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UPDATE 8/24: Tropical Storm Harvey has been upgraded to a hurricane. ORIGINAL STORY: Missouri Task Force 1 has been asked about their availability ahead of Tropical Storm Harvey. According to CNN, Tropical Storm Harvey is projected to turn into a Category 3 hurricane (winds of at least 111 mph or higher). It was originally only

Missouri Task Force 1 is headed down to the Texas coast in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. The Federal Emergency Management Agency activated Missouri Task Force 1 along with other task forces from across the nation including Ohio, Utah, and California.. The task force is set to leave at 2 a.m. Friday and includes a

Meteorologist Brigit Mahoney tracks Hurricane Harvey as it approaches the Texas coastline. The storm system is expected to intensify to a category 3 and stall over Texas creating extremely dangerous conditions. The ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather Team will continue to track the impacts to the Gulf Coast as we head throughout the weekend.

Two men are in the Boone County Jail Friday and police say their arrests are connected. Police say they responded to the Welcome Inn around 7 p.m. Thursday for a disturbance call. They say they found one man unconscious on the ground. An officer gave aid to the man who apparently had swelling on his

FRIDAY: We will have a nice end to the work week with mostly sunny skies and high temperatures near 80. Winds will stay under 10 mph from the southeast. Humidity will be increasing slightly, but still comfortable. Clouds will be on the decrease through the daytime. The weather will be pleasant for evening high school

The Missouri Orthopedic Institute nearly doubled in size Thursday when MU Health leaders opened an expansion of the facility. The 85,000-square-foot expansion will help accommodate more patients for the growing number of people seeking the institute’s help. The facility will now have 12 operating rooms and 42 inpatient beds — more than doubling the 20

The Lee Expressive Elementary School Board and parents are discussing the process of how to change the elementary school’s name. The board started the meeting Thursday afternoon by handing out information to parents on the policy for changing the name of a school. According to the handout, if the name of the school doesn’t serve

A man is charged in Centralia, accused of stealing $17,486.36 from a Casey’s General Store. Charles McGinness was charged after officers said he stole the money while working as the store manager from January through March 2017. McGinness allegedly stole money from the store’s vault, took store cards without reimbursing the company and falsified bank

Boone County voters will decide on a use tax in a special election in November. The Boone County Commission unanimously approved the ballot measure at its meeting Thursday. “We want to make sure our businesses here in Boone County are put on a level playing field of those outside of Boone County,” said Commissioner Janet

Columbia’s utilities department officials have proposed rate increases for five utilities, but council members questioned some of them at Wednesday’s public hearing on the FY2018 budget. Voters approved gradual storm water and sewer rates in the past few years and solid waste rates are on the increase because the cost of dumping into a new

The Callaway County inmate who died on Wednesday after a stand-off was a registered sex offender, Callaway County Sheriff Chism confirmed. According to court documents, MacVittie was charged with first degree rape and sodomy back in March of 2000. Seth MacVittie was in the Department of Corrections for possession of contraband inside a correctional facility

A Columbia man who was involved in a shooting at a local gas station was sentenced in federal court Thursday for illegally possessing a firearm. Turbo Lindsey Midgyett, 31, was sentenced to five years in federal prison without parole. Midgyett pleaded guilty on April 3, 2017, to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

TONIGHT: With passing clouds, low temperatures will drop to near 60 by morning with a slight breeze out of the east up to 7 mph. FRIDAY: We will have a nice end to the work week with partly cloudy skies and high temperatures near 80. Winds will stay under 10 mph from the southeast. The

UPDATE, 12:08 a.m.: Just after midnight, the Callaway County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the person involved in the standoff, Seth MacVittie, was found dead. For more information, click here. UPDATE 5:32 p.m.: The Callaway County sheriff confirms that the subject is believed to be escaped jail inmate Seth MacVittie. The homeowners in the area were asked

CrimeStoppers is now offering a cash reward for information leading to an arrest after recent copper thefts at Columbia parks. ABC 17 News has reported on multiple thefts since March from locations including Cosmo Park, Stephens Lake Park, Lake of the Woods Golf Course and LA Nickell Golf Clubhouse. The Columbia/Boone County CrimeStoppers Board of

An hours-long standoff came to an end Wednesday night in Callaway County. The Callaway County Sheriff’s Office confirmed escaped inmate Seth MacVittie was found dead inside a home on Primrose Lane. MacVittie escaped the county jail last Friday. At about 2 p.m. Wednesday, deputies believed they saw MacVittie inside the home. Deputies and Missouri State

TODAY: Thursday will feel very similar to Wednesday with high temperatures right around 80 degrees. We will see more clouds stream in as moisture begins to slowly creep back into Mid-Missouri, though humidity values will still remain on the low side. Winds will remain out of the southeast under 10 mph. TONIGHT: Partly cloudy skies

On Wednesday at 2:31 p.m., the Mid-County Fire Protection District was dispatched to a technical rescue on the island at Ha Ha Tonka State Park. Firefighters got to the scene and found a man that had fallen 75 feet down the side of the island and was injured. Firefighters loaded the man into a stokes

A Missouri man is among the sailors still missing after the U.S. Navy called off a search for survivors of a collision between a destroyer and an oil tanker in the ocean near Singapore. Thirty-one-year-old Charles Nathan Findley and nine other sailors went missing after the accident, which occurred Monday as the USS John S.

Columbia police arrested 32-year-old Kenneth Blanford just before 1 a.m. Thursday after a traffic stop at Lakeview Avenue and Poplar Street. Officers say they smelled marijuana in the car, prompting them to search it. According to the report, officers found a black digital scale and a gram of cocaine in the center console. Police say