COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Hot temperatures have arrived in Mid-Missouri, turning playground equipment into potential burn hazards for children. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, each year more than 200,000 children go to the emergency room with injuries from playground equipment. Jefferson City Parks and Recreation says a young girl was injured at the Community
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Editor’s note: Additional financial information about Anthem was added on June 25, 2025, as was information from an updated statement provided by MU Health Care. A paragraph describing the timeframe in which operating gains occurred for MU Health Care has been corrected. COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield says negotiations with MU Health
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri Department of Natural Resources said it needs more information and clarity from the City of Columbia on its plan to mitigate and track human waste and trash from homeless camps getting into water. DNR’s Water Protection Program Director John Hoke told the city in a May 30 letter that the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The National Drowning Prevention Alliance reminded people of proper water safety in in lakes and rivers in a Facebook post Saturday. The group said it can take as little as one minute for an adult to drown. According to Stop Drowning Now and the U.S. Fire Administration, drownings are preventable. Around 10
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) As Independence Day approaches, Missourians are lighting up the sky — and the nation’s spending charts. Fireworks sales at seasonal retailers began on Friday, marking the start of one of the busiest and most-explosive stretches of the year. According to U.S. trade data from Lending Tree, Missouri imported $85.7 million worth of
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week released a study showing a sharp rise in unintentional fall deaths among older adults. The report found that from 2003 to 2023, death rates from falls increased by more than 79% for adults aged 65 to 74. For those ages 75 to 84,
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Boone County Fire Protection District, along with many other first-responder agencies and health officials, are reminding the public to be aware of the risks of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, as a heat advisory has been issued for Boone County through Tuesday evening. According to Mayo Clinic, Heat-borne illness can take
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The University of Missouri Department of Emergency Medicine is seeking funding to launch a new safety initiative aimed at improving emergency response times and outcomes for crash victims in Mid-Missouri. The proposed initiative, called the Advanced Critical EMS Response Program, would temporarily equip a local emergency response vehicle with advanced care tools;
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A public hearing has been scheduled for June 30 amid the ongoing contract impasse between University of Missouri Health Care and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Boone Health announced in a Wednesday press release that it has signed a four-year contract with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield in Missouri. The signing means that Boone Health will be considered in Anthem’s network for four years. “We’re proud to extend our relationship with Anthem and ensure that Boone Health remains
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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
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Editor’s note: The timeline of incoming new hires has been clarified. COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Finding a primary care doctor in Missouri is starting to feel like winning the lottery to some — rare, unpredictable and out of reach for many. Seamus Levin, a Columbia resident, has been dealing with a diagnosis of sleep apnea for
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Almost every Missouri county — 111 out of 114 — is designated as a Health Professional Shortage Area, leaving many Missourians struggling to establish and maintain primary care. “We are struggling with primary care access, just like every state across the country,” said Dr. Heidi Miller, the chief medical officer with the
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By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — Get inspired by a weekly roundup on living well, made simple. Sign up for CNN’s Life, But Better newsletter for information and tools designed to improve your well-being. Healthy people who regularly smoked marijuana or consumed THC-laced edibles showed signs of early cardiovascular disease similar to tobacco smokers, a
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Experts urge outdoor enthusiasts to gear up with gloves, hats and bug spray as warmer weather marks the start of tick season in Mid-Missouri. According to the CDC’s Lyme disease tracker, about 27 cases of Lyme disease per 100,000 people were reported in 2023, a record high. This surge marks a clear
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The U.S. House of Representatives passed the “one big beautiful bill” touted by President Donald Trump in the early hours of Thursday morning, a sweeping tax and immigration package that includes significant reductions to Medicaid and Medicare funding. Among the biggest impacts is a $700 billion cut to Medicaid throughout the next decade.
Continue Reading By Brenda Goodman, Sarah Owermohle, Meg Tirrell, CNN (CNN) — The US Food and Drug Administration is changing the way it approves Covid-19 vaccines for Americans, a move that may limit future shots to older Americans and people at higher risk of serious Covid-19 infection. The agency is changing the type of evidence it will
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Missouri nursing homes rank among the worst in the country for the amount of care provided to residents, and ongoing staffing shortages may be adding to the problem and putting residents’ health and safety at risk. Federal guidelines from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services require skilled nursing facilities to provide
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Missouri lawmaker is pushing for changes in how long-term care facilities in the state operate. Senate Bill 733, sponsored by Stephen Webber (D-Columbia), would modify several provisions related to long-term care facilities. Current law states that a certificate of need is not required to transfer ownership of an existing and operational
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The head of a local program focused on treating patients with autism spectrum disorder said last week that he hopes plans for a federal database can help uncover the cause of the condition, but it should protect patients’ safety and privacy. The National Institutes of Health plans to work with the Centers
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