Category Archives: Regional News

     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

     (AP) – Donald Corbin, a former Arkansas legislator and state Supreme Court justice who wrote rulings striking down a ban on gay foster parents and a law requiring voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot,

     (AP) – Gov. Asa Hutchinson is proposing a $50 million income tax cut for 657,000 low-income Arkansans along with a $13 million break for military retirees that he says will be offset by repealing exemptions on unemployment

     (AP) – Jobs are on the rise and unemployment continues to decline in Missouri.      The state Department of Economic Development on Tuesday announced seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment grew by 1,900 jobs in November.      Jobs again hit

     (AP) – A program is launching in St. Louis that will allow young people facing hunger to send a text message and receive a meal.      The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Not Impossible Labs of Venice, California, plans

     (AP) – A suburban St. Louis man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for breaking into a home and kidnapping a 10-year-old girl who was sleeping on a couch.      The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that

     (AP) – The saying, “Better late than never” certainly applies to Hensley Hall Jr. of suburban St. Louis, who claimed a $405,000 Missouri Lottery prize just two days before it expired.      The Missouri Lottery says Hall, of

     (AP) – Boeing Co. will move the headquarters for its defense unit from St. Louis to the Washington, D.C., area.      The move announced Tuesday by Chicago-based Boeing affects about a dozen top executives and some support staff.

A Missouri labor union leader is proposing to take the battle over so-called right-to-work laws to a vote of the people. Missouri AFL-CIO President Mike Louis has filed several versions of an initiative petition with the secretary

Authorities are investigating after two people were found dead in a mobile home fire in Pulaski County. The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office says the fire was reported shortly before 5 p.m. Monday at a home on Jude

The Pine Bluff division of federal courts for the Eastern District of Arkansas is set to close in 2017. The courts have been targeted for closure due to budget restraints. The Judicial Conference of the United States

     (AP) – Authorities are investigating after a man was killed in a fire at a Little Rock building.      The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports firefighters responded to a report of an explosion around 4:50 p.m. Sunday at a building

     (AP) – The chief of staff to Arkansas Treasurer Dennis Milligan is retiring.      Milligan said in a statement Monday that Jim Harris is retiring after serving as chief of staff since Milligan took office in 2015.      Harris

     (AP) – Police in North Little Rock have identified the man killed when he was struck by a car on the city’s east side.      Police said Monday that 64-year-old Carlous Guthrie died when he was struck shortly

     (AP) – Authorities say an 8-year-old boy who was playing in a church cemetery was killed after a tombstone broke and fell on top of him.      The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office says the boy was attending a

     (AP) – The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission has held its first meeting.      The five commissioners were sworn in Monday and breast cancer surgeon Dr. Ronda Henry-Tillman of Little Rock was elected chairman.      The commission is to set

     (AP) – Planned Parenthood officials in Missouri want a federal judge to block abortion regulations so four additional clinics can offer the procedure.      The presidents and CEOs of Missouri’s Planned Parenthood centers said Monday they’ve requested that

     (AP) – A developer is preserving and incorporating a Native American burial mound into a neighborhood development project.      The Columbia Missourian reports Mike Tompkins bought property west of Columbia and discovered the 80-foot-long mound on the northeastern

     (AP) – A jury has awarded a Missouri woman $20 million in punitive damages from American Family Insurance, which she claimed discriminated against her.      Deborah Miller, of Blue Springs, sued the company and its former Missouri state

     (AP) – A former St. Louis police sergeant has been ordered to spend a year and a day in federal prison for stealing more than $80,000 from the organization for black police officers that he once led.

A growth in passenger traffic is projected to drive a proposed $33.6 million operating budget for the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field in 2017. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the proposed budget assumes the number of

Two additional air monitors are planned to be placed around a Missouri coal-fired power plant to determine if the plant complies with thresholds for an airborne pollutant. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the Environmental Protection Agency announced

     (AP) – About 50 protesters turned out in Fayetteville to oppose a planned oil pipeline across northern Arkansas.      Opponents said Saturday that the planned Diamond Pipeline is a threat to water, protected species and historic sites.      The

     (AP) – Food stamps could not be used to buy junk food in Arkansas under a bill filed for the coming legislative session.      The bill by Republican Rep. Mary Bentley of Perryville calls for the state Department

     (AP) – Called “Obamacare” by opponents, the Affordable Care Act is highly unpopular in Texas and Arkansas, but the approaches the two states take in response to it have created stark differences in health care cost and

     (AP) – Researchers say an eight-year effort to enroll more high school students in advanced placement classes is paying off – regardless of how students do on end-of-year exams.      The Arkansas Research Center at the University of

      (AP) – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says a proposed medical radioactive isotope plant in Columbia would have little environmental impact.       The Columbia Daily Tribune reports the plant, which would be operated by Northwest Medical Isotopes, would

     (AP) – Police say a gun accidentally discharged in a suburban St. Louis Home Depot restroom, injuring an employee.      The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the weapon discharged Sunday in a restroom at a Home Depot in Sunset

     (AP) – A nearly 50-mile stretch has been opened linking a Kansas City area town to the Katy Trail State Park, a recreational trail of abandoned railroad land.      Gov. Jay Nixon cut a ribbon Saturday on the

     (AP) – A south-central Missouri sheriff is hoping new information could help identify the remains of a child found three years ago.      Pulaski County Sheriff Ron Long told The Waynesville Daily Guide he wants to try one

     SPRINGDALE, Ark. (AP) – Construction on U.S. Highway 412 northern bypass will prompt partial lane closures in Lowell and Springdale.      The closures on South Goad Springs Road in Benton County will begin Monday and end on Dec.

     JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) – The president of the Arkansas State University system is getting a $10,000 raise and a one-year contract extension.      The Jonesboro Sun reports that the Board of Trustees approved a 3 percent salary hike

     KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A woman assaulted as a girl during a 1982 attack that killed her mother wants Missouri’s governor to free the man imprisoned the past three decades for the crimes, insisting he’s innocent.

     ST. LOUIS (AP) – A jury has convicted a man of shooting two police officers during a 2015 protest in Ferguson, Missouri.      The St. Louis County jury deliberated about two hours Thursday night before finding Jeffrey Williams

     ST. LOUIS (AP) – St. Louis County police say a man was grazed by a bullet in the lobby of a high school gym during a basketball game.      The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the gunfire erupted Friday

     ST. LOUIS (AP) – A St. Louis lawyer has been named chairman of the University of Missouri board of curators.      St. Louis attorney Maurice B. Graham is the newly elected chairman of the University of Missouri board

     COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says a proposed medical radioactive isotope plant in Columbia would have little environmental impact.      The Columbia Daily Tribune reports the plant, which would be operated by Northwest Medical

     JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri lawmaker says President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to slash corporate income taxes could create momentum to eliminate those taxes completely in the state.      Republican state Sen. Will Kraus is proposing phasing

     PINE BLUFF, Ark. (AP) – A Pine Bluff school district has entered into a consent agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice in a lawsuit that began more than 45 years ago involving the alleged discrimination of

     DALLAS (AP) – Actor Judge Reinhold has apologized to police, saying he’s embarrassed that he was arrested after a confrontation with security at Dallas Love Field Airport.      Police arrested the 59-year-old actor Thursday afternoon on a misdemeanor

     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – The Arkansas Economic Development Commission is adding a new position that focuses on supporting the state’s military installations.      Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Friday that retired Col. Gary Holland will serve as the

     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – An Arkansas Democratic lawmaker’s decision to switch to the Republican Party means Democrats and Republicans will be evenly divided on the only House committee dominated by Democrats.      Democratic Rep. Joe Jett of

     JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) A former director of Missouri’s unemployment benefits agency has agreed to a $2 million settlement to drop a discrimination lawsuit against Gov. Jay Nixon’s administration.      Settlement documents provided Friday under open-records laws show

     HELENA-WEST HELENA, Ark. (AP) – The city council in Helena-West Helena has voted to repeal an ordinance approved by voters last month that would have reduced the number of city council members.      The Helena World reports the

     JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway says she’s reviewing state legal payments following reports of harassment and employee lawsuits in the Department of Corrections.      Galloway on Friday announced the audit of the state’s Legal Expense

     JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri’s outgoing Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon is giving clemency to 15 people convicted of drug-related crimes or theft.      Nixon on Friday announced the pardons. Those granted clemency were convicted of crimes including

     (AP) – In an effort to produce workers who can either navigate a computer keyboard or wield an acetylene torch, Arkansas unveiled a possible way for high school graduates, home-school graduates and non-traditional students to learn skills

     (AP) – Arkansas’ highest court has thrown out a judge’s ruling that could have allowed married same-sex couples to get the names of both spouses on their children’s birth certificates without a court order.      A split Arkansas

     (AP) – Sixty animals ranging from dogs to miniature horses have been removed from a property in western Missouri after the owner determined he was unable to care for them.      The Humane Society of Missouri took control

     (AP) – Two men have pleaded guilty to the $2 million robbery of an armored car, an inside job believed to be one of the biggest cash heists ever in St. Louis.      Charles Johnson pleaded guilty Thursday,

     (AP) – The Missouri Supreme Court has struck down a law that denies bail to criminal defendants who cannot prove they are legally present in the U.S.      The unanimous decision Thursday comes in the case of a

The state highway department has opened bids on five major projects in central Arkansas, including plans to widen a dangerous stretch of U.S. 70 near Hot Springs. The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department opened bids Wednesday on

The University of Missouri is urging students to obtain a booster mumps shot to protect against an outbreak that has grown to 193 confirmed and probable cases. The school says all the students sickened since the beginning

Missouri authorities say a man was killed in central Missouri when an unoccupied pickup truck rolled across a road and hit him as he stood in a driveway. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says 37-year-old Francis “Frank”

     (AP) – The mayor of Brinkley says he won't pursue an investigation of the city's police chief for excessive speeding because witnesses could've been joking about how fast he was driving.      The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that Police

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – Gov. Asa Hutchinson says federal officials have approved a number of changes Arkansas wishes to make in a Medicaid expansion program known as “Arkansas Works.” The governor said Wednesday that the Department

     (AP) – Gov. Asa Hutchinson and legislative leaders have appointed the five members of a board that will develop Arkansas’ medical marijuana policy.      Hutchinson on Wednesday named Little Rock breast cancer surgeon Dr. Ronda Henry-Tillman to the

     (AP) – A Missouri man has been ordered to spend 40 years in prison after having admitted in court that he played a role in the 2015 robbery killing of a man in Collinsville, Illinois.      Thirty-five-year-old Jessie

     (AP) – A southwest Missouri jury has convicted a 41-year-old Springfield man in the 2014 death of a 21-year-old man.      The Springfield News-Leader reports that Brian S. Jones faces up to a life sentence for his conviction

     (AP) – Eight Chicago residents have been indicted by a federal grand jury for the smash-and-grab crime at a Saks Fifth Avenue in suburban St. Louis.      The U.S. Attorney’s office in St. Louis on Wednesday announced the

     (AP) – A task forces says the University of Missouri system should emphasize diversity in its recruiting and hiring practices, while also finding ways to fund those practices to make them sustainable.      A 21-page report by the

     (AP) – Missouri’s Republican House Speaker Todd Richardson is calling for an investigation of the state Department of Corrections after reports of widespread workplace harassment.      The St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Wednesday reported Richardson says he won’t tolerate

     (AP) – Opponents are suing to stop a new Missouri constitutional amendment to limit political giving.      Missouri Electric Cooperatives and Legends Bank on Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit against the amendment, which takes effect Thursday.      Voters in

A woman whose pit bull was shot last year by a southwest Missouri police chief has agreed to a $6,000 settlement. The Springfield News-Leader reports that an attorney for the dog’s owner announced the settlement with the

     (AP) – The mayor of Texarkana says financial realities are making it difficult to fund pay raises for police and firefighters.      The Texarkana Gazette reports that Mayor Ruth Penney-Bell told the city Board of Directors that city

     (AP) – A senior adviser at a liberal arts college in Virginia has been named the new president at Lyon College in northeastern Arkansas.      The college announced Monday the hiring of Joey King as the school’s next

     (AP) – Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is meeting with officials in Washington as the state seeks approval for changes to its hybrid Medicaid expansion program.      Arkansas has requested a waiver for its “Arkansas Works” program, also known

     (AP) – Members of the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission are to be announced.      Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Senate President Pro Tem Jonathan Dismang and House Speaker Jeremy Gillam are to announce the appointments Wednesday at the state Capital.

     (AP) – Union Pacific says it looks forward to examining recommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board following a fatal train crash in northern Arkansas.      The NTSB on Tuesday said crew fatigue was behind a 2014

     (AP) – St. Louis police say they have identified a man killed during a shooting that forced closure of a portion of a busy interstate highway.      Police say 28-year-old Jarrell Foster died after being shooting about 12:30

     (AP) – A trial has been scheduled for late next year for a Missouri man accused of sexually attacking and suffocating his daughter, a high school honors student, at a motel.      Forty-year-old Jerry Bausby has pleaded not

     (AP) – The state of Missouri is issuing nearly $100 million in bonds as the final funding piece for construction of a new state mental hospital campus dating to before the Civil War.      The state’s Office of

     (AP) – A sheriff in Louisiana is defending the investigation of a man who fatally shot ex-NFL player Joe McKnight during a road rage dispute.      Authorities say the shooter, Ronald Gasser, was taken into custody, questioned and

     (AP) – Three teenagers are in custody in the armed robbery of the wife of Missouri Gov.-Elect Eric Greitens, who says it’s a good thing police got to them before he did.      Eric and Sheena Greitens spoke

     (AP) – Police are investigating the deaths of a couple whose stabbed bodies were found in their home in the St. Louis suburb of Fenton.      St. Louis County police say 65-year-old Michael Oppermann and 64-year-old Denise Oppermann

     (AP) – Gov. Asa Hutchinson has announced creation of an Office of Transformation to find ways to make government more efficient and to reduce costs.      Hutchinson on Monday announced the office and said Amy Fecher will serve

     (AP) – Police in Paragould say foul play is not suspected in the stabbing death of a man.      Police told KAIT-TV on Monday that it appears 35-year-old Brandon Davis died of a self-inflicted stab wound to the

     (AP) – A North Little Rock man is charged with first-degree murder charge in the death of his girlfriend, who was found beaten in the yard of the couple's home.      Online court records show 41-year-old Parnell Robert

     (AP) – Two doors from the first store owned by Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton have been donated to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington and The Wal-Mart Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas.      The Northwest Arkansas

     (AP) – Arkansas-based Tyson Foods Inc. has announced plans to create a venture fund aimed at developing new innovations in how to feed the world’s population.      The Springdale-based meat company says it will make $150 million available

     (AP) – Automated equipment may have contributed to a deadly head-on train collision in Arkansas by resetting alarms set up to ensure the crew is alert.      The National Transportation Safety Board meets Tuesday in Washington, D.C., to

     (AP) – A Missouri man is jailed on $500,000 cash bond after being accused of telling co-workers he was affiliated with the Islamic State group and could have their auto-detailing job site blown up by making a

     (AP) – The cost of funding Missouri’s state employee pensions will increase nearly $50 million in the next fiscal year as investment losses and lower earnings expectations push taxpayer contributions to the highest share of state payroll

     (AP) – The University of Missouri says the search firm that helped the system find a new president also will lead the search for a permanent chancellor for the Columbia campus.      University officials announced in a news

     (AP) – St. Louis police are investigating a fatal shooting that forced closure of a portion of a busy interstate highway.      The shooting happened around 12:30 p.m. Monday on Interstate 55 in south St. Louis. Police initially

     (AP) – A St. Louis-area businessman and three other men will have a detention hearing Tuesday in federal court in St. Louis after being accused of kidnapping and beating a man over three days.      BAM Brands CEO

     (AP) – One day after Ferguson residents heard an update on racial reform efforts in their community, a federal judge will get an update of her own.      U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry is holding a hearing Tuesday

     (AP) – A new cellphone app allows parents of bus riders in one Arkansas school district to track their children in real time to ensure they make it to and from school safely.      Thirty-two buses in the

     (AP) – The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office says a woman has died after being found beaten outside a home just northwest of North Little Rock.      Sheriff’s Lt. Cody Burk told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that the woman was

     (AP) – A Pine Bluff boy died and four others were injured in a car crash in Jefferson County.      A preliminary report from the Arkansas State Police says that the crash happened around 6:20 a.m. Saturday on

     (AP) – Police have identified a man who was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer during a bank robbery as a 58-year-old Grant County man.      Police in Benton say the man had demanded money at

     (AP) – An endowment that helps fund faculty positions and student scholarships at the University of Arkansas’ flagship campus in Fayetteville declined by nearly $50 million in fiscal year 2016.      The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that UA listed

     (AP) – An endowment that helps fund faculty positions and student scholarships at the University of Arkansas’ flagship campus in Fayetteville declined by nearly $50 million in fiscal year 2016.      The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that UA listed

     (AP) – Legislation aimed at Arkansas’ new medical marijuana law is planned or already filed for the upcoming Legislative session.      Voters in November approved a constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana for patients with certain conditions.      Republican state

     (AP) – The New Madrid Fault has had a fair amount of minor seismic activity in recent weeks. There’ve been no reports of damage or injuries.      The Daily American Republic reports that the latest was a magnitude-2.9

     (AP) – A 78-year-old man died after he was hit by a vehicle while he was walking along a roadway north of Springfield.      The Springfield News-Leader reports that Hubert L. House of Springfield was fatally struck by

     (AP) – A new study finds that eight private colleges paid their presidents more than $2 million in 2014, the most ever to hit that mark.      The Chronicle of Higher Education reported the finding Sunday in its

     (AP) – Authorities are investigating after a fire damaged a resort condominium building under construction in Branson.      The Springfield News-Leader reports the large fire Sunday damaged the building under construction at the Welk Resort. The city of

     (AP) – Two southeast Missouri men have been honored as heroes for saving a man and his toddler son from a burning minivan.      The Poplar Bluff Daily American Republic reports that Heath Moon of Poplar Bluff and

     TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) – A new cellphone app allows parents of bus riders in one Arkansas school district to track their children in real time to ensure they make it to and from school safely.      Thirty-two buses

     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – An April trial has been set for a North Little Rock man accused of fatally shooting a volunteer firefighter who came to his rescue earlier this year.      The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that

     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – A Pine Bluff boy died and four others were injured in a car crash in Jefferson County.      A preliminary report from the Arkansas State Police says that the crash happened around 6:20

     KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A suburban St. Louis school system has shed an unaccredited label that had forced it to pay for students to transfer to non-failing school systems.      The Missouri State Board of Education unanimously

     KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Authorities are investigating after tools and equipment were stolen from a Kansas City woodworking shop where retired phone company workers make special devices for children.      The Kansas City Star reports a thief

     KIRKSVILLE, Mo. (AP) – A fire has gutted a landmark building in northern Missouri.      The Kirksville Daily Express reports that the Kirksville Arts Association building was hit Friday night by a fire that took hours to control

     SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri woman faces 12 years in federal prison for leading a fraud scheme.      The U.S. attorney’s office for western Missouri says in a release that 56-year-old Lisa Kaye Barwick-Majeski of St. Robert

     JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri lawmakers have struggled to find a way to pay for repairs along thousands of miles of highways and bridges, and it’s unclear if that might change.      State funding for road and

     JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Missouri Democratic Party has elected Stephen Webber as the party’s new chair.      Webber, of Columbia, was elected Saturday at the state party elections Saturday at Lincoln University in Jefferson City. He

     BENTON, Ark. (AP) – Police in Arkansas say an off-duty officer shot a bank robbery suspect who later died at a hospital.      Friday's incident is the third officer-involved fatal shooting in Benton in two months.      Benton police

     DOVER, Ark. (AP) – Arkansas State Police say the person who was fatally shot by a Pope County deputy Thursday was an 83-year-old man who reportedly fired a rifle at officers.      State police on Friday identified the

     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – The Arkansas Legislative Audit is turning over to a prosecutor a review of the Arkansas State University System with findings partially related to the university’s former chancellor and his wife.      Prosecutor Scott

     ALTHEIMER, Ark. (AP) – Emergency crews are responding to a train derailment in south central Arkansas involving at least 15 cars, including one carrying propane. No injuries were reported.      Arkansas Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Melody Daniel

     KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) The incoming president of the University of Missouri system and officials attending a welcoming ceremony in Kansas City say they are optimistic the university is ready to move on from last year’s turmoil

     JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) Missouri lawmakers are proposing bills that would make attacking a law enforcement officer a hate crime.      The Springfield News-Leader reports that Rep. Marsha Haefner’s bill would consider certain offenses a hate crime if

     JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) Lawmakers are proposing bills that would make Missouri a right-to-work state.      The Springfield News-Leader reports that Republican state Reps. Bill White and Holly Rehder have pre-filed Thursday legislation to stop labor unions from

     (AP) – A retired Garland County principal has been arrested after allegedly having sexual contact with a 14-year-old female student he is charged with sexually assaulting.      The Sentinel-Record reports 61-year-old Lester Curry was previously charged with second-degree

     (AP) – A prosecutor says an Arkansas police officer was justified when he shot and killed a man in October.      Saline County Prosecutor Ken Casady said Thursday that it was “justifiable self-defense” when Benton officer Cory Mize

     (AP) – Sherwood police say the death of a woman who was found in her home is being investigated as a homicide.      Police spokesman Keith Wilson told reporters that officers were called about 8 a.m. Thursday to

     (AP) – Arkansas’ highest court has upheld a $122.5 million civil judgment against a former doctor who was convicted of severely injuring the state medical board’s chairman in a 2009 bombing.      The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday

     (AP) – A northern Arkansas sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a suspect after a report of an armed disturbance led to what investigators described as an armed confrontation.      The incident happened shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday in

     (AP) – Abortion opponents in Arkansas are pushing for a ban on a commonly used second trimester procedure along with other restrictions.      They’re buoyed by Republicans’ expanded majorities in the Legislature and Donald Trump’s election as president.

     (AP) – A Houston-area mayor wants to fire a city manager who previously was dismissed as the top administrator in Joplin, Missouri, over the botched redevelopment of Joplin in the wake of a devastating tornado.      League City

     (AP) – The University of Missouri is urging student groups to halt some social events as the number of mumps cases continues to rise.      The Student Health Center said Wednesday that there are 128 confirmed and probable

     (AP) – A group of Chicago-area residents accused of stealing $60,0 worth of handbags in a brazen smash-and-grab in suburban St. Louis are suspected in similar crimes in three other states involving nearly $2 million in thefts

     (AP) – An investment company says it plans to build a casino and expo center in downtown St. Joseph.      The St. Joseph News-Press reports that Missouri-based Inner Circle Investments LLC hopes to build the casino in the

     (AP) – A Missouri man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for raping a 15-year-old he met online, a girl held captive in his home for about a month.      A federal judge in St. Louis

     (AP) – Police have identified a suspect in the shooting death of a North Little Rock man.      Police Sgt. Brian Dedrick said Wednesday that a capital murder warrant has been issued for 30-year-old Charles Brent Gant in

     (AP) – University of Arkansas student leaders are working to establish a scooter safety program after a 20-year-old student died from a head injury suffered in a September scooter accident on the Fayetteville campus.      The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

     (AP) – Newspapers in Forrest City and Marianna have been sold to a newly formed company.      Argent Arkansas News Media Inc. announced Wednesday the purchase of the Forrest City Times-Herald and the Marianna Courier-Index from Times-Herald Publishing

           (AP) – Authorities say a 12-year-old student has been arrested for bringing an unloaded handgun to a middle school in Conway.      Conway police say the boy was arrested Tuesday after bringing the weapon to Simon Intermediate

     (AP) – Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he stressed the importance of a global market to Arkansas' economy when he talked with President-elect Donald Trump to congratulate him on his surprise win in the election.      The Republican governor

     (AP) – Labels for medical marijuana products sold in Arkansas would have to include details on their laboratory analysis, dosage and warnings under a draft of rules being prepared for the launch of the first medical pot

     (AP) – A General Motors plant in eastern Missouri is increasing security because of written threats against minorities.      The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the General Motors plant in Wentzville has beefed up security after threats of violence

     (AP) – Police in St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, say they made roughly 140 arrests of protesters who pressed for a $15 per hour minimum wage.      KSHB-TV says Kansas City police confirmed that at least 110

     (AP) – Police in Kansas City, Missouri, say an officer shot and killed a robbery suspect after the man reached for his gun.      The Kansas City Star reports that police said the shooting occurred Wednesday after narcotics

     (AP) – Planned Parenthood affiliates in Missouri are asking a federal judge to prevent the state from enforcing two laws that they say restrict access to abortion.      The affiliates filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday challenging requirements that

     (AP) – A southwestern Missouri 18-year-old is jailed without bond after being accused of a shooting death.      The Sikeston Standard Democrat reports that Jamarius Fisher is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with

     (AP) – Texarkana’s Board of Directors has endorsed a tax incentive to help bring jobs to the city.      The Texarkana Gazette reports the board voted Monday to endorse a state tax break to help defray the cost

     (AP) – City leaders in Pine Bluff are considering a budget proposal that includes body cameras for the city’s police department.      The Pine Bluff Safety Commission approved a budget request last week that included about $65,000 for

FORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) – An Arkansas man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to capital murder in the fatal shooting of a sheriff’s deputy earlier this year. Billy Monroe Jones

     (AP) – Police in North Little Rock say a man has died after being found with a gunshot wound.      Sgt. Brian Dedrick says officers investigating reports of a man being shot found the victim about 1 p.m.

     (AP) – Regulators want more time to review Bass Pro’s proposed $4.5 billion acquisition of rival outdoor goods retailer Cabela’s.      The companies said Tuesday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that U.S. and Canadian

     (AP) – A 9-week-old Missouri baby whose father is accused of sticking his fingers down the child’s throat to stop his crying has died, and the father is now facing an upgraded criminal charge.      Wentzville Assistant Police

     (AP) – A Missouri Supreme Court spokeswoman says one of the court’s judges has died.      Court spokeswoman Beth Riggert announced Tuesday morning that 69-year-old Judge Richard B. Teitelman died, but provided no other details.      Teitelman had served

     (AP) – A former U.S. Army explosives expert has admitted in federal court that he illegally possessed grenades that authorities say were among a cache of explosives found in his Kansas home.      Forty-two-year-old John Panchalk of Overland

     (AP) – Police say someone pointed a gun at a student on the campus of Culver-Stockton College, prompting officials to place the school on lockdown for two hours until a suspect was detained.      Lewis County Sheriff David

Police say a 19-year-old Missouri woman allowed her intoxicated boyfriend to drink her blood then stabbed the wannabe vampire during a subsequent argument. Victoria Vanatter of Springfield pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of first-degree domestic assault

     (AP) – An infant is unharmed after she was thrown into a drainage ditch during a two-vehicle accident near Texarkana.      Texarkana police say 8-month-old Bryce Hale was one of five people traveling in a car on Interstate

     (AP) – Authorities say a juvenile was killed after the all-terrain vehicle on which she was riding was struck by a pickup on a western Arkansas highway.      Arkansas State Police say the collision happened Saturday afternoon on

     (AP) – The Arkansas Department of Health is studying whether the mumps vaccine is less effective against the type of mumps contracted by hundreds of people during the past three months of an outbreak first announced in

    (AP) – Faulkner County authorities say a body found in a pond near the town of Holland is that of a man missing since September.     The sheriff's office says in a news release Monday that the body

     (AP) – Officials say at least 73 confirmed and probable cases of mumps have been reported at the University of Missouri.      The Columbia Missourian reports that many of the cases of the viral infection are linked to

     (AP) – Authorities in southeast Missouri say a woman killed her husband by running him down with a car after he threatened to kill her and a child.      The Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office says in a

     (AP) – Missouri corrections officials are seeking bids from funeral homes in an effort to reduce the state’s cost of burying inmates who die behind bars and have nobody to claim their bodies.      Bid documents request the

    (AP) – An eastern Missouri man has been sentenced to a quarter century in prison in connection with the 2011 shooting death of his wife.     The Washington Missourian reports 44-year-old Randy O. Price got the 25-year sentence

     (AP) – Authorities say they are investigating as a homicide a shooting that killed a woman and wounded a man in the Kansas City, Missouri, suburb of Harrisonville.      The Kansas City Star reports that a suspect was

     (AP) – A woman convicted of lying to protect her boyfriend in the beating death of his 2-year-old son has been released from prison after about four months of a 10-year sentence.      Lesley Sue Marcotte was sentenced

     (AP) – The speaker of the Arkansas House says changes will be considered to the rules for selecting committee members.      The comments come after Democrats secured 11 of the 20 seats on the House Revenue and Taxation

     (AP)- Republican-led states that signed onto Medicaid expansion are in a tough spot as they wonder if president-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to dump the Affordable Care Act means the expansion goes away.      Former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer

     (AP) – Faulkner County Sheriff Matt Rice says changes will be made following the recent escape of an inmate, but have not yet been put in place.      Rice told the Log Cabin Democrat that the Nov. 11

     (AP) – A former county sheriff convicted of a civil rights violation while he was in office wants an end to a requirement that he register as a sex offender.      Former Independence County Sheriff Ron Webb of

     (AP) – Forestry experts are hoping a type of wasp will help control an invasive beetle that’s killing ash trees in Arkansas.      The emerald ash borer feeds on the trees, eventually killing them. It’s blamed for killing

     (AP) – A series of deaths this month has shaken the northeast Missouri town of Kirksville.      The Kirksville Daily Express reports that 41-year-old Echo Welte got a call Nov. 13 from her son, who was threatening suicide.

     (AP) – Restrooms on the top floor of the student union at Missouri State University soon won’t be labeled for male or female use.      The Springfield News-Leader reports that the restrooms on the fourth floor of Plaster

     (AP) – Three people, including a 2-year-old Texas boy, have died in a wrong-way crash in eastern Missouri.      The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports the crash occurred early Sunday in Franklin County when a car traveling eastbound

     (AP) – Plans are being made to develop a 4.5-acre tract of land near the southwest Missouri city of Springfield into a community of tiny homes for disabled, chronically homeless people.      The Springfield News-Leader reports that The

     (AP) – Authorities say seven people have been arrested in central Illinois after an alleged theft at a St. Louis mall and an interstate car chase.      Police say two vehicles were allegedly involved in a theft on

     (AP) – Seven people were wounded in an extended shooting spread out across a few Kansas City blocks.      Police spokeswoman Capt. Stacey Graves said in a statement that officers responded to a report of shots being fired

     BEEBE, Ark. (AP) – Police in Beebe say one man is dead and a suspect is in custody following a shooting in an apartment complex parking lot.      Police told reporters that officers were called Friday afternoon and

     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – The speaker of the Arkansas House says changes will be considered to the rules for selecting committee members.      The comments come after Democrats secured 11 of the 20 seats on the House

     JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) Anti-abortion activists and lawmakers say they’re hopeful new regulations will have a better chance of passing in the 2017 legislative session after such proposals failed to make it through this year.      No new

     SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) The Missouri Supreme Court has suspended a southwest Missouri lawyer who referred to a federal judge using a racial slur.      The Springfield News-Leader reports a disciplinary order announced Tuesday shows Jason Henry has been

     JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) Missouri says roughly 185,000 whitetail deer killed during the state’s recently completed firearms hunting season were nearly 1,500 fewer than last year.      The Missouri Department of Conservation says preliminary information shows hunters claimed

A task force has teamed up with the Columbia Homeless Outreach Team to start a new initiative that helps find housing for the homeless and tackles issues contributing to homelessness. The Columbia Missourian reports that the goal

Little Rock police have announced a $20,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction for whoever fatally shot a 2-year-old girl earlier this week. Police announced Friday that an anonymous donor gave $10,000 for

Authorities in Little Rock are investigating after someone stole more than $3,000 worth of musical instruments from a church. Little Rock police say the burglary happened sometime after 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Tabernacle of Witness on Wolfe

A privately researched report says Arkansas could save up to $50 million a year by looking into efficiencies in some state programs. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the Arkansas Policy Foundation’s research into the 21 largest state

Missouri’s Republican Gov.-elect Eric Greitens will hold a traditional ball in the Capitol and a statewide fly-around before his inauguration. Greitens’ senior adviser Austin Chambers told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Friday that the incoming governor will

     KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) The new University of Missouri system president plans to tour the state’s four campuses.      The Kansas City Star reports that new University of Missouri System President Mun Choi will begin a four-campus tour

     SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) A 53-year-old man has been recharged with killing a woman five years ago at a Springfield hotel.      Terry Morrison is jailed without bond in Greene County, where he was charged this week with first-degree

     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) Officials will consider whether to nominate 13 properties in Arkansas for the National Register of Historic Places.      The State Review Board of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program will meet Dec. 7 to decide

     (AP) – A lawsuit alleging violation of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act has been filed against the Fort Smith School Board.      The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the lawsuit was filed in Sebastian County Circuit Court on

     (AP) – The body of a woman discovered over the weekend in a Pope County lake has been identified as a 27-year-old North Little Rock resident.      Pope County Sheriff Shane Jones said Wednesday that the body was

     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) Food banks in Arkansas say they often run short on food and donations during the holidays, a time when many low-income Arkansans families need assistance.      The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the U.S. Department

     (AP) – A spokesman for Wal-Mart says the company is “likely to appeal” a jury decision awarding $54 million to truck drivers who had sued the retail giant in a wage dispute.      Randy Hargrove said in a

     (AP) – Authorities say a 2-year-old child has died after a shooting in Little Rock. Police say the child was fatally shot while riding in a car Tuesday night near 20th and Harrison streets. A Little Rock

     (AP) – A federal judge says a lawsuit alleging the University of Arkansas acted with deliberate indifference after a woman reported she was raped by another student will go forward.      The lawsuit against the university was filed

     (AP) – Authorities say an elderly woman has been killed in house fire in Independence.      The Kansas City Star reports that crews responded early Wednesday and found flames and smoke pouring out of the front windows and

     (AP) – An affluent suburban Kansas City woman who admitted shoplifting truckloads of clothing from area retailers last year has been arrested again – this time on suspicion of stealing bras.      The Kansas City Star reports 47-year-old

     (AP) – A day care in Republic is facing several charges after police say 5-year-old twins in the daycare’s care were found wandering in the street in August.      The Springfield News-Leader reports that Little Tots Learning Center

     (AP) – Former Missouri Republican officials and candidates are helping GOP Gov.-elect Eric Greitens transition to power.      Greitens’ primary rival Catherine Hanaway and former U.S. Senate candidate Sarah Steelman are among the most well-known names aiding the

     (AP) – A Missouri lawmaker wants ramped-up penalties for those who assault police officers in the wake of what law enforcement officials say is an alarming spike in ambush-style attacks.      Republican state Sen. Doug Libla on Wednesday

     (AP) – Lawmakers have recommended special language that would prohibit the Arkansas Department of Human Services from encouraging enrollment in the revamped version of the state’s Medicaid program.      The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the language in the appropriation

     (AP) – Police say a Little Rock man has died of gunshot wounds he suffered earlier this month.      Officer Richard Hilgeman said in a news release Tuesday that 38-year-old Fred Duhart died on Sunday at a Little

         (AP) – A federal judge is prohibiting Arkansas from enforcing its anti-begging law.      U.S. District Judge Billy Joe Wilson on Tuesday agreed with the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas that the law unconstitutionally restricts freedom

           (AP) – An Arkansas state representative is switching to the Republican Party, the second lawmaker to leave the Democratic Party since the election and a move that will give the GOP enough votes to pass most

     (AP)A Delaware man charged in Arkansas with the 1967 shooting death of a North Little Rock man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the case.      Prosecuting Attorney Henry Boyce says 69-year-old James Leon Clay of Georgetown,

     (AP) – The Environmental Protection Agency will test for radioactive contamination at a home near a St. Louis County landfill, a Superfund site where illegally buried nuclear waste sits near an underground fire.      Meanwhile, Region 7 Administrator

     (AP) – A northeast Kansas man has been sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping his girlfriend’s 5-year-old daughter and shooting the child to death during a 2014 police chase.      Thirty-two-year-old Marcas McGowan of Atchison declined to

     (AP) – Operators of a Kansas water park where a state lawmaker’s 10-year-old son was killed on a waterslide last summer say that ride will be demolished.      Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts and the family that runs it

     (AP) – A former University of Missouri employee who admitted earlier this year that she embezzled more than $781,000 was sentenced to four years in federal prison without parole.      Fifty-five-year-old Carla Rathmann, of Mount Vernon, was sentenced

     (AP) – A pawn shop that sold a gun to a mentally ill Missouri woman who used it to fatally shoot her father is settling in a wrongful death case.      A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday morning

     (AP) – Arkansas motorists will be paying less to travel during the long Thanksgiving weekend as gasoline prices continue to fall.      A survey of more than 300 gas outlets by national fuel analyst GasBuddy indicates average retail

     (AP) – A 16-year veteran of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality has been named to the panel that regulates utilities in the state.      Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Monday appointed Kimberly Lindsey O'Guinn to a six-year term

     (AP) – Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is proposing moving the state’s energy office to the Department of Environmental Quality and reducing the number of committees that inspect local jails.      Hutchinson told reporters Monday the changes will be

     (AP) – Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is proposing moving the state’s energy office to the Department of Environmental Quality and reducing the number of committees that inspect local jails.      Hutchinson told reporters Monday the changes will be

     (AP) – A northeast Arkansas woman has been sentenced to 30 years in prison in the death of her ex-husband.      Prosecutors said Monday that 55-year-old Kathy Jane Hart of Maynard admitted killing 48-year-old John David Hart. Police

     (AP) – An Arkansas panel will hold a public hearing next month on plans to build a privately funded monument to the Ten Commandments near the state Capitol.      A subcommittee of the State Capitol Arts and Grounds

     (AP) – Two Texas County jail employees have been fired after an inmate accused in a killing escaped.      KYTV-TV reports that the inmate ran out through an open door after a correctional officer let him out of

     (AP) – Missouri colleges may have to prepare for measures pushing for the concealed carry of guns on campus when the state Legislature convenes in 2017, despite opposition.      State law currently prohibits concealed firearms at institutions of

     (AP) – Police have identified a man who was killed by officers hours after he allegedly shot a St. Louis police sergeant as 19-year-old George P. Bush III.      The officer was shot Sunday night when a vehicle

     (AP) – A Missouri state trooper charged in the death of an Iowa man who drowned while in his custody is scheduled for trial this summer.      The Kansas City Star reports a July 10 trial was set

     (AP) _ Arkansas motorists will be paying less to travel during the long Thanksgiving weekend as gasoline prices continue to fall.      A survey of more than 300 gas outlets by national fuel analyst GasBuddy indicates average retail

           (AP) – The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department has launched a repaving project on a deteriorating section of Interstate 30 in Little Rock.      The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the work began Friday night and is scheduled

     (AP) – An Arkansas judge has been reproached for taking too long to rule on a lawsuit in her court.      The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission announced on Friday that Pulaski County

      (AP) – North Little Rock leaders are deciding whether to overhaul, scrap or sell off its glitch-prone compressed natural gas nation.       The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that constant repairs to the system, vandalism and shutdowns have all plagued

     (AP) – Construction work to replace the U.S. Highway 70 Broadway Bridge will prompt closure of the Arkansas River on two days next week.      The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department says one of the remaining two

     (AP) – A college student from Arkansas is among 32 Americans selected as Rhodes Scholars and will pursue post-graduate studies at Oxford University in England.      Little Rock resident Lauren C. Jackson is a senior at the University

     (AP) – A shooting at a Kansas City area gas station has left one person dead and another person injured.      The Kansas City Star reports the shooting occurred Saturday night at a Raytown gas station.      Police officers

     (AP) – Taney County will stop housing inmates from Springfield in about two months.      Taney County Sheriff Jimmie Russell told The Springfield News-Leader that the jail in Forsyth isn’t set up to handle the number of municipal

     (AP) – A police officer and a suspect have both been shot near Kansas City, Missouri.      Multiple media reports say the shooting happened about 10:30 p.m. Sunday. The officer involved is with the Gladstone, Missouri, police department.

     (AP) – A St. Louis police sergeant is hospitalized in critical condition but expected to survive after being shot in what the police chief calls an “ambush.”      Police Chief Sam Dotson says the 46-year-old officer has been

Arkansas ranks fourth nationally in its rate of divorce and the state's divorce rate climbed between 2014 and 2015 while the national rate declined. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports data from Bowling Green State University's National Center for

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department has launched a repaving project on a deteriorating section of Interstate 30 in Little Rock. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the work began Friday night and is scheduled to be complete

An Arkansas judge has been reproached for taking too long to rule on a lawsuit in her court. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission announced on Friday that Pulaski County Circuit Judge

   A judge has declared a mistrial in a Columbia rape case. The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict Friday in the case of 41-year-old Mohamed A. Mostafa, who charged with first-degree

     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) Arkansas lawmakers are considering delaying the launch of the first medical marijuana program in the Bible Belt as well as an effort to impose additional taxes on the drug as they work on

     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) State officials say Arkansas’ unemployment rate remained unchanged in October, coming in at 4 percent.      The Arkansas Department of Workforce Services says the state saw some minor fluctuations in the number of unemployed

     FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) Employees at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences are set to be eligible for overtime compensation under a new U.S. Department of Labor rule.      The Arkansas

     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) Arkansas State Police say troopers will be out in full force on Interstate 40 during the busy holiday travel days next week.      Arkansas troopers will join fellow troopers from California to North Carolina

     JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) The chairman of the Missouri Republican Party says he’s stepping down.      Chairman John Hancock said Friday that he will serve in the position until a replacement is picked in January. He says he

     JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) Missouri lawmakers are questioning whether the decision by state Departments of Natural Resources and Conservation officials to loan public artifacts to a private museum owned by the founder and CEO of Bass Pro

     (AP) – A plan to build a monument to the Ten Commandments at the Arkansas state Capitol has advanced, with a state panel voting the proposal can now face a public hearing.      A subcommittee of the Capitol

     (AP) – A prosecutor says the Fort Smith School Board violated the state’s Freedom of Information Act when they conducted business through a series of emails.      School board members discussed the new slate of school board officers

     (AP) – Arkansas State police say two women, including one from Texas, have been killed in separate crashes on Arkansas roads.      Police say 26-year-old Megan Holt of Cash and 62-year-old Cynthia Hughes of Corpus, Christi, Texas, died

     (AP) – Authorities in Hot Springs say a cannonball that was found outside a local business has been detonated safely.      City spokeswoman Terry Payne says the Civil War-style cannonball was reported shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday in

     (AP) – A judge is set to make a decision on an appeal of an environmental permit modification that would allow a farmer to spread up to 6.7 million gallons of hog manure on his property near

     (AP) – Arkansas’ highest court has banned a labor union from protesting or demonstrating at Wal-Mart’s stores and offices in the state, scaling back a judge’s order prohibiting the group from entering the retail giant’s property for

     (AP) – A judge has ruled that two southwest Missouri residents will stand trial on charges accusing them of assaulting a 19-year-old Somali woman.      Michael R. Miller and Ashli M. Helmuth are accused of accosting the woman

     (AP) – A mumps outbreak at the University of Missouri continues to grow with 31 confirmed cases.      The university also said Wednesday that there are another 27 probable cases of people who have been in close contact

    (AP) – A man accused of killing a Missouri State University professor emeritus and stabbing the victim’s wife has been ordered to stand trial after pleading not guilty to an upgraded murder charge.     Forty-three-year-old Edward Gutting waived

     (AP) – The state of Missouri will pay $9 million to the family of an Iowa man who drowned while he was in custody of a state trooper.      The settlement announced Thursday ends a civil lawsuit filed

A man accused of killing a Missouri State University professor emeritus and stabbing the victim’s wife has been ordered to stand trial after pleading not guilty to an upgraded murder charge. Forty-three-year-old Edward Gutting waived his right

     (AP) – The Van Buren County sheriff says an inmate at the county jail has been found dead.      Sheriff Scott Bradley says in a news release that 33-year-old Steven Brainard of Stone County was found hanging in

     (AP) – The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission says one elk taken so far in the fall hunting season has tested positive for chronic wasting disease.      The commission said Wednesday that 52 elk have been harvested during

     (AP) – The University of Central Arkansas says there are four possible cases of mumps at the school.      Dr. Randy Pastor, UCA's Student Health Center medical director, tells the Log Cabin Democrat that three students went into

     (AP) – A renewed effort to exempt Arkansas military veterans' retirement benefits from the income tax is one of the first bills filed ahead of next year's legislative session.      Republican Rep. Charlene Fite filed the proposed tax

     (AP) – A northwest Arkansas man convicted of killing his 6-year-old son by assaulting the child with a stick has been sentenced to death.      A Benton County jury recommended the sentence for 45-year-old Mauricio Torres on Tuesday

     (AP) – A northwest Arkansas man convicted of killing his 6-year-old son by assaulting the child with a stick has been sentenced to death.      A Benton County jury recommended the sentence for 45-year-old Mauricio Torres on Tuesday

     (AP) – A plan to build a monument to the Ten Commandments at the Arkansas state Capitol has advanced, with a state panel voting the proposal can now face a public hearing.      A subcommittee of the Capitol

     (AP) – A man died after deputies used a stun gun on him during an arrest outside St. Joseph.      Buchanan County Undersheriff Col. Bill Puett told The Kansas City Star that members of the office's Drug Strike

     (AP) – Missouri Supreme Court judges are weighing arguments over the constitutionality of a law passed in the wake of the unrest in Ferguson that would cap traffic fines and court fees.      A lawyer for several St.

     (AP) – Missouri's two U.S. senators have been named to top positions in Republican leadership and legislative committees.      Republican Sen. Roy Blunt on Wednesday announced he was re-elected vice chairman of the Senate's GOP caucus.      He said

     (AP) – A man convicted of sodomy is challenging his commitment to a Missouri sex offender treatment program following a federal ruling that the program is unconstitutional as applied.      Carl Kirk’s public defender Chelsea Mitchell told Missouri

     (AP) – The El Dorado Fire Department says a 9-year-old boy has died in a house fire.      Firefighters say they responded to the home, which was fully engulfed in flames, on Monday afternoon. The El Dorado News-Times