss the terms
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – A Missouri judge’s decision to strike down numerous state laws that restricted abortion access can stand, a panel of judges ruled Tuesday morning. Three judges with the Western District Court of Appeals released their unanimous ruling on Tuesday, upholding a Jackson County judge’s decision to strike the laws following a voter-approved
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – A well-known St. Louis attorney will handle the murder case of a man accused of killing a Stephens College student downtown. Attorney Scott Rosenblum’s firm will represent Misael Covarrubias in his case. Covarrubias is being held without bond for allegedly killing Aiyanna Williams on September 29 and hurting two others in
Continue Reading