COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A group has filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in their attempt to protect Missouri’s initiative petition process in its current form. Claire Harris, Jamie Howard and Eric Bonner – who are residents of Greene, Cole and St. Louis counties, respectively – wrote that they signed a petition that
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The judge in an appeals case wrote in a Friday decision that a decades-old murder case that has been reinstated may proceed as scheduled. William “Chris” Niemet, of Fulton, is charged with first-degree murder in a 1991 death of his classmate in Russellville. Judge Emily Fretwell had dismissed his charge last month,
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The lawsuit Boone Health filed against the Missouri Heart Center was formally dismissed on Wednesday. Court filings show Boone Health filed to dismiss the case on July 24 without prejudice. Boone Health announced the split with Missouri Heart Center at the end of March and subsequently filed a lawsuit alleging breaches of contract, misuse of
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A jury on Wednesday sided with the defendants in a family’s wrongful death case over a man who died years ago at Tipton Correctional Center. Previous reporting shows Brandon Pace died on April 7, 2023, and Tammy Reed filed a lawsuit in September 2024 against several parties. Defendants included the Missouri Department
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Former Mizzou head football coach Gary Pinkel saw his case against the Department of Revenue dismissed by a judge this week. Judge Michael Gilley dismissed the case without prejudice on Monday, writing that Pinkel was lawfully arrested for driving while intoxicated on July 9, 2025. The filing also states the arresting officer
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The mother of a Harrisburg student who was killed in a crash last month in Iowa has filed a lawsuit against the youth’s father’s employer. Robert Orton, 14, was killed on June 3 when a 2015 Kenworth truck driven by Michael Orton, 38, of Palmyra, Missouri, crossed tracks in front of a
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The parents of a man who was killed in a 2023 crash in Columbia have sued multiple parties for wrongful death. Walker Davis, 18, was killed in the crash Aug. 5, 2023, crash at Kelly’s Ridge Apartments. Elizabeth Lopez, 26, pleaded guilty on March 23, 2026, to three counts of leaving the
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Missouri appeals court has reversed a decision made by a Cole County judge in a decades-old murder case. Judge Emily Fretwell had dismissed charges against William “Chris” Niemet earlier this month. Niemet, of Fulton, is charged with first-degree murder in a 1991 death of his classmate in Russellville. Fretwell had dismissed
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A candidate in the Camden County Prosecutor Republican primary was recently held in contempt in court by a judge. Lynne Brand is running for the prosecutor’s seat in the Aug. 4 primary against incumbent Richelle Grosvenor. Brand is listed as a defendant in a Sunshine Law case along with the county’s sheriff’s
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Boone County man who claimed in a 2025 federal lawsuit that elected officials got him fired over comments at public meetings in Harrisburg was paid a settlement. The Village of Harrisburg paid Michael Williams $35,000 in an agreement that was reached on July 13. The court case was dismissed on July
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) The Cole County Prosecutor’s Office has dropped charges against a man who was accused of driving under the influence in a fatal crash after his blood sample came back clean. Jervontaye I. Warmack was charged in November with involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and driving while intoxicated. Police said he hit a
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A lawsuit was filed on Thursday in federal court that challenges Missouri’s recently passed hemp restrictions. Gov. Mike Kehoe on April 23 signed House Bill 2641 into law, which effectively banned the sale of THC seltzers and other intoxicating hemp products at convenience stores, bars and restaurants. It would require those products
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A lawyer who worked for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has filed a lawsuit against its commissioner. Lindsey Phoenix, of Columbia, filed a lawsuit against Education Commissioner Karla Eslinger on Monday, claiming retaliatory termination and that her First Amendment rights were violated. The petition alleges that after the shooting
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Representatives of the State of Missouri filed an appeal on Friday to the state’s high court over a recent ruling involving abortion rights Jackson County Judge Jerri Zhang last month in their 20-page ruling struck down a number of restrictions that were in place that were determined to be in violation of
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COLUMBIA Mo. (KMIZ) A Cole County family is asking a judge to stop the county from euthanizing its pit bull, arguing the dog does not meet Missouri’s definition of a dangerous dog and that previous biting incidents occurred only when law enforcement officers entered the family’s property without advance notice. Keith Nilges filed the lawsuit
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Boone County judge dismissed the final group of defendants who were remaining in the wrongful death lawsuit surrounding University of Missouri student Riley Strain. Strain died during a fraternity trip to Nashville, Tennessee, in 2024. Strain’s family sued the Delta Chi fraternity and its members, claiming the chapter did not follow
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A Jefferson City man filed a wrongful death lawsuit on Tuesday against a local senior care facility. James Callison’s mother Mary Carter was admitted to Heisinger Bluffs Senior Living Community on Aug. 6, 2024, after being hospitalized from a fall while facing other medical diagnoses, like dementia, the petition says. She
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The owner of a pit bull in Cole County has filed a lawsuit to prevent the county from euthanizing it. Keith Nilges filed a lawsuit on Monday against Andrea Putnam, an animal control officer with the Cole County Sheriff’s Office. ABC 17 News reached out to the sheriff’s office and Sheriff John
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia businessman is suing Regions Bank in connection with previous COVID-19 era loans. Greg DeLine filed a lawsuit in St. Louis County on Thursday, accusing the bank of negligent misrepresentation and constructive fraud. The two sides have been responding in court since March over loans DeLine received from the Paycheck Protection Program
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – A Cole County judge will let some of Columbia Public Schools’ lawsuit over a new charter school in Boone County proceed. Judge Emily Fretwell decided on Monday to let CPS pursue claims against the state, Attorney General Catherine Hanaway and the State Board of Education over a 2024 law that permitted
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