COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia Public Schools is adapting to the evolution of artificial intelligence and its use throughout the district. CPS spokesperson Michelle Baumstark said the district has a group working to learn more about various aspects of AI. This effort is being led by Beth Winton under the direction of Adam Taylor, the district’s
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Legion of Black Collegians claims the University of Missouri is trying to erase its presence, while administrators cite inclusivity concerns over a canceled event. The Legion of Black Collegians stated in an Instagram post on Wednesday that its “Black 2 Class Block Party” was canceled after administrators took issue with the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The City of Columbia’s Office of Violence Prevention is considering adding two “community navigation liaisons” to help defuse problems on the city’s public transit. “What this program does is it puts individuals on the transit lines with the driver to de-escalate and to actually navigate folks to services so that they’re not,
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Two downtown Columbia parking lots will close for a couple of days in sequential weeks, according to a Thursday press release from the city. Contractors will perform maintenance on the two lots, which includes filling cracks, sealing asphalt and restriping parking spaces, the release says. The Tenth and Walnut parking lot will
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Board of Education approved Thursday a decrease in property tax rate for Columbia Public Schools. For the 2025-26 school year, the tax rate is dropping by nearly 16 cent, meaning property owners will pay CPS $5.55 for every $1,000 of assessed value in property taxes for the year. However, due
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COLUMBIA, MO. (KMIZ) Some parents of students who attend Columbia Public Schools are not pleased with a new bus company the district rolled out, two days into the school year. CPS debuted its new bus service, DS Bus Lines during its first day of school on Tuesday, after it signed a three-year contract in February.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) With the first day of classes in less than a week, the University of Missouri campus is alive with thousands of students moving into dorms. MU’s Director of Housing Tyler Page estimates 2,500 students arrived on Wednesday and another 1,500 will join on Thursday, with returning students expected to trickle in before
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Prosecutors are seeking to amend a charge for a man who is scheduled to go to trial next month for his alleged role in a shooting that occurred in December outside of a Boone County bar. Steven Jones, 45, of Columbia, is charged with illegal gun possession and is being held at
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) President Donald Trump announced Monday he wants to change the shape of elections in the United States and eliminate mail-in voting and voting machines. In a post on Truth Social the president said he would “lead a movement” to get rid of mail-in ballots, and get rid of voting machines. Trump made
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The University of Missouri sent out its first MU Alert to students since move-in began for the 2025-2026 school year Monday night.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Nearly 19,000 Columbia Public School students made their way back into the classrooms for the first day of the 2025-26 school year Tuesday morning. Columbia Public Schools Superintendent Jeff Klein told he’s excited and that this is a great opportunity as he begin this new position. “Our focus this year is on
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A man who has been trespassed from more than 25 businesses in downtown Columbia has been charged with a felony. Michael Paddock, 49, of Columbia, was charged on Monday with first-degree burglary and a pair of misdemeanors: Stealing and disturbing the peace. He is being held at the Boone County Jail on
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Two additional school buildings in Columbia will have weapons detection systems on the first day of class on Tuesday for the first time. According to Columbia Public Schools spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark, Douglass High School and the Columbia Area Career Center will now have weapons detection systems. The district implemented the systems during
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Delmar Cobble School in Columbia is now permanently closed after struggling to reach staffing levels, part of a broader statewide consolidation of schools for students with severe disabilities. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Board las week decided close six buildings that were already “temporarily consolidated due to staff vacancies,” immediately,
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia City Council on Monday evening voted 5-0 to change its water rates. According to council documents, the water ordinance would increase revenue by $3.6 million, or 12%, and would take effect with the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1. The council will decide on changing electric rates at
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A vehicle backfiring led to police to respond to an area of the University of Missouri’s Columbia campus on Monday evening. An MU Alert was sent out to students at 8:35 p.m. indicating that officers were responding to a shots-fired call in the 900 block of South Providence Road. The Columbia Police
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Codefendants Samarion Robins, 20, and Oscar Ashford Jr., 21, were denied a bond reduction by a Boone County judge on Monday. Their Sept. 8 trial date was also pushed to Nov.18. The trial was pushed back after Judge Jeff Harris revealed that prosecutors handed more than 900 pages of discovery to the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) With less than a month before the 2026 fiscal budget is expected to be approved, the City Council will hold the second of three public hearings at City Hall as staff brace for a tighter budget after expected tax revenue fell 3% short last year. The 2026 budget projects roughly $560 million
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) K-12 students were leaving the Armory Sports and Recreation Center and Cosmo Park with backpacks, sharp pencils, and even sharper hairstyles Sunday after two local Columbia businesses hosted two back-to-school events. This year marked the 5th annual Renz Blendz Barbershop event at the rec center and the first-ever Broadway Hair Company event
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COLUMBIA Mo. (KMIZ) Despite deer season starting up in next month in Missouri, deer have been making their presence known during the month of August. First responders have reported at least four serious vehicle crashes involving deer since the start of the month. The crashes include a Pettis County Man driving a truck and three
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