News

A Columbia Walmart is back open after severe storms forced it to close Wednesday night. The skylights of the Grindstone Walmart location were damaged, allowing rain inside and flooding the store. Around 3:30 a.m., Thursday store employees said the store had reopened. An employee told ABC 17 News a lot of merchandise was damaged, including

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has waded into the debate on a rule that expands the federal government’s jurisdiction over waterways in the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency released its final rule Monday defining what bodies of water can be considered “waters of the United States.” Koster has teamed with more than a dozen

Columbia Police are investigating a shots fired incident in central Columbia Wednesday night. Multiple officers were responding to Fourth and Grand Ave. just before 5:30 p.m. ABC 17 News talked to witnesses who saw a van speed away from the area. Emergency dispatchers said four shots were fired from a Copper 4-door Grand Am. Columbia

Road work could start as early as next month on the Missouri River bridge in Jefferson City. Officials just approved a construction contract worth more than $1.5 million on Wednesday. Crews are going to fill in some erosion areas around the bridge piers. It will not affect traffic. It is expected to possibly wrap up

Drivers in Mid-Missouri may notice some extra troopers on the roads starting Thursday. The Highway Patrol’s counting period takes effect Thursday at 6:00 p.m. and ends on Sunday night. MoDOT is also warning drivers to watch out for long delays west of Columbia. I-70 is down to one lane in both directions for bridge work

A woman is now charged in the death of a man after a crash in Boone Co. Prosecutors have charged Nicole Weddington with involuntary manslaughter. Court documents ABC 17 News obtained show she was on cocaine and marijuana at the time of the crash, and distracted. The crash happened back in March in the 5300

Ameren said Wednesday they have opened floodgates on Bagnell Dam at the Lake of the Ozarks. Right now, the lake level is at 661 feet, and the normal lake level is right around 660. Engineers have had to open more gates since Wednesday morning. There are 62,000 cubic feet of water rushing out of the

The Osage County Sheriff appeared in court for a hearing Wednesday after his peace officer license was revoked and reinstated earlier this year. Michael Dixon pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment last year. His peace officer license, which allows an officer to make arrests, was revoked, but a Cole County judge eventually reinstated it. In court

Crews shutdown both lanes of I-70 westbound Wednesday morning following an injury crash. At least one pickup truck and three semis were involved. The wreck happened just before 9:00 a.m. A woman was killed while she was stuck in traffic waiting in a line of cars on the interstate due to an accident down the

A Russellville man is charged with domestic assault and armed criminal action after allegedly attacking his girlfriend with a wooden furniture leg. Cole County deputies responded to the 5400 block of Simpson St. in Russellville early Sunday morning for a domestic assault that happened earlier on Saturday night. A woman told deputies her boyfriend attacked

On Wednesday members of the Missouri Public Service Commission voted down plans for a high-voltage power line that would carry wind energy across the northern part of the state. The vote was 3-2. The project, called Grain Belt Express, would cover roughly 750 miles, stretching from Kansas to Indiana. It would affect several counties in

Severe thunderstorms are possible starting late Wednesday afternoon into the overnight hours. Atmospheric instability is high over Mid-Missouri, especially over the western half of the area, and the upper and lower level wind shear over the state is favorable for the development of strong to severe storms that could produce large hail, damaging winds, and

A Jefferson City man is dead after a car crash in Cole County. It happened on Highway 179 close to Route T. A trooper tells us it was a one-car crash. The vehicle reportedly drove off the left side of the road and rolled over. Five people were in the car at the time. Investigators

Rain coming through Mid-Missouri could leave parts of the area flooded and water covering roadways. At seven o’clock Wednesday morning there were currently no roads closed in Boone County, however an inch of rainfall is expected to fall in the area throughout the morning and afternoon. In southern counties like Jefferson City and the Lake

Storms will be ongoing in the morning hours Wednesday and will diminish as we head into the afternoon. Heavy rain from morning storms will leave the ground saturated with areas of flooding possible. As we head into late afternoon, storms are expected to re-develop in western Missouri and track to the southeast. Wind shear and

Emotions were running high Tuesday night as the Boone County Commission meeting wrapped up. Residents expressed their feelings about the commissioners covering the Christian fish on a Desert Storm memorial in front of the courthouse. It was covered up earlier this year after a group called Americans United for Separation of Church and State claimed

A Tebbetts man is charged with two counts of statutory rape, and one count of statutory sodomy after sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl while she was asleep. According to court documents, 34-year-old George “Will” Ferguson was at a pool tournament at the Mokane Bar with a 16-year-old girl in September 2014. The girl told investigators

The Missouri Department of Transportation said litter along mid-Missouri’s highways is on the rise. “People like to drive and eat in their cars and they don’t like to keep the trash in their cars and they tend to just roll down the windows and throw it away,” said Stacy Armstrong with the Missouri Department of

People are aware of the many ways to prevent identity theft, such as shredding documents with private information. Chief Counsel Joe Bindbeutel at the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Office said he believes the days of identity thieves rooting through people’s trash for that private information are just about over. He said with the rise in

Columbia police have responded to five separate shots fired incidents since June 15th. Three of those occurred during an eight-hour span from Monday evening to early Tuesday morning. “We’re always concerned,” said Latisha Stroer, Columbia Police Public Information Officer. “Whether it happens in a neighborhood or whether it happens in a public place. Bullets travel