News

Police responded to an assault over the weekend at a Columbia bar.Officers say the attacked happened at 1:30 a.m. Friday after closing time at 10 Below, just down the street from Harpo’s.The victim says a random man jumped him and took off running. The man had cuts on his face, but is expected to be

Columbia Public Schools leaders will spend the next month figuring out if it is possible – and feasible – to stagger new start times under a recommendation from Superintendent Dr. Chris Belcher that has high school classes starting at 9 a.m.The current recommendation has middle school starting at 7:30 a.m. for the 2013-2014 school year.

Nearly 100 workers, stranded last month in Columbia, still have not been paid by either of the companies they were working for or with at a student housing construction site south of town.As of Monday night, an Aspen Heights representative told ABC 17 News the company had not come to an agreement with contractor R-Energy,

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Gov. Jay Nixon is touting a proposal to increase funding for regional drug task forces in Missouri.The governor’s budget plan for next year would provide $3 million for drug task forces – a move he says is necessary because of a planned cut in federal funding.Missouri has 27 multi-jurisdictional drug

A weak area of low pressure will move across Texas and the Gulf Coast, bringing rain and snow to southern Missouri from late Tuesday afternoon into the overnight hours. Light rain will move into southwestern Missouri and move northeast late Tuesday afternoon, possibly reaching as far north as HWY 50 in Mid-Missouri. Light rain will

A Columbia family will appear on national television after losing their son and brother to the war in Afghanistan.The family of Army Specialist Sterling Wyatt will appear on the nationally-syndicated Anderson Cooper show, “Anderson Live.” Spc. Wyatt was killed by an improvised explosive device in July 2012.At his funeral in Columbia, the Patriot Guard shielded

Ameren UE workers have repaired a gas leak at Memorial Stadium in Columbia.Early Tuesday afternoon, emergency crews responded to the northwest side of the stadium for a gas leak. Construction workers using a backhoe hit a two-inch pipe, causing the leak.Fire officials say no one was evacuated during the gas leak.

University of Missouri football player Torey Boozer pleaded guilty to a second-degree trespassing charge Tuesday.Boozer, along with MU players Dorial Green-Beckham and Levi Copelin, were arrested in October for allegedly smoking marijuana inside a vehicle parked behind Memorial Stadium. All three were originally charged with possession of less than 35 grams of marijuana.Green-Beckham and Copelin

University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe is just a few days away from his one year anniversary and used a press conference Tuesday to push for more money for campus buildings.Wolfe say the four UM campuses need one billion dollars’ worth of repairs to buildings. He told the media that the UM System is

ABC 17/KMIZ will air college basketball Wednesday night beginning at 7 p.m. The University of Missouri Tigers will play the Mississippi State Bulldogs.Because of basketball, the normal Wednesday night comedies will not air. ABC 17/KMIZ will air the shows on Saturday, February 16th starting at 12 p.m.:- The Middle at 12 p.m.- The Neighbors at

***UPDATE WEDNESDAY 3 P.M.***ABC 17 News has obtained the Department of Agriculture report investigation allegations of animal abuse at an Eldon shelter.The report says there is no credible allegations and no evidence to support that two dogs were brutally beaten. However, the findings show that several people interviewed contradicted themselves and that there were multiple

Columbia Regional Airport is preparing for more flights set to start this week to two new destinations.On Thursday, American Airlines will start daily flights to Chicago and Dallas/Fort Worth. The flights come at a cost of losing another carrier.Mayor Bob McDavid says the new flights are doing well and people are booking ahead. Starting Wednesday

At student-organized forum on school safety Tuesday night, Columbia Public Schools superintendent Dr. Chris Belcher told Hickman High School students, parents and staff that he was “offended” by two bills in the state legislature that would allow faculty and staff to bring a gun on campus if they have a valid conceal and carry license.Belcher

Highs will reach the low-to-mid 50s Wednesday with a mostly sunny sky and west breeze. Overnight lows will only drop into the low 30s with a few passing clouds Wednesday night. Thursday will be mostly sunny and windy with highs near 50 degrees. A cold front will move through the area by Thursday evening, dropping

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) — A federal bankruptcy judge has delayed the civil trial of the former CEO of a failed artificial sweetener facility and his wife.Bruce and Nanette Cole are charged with improperly diverting cash from Mamtek US Inc. that was intended for the proposed plant in Moberly.The Columbia Daily Tribune reports the Coles are

Three months after a woman’s body was found at an eastern Missouri motel, a man has been charged in the crime.Curtis Lee Smith, 52, of Columbia is already in prison for second-degree murder for another killing. Now, he is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Kristi Murphy.Murphy’s body was found in a bathtub

Two Mid-Missourians were killed in a head-on car crash in Franklin County Tuesday afternoon.According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Austin Vanbooven, 21, of Rhineland was traveling eastbound on Route 100 when he crossed the center line and hit a vehicle heading westbound, driven by Amanda Witthaus, 27, of Hermann.Both Vanbooven and Witthaus were pronounced

A proposal to raise Missouri’s fines for seat belt violations could have a better chance in the Senate this year.Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Mike Kehoe said Wednesday that he wants to advance the bill to the full Senate for debate. The legislation by Sen. Joe Keaveny has died each of the past three years in

The Mid-Missouri family of fallen soldier and Hickman High School graduate Sterling Wyatt appeared on Anderson Cooper’s show Wednesday morning on ABC 17/KMIZ.The episode focused on the controversial Westboro Baptist Church based in Kansas and its members who picket the funerals of soldiers. On the show, the Wyatt family came face-to-face with a former member

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Missouri lawmakers are continuing to press members of Gov. Jay Nixon’s administration about why it was necessary to buy a new $5.6 million state airplane.A House appropriations committee on Wednesday questioned Nixon’s chief of staff, John Watson, about his knowledge of the plane’s purchase by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. And