COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A man has been charged with a pair of felonies after authorities claim he stole $15,000 from an elderly woman in a cryptocurrency scam. Charles Burri, 29, of Columbia, was charged on Thursday in Boone County with financially exploiting an elderly person and stealing more than $750. A warrant was requested on
Continue Reading
Editor’s note: A source error led to Smith’s name to be initially spelled incorrectly. The name has since been corrected. COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The woman at the center of a Columbia AMBER Alert on Thursday is now charged with three felonies. The Boone County Prosecutor’s Office charged 24-year-old Joy A. Smith with two counts of
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia Public Schools has determined how it will spend some of the $9 million it received from Boone County after a property-tax settlement with Ameren Missouri. The county reached a resolution earlier this year in a long-running dispute before the Missouri State Tax Commission. The agreement resolved litigation over property taxes owed
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Safety and a strong learning environment is a top priority for Columbia Public Schools’ new Eagle Bluffs Elementary. The district broke ground on the project in the spring of 2024 and remains on track to be completed by fall 2026. The new two-story, $36 million facility will span 76,500 square feet and
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A woman is in custody after a search was conducted by law enforcement after they issued an Amber Alert on Thursday afternoon. The alert was canceled at 4:42 p.m. Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop A spokesman Justin Ewing said troopers stopped the blue 2005 Lincoln Aviator and detained the woman. MSHP also
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A 20-year-old man was arrested in east Columbia on Wednesday after authorities claimed he pointed a gun at two minors last month. Lee Jones III, of Columbia, was charged on Thursday in Boone County with unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action. He is being held at the Boone County
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A judge is considering to allow a dog breeder – who is charged with 18 counts of animal abuse – to have a bond. Melissa Sanders, 26, of Columbia, has been held at the Phelps County Jail without bond since she was charged last month in Boone County with three counts of
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A woman accused of murder in the death of an 8-month-old girl in 2021 has been charged again. Jennifer Johnson, 49, was charged with misdemeanor sexual abuse in Phelps County after she allegedly exposed herself to another inmate at the jail. She is currently being held without bond. She is charged with
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Tickets for flights from Columbia to Charlotte, N.C., will be available next week. Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe said during a news conference at Columbia Regional Airport on Thursday that tickets for those flights will go on sale Monday. The American Airlines flights to Charlotte begin June 4. Last month, the airport announced
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) On Oct. 25, 2020, Columbia Police responded to 300 W. Brookside Lane around 1 a.m. for a report of shots heard. When police arrived, they found 17-year-old Bryant Wilks II had been shot multiple times and he was pronounced dead at the scene. “It was chaotic, there was a lot of people,”
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Boone County judge ruled Wednesday in favor of numerous defendants named in a wrongful death lawsuit over the death of MU student Riley Strain. Strain went missing in March 2024 during a Delta Chi fraternity trip to Nashville. His body was found days later in the Cumberland River; his death was
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Hundreds of people on Wednesday came out to support the Holiday Food and Fund drive at the Columbia Mall and Buchheits in Jefferson City. The Food Bank For Central And Northeast Missouri has raised more than $125,000 to help local families. People donated items like peanut butter, canned fruits, canned meats and
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The City of Columbia is working on a major update of its building codes, proposing to adopt the 2024 International Building Codes that govern residential and commercial construction, safety, energy efficiency and plumbing standards. The city currently operates under the 2018 codes. On Wednesday, the city’s Community Development department hosted a public
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Another dog that fell through ice was rescued by firefighters on Wednesday, according to a social media post from the Boone County Fire Protection District. The district wrote that crews were called to East Walnut Drive, north of Hallsville, for a report of a dog in the water. Firefighters found a beagle
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri is hosting its 19th annual One for One Holiday Food and Fund Drive Wednesday. Donated items will be going to families in need for the holidays and beyond. Food and funds can be donated at two locations from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Public buses in the City of Columbia will soon have liaisons, but people will have to wait roughly a month to 90 days before they see them in full swing. The Columbia City Council unanimously approved a $99,840 contract to Powerhouse Community Development on Monday night. The city’s Office of Violence Prevention
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Hundreds of gold chocolate coins fell from a Columbia firetruck on Tuesday evening for Chabad of MU and Mid-Missouri’s annual Hanukkah menorah lighting outside of Columbia City Hall. However, this year’s celebration carried a bit of extra weight in the wake of a deadly attack at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia.
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Food insecurity is at a 10-year high in Mid Missouri, and the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri says demand has increased since the government shutdown in October and November. The demand became noticeable in October when concerns grew around SNAP benefits during the country’s longest government shutdown. The Food Bank
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A dog was rescued on Tuesday afternoon after it fell through the ice of a Columbia pond. Crews were called at 2:10 p.m. to the 2000 block of Osage Drive for a water rescue, according to dispatch logs from the Columbia Fire Department. CFD spokeswoman Skyler Clark told ABC 17 News at
Continue Reading
Central Bank of Boone County, Central Bank of Audrain County and Central Bank of Moberly are sounding the alarm as business fraud incidents reach an all-time high this holiday season.
According to the banks, scammers are targeting businesses using publicly available information, including pandemic-era loan lists from the U.S. Paycheck Protection Program, to make fraudulent calls.
Continue Reading