News

Columbia police have two people in custody after a short, early morning chase Friday morning. Police say they attempted to stop a white BMW around 4:15 near Providence Road and Smiley Lane. The driver of a white BMW allegedly turned their lights off and quickly turned onto Arctic Fox Drive. Officers say the passenger was

Columbia’s Planning and Zoning Commission voted to approve recommendations to the city council for a proposed subdivision development in southwest Columbia Thursday night. Members voted 6-2 in favor of annexing and rezoning about 90 acres of land off Scott Boulevard near Smith Drive and Louisville Drive. The rezoning would include approximately 80 acres to R-1,

Mid Missouri is expecting a freeze warning early Friday morning, meaning a lot of plants and crops that are grown in the area are at risk of freezing if they aren’t properly taken care of. The owner of Strawberry Hill Farms, Steven Sapp says that he prefers for spring weather to start later because it

Political candidates nationally and locally have raised tens of millions of dollars for the 2016 elections. Now, many of them are no longer actively running for office. On Tuesday, ABC 17 News reported Columbia City Council candidate Daryl Dudley had suspended his campaign amid controversy over his financial disclosures. We spoke with the Missouri Ethics

Parts of Missouri saw and smelled smoke from the wildfires in Kansas and Oklahoma. So far, the fire has burned more than 400,000 acres in the two states. Smoke from the blaze has been detected as far east as Springfield, 290 miles away, and northeast in St. Louis, about 460 miles away, according to the

A freeze warning is in effect for parts of Mid-Missouri for Thursday night, and that may cause concern for people trying to grow certain plants, crops, or fruit trees. The warning has been issued for the mid- to southern half of central Missouri, though northern counties will likely see freezing temperatures as well. When temperatures

ABC 17 News has learned the search for missing inmate could be over in mid-Missouri, after a car was stolen late Monday night in Mt. Sterling, about 40 minutes east of Jefferson City. That is where troopers used a helicopter to look for Jason Mills on Saturday. The Gasconade County sheriff’s office also had extended

A semi truck crash south of Columbia caused traffic to back up along Highway 63. The crash happened near Deer Park Road at around 3 p.m., and traffic was slowed or stopped as far north as Grindstone Parkway. Crews had been working on cleaning up a sewage spill in the same area shortly before the

Temperatures will be up and down in the next week with cooler air moving in behind a cold front on Easter Sunday. Sunshine will bring temperatures up to near 60 Friday and we’ll climb to the lower 60s Saturday. But an approaching cold front will bring light showers through Mid-Missouri Saturday morning through mid-afternoon. The

ABC 17 News learned a mid-Missouri murder suspect died at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louisover the weekend after complications from a stroke. Karen Brinkley was accused of strangling her roommate, Marion Gerloff, 64. Investigators believe Brinkley hid her body in a box at their home at 415 Frene Drive. Gerloff’s remains were found in

Despite frequent efforts to clean up spilled trash from the intersection of Larch Court and Tupelo Place in Columbia, the area is once again littered with garbage. Sergeant Michael Hestir with the CPD Community Outreach Unit told ABC17 that the area is littered with bottles, baby diapers, and other assorted trash. ABC17 News confirmed that

An identity thief has targeted a Facebook user in Columbia. Columbia police said the unknown person made a duplicate account with the victims information. Authorities investigated the incident last Friday. “Facebook actually makes it pretty easy to create a fake profile for somebody. I could take your picture off of Facebook and create a profile

The Columbia Public School Board met Thursday morning to review the first year of Student Transportation of America as the district’s bus company. The board approved STA in 2014 after the company put in a bid for $53-million over a five years. It was the first time in more than 30 years former CPS bus

A virtual reality simulation gave some Columbia students a different look at what can happen when someone drives distracted. The simulator allows students to get a first-hand look at how dangerous taking their eyes off the road can be. The simulation is part of the “It Can Wait” campaign sponsored by AT&T. The company cites

Storms overnight Thursday caused power outages across Boone County impacting up to 200 customers at one point. ABC 17 news checked with Boone Electric Cooperative Thursday morning. The provider said four outages were reported overnight after storms rolled through Boone County around 11:00 Wednesday night. The outages happened in Ashland, near West Gleason Road, near

A man and woman have been arrested more than week after a fight at a Columbia gas station, during which someone pulled out a gun. The fight happened on March 15 at the Petro Mart on St. Charles Road. According to the Boone County Sheriff’s Department, the fight involved two groups of people whose children

In a new filing in his federal lawsuit against Columbia police, Ryan Ferguson claims the department misunderstands the point of his case. Ferguson sued six members of the police department, among others, over his incarceration for the murder of Kent Heitholt. The murder happened in 2001, when Heitholt, the sports editor for the Columbia Daily

Days after professor Melissa Click was fired in February, the American Association of University Professors sent a letter to interim chancellor Hank Foley asking the UM Board of Curators to rescind Click’s firing. AAUP’s investigating committee consists of three AAUP members from other institutions. They visited Columbia earlier this week to meet with administrators, board

A women who lead the Boone County Sheriff’s Department on a chase three weeks ago driving the opposite direction on Highway 63 is due in court on April 4th, 2016. Taneka Lee Lewis is charged for two DWI’s, a week apart from each other, driving with a revoked license, endangering a child, and resisting arrest.

The Cole County Sheriff’s Department said it is facing a turnover rate like it has never seen. Right now, the department is short four positions with another one opening up next month, according to Capt. John Wheeler. The department lost 17 employees in 2015. And so far this year, it has already lost 7 more.