EDITOR’S NOTE: Melissa Buchanan’s current job has been corrected. COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Boone County’s top prosecutor wasted no time putting in his name for an associate circuit judge seat on Tuesday, while the term-limited state House member serving Jefferson City filed for Cole County clerk. Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson signed his paperwork less than
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The story has been updated to note that Dr. Lisa Thomas is a former House member. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) The August Republican primary in Missouri’s Sixth Senate District is a crowded field after just the opening day of filing. Filing for the August primary opened Tuesday, including the seat that represents Cole,
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) The state senator who serves Callaway and Montgomery counties said Monday that he will not seek reelection, instead taking a job with a public-private economic development partnership. Sen. Travis Fitzwater (R-Holts Summit), announced on his Facebook page Monday — the day before filing for the August primary begins — that he
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Former Boone County Clerk Taylor Burks announced his bid for Missouri’s newly drawn Fifth District House seat in a Thursday press release. Burks, a Republican, has ran for congressional seats earlier this decade, including in the Third and Fourth districts. Filing for the Aug.4 primary opens Feb. 24. “Missouri deserves a representative
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Jefferson City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved modifying a hiring incentive for police officers. The council at its regular meeting upped the lateral transfer incentive from $10,000 to $15,000. Prior to this, the $10,00 lateral transfer was paired with a $5,000 hiring incentive for non-licensed academy recruits, according to meeting documents.
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Missouri lawmakers are taking a hard look at regulating artificial intelligence, focusing on images and videos created without consent. The House Emerging Issues Committee held a public hearing on Monday to examine a series of bills that would expand criminal and civil penalties for nonconsensual AI-generated content. Lawmakers emphasized the rapid
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Secretary of State Denny Hoskins is asking local election authorities to verify voters’ citizenship status after a federal program flagged people for potential illegal status. However, many county clerks have spotted citizens on the list. Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said Hoskins sent her a list of 74 voters in November whose
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A bench trial began Monday in Jefferson City over the language that would place Missouri’s new congressional map on the November ballot. The trial is the latest in a series of lawsuits challenging the congressional map the General Assembly passed during a September 2025 special session, a map that could possibly
Continue ReadingCOLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Board of Realtors hosted the first candidate forum for the 2026 municipal elections in April. Candidates for the Columbia School Board and City Council introduced themselves and spoke on a variety of topics. Four candidates are running for three open seats on the school board. Those candidates include current school
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Both parties in a lawsuit over charter school applications in Boone County asked a judge on Friday to vacate a hearing next week after Saint Louis University rescinded its application for Frontier Schools. Columbia Public Schools filed a lawsuit last month, claiming the establishment of charter schools in Boone County is unconstitutional.
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Editor’s note: A sentence has been clarified. COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A former basketball prospect for the University of Missouri who was accused of raping a woman during a September 2024 campus visit is now being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Kansas City. Keiner Asprilla was charged in Boone County last year as an
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Planning and Zoning Commission struck up a conversation around data centers Thursday night. On the commission’s agenda was defining data centers, where they should be and under what conditions. Adding the definition to amend the zoning code could take three to five months. Defining the standards, such as where the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Voters in the Southern Boone R-I School District will decide on a $4 milllion bond issue in April. The bond issue would fund improvements, renovations and repairs at the schools, according to the school district. The district’s debt service tax levy would not change. If approved, the money would go to replace
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Sophia Danh attends Hickman High School in Columbia as a freshman, and goes to class alongside her usual classmates. But she said there’s a feeling of uncertainty that lingers in her mind from time to time. Danh said her parents are immigrants, and though most of her family are citizens but it
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MOBERLY, Mo. (KMIZ) For nearly seven decades, a pair of grain towers have loomed over Moberly’s downtown skyline, a familiar landmark for anyone driving through the Magic City. By this time next year, those towers are expected to be gone. City officials plan to demolish the long-vacant towers after securing more than $320,000 in federal
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Candidates in a race to represent part of Mid-Missouri in the state Senate have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to compete in the August primary. Four Republicans have formed committees to raise money for their campaigns in the Sixth Senate District, which covers Cole, Callaway, Miller, Morgan and Moniteau counties. The
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JEFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Gov. Mike Kehoe during his State of the State address on Tuesday recognized the law enforcement officers who exchanged gunfire and killed a Ralls County homicide suspect last year. Kehoe recognized Randolph County Sheriff’s Deputy Lt. Nathan West, Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Dustin Harrison and Sgt. Derrick Powell while promoting
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Missouri bill could force Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the state to identify themselves, if passed. The bill’s introduction follows a deadly shooting in Minneapolis involving an ICE agent and a civilian. Rep. Ray Reed (D-St. Louis) introduced the bill Wednesday where it received a first reading on the opening
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Carlos Graham is the newest member of the Jefferson City Board of Education. Graham was unanimously picked by the board to take the open seat left by former board President Erika Leonard. The board made its decision by a public vote during its Thursday night meeting. Graham was sworn in immediately
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Cole County commissioners approved a 2026 budget burdened by lower-than-expected tax revenue on Thursday. The county ended 2025 with $56.4 million in reserves and is expected to bring in $64.4 million in 2026. However, commissioners anticipate spending $92.9 million throughout the year, which includes $32.8 million in capital projects. Cole County
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