• The Columbia Parks and Recreation Department plans to close a section of the MKT Trail starting in November to replace aging Bridge 9. The $500,000 project should be completed by late March.
• Drivers in Columbia will find a few street closures this week. Crews will perform pavement testing on East Green Meadows Road and Veterans United Parkway on Monday and Tuesday. Additionally, East Walnut Street closes Wednesday morning to install a new air conditioning unit at the police station.
• A 55-year-old man from Imperial is dead after drowning at the Lake of the Ozarks Friday night. State troopers say the man went into the water at the 10 mile marker of the Big Niangua River and never resurfaced. Emergency crews recovered his body around 10:45 p.m.
• Columbia police are investigating an apparent suicide Thursday evening. Police say an individual jumped from the Fifth and Walnut parking garage downtown about 6 p.m.
• A 20-year-old man from Jefferson City was found safe early Friday afternoon, three days after disappearing from the scene of a car crash. Nathan Spencer was conscious in a wooded area near Capitol View Drive in Jefferson City. Investigators say Spencer is autistic and likely suffered a mental health crisis.
• The woman from Columbia accused of felony animal abuse was denied bond again today. Melissa Sanders, 26, faces 13 felony charges after authorities found dead and malnourished dogs at her breeding business. Her trial is scheduled for October 19.
• A convicted felon from Columbia will go on trial in July for killing a man in 2024 during a chaotic shootout in the White Castle parking lot in northeast Columbia. 26-year-old Antione Armstrong is charged in the death of 56-year-old Louis Hart.
• Missouri Department of Transportation crews carried out controlled blasting along I-70 near Rocheport Thursday afternoon. The work took place between Route BB and the Missouri River to break apart rock for the upcoming highway expansion. Brief rolling roadblocks stopped traffic for about 10 minutes.
• Columbia’s fourth ward city councilman Nick Foster announced his resignation from the city council Thursday. It’s effective June 12. He’s moving to Atlanta, where his wife accepted a position as a dean at Georgia State University. The city council is expected on Monday to schedule a special election for Aug. 4 to fill the seat.
• Concerned citizens are offering a $15,000 reward to find those abusing paddlefish at the Lake of the Ozarks. Local fishermen discovered several fish with obscene messages carved into their bodies this week.
• Recent headlines:
Columbia’s electric capacity issues are no longer tomorrow’s problem
Cardiologists blame confidence in Boone Health; thousands of patients face disruption
Providence Rd. bridge demolition expected in late May, early June as I-70 work advances
• Recent obituaries are here.