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A woman who participated in a kidnapping in February pleaded guilty to lesser charges in court Tuesday.Tracy Stodgell pleaded guilty to aggravated stalking and felonious restraint in court. The charges carry a maximum of 11 years in prison, however as part of her plea agreement, she will avoid additional jail time.Stodgell has been behind bars

A Columbia man is behind bar for allegedly assaulting two women Monday night.Jon. P. Washington, 26, was arrested on charges of third degree assault, second degree domestic assault and unlawful use of a weapon.Boone County Sheriff’s Department detectives say Washington punched his girlfriend. During the disturbance, Washington then began to swing a baseball bat and

***UPDATE WEDNESDAY 12:45 P.M.***ABC 17 News contacted the University of Missouri and the Chancellor’s office for a statement regarding Mike Dixon’s suspension. The university would not comment on the issue, however, the News Bureau did provide the following statement, which has been abbreviated:”The university cannot comment on individual students records according to The Family Educational

Wednesday’s drawing for the record Powerball jackpot of $500 million has Missourians purchasing more tickets than usual.Missouri lottery officials say as of 3 p.m. Tuesday, Powerball ticket sales have topped $1 million for the day. That is more than half of the sales in a regular week.According to Susan Goedde of Missouri Lottery, the chances

Holiday shopping is in full swing and criminals are targeting shoppers’ cars and valuable. It’s a crime trend ABC 17 News has been following for days.Last week, thieves broke into more than 20 vehicles in Columbia and now law enforcement are urging residents to be vigilant to help curb the crime.During a trip to several

In a Public Safety Alert, emergency officials are warning of the fire risks due to live Christmas trees.”There are multiple fires that are related to Christmas tree fires,” said Lt. Brian Davison of the Columbia Fire Department. “Unfortunately there are multiple people that lose their lives from the holiday season because of it.”Davison says it’s

High temperatures will be near 50 Wednesday afternoon, which is several degrees warmer than the average high of 47. Lows Wednesday night will drop into the low 30s, which is near average. Temperatures will warm to around 60 for Thursday through Saturday. Highs will approach 70 for Sunday and next Monday.

***UPDATE WEDNESDAY 1 P.M.***Officers say the 67-year-old female victim was getting out of her car when the male suspect approached her from behind and demanded her purse.The suspect then fled from the scene on foot with the victim’s purse. A K-9 team was called to the scene but the dogs were unable to track the

Columbia Water and Light crews were called out to a water main break early Wednesday morning.It happened on Rollins Street, right off Providence Road.Crews are fixing the issue now. Only one customer on Rollins will be impacted and they will be placed under a boil advisory.

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is preparing to announce his support for a major health care initiative.Nixon scheduled news conferences Thursday at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, Barnes Jewish Center in St. Louis and Jordan Valley Community Health Center in Springfield.He will be joined at some of the stops by officials

The state’s Rapid Response Team will help workers who are now unemployed following the closure of Hostess’ plants and stores.Representatives will assist employees by providing information on job openings and reemployment services such as specialized workshops, skills assessments, resume assistance and access to training.The team’s schedule is as followed:Mexico: 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, at the

Jefferson City High School will remain open today after a small fire. District officials say it happened on the third floor around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. The fire was contained to one room and appears to be electrical.Classes on the third floor will be moved to cafeteria and gym for the first block so the

Boone County Sheriff’s deputies served a search warrant Wednesday morning at a home they believe is connected to criminal activity.According to deputies, several crimes have occurred at the residence at 4380 Southview Drive. They say multiple shots were fired into the home on October 31st, but no one was injured by the gunfire. Investigators believe

The Sunrise Beach Fire Marshal and the State Fire Marshal are investigating an early morning fire at an area sports club.Firefighters were called to the Ship & Shape Fitness located on North State Highway 5 around midnight Tuesday. Crews found a fire located on the second floor balcony and were able to keep the fire

An early Wednesday morning fire destroyed a corn crib in Cole County.Firefighters were called to the fire in the 7000 block of Route C in rural Lohman around 5 a.m. The building contained approximately 500 bushels of corn and several tractors.Russellville/Lohman Fire Protection District Chief Melvin Stubinger says the building collapsed and destroyed everything inside,

The threat of a cyber attack is forcing Missouri’s biggest power companies to come up with a plan. The Public Service Commission says the risk is growing and electric companies must be able to handle it.The three biggest companies in the state: Kansas City Power and Light, Empire District Electric in the Springfield area, and

As the holidays are quickly approaching, many people are trying to find best deals. However, experts say it is the perfect opportunity for criminals to scam shoppers.Mid-Missouri experts are warning of potential scams, including donations to charities during the holiday season.”Look for an organization that has been doing the work that they want to do

The Cole County Sheriff says he needs more money due to a growing inmate problem. Today, Sheriff Greg White asked Cole County commissioners for more money to hire new officers for the jail.The Sheriff and other jail supervisors talked about the need for more jailers to handle the inmates in the new Cole County Jail.

The Jefferson City Council discussed the city’s downtown zone parking at Wednesday’s meeting at City Hall.City Administrator Nathan Nickolaus says former administrator Steve Rassmusen instituted the “Zone 99” policy about five years ago. That policy allows downtown residents to park in any metered space for free.The “Zone 99” permits expire on Saturday and right now,

***UPDATE***(AP) – Powerball officials say the record jackpot has been won.Early Thursday morning officials confirmed that two winning tickets were sold: One in Arizona and one in Missouri. An additional 8,924,123 players won smaller prizes.The numbers drawn Wednesday night are: 5, 16, 22, 23, 29 and Powerball of 6.A lottery official said late Wednesday that