COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A former Pulaski County substitute teacher and paraprofessional charged with 19 felonies a year for allegedly offering children money, drugs and alcohol for sex has been sentenced to prison. Carissa J. Smith, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to one count of child endangerment and two
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EDITOR’S NOTE: Charges against Jimmy Kenda were dropped after officers learned that the suspect gave a false identity. The suspect’s name will be released after formal charges are filed, police say. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A report of a man repeatedly harassing a woman at a gas station kicked off a high-speed pursuit early Friday
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – A co-defendant in a 2024 Columbia murder case wanted more time on Friday to consider a possible plea. Daevion McCray and his attorney told Judge Joshua Devine they wanted more time to discuss the plea at a 9 a.m. hearing in Boone County court. Devine reset the hearing for Monday at
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The sole occupant of a boat on the Lake of the Ozarks was not hurt in a Thursday afternoon explosion and fire. Firefighters were called to the 3.5 mile marker a little after 4 p.m. Thursday for a call of a boat and dock fire, the Lake Ozark Fire Protection District stated
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By Michael Williams, CNN (CNN) — The US Coast Guard on Thursday issued a memo that reclassifies swastikas and nooses as “hate symbols,” in a rapid about-face after facing intense scrutiny for a previous policy change which downplayed their display as merely “potentially divisive.” The newest memo expressly prohibits the display of nooses, swastikas or
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People in Mid-Missouri were sickened to learn the macabre details after a Boone County woman had been charged with animal abuse. Under Missouri law, no authorities were under an obligation to inspect Sanders’ operation, legally classified as a “hobby,” unless complaints were filed. Do you think the state should have tougher requirements? Let us know
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Federal and local police conducted a “warrant sweep” across Columbia on Thursday morning for those wanted for various federal crimes. Dixon Land, the FBI field office spokesman in Kansas City, told ABC 17 News that agents worked with state and local police on Thursday to arrest those wanted on felony warrants. ABC
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) An Iowa man was brought to University Hospital on Thursday after a crash occurred at the intersection of Routes JJ and C in Huntsville, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The report says the driver of a 2019 Nissan Frontier – the 25-year-old Sioux City, Iowa, man
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Editor’s note: Megan McConachie’s title has been corrected. COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The NCAA Cross Country Championships is expected to bring in $1.2 million in revenue to the city this weekend, according to the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau . From hotels to restaurants, local businesses are anticipating a significant economic boost as hundreds of athletes
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Next year’s school calendar was brought up during the University of Missouri’s Faculty Council meeting on Thursday. Last month, it was revealed that MU’s fall semester next school year could lose its “Reading Day,” to make up classroom hours lost from Veterans Day falling on a Wednesday. This year was the first
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Workers at a Columbia Starbucks location on Thursday joined a nationwide strike. Around 11 employees were seen outside the location on Vandiver Drive on Thursday morning chanting and holding signs. A press release from Starbucks Workers United – the union that represents the employees — says around 2,000 union baristas around the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A representative for Columbia in Missouri’s state house plans on prefiling legislation about dog-breeding facilities. Democratic State Rep. David Tyson Smith wrote on his social media on Thursday that he plans on prefiling a bill that would require regular inspections at dog-breeding facilities. The announcement comes after Melissa Sanders, 26, of Columbia,
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Jefferson City man was arrested and charged after authorities claimed he possessed and sent child pornography. Nathaniel Devalle, 19, was charged in Cole County with first-degree promoting child pornography and two counts of child porn possession. He is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond. A court date has
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A woman from Montgomery City has been charged with a plethora of felonies after she was accused of abusing three children. Shelley Denese Haislip, born 1968, was charged Wednesday in Montgomery County with four counts of abusing a child younger than 14 years old, three counts of first-degree kidnapping and three counts
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Police have arrested a 16-year-old boy who allegedly robbed a Phillips 66 on Paris Road on Thursday morning, the Columbia Police Department wrote in a press release. Police say the teenager was arrested after a search warrant was served in the 2600 block of Quail Drive. Police claim the teenager is tied
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Boone County dog breeder is set to be in the Boone County Courthouse Thursday afternoon for a bond hearing. Melissa Sanders, 26, has been charged with three counts of felony animal abuse and 15 counts of misdemeanor animal abuse. Sanders will be in front of Judge Kayla Jackson-Williams at 1 p.m.
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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) Columbia’s leader of the Office of Violence Prevention D’Markus Thomas-Brown is hoping to offer a contract aimed at deescalating situations on public transit in the city to a nonprofit organization. According to Thomas-Brown, his office plans to award the $99,840 contract to Powerhouse Community Development. The office was considering two liaisons for
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COLUMBIA, MO. (KMIZ) Two people were seriously injured and another had moderate injuries in a Wednesday early evening crash on Highway 40 in Boone County, just east of Ivy Lane, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The report says a 2003 Honda CR-V – driven by a 40-year-old Columbia man
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Fire Department held a demonstration on turkey safety Wednesday at its training academy on Big Bear Boulevard. Thanksgiving is next week and firefighters showed the dangers of improperly frying a turkey. According to the National Fire Protection Agency, five people die each year and dozens more are injured in accidents
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