COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) It’s not uncommon for Missouri drivers to have to maneuver cones, reduce speeds, drive through narrow lanes, or have construction crews standing feet away from the road, with nearly 600 active work zones on highways across the state under the Missouri Department of Transportation. Even with signs telling drivers to slow down
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) If you’re speeding, especially in a work zone, you may be on the lookout for troopers on the side of the roads to avoid getting a ticket. But it’s much harder to spot a trooper when they are ticketing you from 2,000 feet in the air. The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Aircraft
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PILOT GROVE, Mo. (KMIZ) The response to an EF-2 tornado that damaged or destroyed dozens of buildings in Pilot Grove was hampered by some first responders not being able to communicate with each other using radios at the scene. A four-page “after-action report” drawn up by the Cooper County Emergency Management Agency gives insight into
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Inside a Jefferson City conference room, fewer than a dozen people have been creating hundreds of pages of rules that could help shape Missouri’s future. The Missouri Gaming Commission refers to it as the “war room,” and it’s where the groundwork is being laid for the state’s journey into legalized sports betting.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) When former Cardinals manager Mike Schildt announced his abrupt retirement at the end of the 2025 MLB season, it came as a bit of a shock. The 57-year-old had just guided the San Diego Padres to a 90-72 record and was coming off his third consecutive 90-plus win season. While several factors
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) More than six years after two Columbia residents were shot and killed in northeast Columbia, their families and police are still searching for answers. “Something that was different about this scene than others, it was very quiet,” Columbia Police Department Lt. Matt Gremore said. Just after 3 a.m. Sept. 22, 2019, police
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) More than six years after a string of homicides and gun violence struck Columbia, police and the former mayor spoke with ABC 17 News about a violent September. “I think I referred to it at the time as a hurricane of violence that was circling our community,” former Columbia Mayor Brian Treece
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The University of Missouri banned people who yelled a racial slur from a vehicle at Cayleigh Moore and Gabbi Gordon from campus. Those people were not students. The university’s Office of Institutional Equity is investigating another incident that Moore and Gordon recounted to an ABC 17 News reporter. MU says that the incident
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) In October and November 2015, the University of Missouri’s campus saw protests, hunger strikes, and ultimately, a change in leadership. Students on campus were protesting racial inequalities and what many felt like was a lack of accountability from those in charge — specifically, former University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe. Many
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) It’s not uncommon to walk into an emergency department waiting room full of people, so many that some have to sit on the floor. Patients waiting hours in emergency departments is becoming a more familiar story across the nation. Two hours. Three hours. Five hours. Six hours. Twelve hours. This is how
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The average time a Missouri resident spends in an emergency department from arriving to leaving is 2 hours and 35 minutes, ranking the state 29th in the longest average wait time. Emergency department wait times have increased across the country and here in Missouri. According to the CDC, emergency departments in the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that people accused of crimes have the right to a fair and speedy trial. But for those waiting for state-mandated mental health treatment before trial, speedy isn’t always the case. Jeanette Simmons, deputy director of the Missouri Department of Mental Health, said around 500
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Five hundred people in Missouri jails have been deemed incompetent to stand trial and are waiting for a bed with the Department of Mental Health. But there are no beds available. The state has 922 beds available for criminal commitment, or committing someone to mental health treatment while they await trial. Jeanette
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia/Boone County chapter of Crimestoppers typically offers rewards in cases involving warrants and drugs. However, the organization has a role in helping solve the city’s unsolved homicides, too. Crimestoppers board president and former Boone County Sheriff’s Office deputy John Fields said the local chapter was founded in 1980. Fields estimates the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) In less than a month, students across Missouri will be preparing to head back to the classroom for the 2025-2026 school year. As the new school year approaches in Missouri, state health officials are urging parents and guardians to check their child’s vaccination status, warning that falling immunization rates could lead to
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A new Missouri law will require drivers to pay the motor vehicle sales tax directly at the car dealership when purchasing a vehicle in a bid to reduce the number of expired temporary tags on the road. It will require drivers to pay their motor vehicle sales tax directly at the dealership
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Unpaid motor vehicle sales tax costs Missouri millions of dollars a year, according to the Missouri Department of Revenue. Between January 1, 2021, and July 23, 2024, the Department of Revenue reported more than 113,000 delinquent accounts tied to temporary permits, adding up to nearly $145 million in unpaid fees. Each year,
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson will never forget May 16, 2025. It was a Friday around 3:15 p.m., meaning major roads in the city were already packed with traffic as rush hour approached. That would lead to even more issues down the road. It was the day an EF-3 tornado struck
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Finding missing people is getting easier thanks to an important piece of technology: Drones. Missouri Task Force 1 has 30 drones under its belt that are used throughout Boone County for various missions. Some of those missions include helping local law enforcement, such as the Boone County Sheriff’s Office. The department began
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia police are still searching for a man seen with 59-year-old George Showalter before he was killed at the Red Roof Inn in 1994. George Showalter, date unknown On April 17, 1994, Columbia Police responded to a call at the Red Roof Inn Motel near Interstate 70 and found Showalter facedown and
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