JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A bill to strengthen protections for children against grooming and trafficking has cleared a Missouri House committee and is now headed to the Senate. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Ed Lewis (R-Moberly and Macon). The bill passed the full House on Monday with a 148–2 vote. Rep. Lewis described the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The City of Columbia took public comment on the proposed railbanking of the COLT railroad in a series of meetings on Thursday. Members of the public gave feedback and asked questions about the proposal, which would preserve 2.5 miles of out-of-service railroad from Rogers Street to Brown Station Road. Railbanking is a
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Jefferson City Board of Education approved a $2.1 million contract at its Thursday meeting to fix a portion of the roof at West Elementary School. The contract was awarded to Columbia contractor Integrated Facility Services. The contract was approved with the board’s consent agenda. Contractors would work from 7 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Jefferson City police arrested a woman on Thursday in connection with a reported knife attack earlier in the day, according to a news release. Shortly after noon, the release said, officers went to the 200 block of Dover Street, north of Truman Boulevard, for a reported assault. They found a woman
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COLUMBIA, Mo (KMIZ) Camden County will install a baby box at the Mid-County Fire Protection District. State Rep. Jeff Vernetti said the baby box is scheduled to be installed and unveiled this spring. Baby boxes are safe ways to legally surrender newborns up to 45 days old. An alert is sent to first responders as
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Sedalia man was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison on Thursday, according to a press release from the Department of Justice. Cleburn Greene, 51, pleaded guilty on May 22, 2025, to one count of attempted bank robbery, the release says. He was sentenced to three years and one
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Cole County judge on Wednesday ordered a mental examination for a Jefferson City man accused of killing his wife last month. Malang Akbari, 46, is charged in Cole County with first-degree murder, endangering the welfare of a child and armed criminal action. He is being held at the Cole County Jail
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Marshall Police Department wrote in a Thursday social media post that a man and three juveniles robbed a youth at gunpoint on Wednesday afternoon. The post claims Daylen Bankovich, 18, of Sedalia, and three juveniles met with the victim and later pointed a gun at them and demanded they give up
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A report of shots being heard put five Columbia Public Schools buildings on secure status Thursday in south Columbia. Columbia police spokesperson Colin Imhoff told ABC 17 News that officers responded to a report of shots heard around 12:30 p.m. around Southampton Drive. Officers did not find evidence of any gunshots being
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A 24-year-old Columbia man arrested this week in Boone County is wanted for meeting a 13-year-old girl at an Illinois hotel for sex. Clayton Newlon, 24, was charged Wednesday in Boone County with being a fugitive from out of state. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. Deputy
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A 75-year-old woman was pronounced dead at University Hospital on Wednesday after a crash on Highway 63 in Randolph County. The woman, from Jacksonville, was driving a 2002 Buick LeSabre when she traveled into the path of a 2022 GMC Yukon at Highway 63 and Route K in Cairo a little before
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) The Jefferson City Planning and Zoning Commission is set to meet Thursday evening to go over plans for potential developments in the city. The P&Z Commission will meet at City Hall at 5:15 p.m. to go over four different requests for builds. According to the meeting agenda, Lifehouse Church is looking
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Some of Columbia’s top leaders are looking into the possibility of implementing safety ambassadors in the downtown area. According to records ABC 17 News obtained from the city, the idea was discussed during one of the meetings between city and University of Missouri leaders. The city began having the closed-door meetings after
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Howard County Sheriff’s Office has canceled an Endangered Silver Advisory after a missing man was found safe. The initial advisory said Douglas Wayne Witmer, 73, left a job site at 403 Reynolds St. in Fayette around 3 p.m. Wednesday. The updated advisory saying Witmer was found safe was sent at 8:16
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) University of Missouri students are noticing new, bright-and-yellow signs popping up across campus and on high-traffic streets that are bringing attention to the school’s license-plate reading cameras. The signs feature an image of a security camera and “High-Resolution License Plate Recognition In Use.” An ABC 17 News reporter found several signs and
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Gov. Mike Kehoe has promised $7.5 million to pay for students to attend classes outside their school districts, if the state legislature can pass an open enrollment bill. “Again, open enrollment is not about weakening public education, it’s about strengthening it,” Kehoe said in his State of the State Address in January.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Missouri State Highway Patrol division is investigating allegations of theft and/or fraud by an elected official in Moniteau County. The Moniteau County Sheriff’s Office made the request on Jan. 28, according to MSHP Sgt. Brad Germann. The Division of Drug and Crime Control is leading the special investigation, Germann said. No
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A “trail crossing ahead” sign has been posted near the site of a fatal crash that occurred over the summer. A 9-year-old boy was killed on July 25, 2025, after he was hit by a pickup truck in the 12000 block of Cole County Road 391, previous reporting shows. The boy
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Federal, state and local law enforcement in Arizona are intensifying their search for Nancy Guthrie, mother of NBC’s “Today” host Savannah Guthrie, who has now been missing for 11 days. On Wednesday, agents were seen searching multiple roadways near Nancy Guthrie’s home in the Catalina Foothills. Investigators are still looking for other
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A man who was wanted for several sex crimes in Illinois has been arrested and charged in Columbia. Clayton Newlon, 24, was charged Wednesday in Boone County with being a fugitive from out of state. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A mugshot was not available on
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