COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Minimum wage workers across Missouri will soon see a boost in their paychecks. In November 2024, voters approved Proposition A, a ballot measure designed to raise the state’s minimum wage and provide earned paid sick leave for certain workers. As part of that measure, Missouri’s minimum wage will increase from $13.75 to
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MEXICO, Mo. (KMIZ) A Mexico man gave away more than 170 bikes on Saturday to kids in the community with the hope of spreading holiday cheer. “I wanted to give 20 bikes away for Christmas, and it just blew up,” said Richard Mahoney. “I’m at 175 right now.” Over just six weeks Richard Mahoney collected
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COLUMBIA Mo. (KMIZ) A 22-year-old Elkand woman was seriously injured in a crash Friday evening, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report. At around 11:05 p.m., a woman, driving with a 27-year-old Pleasant Hope man, was going westbound on I-44 near mile 152 in a 2004 Ford Expedition. The pair drove into the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) At least three lawsuits ask Missouri judges to quickly decide on redistricting cases ahead of the candidate filing date of Feb. 24. This follows some confusion as to which congressional map is currently in effect. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins said the new congressional map took effect on Dec. 11. However, a
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The national unemployment rate is at its highest point in nearly four years at 4.6% recorded last month, and hiring trends are slowing as thousands of college graduates prepare to enter the workforce. The U.S. unemployment rate has ticked up since hitting a 54-year low of 3.4% in April 2023, reflecting a
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LAKE OZARK, Mo. (KMIZ) A 36-year-old man from O’Fallon, MO is dead after drowning in the Lake of the Ozarks, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The MSHP drowning report, said the man was last seen on a dock at the 40.1 mile marker of the Osage at the lake. He is believed to
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The University of Missouri is set to award more than 1,800 degrees as students walk across the stage during the winter commencement ceremonies. Commencement started Friday with five ceremonies, and it will wrap up Saturday with another five. This is the schedule for Saturday: 8:30 a.m. Sinclair School of Nursing, Jesse Auditorium
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Construction for Boone County Public Safety Childcare Center is on schedule to be completed in July 2026. The center cost $5 million, with the county providing half and the state providing the other half. The Boone County Commission held a meeting Tuesday afternoon to discuss the current status of the project. Officials
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Missouri state lawmaker is pursuing legislation aimed at limiting superintendent payouts and protecting taxpayers, building on a proposal originally put forward by Columbia Public Schools. State Rep. John Martin (R-Boone County) was in attendance for a November Columbia Board of Education meeting when he first heard that it was a legislative
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Cole County’s top prosecutor and the Jefferson City police chief detailed the investigation into a shooting in a commercial parking lot that resulted in no charges during a news conference Friday. Prosecuting Attorney Locke Thompson and Jefferson City Police Department Chief Eric Wilde expressed sympathy to the family of Erik Spencer
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Editor’s note: A source error led to Smith’s name to be initially spelled incorrectly. The name has since been corrected. COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The woman at the center of a Columbia AMBER Alert on Thursday is now charged with three felonies. The Boone County Prosecutor’s Office charged 24-year-old Joy A. Smith with two counts of
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A teenager from Freeburg has been charged as an adult in Maries County in connection with a shooting that occurred at a Vienna gas station in September. Kaden Herzing was charged on Thursday with armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and first-degree property damage. He was 17 years old when
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A convicted sex offender on Monday pleaded guilty to keeping artificially generated child pornography on his cellphone. Charles Hooton, 64, of Columbia, pleaded guilty to four counts of child porn possession and one count of failing to register as a sex offender. He was sentenced to seven years in prison. The probable
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) David Williams, who spent more than three decades with the Jefferson City Police Department and recently retired as a captain, was appointed by Gov. Mike Kehoe to the Board of Probation and Parole, according to a Friday press release from Kehoe’s office. JCPD announced Williams’ retirement in a public social media post
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Boone County dog breeder accused of animal abuse is facing a significant number of felony charges after she was indicted by a grand jury on Friday. Melissa Sanders, 26, of Columbia, is now charged with 29 counts of animal abuse. All of the counts are felonies. She was previously charged with
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Boone County Commission on Thursdays approved the finalized budget for the 2026 fiscal year. Including money being using from the American Rescue Plan Act, expenditures for the new fiscal year are expected to total $156 million. Officials say the budget will allow for pay raises for some county employees. Presiding Commissioner
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Librarians at the University of Missouri in Columbia voted last week to unionize, according to a Friday press release from LiUNA 955, a union that represents several employee groups in Mid-Missouri. “We are hopeful that the UM System voluntarily recognizes our union and bargains in good faith.” engineering librarian Noël Kopriva said
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Central Missouri Humane Society announced in a Friday press release that it is halting its intake of cats because of “the presence of a contagious upper respiratory illness within the shelter.” CMHS will waive adoption fees for all cats through Friday, Dec. 26. “Reducing our feline population is one of the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A man has been charged with a pair of felonies after authorities claim he stole $15,000 from an elderly woman in a cryptocurrency scam. Charles Burri, 29, of Columbia, was charged on Thursday in Boone County with financially exploiting an elderly person and stealing more than $750. A warrant was requested on
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Two people have been charged with felonies after authorities claim a Jefferson City mother gave alcohol to her child and provided the youth to a 32-year-old man. Michael Alexander, 32, of Jefferson City, was charged on Thursday in Cole County with first-degree rape, while Lorretta Wilhelm, 40, also of Jefferson City, was
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