CENTRALIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – The City of Centralia will seek a sales tax increase to be approved by voters in the April 2026 municipal election. Centralia City Administrator Tara Strain said the increase would take the city’s sales tax from 1% to 2%. As of now, the additional revenue would go to the city’s general
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Four more people have been charged after more than 20 stolen guns were recovered in Columbia this week. Two people were initially charged on Thursday after 14 guns were found in an apartment and vehicle on Radcliffe Drive while police served a search warrant Wednesday, according to court documents. Another nine were
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Two people have been charged in connection with a burglary that occurred last month in Centralia that resulted in roughly $9,000 worth of items being stolen. Chase Wyatt, 39, of Centralia, was charged with stealing more than $750. He was also charged in another case on Thursday with passing a bad check.
Continue Reading
EDIT: This article has been corrected. COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The state is looking to revoked the POST license of a former Centralia police officer who is charged with several felonies. Curtis Higby, of Mexico, Missouri, was charged earlier this year in Audrain County with two counts of first-degree domestic assault, a count of armed criminal
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri Department of Public Safety’s State Emergency Management Agency has issued a winter weather preparedness message as the state heads into the colder months. That alert has homeless shelters across Mid-Missouri making early preparations to handle an anticipated increase in demand as temperatures begin to drop. According to the Missouri Balance
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Two 74-year-old people from Sturgeon had minor injuries after their vehicle hit a tractor-trailer near Centralia, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The report says the crash occurred on Route CC, west of Dinwiddie School Road. The report says the pair’s vehicle – a 2020 Chevrolet Equinox
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A report from the National Transportation Safety Board indicates pilot error was the likely reason for a July 22 plane crash in a cornfield near Centralia. The report says the pilot failed “to maintain clearance from power lines during low-level maneuvering.” Wren Johannaber, 31, of Huntsville, suffered serious injuries after crashing a crop
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A now-former Centralia police officer has been charged with seven felonies after he is accused of assaulting a woman over the course of several months. Curtis Higby, of Mexico, Missouri, was charged on Thursday with two counts of first-degree domestic assault, a count of armed criminal action, tampering with evidence, third-degree domestic
Continue Reading
BOONE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ) Four people – three of which were children – were injured in a crash on Friday night on Highway 124 between Hallsville and Centralia, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report published on Saturday. The report says a 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee – driven by a 42-year-old Jefferson City
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The pilot of a crop duster plane that crashed Tuesday in northern Boone County is recovering at a Columbia hospital. Wren Johannaber was in fair condition Wednesday after crashing a crop duster plane near Centralia on Tuesday, an MU Health spokesperson said. Johannaber, 31, of Huntsville, was flying an air tractor plane,
Continue Reading
BOONE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ) Power has been restored in Hallsville Wednesday morning after a crop duster plane crashed near Centralia Tuesday afternoon. An Ameren spokesperson told ABC 17 News in an email that a power outage occurred after a plane got caught on a power line and pulled it down. The plane took down several
Continue Reading
BOONE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ) A road just outside of Centralia was shut down on Friday afternoon after a vehicle crashed into a telephone pole. Boone County first responders shut down both directions of North Jay Jay in the 19990 block at 2:58 p.m. Three people were injured – two seriously – in the crash, according
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) An 18-year-old man has been charged with a felony after he allegedly broke into Centralia High School this week with three other people. Chase Moore, of Centralia, was charged with second-degree burglary and three misdemeanors: Institutional vandalism, first-degree trespassing and stealing. He is being held on a $5,000 bond, with a bond
Continue Reading
The bear spotted in Centralia on Saturday was a cinnamon black bear, according to Missouri Department of Conservation biologist Nate Bowersock. Cinnamon bears are a subspecies of the American black bear.
Continue Reading
CENTRALIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Centralia Police Department is warning residents to be aware after a bear was sighted within the city. Lauren TeBrink, tells ABC 17 News she has not seen anything like it in the two and a half years her family has lived in Centralia. “I noticed in our front yard that there
Continue Reading
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
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The driving lane of eastbound Interstate 70 near the Route Z exit will close for repairs on Sunday and Monday nights, according to a Wednesday press release from the Missouri Department of Transportation. The closures will last from 6 p.m.-6 a.m. each day.
Continue Reading
AUDRAIN COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ) Two people were hurt early Tuesday morning after a UTV crash near the Audrain and Boone County line. A 45-year-old Centralia man was seriously hurt and a 22-year-old Centralia woman was moderately hurt after a UTV crash in Audrain County just after 3 a.m. Tuesday, according to a Missouri State Highway
Continue Reading
CENTRALIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A controlled burn that got out of control on Tuesday in Centralia caused a truck and one-and-a-half acres of land to be burned in the 1700 block of Crownview Drive. Boone County Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Gale Blomenkamp said flames spread to the truck and a neighboring yard. The truck was
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia man died Friday from injuries he suffered in a crash at the intersection of Route FF and North Cline Road in Boone County, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol. According to the report, a 35-year-old man was driving a 2012 Nissan Sentra eastbound on Route
Continue Reading