COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Montgomery County Commission on Monday unanimously approved tax breaks to Google for its $15 billion data center that was announced last month. Presiding Commissioner Ryan Poston confirmed the 3-0 vote in a text message to ABC 17 News. The plan was prepared under Missouri’s Chapter 100 law and called for the
Continue Reading
The World Cup starts this month, and there’s been no shortage of buzz here in Mid-Missouri, with games set to be played in nearby Kansas City. It’s been a great time to be a young soccer athlete here. Meanwhile, local first responders are training in case they’re called to help. Local businesses are hoping they
Continue Reading
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri Supreme Court on Monday denied the state’s appeal on a ruling last week that tweaked the ballot language on a question asking voters to eliminate the state income tax. Chief Justice W. Brent Powell denied the appeal by state officials to challenge the rewritten ballot language in an order
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri Western District Court of Appeals on Friday rewrote the language of a ballot measure that seeks to eliminate Missouri’s income tax and expand sales taxes. The court heard the case after a Cole County judge ruled against a challenge to the ballot measure on Monday. The appeals court on Friday
Continue Reading
Editor’s note: The launch date has been corrected. COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri Department of Social Services announced Friday that it is extending the date of the Healthy SNAP initiative, which eliminates many sugary food and drinks from purchases. The initiative was originally set to launch on Oct. 1 of this year, but will now
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KM(Z) American Shaman has agreed to suspend the sale of kratom and 7-OH products in Missouri, the state’s Attorney General’s Office shared in a Thursday press release. AG Catherine Hanaway announced in March that her office was suing the business and its affiliated companies under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, claiming that its
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri Department of Conservation has confirmed that it has received “several” reports about a bear being spotted in St. James. The St. James Police Department shared photos of a black bear in the area on Wednesday and Thursday. A Department of Conservation spokeswoman told ABC 17 News in an email that
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Cole County Sheriff’s Office is warning the public of a new phishing scam that is targeting Apple users. A press release from the sheriff’s office says text messages and emails are falsely claiming that “an Apple ID or Apple Pay account has been linked to money laundering or other illegal activity.
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Roughly $1.95 million was paid out to 74 Mid-Missouri landowners along the Rock Island Trail by the federal government. The landowners, represented by a St. Louis firm, brought claims against the federal government for taking their property for the 200-mile hiking and biking trail. The move came in 2015 when the federal
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library will not be able to accept new applications for enrollees beginning on July 1 because of state budget cuts, according to an email from a Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education spokesperson. “Due to the proposed 2027 Fiscal Year state budget reduction, beginning July 1, 2026, Dolly Parton Imagination Library will not have the funds to accept
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Capable of reaching speeds of up to 20 miles per hour, e-bikes and e-scooters are prompting a reminder from the Ashland Police Department about where and how they can be used. “We continue to receive complaints of dangerous activities by young people on e-bikes and electric motorcycles on the streets of Ashland,”
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Rolla woman was charged with two felonies and three misdemeanors after she allegedly crashed a stolen tractor into a fence and on Thursday and ran off with camouflage boots in Gasconade County. Ashley Walser was charged with second-degree burglary, first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle, second-degree tampering with a motor vehicle
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A convicted murderer has been accused of killing an inmate at Jefferson City Correctional Center. Zachariah Peterson, 38, was charged with second-degree murder and causing violence to an inmate after a grand jury indictment was filed on Tuesday. A no-bond warrant was issued. Details were scant because of the lack of a
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Missouri Board of Education President Mary Schrag resigned from her position on Tuesday, according to a press release from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Schrag was appointed to the state board in 2019 by then-Gov. Mike Parson. Her term officially expired in 2024, but state law allows that person
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Black drivers in Missouri were once again stopped at higher rates last year than white drivers, according to the annual Vehicle Stops Report. The Attorney General’s Vehicle Stops Report is due on June 1 each year. It provides data related to vehicle stops statewide, including an index that measures the rate at
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The entrance to Ha Ha Tonka Road from Highway 54 in Camdenton will close for multiple weeks beginning on Wednesday, according to a Monday press release from the Missouri Department of Transportation. The entrance will be closed through Wednesday, June 24, the release says. Crews will reconstruct the entrance and no detour
Continue Reading
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A Cole County judge ruled Monday in favor of the state, rejecting claims that a ballot issue to eliminate Missouri’s income tax violated the state constitution. Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh ruled against the plaintiff, Jill Owens, on all four counts and declared the judgment final after Gov. Mike Kehoe decided last
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Regional Airport on Monday launched its new shuttle service for the new 700-space south parking lot as the airport continues to see growth. The lot opened at 4 a.m. Monday with a shuttle taking the first group of passengers to the main terminal. The shuttle is set run in 10-minute
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A new judge was assigned on Friday to a Cole County murder from 1991. William “Chris” Niemet, of Fulton, is charged with first-degree murder in a 1991 death of his classmate in Russellville. Niemet, of Fulton, is accused of killing his classmate, Greg Jones, in April 1991 in Russellville. Jones was 14. Niemet
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Missouri’s “how weather law” will be in effect from June 1-Sept. 30. The Missouri Public Service Commission sent a reminder in a press release on Friday. The law was made to protect residential customers of investor-owned utilities from having electric or natural gas service disconnected because of nonpayment “when electricity or natural
Continue Reading