The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Oklahoma: GOP chief Jones sues over lost elections
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Republican Party Chairman Gary Jones has filed a lawsuit against convicted former Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan and others alleging they used fraudulent campaign finance practices to cheat Jones out of being elected state auditor and inspector.
Kansas: State agencies confront cuts in budget
TOPEKA, Kan. — Gov. Mark Parkinson’s $259 million in cuts to the Kansas state budget doesn’t mandate layoffs or furloughs of state employees, but some officials say it may be just a matter of time. Legislators began digesting the cuts Tuesday, hearing from state budget director Duane Goossen, who outlined what he called an “unprecedented situation” marked by four years of declining state tax collections.
Missouri: Fire board meeting produces anger, arrests
BEVERLY HILLS, Mo. — Three people, including a state lawmaker, were arrested after tempers flared at a fire board meeting in a St. Louis suburb that included a vote to pay severance packages worth more than $780,000 to attorneys and the fire chief.
Kansas: Governor makes more budget adjustments
TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson announced $259 million worth of spending cuts Monday, reducing funds for highway maintenance and education to shore up a troubled state budget. The cuts are the fifth such reduction for the state budget year, which ends June 30.
Oklahoma: More delays mar poultry waste pollution trial
TULSA, Okla. — One of the most closely watched environmental cases in years has turned into legal purgatory as the trial of Oklahoma’s lawsuit against the Arkansas poultry industry is marred by delays and squabbling attorneys. The pauses continued Monday, when U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell called a recess before 10 a.m. to read a document he’d been handed only minutes earlier.
Missouri: Slaying suspect said hobby was ‘killing people’
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — On an Internet site, 15-year-old Alyssa Bustamante listed her hobbies as “killing people” and “cutting.” It may have sounded like a teenage exaggeration, but authorities say she fulfilled her words.
Kansas: Loss of federal acres hurts hunters’ public access
WICHITA, Kan. — Some of the nation’s best hunting for pheasant, quail, turkey and deer today can be found in the vast Kansas prairie. With nearly 97 percent of the land in the state privately owned, the 271,000 hunters who come here each season have had to depend mostly on a popular state walk-in program that pays landowners to let people hunt on their land.
Oklahoma: Senate GOP caucus calls for December special session
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Senate Republican Caucus on Thursday urged Gov. Brad Henry to convene a special session of the Legislature in December, a month earlier than the Democratic governor had proposed.
Missouri: Police say teen dug grave anticipating murder
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Blessed with a Friday off school, 15-year-old Alyssa Bustamante dug two holes in the ground to be used as a grave, authorities said. For the next week, she attended classes, all the while plotting the right time for a murder, they said.
Kansas regents: State needs to consider taxes
TOPEKA, Kan. — Two members of the board overseeing Kansas’ higher education system said Wednesday that the state needs to consider raising new tax revenues because of its budget problems.
Oklahoma: Drugs, ammo found at home with four bodies
OKLAHOMA CITY — Police found guns, knives and a small amount of marijuana in the burned home where four people — including a prostitute featured on an HBO reality series — were found shot to death earlier this month, a search warrant affidavit filed Wednesday says.
Missouri: Relatives of family doubt sex-abuse claims
LEXINGTON, Mo. — If the tales they told police are true, a group of children in rural Missouri grew up in a house of horror, where some were raped by relatives, then told to write down their memories in little glass jars and bury them in the ground.
Kansas: Governor says lawsuit threat not being considered
TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas’ governor said Tuesday that the threat of a lawsuit over education funding won’t influence the spending cuts he’ll make to keep the current state budget in balance. Gov. Mark Parkinson plans to announce next week how he’ll make nearly $260 million in cuts and other budget adjustments.
Oklahoma: Education board wants use of Rainy Day Fund now
OKLAHOMA CITY — Cuts in state funding for education mean teachers at one northeastern Oklahoma school now must clean their own classrooms while their superintendent scrubs the toilets. A superintendent in a neighboring county is considering laying off five teachers. Yet another is asking veteran teachers to consider early retirement.
Analysis: Missouri governor bucks trend of special sessions
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri lawmakers this year have been away from the Capitol longer than normal when there is a rookie in the governor’s office. That’s because unlike nearly all his immediate predecessors, Gov. Jay Nixon has not ordered the Legislature to come back for a special session.
Analysis: Kansas woes make tax debate inevitable
TOPEKA, Kan. — A debate over raising taxes appears inevitable next year for Kansas legislators because of the state’s ongoing budget problems. It’s most likely to focus first on eliminating exemptions to the state’s 5.3 percent sales tax, then on rolling back tax breaks legislators granted in previous years. It’s possible the debate could broaden further.
Oklahoma: Historian goes the distance for biography
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Bob Blackburn got to know Jack Zink in 2001 when Blackburn, looking for interesting exhibits for the new Oklahoma History Center, needed to fill an area devoted to sports and decided it needed a race-car and not just any race-car.
Missouri: Sixth arrest announced in child sex case
LEXINGTON, Mo. — Authorities say they have identified additional victims and arrested a sixth adult in a child sex abuse case in western Missouri. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the suspect arrested Thursday night is a 55-year-old Kansas City man not related to the other five defendants. He is described as an “associate” of the others.
Kansas: Lawmakers see push for government furloughs
TOPEKA, Kan. — The chairmen of the Kansas Legislature’s budget committee believe furloughs of government employees are growing more likely because of the state’s persistent budget problems. Aides to Gov. Mark Parkinson declined Thursday to discuss what steps he is considering to keep the current state budget balanced, although they did not rule out unpaid leave for state workers.

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