News

The Grainger branch in Columbia has officially closed its doors Wednesday. The Columbia branch on Vandiver Drive had three employees. The next closest branch is in Maryland Heights.

A man is now charged with making a terroristic threat after threatening to “shoot up” a Mid-Missouri high school. ABC 17 News obtained a probable cause statement that says 55-year-old Ronald Blackwell was leaving Mexico High School on November 5th when he made threatening statements toward faculty and officers. The documents say Blackwell became agitated

Two teenagers are charged with breaking into more cars, adding to the hundreds of vehicle break-ins police believe they are responsible for across the state. Boone County prosecutors said LaDarion Hunt and Michael Glasgow broke into multiple cars on the University of Missouri campus. Hunt and Glasgow are each charged with five felony counts of

In 2015 to date, there have been over 800 burglaries in Columbia, and while the holidays are a time of celebration for many, they also present an increased opportunity for criminals. The Boone County Sheriff’s Department said this is because thieves know people are traveling and they are aware that people have more items of

Polar air will run into tropical moisture for the Thanksgiving holiday and weekend, causing wintry weather across the Plains along with heavy rain from Texas through Missouri. WEDNESDAY: Travelers will encounter an increasing chance of rain heading north into Iowa and west into Kansas as rain will be likely ahead of a cold front. Thunderstorms

A strong El Nio continues as indicated by well above-average sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific ocean. A typical wind pattern associated with an El-Nino is expected for the start of winter. Tropical moisture will move into the southern states due to an extended and persistent pacific jet stream with the

Temperatures are expected to drop below freezing this weekend. And with cooler temperatures comes higher utility bills. Heating and cooling costs make up nearly 50 percent of the average household utility bills, according to Boone Electric Cooperative. “They need to start thinking about their heating system now,” Christi Miller with Boone Electric Cooperative said. “It’s

In anticipation of inclement weather, Mid-Missouri schools have policies for adjusting the school day accordingly. “We look at a number of factors when determining whether or not we need to have school or if we need to have a delayed start. One of the things that we do when we look at whether or not

While several factors affect forecasting wintry weather, in the past five years technology upgrades have really improved our ability to tell you what type of precipitation is falling. Since we’re located in the central U.S., Missouri typically experiences all types of precipitation between November and March. But outside conditions can be deceiving, especially if temperatures

Unlike last winter, we have a major player which could affect our weather pattern through winter. A strong El-Nino is developing and we’re expecting it to play a big part in this winter’s temperatures and snowfall. When forecasting snow and temperature for the upcoming winter, teleconnection patterns are often used. Teleconnection patterns reflect large scale

Due to our inland location, winters in Mid-Missouri can be long with temperatures ranging from mild to bitterly cold. In fact, the record low temperature is -40 degrees which occurred in 1905. The average temperature for our winter months is around 32 degrees. Our coldest month tends to be January, where we really start to

We look at several things when determining how much snow will fall. First, we look at how much liquid precipitation the storm will produce then convert that to inches of snow. To do this we need to determine the snow to liquid equivalent. The snow to liquid equivalent is the amount of liquid precipitation that

Forecasting wintry weather in Mid-Missouri can be tricky because we’re located in the mid-latitudes. That means the freezing line tends to wobble right over us. This can present several forecasting challenges, especially when trying to forecast winter precipitation days out from an event. Temperatures play a huge role in winter forecasting. We look at temperatures

A 20-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a shooting on Business Loop 70 East in Columbia on October 20. Gerrell Eugene Lawrence is charged with armed criminal action, first degree assault, and unlawful use of a weapon. His bond is set for now at $4,500. A warrant for his arrest has been out

It was a calm day in Ferguson Monday, opposite of what we saw there and all of St. Louis County a year ago. Thousands from around the world gathered to hear St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch say a grand jury would not charge former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson for killing Michael Brown, Jr.

ABC 17 News has confirmed two Mid-Missouri care facilities for the disabled are being forced to close their doors. Arbor Ridge Manor and Arbor Ridge Estates, both in Osage County, informed their residents this week that they will need to find somewhere else to live by next Thursday. Court documents said the owners filed for

We’re taking a closer look at the battles Jefferson City and Columbia police face daily by digging through dispatch records, crunching the numbers and asking cops and community leaders what steps they’re taking to combat crime in “hot spot” areas Wednesday, November 25, on ABC 17 News at 10 on KMIZ.

Tuesday marked one year since a grand jury decided not to indict Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. ABC 17 News took a look back at the state response to rioting following the grand jury announcement and what has changed. The riots the community saw on year ago

A group opposed to moving the Desert Storm war memorial in the Boone County courthouse plaza showed up at the Boone County Commission meeting Tuesday morning. A handful of residents spoke out against moving the memorial during the public comments portion of the meeting. ABC 17 News reported in August that the commission voted unanimously

The Cole County Commission is considering a new proposal for major tax projects after its meeting Tuesday morning. The county heard the proposal for major tax projects for the first time Tuesday. The $26 million plan would fund infrastructure repair and maintenance. The half-cent sales tax would take place over a 5 year period starting