COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Municipal elections in Missouri are April 8, and one of the roles up for grabs is the mayoral seat in Columbia. Incumbent Barbara Buffaloe is running for reelection, while challengers Blair Murphy, Tanya Heath and write-in candidate Lucio Bitoy take a shot at the seat. View an interview ABC 17 News reporter
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Municipal elections in Missouri are April 8, and one of the roles up for grabs is the mayoral seat in Columbia. Incumbent Barbara Buffaloe is running for reelection, while challengers Blair Murphy, Tanya Heath and write-in candidate Lucio Bitoy take a shot at the seat. View an interview ABC 17 News reporter
Continue Reading
The Columbia mayor’s race is bringing in big money. The latest campaign finance reports, filed Monday, show challenger Blair Murphy has collected more than $250,000 during the April election cycle. The incumbent mayor, Barbara Buffaloe, has brought in about $70,000 for her campaign. This isn’t the first Columbia mayoral race to draw big money, but
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) As Jefferson City’s contentious $130 million conference center project enters the preconstruction phase of its timeline, the newly elected officials in the April 8 municipal election are set to approve the design. The center will replace the parking garage at 200 Madison St. and include a full-service hotel and restaurant/bar with more
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) President Donald Trump is set to escalate his trade dispute with Canada, announcing a 25% tariff on auto imports that will take effect Wednesday — a move that could significantly impact Missouri. Canada is Missouri’s largest trade partner. The Show-Me State imports goods such as transportation equipment and primary manufactures from Canada,
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Julie Allen is a member of Jefferson City’s Transportation and Traffic Commission and a candidate running for the Jefferson City Council Ward 4 seat. Allen’s campaign focuses on strengthening the economy through infrastructure improvements, increasing housing availability, creating jobs and promoting parks and recreation opportunities. Allen worked as an acting director for
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Kathi Harness, a Jefferson City Ward 4 resident, is running for Jefferson City Council. Harness plans to focus on economic development and collaborative work. Harness also wants to improve public safety and support youth recreation projects. Harness also the principal of government relations at the lobbying firm Harness & Associates, LLC. Harness
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A couple of Columbia’s mayoral candidates have garnered more donations in what has turned out to be a high-dollar election. Challenger Blair Murphy’s campaign eclipsed a quarter-million dollars in contributions, according to his eight-day campaign finance report submitted to the Missouri Ethics Commission. Eight-day reports had a closing date of March 27
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Missouri’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency has received more than 9,000 pages of responses through its Missouri Accountability Portal. Records obtained by ABC 17 News show that in the first 48 days of the portal’s operation, the department received approximately 9,048 responses, with most coming in the first 24 days. Between
Continue Reading
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Affordable housing has been a recurring topic in Jefferson City politics ahead of the April 8 election. Candidates for Jefferson City’s City Council Ward 3, Erica Choinka and Derek Thomas, similarly have plans for improving infrastructure, if elected. They are running for the seat currently held by Councilman Scott Spencer. A
Continue Reading
JEFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Erica Choinka is a member of the Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Commission and a candidate for Jefferson City Council Ward 3. Choinka’s campaign focuses on improving the city’s parks and recreational programs, supporting economic development, improving public safety and protecting taxpayers from unnecessary spending. Choinka is a communications specialist in
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) About 320 people cast their ballots over the weekend during no-excuse absentee voting for April elections in Boone County. Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said that since no-excuse absentee voting began Tuesday, more than 1,100 people have voted. For many voters, casting their ballots early provides peace of mind. Lauren Williams, who
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Boone County Clerk announced that several weekend no-excuse absentee voting opportunities will pop up across Boone County starting Saturday. Columbia’s April election will have races for Mayor, Columbia Ward 4, and Columbia’s Board of Education. Weekend voting will be held on the two weekends leading up to the election. There will
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) ABC 17 News is interviewing candidates for key races in the April municipal elections. Today’s interviews feature Columbia Ward 4 candidates Ron Graves and incumbent Nick Foster. The interviews will air on ABC 17 News leading up to the April 8 election and will be posted online as they air. Read the
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) ABC 17 News is interviewing candidates for key races in the April municipal elections. Today’s interviews feature Columbia Ward 4 candidates Ron Graves and incumbent Nick Foster. The interviews will air on ABC 17 News leading up to the April 8 election and will be posted online as they air. Read the
Continue Reading
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A hearing was held Tuesday morning by the Senate Education Committee on a proposed bill that would require Missouri school districts and charter schools to display the Ten Commandments in every building and classroom. Senate Bill 594 is sponsored by Sen. Jamie Burger (R-Benton) and would mandate the Ten Commandments to
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Boone County voters will decide on a Boone County Fire Protection District bond issue on April 8. The bond will not result in a tax increase for residents. The outcome of the bond election determines whether a $6 million upgrade will be used for infrastructure and equipment needs. “Every community, every fire
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The National Association of Letter Carriers is asking union members to show up and represent across every state to protest the privatization of the U.S. Postal Service. This follows a day of action hosted by the American Postal Workers Union on Thursday that brought protesters to 150 cities across the country, two
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to begin dismantling the U.S. Department of Education. Completely shutting down the department would require an act of Congress, which established the agency in 1979. Trump officials admit they lack the votes needed to dissolve it through legislation. The White House argues that
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Erica Dickson, Ken Rice and current Columbia Board of Education President Suzette Waters responded to questions on Tuesday at a candidate forum hosted by the Boone County Unit of the Missouri Retired Teachers and School Personnel. “Our organization has done this for several years and we have a tradition to do this
Continue Reading