Students protest coal-burning campus power plants, urge colleges to increase green energy use

COLUMBIA, Mo. — College students from Missouri to Oregon are urging their schools to stop using coal-based electricity in favor of cleaner energy sources ranging from wood chips to geothermal power.

Lipless but lovable: Canines seized in massive federal raids bear brutal dogfighting scars

ST. LOUIS — Fay looks menacing as her teeth jut out from a mouth without lips, which have been ripped from her face along with part of her nose during vicious dogfights.

Mo. man builds pickup truck from scrap with floorboard license plates and a bedpan air cleaner

LOUISIANA, Mo. — Johnny Bolton gets some funny looks as he drives his pickup around this northeast Missouri town — but he also gets the last laugh. He built the truck himself, using little more than spare parts, a tape measure and a welding torch. “And a lot of thinking,” Bolton told the Hannibal Courier-Post.

4 Mo. men plead guilty, among 1st convictions in 7-state federal crackdown on dogfighting

ST. LOUIS — Four Missouri men arrested in a federal dogfighting crackdown in seven states have pleaded guilty in St. Louis to conspiracy and other crimes.

Man, 68, honored for 50 years of service at the first McDonald’s restaurant in Missouri

CRESTWOOD, Mo. — A 68-year-old man who still works at the first McDonald’s restaurant in Missouri has been honored for 50 years of service. Leonard Rhomberg began his job at a McDonald’s restaurant in the St. Louis suburb of Crestwood in 1959, the year after it opened. And he still works there five days a week.

Missouri turns old jail into bike hostel

FARMINGTON, Mo. — The old St. Francois County jail here hasn’t held a prisoner in years. But the historic building in downtown Farmington has a new name and purpose, according to the Park Hills Daily Journal.

Bank robbery suspect caught in Mo. motel after tip from state trooper to face charges in Tenn.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A man suspected of robbing 14 banks in six states has told a federal judge he wants to return to Tennessee to face charges there.

Zabriskie stays in main pack, cruises to victory in what may be final Tour of Missouri

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — American David Zabriskie was never challenged in the final stage of the Tour of Missouri, cruising along with the main pack while others made runs toward the front.

Bank robbery suspect whose face was splayed on billboards across South arrested in Missouri

KINGDOM CITY, Mo. — A man suspected of robbing banks in five states has been captured in Missouri after someone recognized him from the television show America’s Most Wanted.

Sprint offers unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling as wireless-pricing competition intensifies

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sprint is offering unlimited minutes for calls made between mobile phones as competition in wireless pricing continues to intensify.

Monsanto expands plan to cut work force by 8 percent, up from previous plan to cut 4 percent

ST. LOUIS — Monsanto Co., the world’s biggest seed maker, said Thursday it plans to make deeper work force cuts than previously announced, saying it will reduce its staff by about 8 percent to cut costs.

Kan. site proposed for proposed 18,500-seat soccer stadium for MLS’ Kansas City Wizards

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A property developer working for the company that owns Major League Soccer’s Kansas City Wizards has proposed building an 18,500-seat soccer stadium near Kansas City, Kan., that could open by 2011 and would sink plans to use the stadium to revitalize a neighborhood across the border in Kansas City, Mo.

Drawn by reliable income and growth, private sector looks to invest in charter schools

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Charter schools, already seeing a surge in students, are getting attention from another group — private investors.

List of US banks closed by feds jumps to 89; some branches taken over, reopen with new names

NEW YORK — The crippled economy and increasing loan defaults have forced financial regulators to close even more banks, including the only branch of the First Bank of Kansas City, which is reopening under a new name after its deposits are assumed.

Regulators shut down banks in Mo., Ill., Iowa, Ariz., making 89 US bank failures this year

NEW YORK — Regulators on Friday shut down banks in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Arizona, pushing to 89 the number of banks that have failed this year under the weight of the soured economy and rising loan defaults.

Regulators shut down bank in Mo, Ill, Iowa; makes 87 US bank failures this year

NEW YORK — Regulators on Friday shut down banks in Missouri, Illinois and Iowa, pushing to 88 the number of banks that have failed this year under the weight of the soured economy and rising loan defaults.

Regulators shut down bank in Missouri; makes 85 US bank failures this year

NEW YORK — Regulators on Friday shut down First Bank of Kansas City in Missouri, pushing to 85 the number of banks that have failed this year under the weight of the soured economy and rising loan defaults.

H&R Block says 1Q losses stay level, revenue misses Wall Street estimates

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — H&R Block Inc. said Friday it lost $133.6 million in the first quarter, about the same as a year ago but slightly more than Wall Street expected, as acquisition expenses and other costs offset slightly higher revenues.

Canadian inventor sues Idaho, Washington, Oregon universities over yellow mustard seed patent

BOISE, Idaho — Three Pacific Northwest universities face a federal lawsuit that accuses them of using, without permission, a Canadian inventor’s patented process to build a better yellow mustard seed.

Federal Reserve imposes restrictions on banks in Nebraska and Missouri and their owner

OMAHA, Neb. — The Federal Reserve has imposed restrictions on two correspondent banks in Nebraska and Missouri owned by Midwest Independent Bancshares Inc. of Jefferson City, Mo. because of concerns about the banks’ exposure to the commercial real estate market.

World War II vets mark anniversary of Japanese surrender aboard the Missouri in Pearl Harbor

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — The famous battleship where Japanese officials signed the surrender documents that officially ended World War II played host on Wednesday to about 20 aging U.S. veterans and dozens of observers as they marked the 64th anniversary of the war’s end.

64th anniversary of WWII’s end observed with ceremony aboard the Missouri in Pearl Harbor

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — About 20 aging veterans, family members and dozens of government officials gathered aboard the Battleship Missouri Memorial to mark the 64th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Mo. projected to borrow more than $2.7B from feds over 5 years to pay jobless benefits

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri may have to borrow more than $2.7 billion from the federal government to pay unemployment benefits over the next five years.

Collective Brands 2nd-quarter profit more than doubles but misses Wall Street expectations

Collective Brands Inc. on Wednesday reported much higher second-quarter profits but still missed Wall Street expectations as diminished consumer spending hurt the shoe retailer and wholesaler.

NTSB recommends new brake pedals, shift systems to avoid school bus and other accidents

WASHINGTON — A 2005 school bus accident that killed two people and injured 23 elementary students in Missouri occurred because the driver likely stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake, according to a National Transportation Safety Board investigation.

GOP headliners McConnell and McCain hit the road to speak out on health care overhaul

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An odd couple of Republican senators have hit the road, arguing for a go-slow approach to President Barack Obama’s push to revamp health care.

Nation’s drug policy director kicks off ad campaign targeting methamphetamine abuse

ST. LOUIS — Josh Palmer’s story has played out countless times here in the heart of meth country. Introduced to methamphetamine as a teenager, he soon became addicted, couldn’t keep a job, lost his house, lost his family.

Japanese-American who avoided WWII internment camp with help of Wash. U. sees grandson enroll

ST. LOUIS — Yoshio Matsumoto was among the 110,000 Japanese-Americans seemingly bound for an internment camp soon after America entered World War II when a university he knew nothing about from a far off part of the country agreed to take him in.

“Mighty Mo” makeover: Battleship that hosted Japanese surrender to go into drydock for repairs

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — The “Mighty Mo,” the World War II battleship best known for hosting the formal surrender of Japan in 1945, is heading to the shipyard for repairs.

Will suspect in shooting death of Kansas abortion provider use justifiable homicide defense?

WICHITA, Kan. — The suspect in the killing of abortion provider George Tiller is in talks with a prominent attorney who represents anti-abortion protesters and has long advocated justifiable homicide as a legal defense in such cases.