Category Archives: Regional News

          (AP) – Missouri’s new Gov. Eric Greitens is putting a temporary freeze on new government regulations.      Greitens on Tuesday signed an executive order banning state agencies from creating new regulations through the end of February.      He

     (AP) – Bagnell Dam and Osage Energy Center at Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks will get a $52 million upgrade starting this spring.      Ameren Missouri said Tuesday that new anchors and concrete will be installed on the

     (AP) – A passenger in a stolen SUV that crashed while fleeing from St. Louis police is charged with murder in the driver’s death.      The driver, 21-year-old Davion Henderson, was fatally shot by police Monday. But the

     (AP) – Missouri lawmakers are putting a right-to-work measure on a fast-track to passage with support from a new Republican governor.      House members within days of the session’s January start held a Tuesday committee hearing on right-to-work

     (AP) – A recent census says a majority of Arkansas'work-related deaths in 2015 were linked to transportation.      The Arkansas Department of Labor's census shows the state had 74 work-related deaths in 2015. That is up from 67

     (AP) – Arkansas officials say the number of mumps cases in the northwest part of the state appears to be leveling off.      The Arkansas Department of Health says there were 2,400 confirmed or strongly suspected cases as

     (AP) – Motorists in Arkansas and Oklahoma are enjoying some of the lowest gasoline prices in the nation.      AAA Oklahoma said Monday the average price of a gallon of unleaded gas in Arkansas was $2.16, the sixth

     (AP) – Authorities in Little Rock are investigating the city’s first homicide of 2017 after a fatal shooting Sunday.      Little Rock police responded to the shooting Sunday night near Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and West 34th

     (AP) – Three Arkansas lawmakers who defected from the Democratic Party to the GOP over the past two years will be leading top committees in the House this year.      House Speaker Jeremy Gillam on Monday announced who

     (AP) – A 13-year-old boy is injured after being accidentally shot by an uncle playing with a gun in St. Louis County.      The shooting happened Sunday night at an apartment complex in north St. Louis County. Police

     (AP) – Court documents say a Missouri baby girl who was delivered after her mother was killed in a crash on her way to a hospital to give birth has brain trauma.      Seven-month-old Maddyson Iler was delivered

     (AP) – Missouri State University has agreed to pay $25,000 to a former student who sued after he was removed from a counseling program because he wouldn’t counsel gay couples.      The Springfield News-Leader reports the settlement with

     (AP) – A St. Louis police officer has fatally shot a 21-year-old man who crashed a stolen SUV and allegedly pointed a gun at arriving officers.      The shooting happened Monday afternoon on the city’s north side. Names

    (AP) – Arkansas lawmakers are set to return to the Capitol for this year’s legislative session, with dueling tax cut proposals and efforts to launch the state’s medical marijuana program dominating the agenda.      The House and Senate

CONWAY, Ark. (AP) – Funeral services have been scheduled for former Arkansas state Sen. Stanley Russ of Conway. Roller-McNutt Funeral Home in Conway says services are set for 1 p.m. Monday at Central Baptist Church. Russ died

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – The suspect in a 2015 fatal shooting in North Little Rock who was free on bond pending the start of his first-degree murder trial has been arrested on marijuana and weapons

BEE BRANCH, Ark. (AP) – Arkansas State Police say three people, including a juvenile, have been killed in automobile crashes on snow-covered roads. Police say 40-year-old Amanda Sue McKinnon of Damascus and the juvenile whose name wasn’t

     (AP) – Independence police say officers responding to reports of a suicidal man fatally shot him after he allegedly pointed a weapon at them.      The confrontation happened Saturday evening at an apartment complex in Independence.      KCTV5 reports

     (AP) – Former U.S. Attorney Todd Graves is the new chairman of the Missouri Republican Party.      The Missouri Republican State Committee elected Graves on Saturday as the party’s new statewide chief. Graves has served as western Missouri’s

     (AP) – Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway and her husband, Jon, are welcoming a third son.      Galloway announced in a news release Sunday that Joseph Nickels Galloway was born Friday afternoon.      She says her new son is

     (AP) – Some Missouri school leaders are worried that a new state law might lead to felony arrests for students involved in fights and bullying, but legal and legislative officials say the concern is overblown.      The new

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) – Prosecutors say they won’t seek the death penalty for a Siloam Springs man accused in the Christmas night 2014 murder of his father. The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that prosecutors made the announcement

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – The Arkansas Air National Guard has a new commander to oversee thousands of troops, training missions and intelligence gathering. The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports Col. Marc Sicard will be promoted to brigadier

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – Transportation officials in Arkansas and Oklahoma are warning drivers to use extra caution on state roads and bridges as crews continue cleaning up after a winter storm pushed through the area. Frigid temperatures

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. (AP) – A southeast Missouri woman is accused in the death of her 87-year-old mother after police say they found the elderly woman malnourished and dehydrated at her daughter’s home. KFVS-TV reports that Butler

MOUNT VERNON, Mo. (AP) – A southwestern Missouri man is jailed without bond after being accused in the shooting death of an 82-year-old man. Lawrence County prosecutors charged 44-year-old Shannon Hensley on Friday with first-degree murder, first-degree

     NEW YORK (AP) Wal-Mart says it named John Furner as CEO of its Sam’s Club stores to replace Rosalind Brewer, who is retiring next month.      Furner, who is 42, will head the membership-only warehouse chain next month.

     CLARKSVILLE, Ark. (AP) Arkansas State Police say an Arkansas man has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of a man whose body was found in a wooded area in Johnson County.      State police announced Friday

     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) The lawyers who secured a $45 million settlement for smokers of Marlboro Lights in Arkansas have asked a judge to decide how much they should be paid.      The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the lawyers

     JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) Missouri’s incoming Republican Gov. Eric Greitens is tapping former GOP state Treasurer Sarah Steelman to be his administration commissioner.      Greitens announced the pick Friday on Facebook. His inauguration is Monday.      Steelman’s appointment is

     JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – A special election for a vacant central Missouri House seat that covers a portion of Columbia and Ashland is set for Aug. 8.      Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon announced

     ROLLA, Mo. (AP) Two people have been accused of making a bogus bomb threat that forced the evacuation of a central Missouri county’s courthouse.      Thirty-four-year-old Bryan Riden and 36-year-old Melissa Hannon, both of Rolla, are charged in

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – Facebook is donating 500 virtual reality kits to Arkansas schools under a first-of-its-kind partnership between the social media giant and the state. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced the donation as part of

     (AP) – Hot Springs has paid $87,500 to settle a 2015 lawsuit alleging the deputy city manager fired a city employee for corroborating a female coworker’s sexual harassment claim against him.      The settlement led a federal judge

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. (AP) – A Kirksville man has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the shooting death of his wife. The Kirksville Daily Express reports 41-year-old Danny Welte also pleaded not guilty Wednesday to armed criminal

     (AP) – Visitors to Arkansas' House of Representatives will have to go through additional metal detectors when the Legislature convenes for the session next week.      The House on Thursday announced that the detectors have been placed at

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – Federal regulators have renewed the operating license for the University of Missouri's nuclear research reactor. The university says the Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted a 20-year operating license to the University of Missouri Research

     (AP) – Authorities say two people were killed when a single-engine airplane crashed near Gurdon in southwestern Arkansas while on a flight from Texas to North Carolina.      Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Tony Molinaro says the two were

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A Kansas City group is seeking a required citywide vote before any streetcar expansion can occur. The Kansas City Star reports that the group filed petition signatures with the city clerk's office

ST. LOUIS (AP) – The Humane Society of Missouri has rescued 31 dogs from what officials call "filthy" conditions at a home in west-central Missouri's Benton County. Thirty of the dogs are small mixed-breed, and one is

ST. LOUIS (AP) – A St. Louis man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in a drug-related crime that resulted in a fatal shooting.      A federal judge on Thursday sentenced 29-year-old Walter

     (AP) – A southwest Missouri car dealer was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for inaccurate reporting of mileage on dozens of vehicles he sold.      Federal prosecutors say 62-year-old Kenneth Smith, of Lebanon, was sentenced Thursday

Police say four people have been arrested following a New Year’s Day shooting at a Fort Smith nightclub that injured three people. Fort Smith police say the shooting happened at about 2 a.m. Sunday at the Fort

     (AP) – A former Arkansas Department of Human Services employee has been sentenced to nine years in prison for fraud related to a program that provides food for low income children.      Court records show 39-year-old Tonique Hatton

     (AP) – Researchers say a six month study looking for long-term financing for state highways found Arkansans prefer maintaining roads to building new ones, favor a sales tax on fuel wholesalers and support making permanent a temporary

     (AP) – Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he’s not making an economic argument for ending the state’s practice of honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert E. Lee on the same day. He just says removing the

     (AP) – Arkansas’ highest court will hear arguments next month in a legal battle over whether a whether a city’s ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity conflicts with a state law aimed at

     (AP) – Prosecutors say an Arkansas lawmaker set to leave office next week has pleaded guilty to conspiracy for arranging bribes while he was a member of the state House.      The U.S. Attorney’s office says 42-year-old Republican

     (AP) – A Newton County judge has sentenced a Neosho man to three years in prison for leaving the scene of a 2015 traffic accident that killed a 19-year-old man.      The Joplin Globe reports that Circuit Judge

     (AP) – Police chief Paul Williams says a man who was fatally shot by Springfield officers fired his gun before being shot.      Williams says James Lewis did not fire at officers early Sunday during a confrontation at

     (AP) – Investigators have found evidence that fireworks were being manufactured at a business that exploded and burned in suburban Kansas City.      The explosion a JW Lawn Service in Grandview Tuesday broke windows and caused damage to

     (AP) – A former Joplin police officer will serve six months of home detention for trying to get a woman’s drunk-driving charge dismissed in exchange for sexual favors.      Brian Rogers was sentenced Wednesday on a misdemeanor charge

     (AP) – After meeting with investors in a proposed St. Louis soccer stadium, Missouri Gov.-elect Eric Greitens still opposes spending state money for the project.      Senior adviser Austin Chambers said Greitens met Wednesday in Jefferson City with

     (AP) – Missouri lawmakers are kicking off the 2017 legislative session with flowers and a reading of the Bill of Rights.      Wednesday is the first day of session, which runs through mid-May.      Most House members wore red

Authorities say a man suspected in the killing of a woman near Little Rock has been found dead in a rural area of Woodruff County. Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Cody Burk says George Ricky Jenkins was

A man has been charged with causing a deadly mid-Missouri crash while on probation for being a persistent driving while intoxicated offender. Thirty-three-year-old Joshua Keller made his first court appearance Tuesday on charges of second-degree murder in

     (AP) – Authorities in western Arkansas have arrested a man on suspicion of two counts of first-degree murder after two brothers were found dead in a Sebastian County home.      The Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office says a relative

     (AP) – The new Hot Spring County sheriff says he’ll likely ask Arkansas State Police to investigate what he calls the trashing of the department’s Malvern office during the previous administration.      Sheriff Mike Cash tells the Arkansas

     (AP) – Pulaski County authorities say a woman has been found shot to death at a home south of Little Rock and a suspect is being sought.      Lt. Cody Burk told reporters that Brandi Johnson-Bennett was found

     (AP) – Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson hasn’t formally announced his plans to seek a second term, but is already raising money for his re-election bid.      The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports a fundraiser for the Republican governor’s 2018 campaign

      (AP) – An Arkansas judge has left office and agreed to never serve on the bench again after a disciplinary panel said it was prepared to administratively charge him with trading sexual favors with female defendants in

     (AP) – Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon set an aggressive agenda to attract jobs after the Great Recession.      An Associated Press analysis shows the Democratic governor promoted business deals projected to cumulatively create about 48,000 jobs in exchange

     (AP) – The Missouri Supreme Court has suspended a Lincoln County judge accused of delaying the assignment of public defenders in probation cases.      The court on Tuesday suspended Judge Christina Kunza Mennemeyer without pay for six months

     (AP) – A Columbia state lawmaker will be Missouri Republican Gov.-elect Eric Greitens’ deputy chief of staff.      Greitens on Tuesday announced he picked Republican Rep. Caleb Jones for the job. Jones will work alongside Greitens’ pick for

     (AP) – Missouri lawmakers will start the 2017 legislative session with a new ally for Republicans: Gov.-elect Eric Greitens.      Legislators will meet for the first day of session Wednesday at the Capitol in Jefferson City.      Republicans hold

Missouri’s outgoing Democratic governor says he’s made plenty of “solid accomplishments” during his two terms as the chief executive. In an interview with the Associated Press, Gov. Jay Nixon cites increased funding for education and mental health

Authorities in western Arkansas have arrested a man on suspicion of two counts of first-degree murder after two brothers were found dead in a Sebastian County home. The Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office says a relative found the

     A former U.S. senator who defended an impeached president and a former U.S. representative who helped draft articles of impeachment against another president are among the notable Arkansans who died during 2016.      Former governor and Sen. Dale

     (AP) – A prosecutor says no police officers will face charges for the fatal shooting of a Mississippi man on Christmas Day.      Prosecutor Don McSpadden tells the Batesville Daily Guard that the death of 33-year-old Joseph Garcia

     (AP) – Residents say they’re seeing more crashes involving big trucks on the steep, hilly roads of the Arkansas Ozarks.      In the past 21/2 years, seven trucks have wrecked on a 2-mile stretch of Arkansas 43 near

     (AP) – Authorities have identified the person killed in a chain-reaction crash on Interstate 40 in eastern Arkansas that also left 10 people injured.      Arkansas State Police said in a preliminary report released Monday that 68-year-old David

     (AP) – MFA Inc. officials say a $27 million grain-handling facility in northwest Missouri should be ready to open by the summer.      The St. Joseph News-Press reports weather hasn’t significantly delayed work on the shuttle-loader operation in

     (AP) – Jefferson City police are investigating the shooting death of a 23-year-old man early New Year’s Day.      Police responding to a call at a Jefferson City home about 1 a.m. Sunday found Quonterio Davis with several

     (AP) – Kansas City police are investigating three separate triple shootings in a violent New Year’s holiday weekend.      Police say one man was killed and two other people were injured in a shooting Saturday evening. KCTV reports

     (AP) – Springfield police have identified a man who was fatally shot by officers on New Year’s Day as 44-year-old James Lewis. Lewis died hours after he was shot Sunday near Silver Springs Park in north Springfield.

     (AP) – Missouri Gov.-elect Eric Greitens has named leaders for his public safety team.      Greitens announced Monday that Drew Juden, director of public safety in Sikeston, will be his director of public safety. Greg Favre, command staff

     (AP) – Lt. Gov.-elect Mike Parson says he is recovering after undergoing heart surgery. He says he will be ready to take office on Inauguration Day next week.      Parson released a statement Monday disclosing the surgery. He

     (AP) – West Fork leaders say they want to restore a nearly 100-year-old bridge and use it as a trail connection.      The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the Woolsey Bridge is being moved from about 2 miles

     (AP) – Law enforcement officers in a small, three-county district in western Arkansas are responsible for nearly 40 percent of the seized cash from drug connected arrests from 2012 through 2015.      Reports from the Arkansas drug director’s

     (AP) – Police in Fort Smith are investigating an early morning shooting that left two men and a woman injured.      Police Sgt. Daniel Grubbs said in a news release that officers were dispatched to a shooting early

       (AP) A former U.S. senator who defended an impeached president and a former U.S. representative who helped draft articles of impeachment against another president are among the notable Arkansans who died during 2016.        Former governor and Sen.

     (AP) – First-time offenders convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana no longer will face jail time, and most adults will be able to carry concealed weapons without a permit under new Missouri laws.      Those laws and

     (AP) – A Joplin woman has said "Yes" after her boyfriend proposed marriage in the newspaper.      The Joplin Globe reports that the Christmas Day edition of the paper was sitting in the center of the coffee table

     (AP) – MFA Inc. officials say a $27 million grain-handling facility in northwest Missouri should be ready to open by the summer.      The St. Joseph News-Press reports weather hasn't significantly delayed work on the shuttle-loader operation in

           (AP) – Police say a man died after he was shot by Springfield police officers during a confrontation on New Year's Day.      City spokeswoman Lisa Cox said in a news release that officers went to Silver

     (AP) – Jefferson City police are investigating the shooting death of a 23-year-old man early New Year's Day.      Police responding to a call at a Jefferson City home about 1 a.m. Sunday found Quonterio Davis with several

     BENTON, Mo. (AP) – A southeast Missouri sheriff and the man who unseated him in the November election say they're not giving up on trying to solve a 19-year-old woman's shooting death that's been unsolved for nearly

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – First-time offenders convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana no longer will face jail time, and most adults will be able to carry concealed weapons without a permit under new Missouri laws.

     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – A trial date has been set for a man accused of fatally shooting a northeast Arkansas farmer over a dispute about herbicide use.      The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports Missouri resident Allan Curtis Jones

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – Arkansas could be in for some wild weather next week as spring-like temperatures give way to thunderstorms and a cold front that could be packing snow and freezing rain. The National Weather

TONTITOWN, Ark. (AP) – Tontitown officials have agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by a former police chief who was fired in January 2015. The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that city aldermen agreed last week to settle

WEST FORK, Ark. (AP) – West Fork leaders say they want to restore a nearly 100-year-old bridge and use it as a trail connection. The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the Woolsey Bridge is being moved from

PLEASANT VALLEY, Mo. (AP) – Authorities are investigating the shooting death of a 23-year-old man in Clay County. The Kansas City Star reports that the man was found shot to death late Friday in Pleasant Valley. The

LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. (AP) – A small aircraft crash landed shortly after taking off from a suburban Kansas City airport, seriously injuring the pilot.      Sgt. Chris Depue of the Lee's Summit Police Department told The Kansas City

     KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Michael Brown’s parents are objecting to a request from Ferguson for the 18-year-old’s medical and academic records as the city defends itself against a lawsuit that the parents filed over the 2014

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – First-time offenders convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana no longer will face jail time, and most adults will be able to carry concealed weapons without a permit under new Missouri laws.

     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – A decision by Arkansas' voters to let residents with certain medical conditions obtain marijuana to ease their symptoms was an overwhelming choice as the state's top news story of 2016, according to

     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – One of three drugs Arkansas uses for lethal injections is set to expire when the new year begins, and a prison system spokesman says the state does not yet have a replacement.

     PERRYVILLE, Mo. (AP) – A southeast Missouri teenager is accused of stealing a nursery tractor and drunkenly taking it for a joyride on a highway before crashing into a ditch.      The Southeast Missourian of Cape Girardeau reports

     JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – A state task force says Missouri needs to continue improving its public and private efforts to ensure its cybersecurity.      The Missouri Cybersecurity Task Force, which Gov. Jay Nixon formed in April, said

     ST. LOUIS (AP) – A judge has appointed state prosecutors to the retrial of a man once sentenced to death in the killings of two sisters pushed from an abandoned Mississippi River bridge.      The St. Louis Post-Dispatch

     BROWNING, Mo. (AP) – A northern Missouri school janitor has been charged with sexually abusing a student.      KTVO-TV reports that bond is set at $100,000 for 57-year-old Steven Klinger, of Browning. The Linn County R-1 schools janitor

     ST. LOUIS (AP) – A St. Louis federal judge says she wants to hear arguments over a lawsuit's challenge of a new law limiting campaign contributions before deciding whether to put a temporary hold on such caps.

     COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – A panel set up by the University of Missouri has released a list of legislative recommendations that include redefining how students are charged for their education.      The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the University

     SIDNEY, Neb. (AP) – Cabela’s say Bass Pro Shops’ $4.5 billion deal to buy Nebraska-based the outfitter faces some new hurdles.      Cabela’s said in a securities filing Thursday that the Federal Trade Commission wants more information about

The prosecutor in Sebastian County says he won’t file charges against a homeowner who shot two men on his property last month. Sebastian County Prosecuting Attorney Daniel Shue says the homeowner was justified when he shot and

A rescued bald eagle has regained its freedom after being treated in southwest Missouri for head and wing injuries. The Springfield News-Leader reports that the young bird launched out of its plastic cage Thursday at Lake Springfield,

     (AP) – A report by a private foundation says the percentage of Arkansas adults who went without medical care because of the cost decreased last year for at least the second year in a row.      The Arkansas

     (AP) – Officials with the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport have finalized a bond issue to build a new parking deck.      The contract for the new, 1,400-space parking deck has a maximum cost of $35 million. On Wednesday,

     (AP) – Police in Jonesboro say two men have been found shot to death in a home in the western part of the city.      Police say 57-year-old Kenny Coleman and 52-year-old Charles Jones were found Wednesday night

     With Donald Trump’s election, Republicans in Congress will have the opportunity to overhaul Medicaid, something they’ve wanted to do for years.      The program provides health care to millions of lower-income and disabled Americans. Currently, the federal government

     (AP) – An Arkansas museum that moved a Frank Lloyd Wright home onto its grounds will add one of Buckminster Fuller's geodesic domes next summer.      The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art will erect a 50-foot "Fly's

     (AP) – Authorities say a suburban St. Louis church Nativity scene fire appears to have been intentionally set.      The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Nativity scene in front of the altar was ablaze Tuesday night when

     (AP) – A new study by Washington University in St. Louis researchers has found that current safety standards to protect welders from harmful fumes may be inadequate.      Dr. Brad A. Racette, senior author of the study, tells

     (AP) – A woman has died in a Columbia crash while fleeing from a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper.      The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that 51-year-old Karin Kespohl, of Columbia, drove off Thursday morning after a trooper

     (AP) – A Republican Missouri lawmaker says he has a solution to end tense debates over same-sex marriage.      Rep. T.J. Berry wants to take government out of marriage and leave it to houses of worship by classifying

     (AP) – Missouri Republican Gov.-elect Eric Greitens will make budget cuts after he takes office.      Greitens’ senior adviser Austin Chambers announced plans for budget cuts Thursday but declined to provide further details, including how much spending previously

     (AP) – The Missouri Department of Conservation says a beetle that is fatal to ash trees has spread to southwest Missouri.      The department says the emerald ash borer was recently found in Laclede County. It is the

     (AP) – A state commission says Arkansas residents hoping to grow medical marijuana must pay a $15,000 application fee in addition to a licensing fee.      The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission approved the

     (AP) – Voters in Newton County will consider a sales tax increase to help fund salaries for sheriff’s deputies, which are among the lowest in the state.      A special election is planned for Feb. 14 asking voters

     (AP) – Two escapees from the federal prison in Forrest City have been recaptured in Fayetteville.      The U.S. Marshals Service said Wednesday that Devoy Nokes and George Roberts were arrested without incident Tuesday at a home in

     (AP) – Arkansas State Police say three people have been killed in two separate auto crashes on state roads.      State police say 39-year-old Kevin Gray of Judsonia and 46-year-old Robert Adams of Bradford died in a head-on

     (AP) – The reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction for those responsible for the fatal shooting of a 2-year-old Little Rock girl is being doubled to $40,000.      The city of Little Rock announced Wednesday

     (AP) – Authorities investigating the death of an Arkansas man whose body was found in a hot tub want to expand the probe to include a new kind of evidence: any comments overheard by the suspect’s Amazon

     (AP) – Authorities have identified a man whose body was discovered in a car pulled from the Mississippi River in Southwestern Illinois as a 26-year old from Missouri.      The Belleville News-Democrat reports Jersey County Coroner Larry Alexander

     (AP) – St. Louis' prosecutor has asked a judge to appoint state prosecutors to the retrial of a man once condemned for his alleged role in the deaths of two sisters pushed from an abandoned Mississippi River

     (AP) – Prosecutors have dismissed four first-degree murder charges against a Missouri man less than two weeks before his trial had been scheduled to begin.      But the Springfield News-Leader reports that prosecutors anticipate refiling charges against 49-year-old

     (AP) – A northeast Kansas man whose 8-year-old granddaughter was killed in a crash as she drove him home from church has pleaded no contest in her death.      The St. Joseph News-Press reports that Dennis Meers, of

PLATTE CITY, Mo. (AP) – An armed trucker whose hours-long standoff at a Missouri rest stop snarled a freeway’s traffic for miles heading into the holiday weekend has been charged with making a terrorist threat. Prosecutors in

     28-year-old Jamie Anderson, of Jonesboro, was arrested by the Craighead County Sheriff’s office and held at the Pulaski County Detention Facility on no bond. She is charged with one count of Medicaid fraud, a Class C felony.

     (AP) – A Little Rock Police spokesman says dozens of teenagers were asked to leave Park Plaza Mall on Monday night in an incident mirrored at several shopping centers nationwide.      Lt. Steve McClanahan says police dispatch received

     (AP) – Michigan State Police say a man who died along an Arkansas highway in 1989 has been identified as a long-missing Battle Creek man.      Charles Cornell was 30 when he was last seen by relatives in

     (AP) – Arkansas State Police say one youth was killed and two others were injured in a single-vehicle crash in Jefferson County.      A police report says the three were in a pickup truck that went off the

     (AP) – A man has been formally arraigned on a capital murder charge in the fatal shooting of a 3-year-old boy in a road rage incident in Little Rock, Arkansas.      A Little Rock district judge on Tuesday

     (AP) – Arkansas State Police say a prosecutor has decided no charges will be filed in connection with a fatal auto accident that killed two people and injured a state trooper.      State police say Prosecuting Attorney Terri

     (AP) – A grand jury has accused an Arkansas woman of creating a fake will for a Deepwater Horizon oil explosion survivor who was later killed in a car wreck so her daughter would inherit his million-dollar

     (AP) – A Kansas federal judge has lifted a stay of execution for a former soldier who was sentenced to death for killing two women and three rapes.      Ronald A. Gray has been held at Fort Leavenworth,

     (AP) – A 14-year-old southeast Missouri boy remains hospitalized after falling through a school’s skylight.      The Kennett Daily Dunklin Democrat reports that the incident happened before 5:30 a.m. Friday. A 16-year-old boy ran to the police department

     (AP) – A shooting in the southeast Missouri town of Sikeston remains under investigation.      The Southeast Missourian reports that a 32-year-old Cape Girardeau man was shot three times outside of a party about 2 a.m. Christmas Day.

(Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com) ST. LOUIS (AP) – A recent report by a Missouri task force says the state’s public universities and community colleges should not stray from the types of degrees their institutions can

     (AP) – One of mid-Missouri’s fastest growing tourist attractions is a place where nobody wanted to be prior to its closing in 2004 – the Missouri State Penitentiary.      The Jefferson City News Tribune reports that 32,811 people

     (AP) – Ninety-six-year-old Cyrus Porter is a devoted Taylor Swift fan and has traveled to her shows, but on Monday, he didn’t have to go anywhere. Swift came to him.      A day after Porter hosted 72 people

     (AP) – Missouri Gov.-elect Eric Greitens has chosen a northeast Missouri woman to be the next director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture.      Greitens announced on his Facebook page Tuesday that he had chosen Chris Chinn, 41,

     (AP) – Arkansas State Police say two people died over the weekend in a single-car wreck in Yell County.      State police say the wreck happened Saturday on South Liberty Road in Yell County. According to a preliminary

     (AP) – Three members of Arkansas’ congressional delegation are opposing a proposal to convert an abandoned facility near Hot Springs as a shelter for unaccompanied immigrant children.      The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services visited the

     JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Republicans are planning to use majorities in many state capitols to push policies limiting unions, lawsuits and abortion in 2017 while also seeking to expand gun rights and school-choice laws.      This year’s

     (AP) – Missouri lawmakers hope that the upcoming session will finally produce a ban on lobbyist gifts, thanks to support from Republican Gov.-elect Eric Greitens.      It's among the top priorities for House Speaker Todd Richardson, who said

     (AP) – Buchanan County plans to donate 40 acres of land to allow the National Guard to expand its camp and training facilities.      The St. Joseph News-Press reports Buchanan County Commissioners have been working with the Guard

     (AP) – An election that saw Republicans gain unprecedented power in Missouri has been named the state’s top story of 2016 by Associated Press reporters and editors.      Republicans were dominant from president on down in the November

Authorities say a 7-year-girl and her father were injured in an apparent drive-by shooting in Helena-West Helena on Christmas. Helena-West Helena Police Chief Virgil Green says the victims were taken by a private vehicle to a hospital

     (AP) – A New Hampshire firearms manufacturer that employs 1,400 people is expanding to Arkansas where electric power is less than half the cost.      Sig Sauer Facilities Director Jeff Chierepko says the company, with U.S. headquarters in

     (AP) – The Fayetteville City Council has amended the city’s laws on panhandling to bring them in line with recent federal court rulings.      The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the new laws remove any language that prohibits panhandling,

     (AP) – Police say a man has died after being shot outside a downtown Little Rock apartment complex.      Officer Richard Hilgeman told reporters that 52-year-old John Barfield was found Saturday night with a gunshot wound and died

    (AP) A change in the procedure in which cardiac arrest patients are treated by Arkansas’ largest ambulance service has resulted in an increase in the number of patients who are revived.     The new procedure calls for extended

     (AP) – Arkansas State Police are investigating the Christmas Day shooting death of a man by law officers in northeast Arkansas.      Spokesman Bill Sadler says a 33-year-old man was killed Sunday when officers opened fire after the

     (AP) – A change of venue has been granted for the trial of a Missouri man accused in the death of a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper.      Serghei Pavel Comerzan of Mexico, Missouri, has pleaded not guilty

     (AP) – A 36-year-old southwest Virginia woman faces a murder charge after authorities say she crashed head-on into another car while trying to avoid a drunken-driving checkpoint, killing a Missouri mother.      Wise County Commonwealth’s Attorney Chuck Slemp

     (AP) – A southeast Missouri high school senior has pulled off a rare feat: Perfect scores on both SAT and ACT exams.      Amy Dai is a senior at Cape Girardeau Central High School. In preparation for attending

     (AP) – Republicans are planning to use majorities in many state capitols to push policies limiting unions, lawsuits and abortion in 2017 while also seeking to expand gun rights and school-choice laws.      This year’s elections not only

     (AP) – Missouri lawmakers hope that the upcoming session will finally produce a ban on lobbyist gifts, thanks to support from Republican Gov.-elect Eric Greitens.      It’s among the top priorities for House Speaker Todd Richardson, who said

     (AP) – A Missouri lawmaker wants to increase fines for people who release feral hogs in the state.      The Springfield News-Leader reports letting feral hogs loose is a misdemeanor now and comes with a fine of up

     ROGERS, Ark. (AP) – Arkansas State Police say two people have been killed in separate automobile crashes on state roads.      Police say 44-year-old Jennie Lewis of Bella Vista and 38-year-old Margo Lesure of Malvern died in the

     MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) – A New Hampshire firearms manufacturer that employs 1,400 people is expanding to Arkansas where electric power is less than half the cost.      Sig Sauer Facilities Director Jeff Chierepko says the company, with U.S.

     FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) – The Fayetteville City Council has amended the city’s laws on panhandling to bring them in line with recent federal court rulings.      The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the new laws remove any language that

     DEARBORN, Mo. (AP) – Missouri authorities say an armed trucker is in custody after his hours-long standoff at a rest stop near Kansas City, Missouri, forced the closure of the freeway ahead of the holiday weekend.      The

     ST. LOUIS (AP) – A fire at a St. Louis house has left one person dead.      The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the fire broke out Saturday afternoon.      St. Louis Fire Department officials said the fire started

     MEXICO, Mo. (AP) – A change of venue has been granted for the trial of a Missouri man accused in the death of a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper.      Serghei Pavel Comerzan of Mexico, Missouri, has pleaded

     COEBURN, Va. (AP) – A 36-year-old southwest Virginia woman faces a murder charge after authorities say she crashed head-on into another car while trying to avoid a drunken-driving checkpoint, killing a Missouri mother.      Wise County Commonwealth’s Attorney

     JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Republicans are planning to use majorities in many state capitols to push policies limiting unions, lawsuits and abortion in 2017 while also seeking to expand gun rights and school-choice laws.      This year’s

     HOUSTON (AP) – The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. increased by 16 this week to 653.      A year ago, 700 rigs were active. Depressed energy prices have curtailed exploration, although

     MOUNTAIN PINE, Ark. (AP) – Police say a Mountain Pine store manager shot an alleged burglar in the face.      A Garland County sheriff’s incident report says the manager of Mountain Pine Corner Store and another person arrived

     NORMAN, Okla. (AP) – The weather outside will be frightful for some holiday travelers this weekend, with snow stretching from the Rocky Mountains to the upper Midwest on Christmas Eve and possible severe weather in the middle

     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – A man accused in the fatal shooting of a 3-year-old boy in Little Rock has pleaded not guilty to preliminary charges of capital murder and two counts of committing a terroristic act.

     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – More than 150 Arkansas public schools will receive a share of nearly $7 million in rewards for their performance on recent state-required math and literacy exams.      The monetary reward is part of

     JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) Missouri’s outgoing Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon is pardoning 12 more people.      Nixon on Friday announced the pardons to those convicted of theft and drug-related crimes, such as selling cocaine.      They’ve since found jobs

     JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) Legislation has been filed that would raise Missouri’s minimum age requirement for marriage with parental consent from 15 to 17 years old.      KSDK-TV reports incoming state Rep. Jean Evans is filing the legislation.

     NORMANDY, Mo. (AP) Authorities say a 5-month-old girl reported missing in suburban St. Louis after someone took off with the minivan she was in has been found safe.      The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Eden Brooke Hawthorne had

     (AP) – Police say a 9-year-old boy has died after being accidentally shot at a home in Little Rock, Arkansas.      A police report says officers called to the home Wednesday found the boy in critical condition with

     (AP) – The U.S. Department of Justice says an Arkansas school district violated the Americans with Disabilities Act in 2013 by excluding some students until they were tested for HIV.      The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the Pea

     (AP) – The U.S. Department of Justice says an Arkansas school district violated the Americans with Disabilities Act in 2013 by excluding some students until they were tested for HIV.      The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the Pea

     (AP) – Wal-Mart has pulled a Black Lives Matter T-shirt from its online offerings amid complaints by police.      Wal-Mart told Fox News Insider that it will no longer sell the shirts with the words “Bulletproof: Black Lives

     (AP) – A Kansas City man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison in the 2014 killing of a man whose body was found in the early morning hours of Halloween in the driver’s seat of

     (AP) – A southeast Missouri man faces charges accusing him of threatening to blow up a fireworks store with his burning car.      The Southeast Missourian reports that 39-year-old Jerod Anthony Dockins faces felony charges, including assault/attempted assault

     (AP) – Prosecutors say a teenager fatally shot one man and wounded another during a Kansas City drug deal.      The Kansas City Star reports that 17-year-old Jewell Jones Jr., of Kansas City, was charged Wednesday with second-degree

     (AP) – Authorities in the St. Louis area are searching for a 5-month-old girl after someone took off with the minivan she was in earlier this week.      The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the baby, Eden Brooke Hawthorne,

     (AP) – A man who was fatally shot in the northern part of St. Louis County has died after being dropped off at a hospital.      The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the victim was identified Wednesday as

     (AP) – Authorities say 53 puppies died of overheating when they were left in a vehicle in southwestern Missouri.      The Newton County Sheriff’s Department said a truck company employee was struggling to keep the puppies warm Sunday

     (AP) – A federal appellate court has reinstated a judge’s 2013 ruling that a central Missouri technical college’s mandatory drug testing policy is unconstitutional when applied to most students.      The 9-2 ruling Thursday by the full 8th

     (AP) – Batesville is offering free public internet in its downtown area.      The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the free service was launched Tuesday. It’s being implemented to attract more people to the downtown district which has been revitalized

     (AP) – Authorities in south Arkansas say a 14-year-old boy in Fouke has died after he was accidentally shot by a friend.      The Miller County Sheriff’s Office says a woman called 911 at about 11 p.m. Monday

    (AP) – The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission has voted to allow as many as five cultivation facilities in the state once rules governing growing, processing and distribution are finalized.     The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the commission voted Tuesday.

     (AP) – A locomotive operator at Nucor-Yamato Steel in Blytheville has died following at accident at the mill.      Authorities say 54-year-old Bobby Sellars of Burdette died after being pinned between two rail cars Tuesday afternoon.      Nucor-Yamato vice

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) – Law officers in Fayetteville, Arkansas, say a Washington County Sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a man who threatened him at a tire store. Sheriff Tim Helder said in a statement that Cpl. Brad

     (AP) – Springfield police say they have located a 13-year-old girl who was reported missing earlier.      Police say Rachael Mosher was reported missing Tuesday evening after leaving a relative’s home.      Police said in a release Wednesday that

     (AP) – Prosecutors say they plan no charges in the case of a 5-year-old Missouri boy who police say accidentally shot and killed his 3-year-old brother.      Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced Tuesday that the decision

     (AP) – Prosecutors are trying to seize two properties where a man says he was held during a kidnapping involving a St. Louis-area executive.      Prosecutors say the victim was abducted Nov. 21 and taken to a home

     (AP) – The Missouri lawmaker behind a failed attempt to protect some businesses opposed to same-sex marriage says he doesn’t plan to try again next year.      Republican Sen. Bob Onder told The Associated Press on Wednesday that

     (AP) – A 144-mile stretch of a former railroad line is expected to be transferred to the state of Missouri by the end of next year for use as a hiking and biking trail.      Gov. Jay Nixon

     (AP) – Republican Gov.-elect Eric Greitens is appointing a North Carolina corrections official to lead Missouri’s Department of Corrections.      Greitens announced his pick Wednesday of North Carolina community supervision Director Anne Precythe.      The Senate must confirm her

Authorities in south Arkansas say a 14-year-old boy in Fouke has died after he was accidentally shot by a friend. The Miller County Sheriff’s Office says a woman called 911 at about 11 p.m. Monday and said

Police in southwestern Missouri’s Springfield are asking for public help in finding a missing 13-year-old girl they describe as autistic, high-functioning and endangered. Police said Wednesday that Rachel Mosher went missing about leaving a relative’s home about

Authorities in south Arkansas say a 14-year-old boy in Fouke has died after he was accidentally shot by a friend. The Miller County Sheriff’s Office says a woman called 911 at about 11 p.m. Monday and said

     A record number of people have visited Missouri state parks this year, with attendance topping the 20 million mark for the first time.      Gov. Jay Nixon announced the new record Wednesday. Nixon says enhancing the park system

     (AP) – The judgeship left vacant after the weekend death of Garland County District Judge David Switzer will be filled by his daughter, who is an attorney.      Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced the appointment Monday of Meredith

     (AP) – Arkansas State University’s $75 million campus in Queretaro, Mexico, is on track to open in the fall.      The Jonesboro Sun reports the first round of acceptance letters will be sent out Jan. 16. Provost Brad

     (AP) – A two-state panel has recommended a standard for the amount of phosphorous that can be allowed in Oklahoma’s scenic rivers.      The Muskogee Phoenix reports panel members from Arkansas and Oklahoma met in Fort Smith, Arkansas,

     (AP) – Health officials say an outbreak of mumps has particularly hit a community of Marshall Islanders in northwest Arkansas.      The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that Marshallese people accounted for about 60 percent of the state’s 2,220 reported

     (AP) – Newly released 911 recordings depict a chaotic scene following what police describe as the road-rage killing of a 3-year-old boy in Little Rock. The calls were released Tuesday to The Associated Press under an open-records

     (AP) – Newly released 911 recordings depict a chaotic scene following what police describe as the road-rage killing of a 3-year-old boy in Little Rock. The calls were released Tuesday to The Associated Press under an open-records

     (AP) – Arkansas’ governor says that during the 2017 legislative session he wants lawmakers to concentrate on topics dealing with his three “Es” – economic development, education and efficiency within state government.      At the state Capitol on

     (AP) – The Missouri Supreme Court has reinstated the law license of former St. Louis Mayor Freeman Bosley Jr.      Bosley’s license was suspended indefinitely in September 2014 over allegations that mishandled clients’ money.      Bosley served as St.

     (AP) – Authorities in southwestern Missouri’s Newton County say two men are charged with felony assault after one of them allegedly shot at a sheriff’s deputy during a chase.      Prosecutors have charged 29-year-old Joel Alexander Bell of

     (AP) – Outgoing Democratic Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is warning the Democratic Party against veering to the left after the party’s defeats in this year’s elections.      Nixon told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the party needs

     (AP) – A man has been sentenced to seven years in prison after being found guilty in Springfield of his seventh DWI.      The Springfield News-Leader reports 41-year-old Roger Sallee of Cotter, Arkansas, was sentenced Monday. Police say

     (AP) – Missouri Republican Gov.-elect Eric Greitens has named a top Anheuser-Busch official, Michael Roche, to be his chief of staff.      The Kansas City Star first reported the pick Tuesday.      Roche is vice president of national affairs

     (AP) – A group hoping to build a new soccer stadium in St. Louis says it is postponing its planned meeting with a state finance board so it can meet with Missouri’s incoming governor, who is critical

     (AP) – A Missouri appeals court has ordered a new trial for a man sentenced to three decades in prison for infecting another man with HIV and endangering four others with the disease while attending college.      A

     (AP) – As gasoline prices rise nationwide, holiday travelers in Arkansas and Oklahoma will enjoy the lowest gas prices in the U.S.      AAA-Oklahoma says the average price per gallon for self-serve regular gas was $2.02 in the

     (AP) – Police say a driver who struck a natural gas main in the Washington County city of Farmington, sparking a large fire, died in the accident.      The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports police and fire agencies responded to

     (AP) – Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he will name Philip Taldo of Springdale to the Arkansas Highway Commission, effective next month. Taldo will replace Frank Scott Jr. of Little Rock.      Taldo currently serves on the Arkansas Economic

     (AP) – Arkansas’ electors have formally cast the state’s six electoral votes for Republican Donald Trump. The president-elect last month outpolled Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in her adopted home state.      The state’s six electors met Monday morning

     (AP) – An inmate accused of killing a guard at an Arkansas jail has apologized in court.      The Texarkana Gazette reports that Tramell MacKenzie Hunter made the comments Monday during his first appearance in court on preliminary

     (AP) – The state of Arkansas has formally appealed a federal judge’s order preventing the state from blocking Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood over videos secretly recorded by an anti-abortion group. The appeal was filed Monday by

     (AP) – Documents obtained by the Columbia Daily Tribune show 16 students who drank at University of Missouri fraternities were taken to hospitals for alcohol poisoning since August 2015.      The Columbia Daily Tribune reports those incidents include

     (AP) – The remains of a man from Hannibal will be buried 66 years after he went missing during the Korean War while serving in the Army.      The Hannibal Courier-Post reports Harold L. Curtis was 17 years

     (AP) – Six federal inmates serving time in Missouri-related drug cases are getting their sentences shortened by President Barack Obama, and three others got pardons.      The commutations were among 153 announced Monday by the White House, along

     (AP) – A man who was spared the death penalty by a St. Louis-area jury that instead assessed a life prison term in the 1977 shooting death of a police officer has died in prison.      The Missouri

     (AP) – Missouri’s electors who voted for President-elect Donald Trump have received a mixed response from onlookers.      Supporters in the Capitol clapped and cheered when the state’s 10 electors all cast their ballots for Trump.      An opponent

     (AP) – A newspaper reports that members of Missouri Gov.-elect Eric Greitens’ transition team have agreed to not publicly discuss their activities.      The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says documents obtained through the state’s open-records law show members of

     (AP) – The Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office says an inmate has been found dead in his cell.      Capt. David Bufford told reporters that 53-year-old James Lee Flowers of Cabot was pronounced dead after jailers found him unresponsive

     (AP) – The Arkansas Supreme Court is clarifying new ethics rules for judges after getting complaints that the rules are confusing.      Friday’s clarification includes elimination of a rule that judicial candidates avoid knowledge of who donates to

     (AP) – Police say a 3-year-old boy being taken on a shopping trip by his grandmother was killed in an Arkansas road rage shooting when a driver opened fire on the grandmother’s car because he thought she

           (AP) – Arkansas Democratic Party committee members have deferred selecting new leaders until after the 2018 gubernatorial elections.      Saturday’s decision by state Democrats resisted a wing of the party that had called for more immediate elections.

     (AP) – A Lee’s Summit man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for a crash that killed two of his friends.      The Kansas City Star reports that 19-year-old Collin J. Carter pleaded guilty in October

     (AP) – A judge has scheduled a February preliminary hearing for two men charged with kidnapping and raping a Johnson County deputy.      The Kansas City Star reports that 24-year-old William Luth of Blue Springs, and 21-year-old Brady

     (AP) – Residents of a southwest Missouri senior housing complex say they are upset after managers told them to remove all religious Christmas decorations from shared areas.      The owners of the Mercy Village complex in Joplin say

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Temperatures plummeted in Missouri after freezing rain blanketed roads with ice, causing scores of accidents including some fatalities. At least three deaths in Missouri were blamed on icy roads Friday after a

(Information from: Omaha World-Herald, http://www.omaha.com) OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – All the questions about Cabela's future in its Western Nebraska hometown after its planned merger with rival Bass Pro Shops next year are taking a toll on the

     (AP) – A southeast Missouri woman has been sentenced to life in prison in the 2013 shooting death of her husband.      The Poplar Bluff Daily American Republic reports that 51-year-old Victoria Lee Isaac of Puxico was sentenced

     (AP) – Members of an Audubon Society chapter in southwest Missouri say they're commonly seeing birds that used to be rare in the Ozarks, and they believe climate change is the reason.      The Springfield News-Leader reports that

The Arkansas Supreme Court is clarifying new ethics rules for judges after getting complaints that the rules are confusing. Friday’s clarification includes elimination of a rule that judicial candidates avoid knowledge of who donates to their campaigns.

     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – Police say a 3-year-old boy being taken on a shopping trip by his grandmother was killed in an Arkansas road rage shooting when a driver opened fire on the grandmother’s car because

     SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – A southwest Missouri woman who survived a claw hammer attack by her husband said he didn’t deserve the life sentenced he received for the crime.      The Springfield News-Leader reports that 61-year-old Robert Hess

     ST. LOUIS (AP) – A St. Louis jury has awarded a $2.5 million judgment against the city police department for a 2011 police chase that resulted in a pedestrian’s death.      The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the

     POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. (AP) – A southeast Missouri woman has been sentenced to life in prison for the 2013 shooting death of her husband.      The Poplar Bluff Daily American Republic reports that 51-year-old Victoria Lee Isaac of

     ST. LOUIS (AP) – At least three highway deaths in Missouri are being blamed on icy conditions, and with freezing rain and snow continuing across the state, authorities are warning people to stay home.      Ten people died

     ST. LOUIS (AP) – The homeless are proving to be especially susceptible to latest version of synthetic marijuana, a man-made hallucinogen that experts say is far more dangerous and unpredictable than the real thing.      Nearly 300 homeless

     JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri Republican electors interviewed by The Associated Press say they’re not swayed by pressure to vote against President-elect Donald Trump.      Eight of the state’s 10 electors told AP they’re sticking with Trump

     TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) – The Texarkana, Arkansas, Police Association says it's accepting a pay raise plan from the city that it previously opposed.      The Texarkana Gazette reports the association voted unanimously Wednesday to follow the new city

     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – Arkansas’ highest court says it opposes any effort to end popular election of justices and judges in the state, setting up a possible fight with lawmakers who have floated the change after

     BELTON, Mo. (AP) – Federal authorities are investigating after a 33-year-old man died when the trench he was working in collapsed at a work site outside Kansas City.      The regional office of the Department of Labor’s Occupational

     JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Outgoing Gov. Jay Nixon says Missouri is adding three new state parks totaling more than 8,000 acres.      Nixon announced the new southern Missouri parks on Friday. They were purchased for about $15

     COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – Documents obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch show that almost half of the 30 fraternities on the University of Missouri-Columbia campus area currently on probation, mostly stemming from incidents involving alcohol.      Fourteen of

     WASHINGTON (AP) – Employers stepped up their hiring in nine U.S. states last month and cut jobs in two amid modest improvement in the nation’s labor market.      The Labor Department says unemployment rates fell sharply in 18

     ST. LOUIS (AP) – A Missouri judge has ruled that a member of the grand jury that declined to indict the Ferguson officer who fatally shot Michael Brown cannot speak out about her experience.      St. Louis Circuit

     TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – Attorneys for a former Missouri city official sentenced to death in Kansas for killing his estranged wife, their two daughters and his wife’s grandmother have asked Kansas’ highest court to throw out his

     (AP) – Mississippi State University researchers say that some rice farmers can use much less water and get the same yield by flooding their fields at the start and end of the season, and letting them dry

     (AP) – Arkansas’ attorney general says the state will receive nearly $53,000 in a settlement with the owner of the Ashley Madison adultery dating website.      The agreement is part of a $1.6 million settlement that will be

     (AP) – Arkansas-based Simmons First National Corp. has announced plans to buy an Oklahoma bank in a deal valued at more than $564 million.      Simmons, which is based in Pine Bluff, announced Wednesday that it will purchase

     (AP) – Production is beginning at a new, $1.3 billion steel mill in northeast Arkansas.      According to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Big River Steel has begun operations in its melt shop and hot mill at the

     (AP) – The chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party says he won’t seek another term, weeks after the general election in which Republicans expanded their majorities in the state Legislature.      Vince Insalaco said in a statement Thursday

     (AP) – An anonymous couple has spent about $30,000 to pay for more than 200 layaway purchases at a Missouri Kmart.      Amanda Winchel, apparel manager at the Springfield store, told The Springfield News-Leader that the couple contacted

     (AP) – Authorities say a Missouri man sought in the reported abduction of his 7-year-old son has been arrested in Texas, where the boy was found unharmed.      The Washington Missourian reports Brownsville, Texas, police took 32-year-old Anthony

     (AP) – A Mexican-American elector says he’s sticking with his pledge to vote for Missouri’s winning candidate, Donald Trump.      Hector Maldonado told The Associated Press he won’t change his mind Monday in what’s shaping up to be

     (AP) – Missouri’s Department of Corrections director says he’s withdrawing his application to continue heading the agency under the next governor following calls for him to leave.      Director George Lombardi in Thursday emails obtained by The Associated

     (AP) – A circus has agreed to pay a $7,000 fine to settle alleged federal animal-welfare violations involving Missouri and Pennsylvania shows where elephants were allowed to get loose or too close to circus-goers.      Florida-based Royal Hanneford

     (AP) – A St. Louis-area executive and four others have been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly kidnapping a man and collecting ransom from his parents.      The U.S. attorney's office in St. Louis announced kidnapping

Arkansas’ attorney general says the state will receive nearly $53,000 in a settlement with the owner of the Ashley Madison adultery dating website. The agreement is part of a $1.6 million settlement that will be paid to

Arkansas-based Simmons First National Corp. has announced plans to buy an Oklahoma bank in a deal valued at more than $564 million. Simmons, which is based in Pine Bluff, announced Wednesday that it would purchase Southwest Bancorp,

     (AP) – An Arkansas legislative panel has rejected a disputed $160 million contract with an Indiana company to take over the operation of seven youth lockup facilities in Arkansas.      The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the panel voted Tuesday

     (AP) – A policy change now allows immigrants who apply for Arkansas Medicaid benefits to have up to 90 days to provide documents on their legal status.      The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports a state legislative panel approved the

     (AP) – An Oklahoma man found guilty of defrauding a charitable organization run by former University of Arkansas football coach Frank Broyles has been sentenced to two years in prison.      The Tulsa World reports that 48-year-old Kelly

     (AP) – Opponents of an effort to build a Ten Commandments monument near Arkansas' Capitol are urging a panel to reject the statue, while the lawmaker behind the display says the only decision that remains is where

     (AP) – Lincoln University in Jefferson City says several faculty members will be out of jobs by the end of the school year.      University president Kevin Rome tells the Jefferson City News-Tribune that the layoffs are a

     (AP) – The Missouri State Auditor and lawmakers are proposing legislation that would allow law enforcement agencies, prosecuting attorneys and circuit attorneys to request an audit of any political subdivision or government entity.      The St. Joseph News-Press

     (AP) – An association that lobbies for restricting liability lawsuits to help business says St. Louis has the nation’s worst judicial climate.      An American Tort Reform Association report released Wednesday said St. Louis is a magnet for

     (AP) – A predominantly white Missouri school district is apologizing after a Donald Trump campaign sign was waved during player introductions for an all-minority Kansas City basketball team.      The Warrensburg school district apologized on its official Facebook

     (AP) – Republican Gov.-elect Eric Greitens will be responsible for filling a vacancy on the Missouri Supreme Court.      The Appellate Judicial Commission on Wednesday announced it will accept applications for the judgeship through Feb. 3.      By then,

     (AP) – An immigrant charged with possessing a fake Social Security card is free on bail following a Missouri Supreme Court decision striking down a law under which he had been jailed.      Online court records show Faustino

     (AP) – St. Louis County’s family court and the U.S. government have reached a deal meant to resolve allegations that black youth are treated more harshly than whites and that juveniles often are deprived of constitutional rights.

     (AP) – Officials with a sheriff’s office in northern Arkansas say they paid a ransom after their computer system was hacked earlier this month.      Carroll County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Daniel Klatt says the department’s system was hit

     (AP) – Police say a North Little Rock man found in Little Rock with gunshot wounds more than a week ago has died as a result of the injuries.      Little Rock police said Tuesday that 22-year-old Addison

     (AP) – The Arkansas NAACP and several residents are calling for the resignation of a school board member in eastern Arkansas after photos surfaced of him in blackface while holding a sign referring to the Black Lives