Budget cuts lead to layoffs in Secretary of State’s office
The Secretary of State’s Office laid off 22 employees, including 17 from the Archives and 5 from the State Library, due to recent legislative actions and budget cuts.
Continue ReadingMissouri
Blue alert issued after Lee’s Summit officer shot
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Blue Alert was issued Monday morning by the Missouri State Highway Patrol after a police officer was shot in Lee’s Summit. MSHP put an alert out around 8:45 a.m. after a suspect was named in a shooting in Lee’s Summit. A Blue Alert is issued after a member of law enforcement
Continue Reading
Conservation Department employees’ health information leaked in data breach
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Some employees’ personal health information was possibly taken as part of a data breach of the Missouri Department of Conservation’s systems in February, the agency said Friday. MDC initially alerted employees and the public about the breach in February. At the time, officials thought no personal information was part of the
Continue Reading
NAACP claims Missouri AG illegally withheld data in vehicle stop report in new lawsuit
NAACP lawsuitDownload COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri NAACP has sued Attorney General Andrew Bailey for failing to include the disparity index, a key racial profiling measure, in the state’s 2023 annual vehicle stops report. The disparity index measures whether officers are stopping minority drivers at a higher rate than white drivers. It is published in
Continue Reading
Black drivers again pulled over at higher rate in Missouri, traffic stop report says
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Black drivers were again pulled over at a rate surpassing white drivers in Missouri in 2024, according to an annual report released Thursday. The Attorney General’s Vehicle Stops Report is due on June 1 each year, but was released early with that date falling on a weekend. The report provides data
Continue Reading
Lawsuit filed against Camden County sheriff by umpire accused of choking deputy moved to federal court
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A lawsuit filed by an umpire who was accused of attacking a woman and a deputy in 2023 was moved to federal court on Wednesday. Neal Sidebottom, of Versailles, was charged in 2023 with first-degree assault and misdemeanor resisting arrest. The case was transferred last year from Camden County to Moniteau County. A judge was
Continue Reading
Judge ends pause on abortion regulations after Missouri Supreme Court decision
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Jackson County Judge Jerri Zhang issued an order vacating her previous rulings that allowed abortions to continue in Missouri. The action withdraws Zhang’s own prior orders and is procedural with the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision on Tuesday that stopped the enforcement of state abortion regulations. The high court ordered Zhang to end
Continue Reading 3 arrested after refusing to leave site of Lake-area bar brawl
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Three people were arrested and charged with misdemeanors after refusing to leave an establishment after a bar fight in Morgan County on Sunday. Nicole Patricia Kusgen, 50, of Jefferson City, was charged with first-degree trespassing, resisting arrest and disturbing the peace. She posted a $10,000 bond and was release from the Morgan
Continue Reading
2 charged with first-degree murder in Columbia man’s death plead not guilty
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Two people charged with first-degree murder in Benton County in a Columbia man’s death appeared in court on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty. Michael Birnbaum, 28, and Kayley Birnbaum, 35, both of Springfield, Missouri, are charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. They are being held at the Benton County Jail
Continue Reading
Missouri Supreme Court ends injunction on abortion laws, sending matter back to local judge
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday ended a ruling that stopped the enforcement of state abortion regulations, telling a Jackson County judge to try again. The ruling says that Judge Jerri Zhang applied the wrong legal standard when she approved a preliminary injunction in December 2024 to block the enforcement of state
Continue Reading
QUESTION OF THE DAY: Is using public financing for professional sports teams a good investment?
Gov. Mike Kehoe is calling lawmakers back to Jefferson City. The primary purpose — a public financing package to help keep the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals in Missouri. Kehoe laid out his plans Tuesday for a special session that will take place next month. The main piece of the session will be legislation to
Continue Reading
Kehoe calls for special session on stadium funding, capital projects
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Gov. Mike Kehoe unveiled plans for a special session to take up legislation to incentivize sports teams to stay in Missouri and fund capital projects like a University of Missouri nuclear reactor during a Capitol news conference Tuesday. Kehoe will bring lawmakers together next month to discuss financial incentives for stadium
Continue Reading
Arson trial for embattled Casa Maria’s owner set for February; bond amended
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The trial over the second-degree arson charge of a Columbia restaurant owner is scheduled for February. Crystal Umfress is charged with felonies in two cases in southeast Missouri. In one case, she’s charged with second-degree arson. A pretrial conference is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2026. The trial is set to start Feb.
Continue Reading
Missouri appeals court upholds nine-figure award against Monsanto over cancer claims
(Editor’s note, 5/27: The story and headline have been updated to reflect a Cole County judge’s changes to the amount of money awarded in the case.) COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Western District Court of Appeals upheld a Cole County jury’s decision to punish agriculture giant Monsanto for diseases developed by those using its product. The
Continue Reading
Fewer deaths, injuries, arrests on Missouri roads over Memorial Day weekend than last year
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported fewer deaths, crashes, injuries and arrests on Missouri roads over Memorial Day weekend this year compared to 2024. MSHP wrote in a Tuesday release that from 6 p.m. Friday-11:59 p.m. Monday, there were three fatalities, 182 crashes, 83 people injured and 78 arrests for driving while
Continue Reading
Auxvasse man accused of raping youth
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) An Auxvasse man was charged this week with two counts of second-degree statutory rape. Taylor Logan Brown, 25, is being held at the Callaway County Jail without bond. An initial court appearance is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Callaway County Courthouse. The probable cause statement says that the youth was
Continue Reading
Inmate at Jefferson City Correctional Center accused of stabbing corrections officer
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) An inmate who is serving a life sentence for murder was charged with several felonies on Tuesday after he allegedly assaulted two corrections officers in 2023. James Henderson, 44, was charged in Cole County with first-degree assault, two counts of armed criminal action, two counts of violence toward a Department of Corrections
Continue Reading
Thousands of Missourians could lose food assistance under ‘big, beautiful bill’
Millions of low-income Americans could lose food assistance under House Republicans’ tax and spending cuts package, according to a recent Congressional Budget Office analysis.
Continue Reading
Kehoe to announce special session details on Tuesday
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe on Tuesday will announce special session details for the Missouri legislature, according to a Monday news release from his office. Kehoe is expected to make the announcement at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Capitol. The governor had floated the idea at the end of the regular session earlier
Continue Reading
Trump approves major disaster declaration for March, April storms
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) President Donald Trump has approved two of Missouri’s major disaster declaration requests for severe storms, tornadoes and flooding that occurred March 14-15 and March 30-April 8, according to a Friday press release from the governor’s office. “This is important and very welcome news for the Missouri families and communities hit hard by
Continue Reading