FRIDAY UPDATES: Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reminds residents to get a coronavirus vaccination
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MoDOT to begin bridge deck improvements on Missouri River Bridge in Jefferson City
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri Department of Transportation contractors will begin the next phase of an ongoing rehabilitation project on the U.S. Route 54/63 bridges over the Missouri River in Jefferson City will begin to impact nighttime traffic next week by repairing the deck of the eastbound Route 54/63 bridge. This work will require
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White House to deploy surge response teams to Delta variant hot spots, including Missouri
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Biden administration plans to deploy surge response teams to hot spots across the country where the Delta variant presents the most risk to unvaccinated Americans. The state’s vaccine dashboard shows just over 39% of Missourians are fully vaccinated, and 44.5% have initiated vaccination. As cases continue to rise in Missouri, the
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Troopers increase DWI enforcement as Fourth of July counting period kicks off
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri State Highway Patrol is strictly enforcing driving while intoxicated and underage drinking laws this Fourth of July weekend. The 2021 counting period for the holiday will run from 6 p.m., Friday, to 11:59 p.m., Monday. The Missouri Department of Transportation Division of Highway and Traffic Safety also kicked off it’s
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Gas prices across the nation for the 4th of July weekend are the highest recorded since 2014
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) AAA data shows that in Missouri and around the country, travelers during the 4th of July weekend should expect the highest gas prices since 2014. Nick Chabarra with AAA said 47.7 million Americans are expected to travel over the Independence Day weekend, with 790,000 of them being in Missouri. Charbarra said this
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THURSDAY UPDATES: Boone County reports active coronavirus cases rise to 270; total number of cases passes 19,000
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Fourth of July raises worries as vaccination efforts gear up
BRANSON, Mo. (AP) — Health officials working to boost lagging COVID-19 vaccination rates in Missouri are growing anxious as the Fourth of July weekend approaches, creating ripe conditions for the fast-spreading delta variant to send hospital numbers climbing even further. In the Branson area, Taney County health director Lisa Marshall says, “We are just kind
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Judge Paul Wilson takes over as Missouri chief justice
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Supreme Court Judge Paul Wilson is starting a new role as the state’s chief justice. Wilson began a two-year term Thursday as the top judge, succeeding Judge George Draper, who remains on the court. Missouri’s chief justice position rotates every two years. Wilson was a longtime aide to former
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Critics worry Missouri measure reduces police accountability
More than half of all U.S. states have enacted police reforms in the 13 months since George Floyd’s death, but critics contend a Missouri measure would go the other way by reducing police accountability while increasing criminal penalties for some protest activities. Senate Bill 26 was approved by Missouri lawmakers in May and is awaiting
Continue ReadingArea closed after partial collapse of vacant Missouri hotel
EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, Mo. (AP) — The partial collapse of a vacant hotel in suburban Kansas City has led authorities to evacuate nearby businesses and apartments and close roads and sidewalks in the area. Officials say a corner section of the former Royal Hotel in downtown Excelsior Springs collapsed onto the sidewalk around 3 p.m. Wednesday.
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Boone County fire officials preach firework safety
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) As the Fourth of July holiday approaches, Boone County fire officials ask residents and visitors planning to shoot off fireworks this year, to do so safely. Gale Blomenkamp, the Boone County Fire Protection District assistant chief, says every year crews get called out to at least one firework injury or fire caused
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Missouri House debates Planned Parenthood, FRA renewal in special session
Missouri House Representatives convened at 9 a.m. Wednesday for a final reading and vote on Senate Bill 1, the Federal Reimbursement Allowance bill passed by the state Senate this past Saturday. They are also debating House Bill 2, which repeals state funding for abortion clinics and prohibits employers from requiring COVID-19 vaccines for employees.
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Salute to America celebration preparation is in full swing following last years’ scaled down version
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Salute to America event organizers are making additions to the celebration to get the weekend festivities back to ‘normal’ after the smaller crowds that were drawn in last year. Despite not having carnival rides this year, organizers are making it possible to have carnival games and an inflatable park. The company
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Parson signs bill requiring online sales tax collection
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Gov. Mike Parson has signed a bill to require online retailers to collect sales taxes on purchases made by Missouri residents. Parson signed the bill Wednesday. Missouri is the last state with a sales tax to approve such a requirement. Buyers are still required to pay sales taxes. But many
Continue ReadingMissouri positivity rate rises to 8.2%
Missouri’s seven-day positivity rate has risen to 8.2% since Tuesday, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
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Contact tracing delayed as delta variant spreads
Missouri’s rate of positive coronavirus tests continues to go up and local health department officials are warning about delays in contact tracing.
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Mo. Supreme Court sides against state in open records case
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Public governmental bodies in Missouri cannot charge fees for the time attorneys spend redacting documents prior to their release to the public, the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the court ruling noted that the Missouri Sunshine Law allows officials to charge requestors for “research”
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TUESDAY UPDATES: Cole County reports 26 new coronavirus cases
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Missouri to offer tax breaks to help fix up state Capitol
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri taxpayers who want to help fix up the state Capitol soon will be able to claim a tax break for doing so. A new law signed Tuesday by Gov. Mike Parson allows up to $10 million of tax credits to be issued annually to donors who give money or
Continue Reading Hospital in hard-hit Springfield turns away COVID patients
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Some COVID-19 patients are being turned away from an overwhelmed Springfield hospital where cases are surging and taken to less-stressed hospitals hundreds of miles away in Kansas City and St. Louis. The Springfield News-Leaders reports that CoxHealth system president Steve Edwards said Tuesday that the hospital in Springfield was on
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