COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Jefferson City woman was charged on Wednesday after she was accused of raping a youth. Estelle Kerns, 35, was charged with first-degree statutory rape of someone younger than 14 years old. She is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A hearing was set for Wednesday. The probable cause
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The City of Ashland will close its recycling drop-off lot this week because of “ongoing misuse,” a Monday social media post from the city says. It will be closed this week as the city sorts and gets rid of excess materials, the post says. The lot will reopen Tuesday, May 27 with
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Eighty members of Missouri Task Force 1 are heading to St. Louis to help with storm damage recovery. Boone County Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Gale Blomenkamp confirmed through text message that Task Force 1 will soon head out to St. Louis, which saw significant damage from storms. St. Louis officials had
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Nearly 400 Boone Electric Cooperative customers are without power. The Boone Electric outage map reported three outages impacting 387 members, mostly in areas south of Columbia, including near Three Creeks Conservation Area and two off of Route K on South Smith Hatchery Road and South High Point Lane, respectively. The largest of
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A hearing was held Thursday morning for a Columbia man who was sentenced for a triple murder more than 20 years ago. Deandra Buchanan, 51, was found guilty by a jury in 2002 on three counts of first-degree murder. He was initially sentenced to death but was resentenced to life in prison without
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Boone County Juvenile Justice Center currently houses 19 youth, although the facility holds 45 beds. Justice Center Superintendent Tara Eppy said she thinks there’s discussions every few years about whether detention is intended to be correctional, restorative or rehabilitative. She said she thinks it’s a mix of them all. “I think
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Boone County Road and Bridge on Monday will repair portions of Brown School Road between Creasy Springs Road and Clearview Road, according to a Wednesday press release from the Boone County Commission. Brown School Road will be closed beginning at 9 a.m. and will be back at normal traffic by 3 p.m.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Boonville man has been charged with second-degree felony murder in a 2021 overdose death that occurred in Columbia. Cameron Comstock, 25, is accused of selling fentanyl to a woman on Nov. 6, 2021. A warrant was ordered on Tuesday and no bond was set. A court date has not been scheduled.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – Candidates for Columbia mayor spent more than $300,000 in April’s election, according to final finance report numbers filed last week. Mayor Barbara Buffaloe, Blair Murphy and Tanya Heath combined to spend $324,556.78 in the race to become the head of the Columbia City Council on April 7. Murphy led the way
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A woman accused of stealing almost $6,000 from the Centralia Band Booster Club pleaded guilty on Monday. Jeanie Whitlatch pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of stealing after she stole from the club in 2024. Court records show prosecutors amended her charge from a felony count of stealing to a misdemeanor. Whitlatch
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – In a press release Saturday morning, the Columbia Police Department announced they arrested 18-year-old Columbia man Kieran Piersee in connection to Friday night’s shooting on Moss Street. Piersee was charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. The statement also reported that police located a 32-year-old
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – The two men arrested during a standoff in east Columbia had three felony warrants from three different counties between them. Assistant police chief Paul Dickinson said the department arrested 36-year-old Antonio Watson and 38-year-old Rodney L. Hayes II during an hours-long standoff on Lambeth Drive on Wednesday night. Online court records
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) On Jan. 6, an anonymous tipster told the Missouri Department of Natural Resources about a growing homeless camp off of Interstate 70 Drive Southwest in west Columbia. The person said “garbage and debris” from the camp was getting into the nearby Harmony Creek. A staff member with the city’s stormwater division, TJ
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STURGEON, Mo. (KMIZ) Two people were seriously injured in a crash Monday on Highway 22 in northern Boone County, just outside of Sturgeon, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The report says the crash occurred as a 2003 Toyota Avalon – driven by a 39-year-old Sturgeon woman – was heading
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The incumbent runners in Rocheport’s municipal election on Tuesday retained their seats. Mayor John Zondca ran unopposed and collected 81 votes. Ward 2 Alderwoman Lois Connor won her election against Roman Clarkson 20 votes to 9. In the Ward 1 race, Alderman Conrad Yates totaled 28 votes to Sara Lemberger’s 26. Boone
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The Boone County Commission approved the location of three new tornado sirens on Tuesday. One across the street from 9415 N. Brown Station Road near Spiva Crossing, one at 2180 Fenton Road and another at 7060 Kircher Road.
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ASHLAND, Mo. (KMIZ) A groundbreaking ceremony was held Monday morning in Ashland for the expansion of its waste water treatment facility. The new additional will increase the facility’s capacity from 600,000 gallons per day to 1.6 million gallons per day. It could treat up to 2.6 million gallons per day once it is fully built
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia woman has been charged after she allegedly drove into another vehicle and pulled out a gun on Saturday. Hali Johnson, 40, was charged with second-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action. She is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. An initial court appearance
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia man was arrested over the weekend after he allegedly pointed a gun at officers while recording a video for social media. Heath Bishop was charged with unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action. He posted a $5,000 bond on Monday, court filings show. An initial court appearance is
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending federal funding for NPR and PBS, public broadcasting stations in Mid-Missouri stations are bracing for impact. Trump alleged in Thursday’s executive order that public stations were biased and “government funding of news media in this environment is not only outdated and unnecessary
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