COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Rolla man was charged in Phelps County after he was accused of pulling out a knife while trying to steal a couple of bags of Tyson chicken from a grocery store on Saturday. Sean Wildhaber, 23, was charged on Monday with first-degree robbery and armed criminal action. He is being held
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia College announced in a Monday press release that its Board of Trustees have named Toby Arquette as its next president. Arquette will become the school’s 19th president on March 1, succeeding David Russell, who announced his retirement earlier this year. The release says Arquette is currently at St. Ambrose University in
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia state representative on Monday prefiled a bill for the upcoming legislative session that aims to expand rules on dog-breeding facilities. Rep. David Tyson Smith (D-Columbia) prefiled the “Animal Care Facilities Act,” which would expand violations pertaining to commercial and noncommercial breeders. Provisions include requiring adequate food, water and housing for
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Boone County dog breeder pleaded not guilty Monday to dozens of counts of animal abuse charges after a grand jury indictment. Melissa Sanders, 26, is facing 29 counts of felony animal abuse after she was previously charged with three felonies and 15 misdemeanor counts of animal abuse. Sanders’ new attorney, Andrew
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Americans don’t seem to feel very good about the economy these days. A Gallup poll on the country’s economic confidence at the start of December showed its worst numbers since the inflation-heavy Biden presidency. Affordability has come to dominate politics, with concerns about lagging poll numbers sending President Donald Trump on the road to talk
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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
Continue Reading 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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