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Brian Treece defeated Skip Walther on April 5 th to become Columbia’s next mayor. Mayor-elect Treece will drop the “elect” portion of his current title when he’s sworn on Monday evening at 5:00. Then, he’ll attend his first city council meeting as an elected member of that body. Before he takes the oath, he visits

A committee leading the search for a new president of the University of Missouri system nagged by racial unrest says candidates must have “a deft command” of communications and public relations. The committee approved a list of qualifications for the successor to Tim Wolfe during a meeting Thursday in Rolla of the system’s governing board

PLEASE NOTE: The Networks of Mid-Missouri will air a special episode of last week’s ‘Jack Hanna’s Wild Countdown’ Saturday, April 16 , at 11 a.m. on ABC 17, KMIZ.

The Missouri Senate Veterans’ Affairs and Health Committee has unanimously passed a bill that targets so-called “step therapy” practices by insurance companies. The bill is sponsored by House Speaker Pro Tem Denny Hoskins from Warrensburg. It’s designed to ensure the medicine prescribed by a patient’s doctor is the medicine the patient is allowed to take.

A Mexico, Missouri man will soon learn his sentence after he was convicted for child sex crimes. Audrain County prosecutors say a jury found 40-year-old Darran Boston guilty after two days of trial. Boston raped, sodomized, abused, tortured, and exploited two girls in Audrain County for nearly 2 years. He’s now convicted of 28 counts

Columbia police identified the man who was hospitalized Thursday morning after he was hit by three vehicles on Interstate 70, including one car and one truck. Police said 24-year-oldDewayne Carter was under the influence of drugs or alcohol when he tried to walk across I-70 eastbound this morning. Police said a vehicle struck Carter. Another

A Cole County woman has been charged with embezzling more than $40,000 from two companies. Laura Winge, 44, is accused of taking the money from Turks Construction, Inc. and Pools Unlimited LLC. According to investigators, Winge embezzled the money over a period beginning in 2010 and ending in March of this year. According to the

Columbia Mayor-elect Brian Treece isn’t sworn into office until Monday, but he already has another appointment to make. The chairman of the Mayor’s Task Force on Infrastructure, Chris Kelly, has resigned. The long-time community and state servant headed up the task force that was approved by the city council last July. Mayor Bob McDavid recommended

Southern Boone School District officials held a meeting for parents on the danger of social media as a gateway to child human trafficking Thursday. A detective with the Boone County Sheriff’s Department Cyber Crimes Task Force and a member of the Central Missouri Stop Human Trafficking Coalition spoke to parents in the Southern Boone High

The University of Missouri’s Board of Curators met Thursday morning in Rolla to discuss changes for the upcoming school year. Recent hires at the University of Missouri would not be eligible for subsidized health insurance after they retire and this would include anyone who was employed for less than five years on January 1st, 2018.

UPDATE: 39-year-old Robert Lozano was arrested and charged in connection to an armed robbery that happenedat the Eagle Stopconvenience storeat the junction of Hwy. 87 and I-70 Thursday. According to the Cooper County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the convenience store around 1:30 Thursday morning to find Lozano had fled the scene. Cooper County Sheriff’s

Update: A Fulton teenager has been arrested in connection with a Facebook page called “South Callaway Sexiest.” After investigating for more than two months, investigators have identified Andrew Buckner, 17, as the author of the Facebook page. The page, taken down by Callaway County authorities in February, contained images of female students at South Callaway

Update: MODOT just announced that they will be keeping the westbound lanes opens for two more weeks. According to project engineers, the delay is related to concerns over preparing the steel for painting. Officials say the scope of the project has not changed, nor has the estimated total closure time of four months. Original Story:

Governor Jay Nixon has signed a bill prohibiting statewide elected officials and members of the General Assembly from serving as paid political consultants for other elected officials or candidates for those offices. The bill is one of several related to ethics reform, one of the top priorities for this legislative session. It also bars elected

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is scheduled to open Monday morning on the Business Loop in Columbia, the CEO of Arkansas-based SmitCo Eateries said. Brian Smith said the restaurant will open at 10:30 a.m. Monday. He told ABC 17 News that the restaurant has hired 88 employees, who are currently in training. The location is in the

Troopers with the Missouri State Highway Patrol have arrested a man from Sunrise Beach on suspicion of promoting child pornography, possessing child porn, and possession methamphetamine. Richard Brown, 35, was arrested Tuesday following an investigation by the Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control. Investigators searched Brown’s home on Deep Water Drive, and reported

Boone County deputies arrested a man Tuesday afternoon after he led them on a chase, according to a detective at the Boone County Sheriff’s Department. Dennis Bunn, 33, is now facing multiple charges including resisting arrest and burglary. The Boone County Sheriff’s department received a call about a possible abandoned vehicle in the 3900 block

Due to technical difficulties, the Sporting KC game scheduled to air on MyZouTV (MyNetwork), Wednesday, April 13, will not air. The Closer will air in its place.

A suspect landed behind bars following a drug bust on Tuesday southwest of Jefferson City. ABC 17 News has confirmed Kenneth Spears is now facing two felony drug charges in Cole County. The sheriff’s department searched his home off Shagbark Circle between Route C and Highway 54. Deputies claim they found some meth, a large

Due to an unexpected zero-growth in sales tax revenue, Columbia city officials have introduced a 30-day hiring freeze for its employees to help adjust the city’s budget. Tony St. Romaine, Deputy City Manager, said the city usually sees it’s highest sales tax revenue during the months of December and January. He said the city budgets