News

Missouri ranks 40th for average teacher salary in the United States despite a top 20 fiscal condition. According to the Missouri Department of Elementary Education, the U.S. average for teacher salary is $56,383 a year, while the Missouri average is $47,393. In the Columbia/Jefferson City area, that average salary is only about $37,072. Salary offered

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office has filed a lawsuit against a Columbia gun shop owner accused of ripping off his customers. The petition against ZK Guns owner Zach Kean was filed Thursday afternoon. This comes four months after ABC 17’s Jillian Fertig confronted Kean after customers claimed they were being ripped off. Last month, Kean

Columbia’s Planning and Zoning Commission will vote Thursday night on a revised development proposal for East Elementary School. Thursday morning, the Columbia School Board unanimously approved the proposal, which calls for a second access road connecting Howell Mountain Drive and Rolling Hills Road south of Columbia Gorge Parkway. The budget for the development project is

Columbia police are investigating a burglary that happened late Wednesday evening. Police tell us they received a call where someone reported seeing a person crawling through a window at Spicewine Ironworks on the Business Loop. Officers say someone got inside the business, but they aren’t sure if anything was stolen. A suspect description is not

Friday afternoon, MU students will have the opportunity to speak one-on-one with university administrators. The Board of Curators announced Thursday that they want to hear directly from students about their experiences and concerns on campus. “That’s the only way our leadership is going to know what these issues are straight from the students. Not hearsay,

The trial date has been set for a former church youth director accused of child sex crimes. Jury selection starts January 12 for Dale Johnson. Johnson turned himself over to Boone County deputies back in March after leaving his role at Parkade Baptist Church in central Columbia. Officials said he molested a young girl at

The Boone County prosecuting attorney’s office is asking commissioners for more money. Dan Knight said it’s not unusual to need more money for trial costs. He said jury trials are expensive and this year his office has tried 22 of them. Knight was in front of the commission on Thursday asking for emergency funds to

Marshall Police and public safety officials at Missouri Valley College in Marshall are investigating a threat made on social media Wednesday. The Department of Public Safety and Student Affairs said it got notice of a threat posted to the social media site Yik Yak. 18-year-old Paris G. Lovett, a MVC student, is charged with making

ABC 17 News learned Thursday a previously reported fire in Moberly has been ruled an arson. Moberly Police and the Missouri State Fire Marshal investigated the building at 316 W Reed Street that was destroyed on November 6. Video surveillance captured the man outside the building, but he has not yet been identified. Moberly Police

Our next low pressure system has been developing over the Pacific Northwest and is forecast to track in our direction. Low pressure is expected to track to our north, keeping us on the warmer side of the system. On Friday rain chances increase from the west by mid-late afternoon. Temperatures will be in the mid-40s

Police say they are looking for a man who jumped through a drive-thru window in east Columbia, before escaping the Taco Bell with cash. Officers were called around 1 a.m. Thursday to the restaurant near Stadium Boulevard and Highway 63. They claim the suspect got out of a car with a weapon, climbed in through

The trial for a Jefferson City murder suspect is scheduled for March 14 2016. Paris Alexander-Henderson is accused of shooting 33-year-old Bryant Sturkey just before 1:00 a.m. April 25 in the 1400 block of Elizabeth Street. Sturkey died from his injuries. According to court documents, Alexander-Henderson shot from his car at Sturkey, once in the

A Boone County jury convicted a Fulton parolee of first degree robbery Wednesday afternoon for the October 2013 robbery at Kaldi’s Coffee in downtown Columbia. Fifty-year-old Anthony Paine will be sentenced on Dec. 21. He faces a sentence of 10 to 30 years in prison. Jury selection began Wednesday morning in Columbia. The jury heard

ABC 17 confirmed a suspect who was arrested for posting online threats to the MU campus has bonded out of jail Wednesday night. A Boone County judge approved a $10,000 bond for Hunter Park early on Wednesday. Park was initially held without bond, but on Wednesday he was granted access to home detention with a

Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway has released an audit of the Cooper County Collector and Property Tax System with a performance rating of “good.” The audit found concerns with the procedures used to balance the county collector’s bank accounts and transmit money between accounts. The audit also found an inadequate review process for annual settlements,

A former Glasgow city employee pleaded guilty in Howard County Court Monday to felony stealing charges. 39-year-old Julie Strodtman admitted to stealing more than $30,000 from with city while she was still employed there. She will be sentenced on January 4, 2016.

A Missouri lawmaker is seeking a special legislative session aimed at preventing Gov. Jay Nixon from allowing Syrian refugees to resettle in the state. Nixon, a Democrat, on Monday called on the federal government to ensure strong safeguards. But he did not say he’d pause refugee relocations as governors in several other states have pledged

A Pettis County man is charged with 6 counts of having child porn Wednesday. 36-year-old John Hays of Sedalia appeared in court Wednesday on the new charges. Police searched his home this fall and found numerous pictures and videos relating to child porn. Some of the images involved girls as young as 2 years old.

The Boys and Girls Club of the Capital City broke ground on a new facility in Jefferson City Wednesday. The ceremony took place at the Lincoln University ROTC parking lot on Lafayette St. The new building will be called the Frank and Billie Railton Center, and it will be located on the Lincoln University campus.

The City of Columbia is tested its snow procedures as part of preparations for the winter season Wednesday. Truck drivers will go over their routes with plows, and parking enforcement agents will place tags on cars parked along certain priority roads. The tag is not a citation, just information about the city’s policies. For snow