Stories from Wednesday, January 29, 2014

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Republican House leaders had pledged a thorough investigation after allegations of a hostile workplace were made against the directors of Missouri's agriculture and labor departments. But that now appears unlikely to happen...

ST. LOUIS -- With lethal-injection drugs in short supply and new questions looming about their effectiveness, lawmakers in some death penalty states are considering bringing back relics of a more gruesome past: firing squads, electrocutions and gas chambers...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Concern about top Missouri students going to college and taking jobs in other states is prompting lawmakers to consider sweetening the financial assistance that the highest performers can receive by staying closer to home...

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- University of Missouri Libraries officials are trying to decide what to do with about 600,000 books damaged by mold at an off-campus storage site. Libraries Director Jim Cogswell says the volumes were stored at Subtera, an underground storage site in north Columbia. The damage was discovered last October...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- After getting stymied in court, many telecommunications companies are supporting a new approach in the Missouri Legislature to try to limit local restrictions on cellphone towers. A Senate commerce committee heard testimony Tuesday on five separate bills limiting city regulations on cellphone towers, utility poles and right-of-way rules...

Wilma "Pinkie" A. McGuire, daughter of the late Parvin, Sr. and Cozette Hester Williamson, was born in Essex on Oct. 21, 1949, and died at the SoutheastHEALTH Center of Stoddard County in Dexter on Jan. 27, 2014, at the age of 64. She had lived in Essex all her life. She had worked for Elders Manufacturing for 29 years and had served as president of the union for many years. She also worked at the Essex One Stop until she retired...

The Public School Retired Employees Association were afforded an opportunity at their meeting this week at Hickory Log to hear an overview of the newly implemented MOSIP 5 program by Dr. Ken Jackson, above. Jackson, former Dexter superintendent, currently serves in the role of area supervisor of Region E for the Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education...

WASHINGTON -- Seeking to energize his second term, President Barack Obama vowed Tuesday night in his State of the Union address to sidestep Congress "whenever and wherever" necessary to narrow economic disparities between rich and poor. He unveiled an array of modest executive actions to increase the minimum wage for federal contract workers and make it easier for millions of low-income Americans to save for retirement...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Eager to cut income taxes, a Missouri House committee was expected to advance two alternatives Tuesday -- one reducing taxes only for businesses and the other reducing them for both individuals and employers. Either of the bills being considered by the House Ways and Means Committee is projected to reduce Missouri's revenues by hundreds of millions of dollars annually-- setting up a potential conflict with Gov. ...

Missouri hunters harvested 252,574 deer throughout the various hunting seasons in 2013 and early 2014 -- down from the 10-year average of about 293,060, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. Stoddard County hunters harvested a total of 1,794 deer during all seasons, including firearms, antlerless, archery and alternative methods. ...

Two-year-old Kali Doolin was among the guests at Tuesday's Story Hour at Keller Public Library. Kim Cook treated youngsters to a reading of, "There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly." Using the library's "little old lady," children were each provided with a small stuffed animal to help illustrate the book. Additional photos may be found in the Photo Galleries...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. --Shortly after bowing out from a leachate water acceptance agreement with Republic Services, the City of Bloomfield and the nation's second-largest solid waste management company have reached a new agreement. Monday morning, trucks began delivering leachate water once again to the lagoon at the City of Bloomfield...

The Dexter high school wrestling team dominated NMCC 71-7 Tuesday night. Dexter won 12 of the 14 matches against NMCC. Dexter will have its final home wrestling event Thursday. View complete results from Tuesday below: 106: Thomas Akins, CNM, forf. ...

DEXTER, Mo. - The championship semifinals are set at the SCAA varsity and junior varsity boys basketball tournaments following Day 2 action Tuesday night at the Bearcat Event Center. The higher seeded team secured a double-digit victory in all four quarterfinal games Tuesday...