Top Stories Archives

Voting event held for quarantined Boone County residents

November 1, 2020 10:32 AM Ben Fein

The County Clerk’s Office held a drive-thru voting event for those in Boone who had tested positive for COVID-19 or had to quarantine due to the virus.

Crash closes both lanes of Ballenger Lane

October 31, 2020 9:40 PM Sydney Olsen

Columbia police responded to a crash at Ballenger Lane at Mexico Gravel Road around 9 p.m. on Saturday.

Columbia firefighters find man dead while responding to structure fire

October 31, 2020 3:08 PM Sydney Olsen

The Columbia Fire Department responded to a structure fire at 3911 Monsoon Lane a few minutes after 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.

SATURDAY UPDATES: Boone County reports largest jump in COVID cases since September

October 31, 2020 2:32 PM Sydney Olsen

The Department of Health and Senior Services reported 2,986 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday. That brought the total number of cases up to 183,186.

Health department recommends alternatives for trick-or-treating

October 31, 2020 5:50 PM Zola Crowder

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Columbia/Boone County Health Department released guidelines for trick-or-treating this year. The health department split up halloween activities into low, moderate, and high risk. Some high risk activities include trick-or-treating door to door, haunted houses, or bar crawls. Low risk activities include zoom parties, pumpkin carving contests,

Boone County prepares for final days of absentee voting

October 31, 2020 5:02 AM Ben Fein

There are only a few more days to cast an absentee ballot for the upcoming 2020 Presidential election.

Driver dies after hitting deer and being ejected from vehicle

October 31, 2020 1:34 AM Zach Boetto

BOONE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ) A Harrisburg man died Friday after he hit a deer and was ejected from his vehicle. According to Missouri State Highway Patrol reports, 54-year-old Noel R Hertzing was driving westbound on Highway 124, east of Hopper Road around 6:30 p.m. That’s when Hertzing hit a deer causing the vehicle to slide

MU leaders remind students of free speech policy

October 30, 2020 11:25 PM ABC 17 News Team

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The University of Missouri is giving warnings and not punishments for students they say broke school rules on protests this semester. According to a university spokesperson, several warnings have been issued after students violated those policies on Oct. 2 at Jesse Hall when students continued to ask for the removal of the

Joint investigation leads to drug arrest in Ashland

October 30, 2020 10:54 PM Karl Wehmhoener

ASHLAND, Mo. (KMIZ) A woman was arrested after a drug raid in Ashland, according to the Boone County Sheriff’s Department. Deputies and Ashland police officers searched a home in the 200 block of Ash Street as part of a drug investigation, the department said. According to the release, several ounces of cocaine and meth as

Jury recommends 15-year sentence for man found guilty in 2018 infant’s death

October 30, 2020 10:31 PM ABC 17 News Team

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Boone County jury recommended a 15-year sentence for a man found guilty in the death of his infant daughter. According to court documents, Cortavia Smith was found guilty of child endangerment that resulted in death. Smith was arrested in 2018 after his nearly six-month-old daughter died. He told investigators he accidentally

Health dept.: one-third of all Boone County hospitalizations took place in October

October 30, 2020 8:36 PM Lucas Geisler

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) One-third of all people living in Boone County hospitalized with COVID-19 since the pandemic began were admitted in October, according to a county health official. The analysis from the Columbia/Boone County Department of Health and Human Services shows that 53 of the 153 county residents that went to the hospital with COVID-19

78-year-old man dies in Friday afternoon crash in southeast Columbia

October 30, 2020 9:11 PM Karl Wehmhoener

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia Police are reporting a fatal Friday afternoon wreck near the intersection of Crystal Downs Loop and Hoylake Drive. According to the police, Richard L. Chancellor, 78, of Columbia was traveling west on Hoylake Drive when it hit a parked vehicle. Chancellor was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced

FRIDAY UPDATES: CPS reporting 356 staff and students quarantining due to coronavirus

October 30, 2020 8:55 AM ABC 17 News Team

Check back for updates on the COVID-19 pandemic.

UPDATE: Power restored to downtown customers; cause of outage reported as contractor hitting an underground line

October 30, 2020 5:19 PM Matthew Sanders

A power outage affected traffic lights in Columbia during the evening rush Friday, according to a public alert from emergency dispatchers.

Woman seriously injured in Morgan County Wreck Friday

October 30, 2020 6:55 PM Karl Wehmhoener

MORGAN COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ) Missouri State Highway Patrol is reporting a woman is seriously injured Friday at 11:15 a.m. at Alum Springs Road north of Kickapoo road. According to the department’s crash report, the driver of a 1995 Dodge Intreprid failed to curve causing the vehicle to go off the road. According to the release,

Columbia bars and restaurants prepare for Halloween crowds

October 30, 2020 3:26 PM Zola Crowder

With Halloween a day away, downtown Columbia bars and restaurants are preparing for large crowds.

Update: Sedalia Police identify the bodies found Thursday morning

October 30, 2020 12:02 AM Karl Wehmhoener

UPDATE 3:08 P.M.: Local law enforcement has identified 66-year-old Steven Klein and 59-year-old Russell Bain, both of Sedalia, as the bodies that were found Thursday morning. The Rural Missouri Major Case Squad was brought in to help investigate the two deaths after the men’s bodies were found Thursday on the 1700 block of S. Harrison

April 6 election registration ends Wednesday.

Cole County clerk helping quarantined voters cast ballots

October 30, 2020 12:38 PM Victoria Bragg

Cole County’s election authority is considering expanding into next week a service that allows quarantined voters to cast ballots.

New Franklin schools to go virtual, citing dozens of students, staff in COVID-19 quarantine

October 30, 2020 11:08 AM Matthew Sanders

The New Franklin School District will move all classes online for two weeks with more than 80 students in quarantine because of coronavirus exposure.

Boone, Cole County clerks, law enforcement on guard for Election Day security issues

October 28, 2020 6:30 PM Sydney Olsen

With Election Day coming up Tuesday, election officials and law enforcement say they are prepared to keep people at polling places safe should any issues arise.