News

The first meeting of the newly-appointed Columbia Anti-Violence Task Force will be held next week, according to fifth ward councilwoman and co-chair Laura Nauser. Nauser, speaking at a Boone County Pachyderm Club meeting Tuesday night, said the task force of 13 would be focused on four fundamentals: enforcement, intervention, prevention and re-entry. “Back in 2007,

The 2013-2014 school year started out with a lot of changes for Columbia Public Schools. “Just about everything is new this year,” said Michelle Baumstark with Columbia Public Schools. “We have new bus routes, we have new start times, we have new schools, we have new grade configuration.” The most problematic part of the day

With students headed back to school, security is on a lot of minds. It was only nine months ago that the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary claimed 26 lives, including 20 children. The tragedy rocked the nation and put school security plans across the country under review. Last year, ABC 17’s Kristie Reeter took viewers

At least 34,000 extra people are packing the streets and sidewalks of Columbia now that three local colleges are back in school. All the extra foot and motor traffic means more than just added time getting to and from class. It also means increased safety risks to students. Students on University of Missouri’s campus mostly

On Tuesday morning, Boone County leaders started work to eliminate the current 911 tax on landline phones. Instead, county commissioners are going to rely on the new sales tax that was approved by voters in April. The county is hoping the new sales tax will generate around $9.3 million for the new 911/Joint Communications center

Columbia Public Schools kicked off the 2013-14 school year Tuesday with a higher enrollment compared to last year. CPS officials say 18,136 students are enrolled in the district, an increase of 248 from last school year. That number could change as students who are new to the district can continue to register for the next

The Osage Beach Police Department is looking for a man suspected of stealing credit cards and checks from golf courses. Sgt. Arlyne Page says the male suspect has stolen credit and debit cards, checks and IDs from vehicles at golf courses in Leawood, Kan. and Warrensburg, Mo. The suspect then stole items from a golf

The Missouri Department of Transportation has proposed a project to improve the intersection atHighway 54 and Callaway County Route FF/Old Highway 40. This area is known for its high number of crashes and has heavy traffic from North Callaway High School. A new roadway will be constructed to the east of Highway 54 that connects

The Columbia City Council agreed unanimously not to put a proposed police staffing property tax hike on the November ballot. The tax lost its biggest supporter, Mayor Bob McDavid, last week. He originally proposed the 20-cent hike to hire 35 new officers in response to violent crime this summer. McDavid then backed down from it

Missouri Credit Union is informing all of its customers about a security breach after personal information was made public on its website. On Aug. 5, MCU discovered a file containing customer information was posted on its website. That file contained a list of customer names, addresses, Social Security numbers, account numbers, and MCU teller/call-in passwords.

Boone County Sheriff’s deputies are warning residents in the El Chapparal neighborhood to be on the lookout after more than a dozen car break-ins. Det. Tom O’Sullivan says deputies have responded to at least 16 larceny reports and one report of a stolen vehicle in the subdivision off of Route WW. In the case of

About 18,000 Columbia Public Schools students are back in school Tuesday for the first day of class. For weeks, ABC 17 News has been looking into changes to start times and bus routes because of the new Battle High School. District officials said everything seemed to go smooth and were surprised to see how relaxed

The Columbia Police Department is warning residents about two potential scams. Police say within the last week, officers have handled three reports of fraud. One scam involves transferring money internationally through Western Union while the other scam targets Craigslist users searching for a tutoring job. Officers are offering residents the following tips: Never give out

Missouri health officials confirmed a fifth case of Cyclospora in the state. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said the most recent case was reported by a health provider in the Kansas City metro area. Previously, confirmed cases were reported in Jackson County, Taney County, Miller County and the Kansas City area. The

A Columbia murder suspect is now back in Missouri. Casey Lewis is charged with killing Brian Daniels in his south Columbia home back in April. He was in jail in Oklahoma until Monday, when he was brought back to Columbia. He was at the police department for most of the day then booked into the

A growing need for increased public safety is faced with the obstacle of not having enough money. While Columbia is debating how to cover the cost for 35 additional police officers, the Columbia Fire Department has expressed the need to begin planning for a 10th fire station due to continual city growth. “As the community

The popular ghost hunting show Ghost Adventures is scheduled to air its episode about the Missouri State Penitentiary on Sept. 6. Earlier this year, The Travel Channel filmed at the penitentiary and used Jefferson City residents for several reenactments, including the 1954 Riot and double execution of Bonnie Heady and Carl Hall. According to the

A man on the run for nearly two months was caught this weekend in Illinois, police said. Kimo Spivey, 23, is wanted in connection with a June shooting in Columbia at Lakewood Apartments on Old Highway 63. He allegedly shot at two victims, missing both of them. The woman he was with, Tabisha Franklin, allegedly

The University of Missouri’s campus was bustling Monday with students running off to their first classes of the year. Officials announced a total enrollment of 34,111 students this year with 26,715 undergraduates and 6,138 graduate students. Students were all over campus, but a new alert system was nowhere to be found. The electronic emergency beacon

Jefferson City, its Chamber of Commerce and Cole County have all teamed up in hopes of getting a new employer in Jefferson City. The Chamber of Commerce hopes to sell a plot of land in east Jefferson City to ROAR Real Estate and promises a discounted price. The city and county promise to run the