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City staff and safety advocates kicked off a series of town halls Monday looking for ideas to reduce traffic deaths and serious injuries. The town halls serve as the city’s first step in engaging the community on its Vision Zero plan. The city wants to eliminate deaths and serious injuries by 2030. The first town

Bad news for your immune system: flu season isn’t over yet. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is calling the flu an epidemic. During the second week in January, a total of 8,022 cases were reported in Missouri. MU Health treated 289 confirmed cases of influenza A and B last week. “We

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, swarmed by reporters asking him about allegations of sexual blackmail, said, “there was no photograph for blackmail. There was no threat of using a photograph for blackmail. There was no violence.” The governor repeatedly responded to questions on the allegations by saying that he and his family “are moving forward for

During Monday’s news conference at the Capitol, Gov. Eric Greitens maneuvered reporters’ questions regarding the 2015 extramarital affair and the current criminal investigation to talk about his nearly $28 billion budget plan that would slice at least $68 million from public colleges and universities. Greitens is also asking for around $48 million dollars less than

Tax season is upon us once again, and along with it comes tax scams. Every year these scammers become more and more creative in finding tactics to rip off citizens. We spoke with a local woman who has already received a tax scam voicemail. That woman, Angela Poff, called into ABC 17 explaining she received

With the weather warming back up, Columbia Public Works is working to fix as many potholes as quickly as possible. Rain, snow and sleet have caused pavements to freeze, and the material underneath roads causes pavements in Columbia to expand. Unfortunately, that makes roads lose their strength. Seth Nelson, a pavement engineer with Columbia Public

UPDATE 6:00 p.m.: The University of Missouri provost is a critical position and officials highlighted its importance at an open forum Monday morning. “The provost can, I think, set an agenda,” said Sandy Davidson, a journalism professor and member of the provost search committee. “Another term we are hearing is help set the excitement, the

Four Columbia police K-9’s received bullet and stab protective vests. The vests were donated by Vested Interest in K-9s, Inc, a non-profit organization. ABC17 previously reported that K-9s are invaluable assets to a police department. All four Columbia police K-9s assist in narcotics detection including area, article, and body search, as well as suspect tracking

Gov. Eric Greitens announced the FY19 budget proposal on Monday afternoon. The proposal includes increases in funding for infrastructure, education, public safety, and programs to protect Missouri’s children. Shortly after the budget proposal was released, local lawmakers reacted to it. Senator Caleb Rowden condemned the cuts to higher education, “”We cannot continue to balance the

UPDATE 5 pm: Gov. Greitens presented the budget proposal on Monday afternoon. The proposal includes increases in funding for infrastructure, education, public safety, and programs to protect Missouri’s children. Greitens said the increases are possible because of funding reductions in spending on higher education institutions, efficiencies in Medicaid spending, and other reductions in government spending.

A Holts Summit man pleaded guilty to two counts of child molestation in the first degree on Monday. Duane Flowers was arrested for the offense in 2015 after a victim told authorities that he had inappropriately touched her. Holts Summit police investigated the incident and it was determined that Flowers had been sexually abusing the

Senators voted on a spending bill Monday morning that would reopen the government after a shutdown. The bill has gotten enough votes to pass and democrats said they will back it. ABC17 previously reported that democrats blocked a house spending plan on Friday, forcing Congress to miss the shutdown deadline. The plan does come with

A man who embezzled at least $380,500 from a University of Missouri fraternity was sentenced to two years in prison on Monday. Burt Beard, 63, was also ordered to make restitution to the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Beard, who was the fraternity’s chapter treasurer for more than a decade, had pleaded guilty in September to

Troopers released the total number of violations and summonses that officers issued during their Selective Traffic Enforcement Program. A spokesperson for Troop F said a total of 28 arrests were made and 68 warnings were issued during the operation. The program was conducted in Boone, Callaway, Cooper and Montgomery counties on Interstate 70 on Sunday.

UPDATE 3:15 pm: Redden was charged with burglary, unlawful use of a weapon and assault. ORIGINAL STORY: Columbia police arrested Brandon Redden early Friday morning after officers were dispatched to the 3600 block of Hermitage Road in reference to a disturbance. Police said a male and female victim were inside a residence when Redden started

Jefferson City police arrested Mitchell Mason on Thursday after officers were dispatched to the 600 block of Clark Avenue. According to the probable cause statement, Mason was believed to be connected to a theft from Dillard’s and had a warrant out for his arrest. Police said they spotted Mason walking eastbound in the 1400 block

TONIGHT: Light rain wrapping around on the back of our frontal passage earlier today, will transition into snow through the night. Thanks to recent warming and warm ground temperatures, little to no accumulation is expected. Temperatures will be in the mid 30s by 10 PM, when rain will slowly begin to transition into a wintry

A former Tower Loan manager has been charged with fraud. According to the probable cause statement, Todd Mueller had taken loans out on two different people and made up referral checks for $100 and deposited the checks into his bank account. One victim told police that he had not taken a loan out while the

A Randolph County Ambulance employee has been charged with burglary and stealing a controlled substance after she was accused of going into a house and stealing medication. A woman told police that she had gone to her mother’s house after she was taken by ambulance to Moberly Regional Medical Center. The woman said when she

The passenger of a car involved in a wrong way crash on Thursday has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident that caused physical injury. ABC17 previously reported that the crash happened when a Cadillac Deville was driving east in the westbound lanes of traffic and struck a Hyundai Sante Fe. Troopers said