WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is getting some fundraising help from his colleague in Texas.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry will be in Wichita on Wednesday for a 4 p.m. rally at the Republican Party headquarters followed by two private receptions for donors.

Brownback is locked in a surprisingly close race with Democratic challenger Paul Davis amid a backlash from voters concerned about cuts to classroom spending and massive tax cuts which have created revenue shortfalls.

The two Republican governors have had a close relationship for years.

Both are former state agriculture secretaries, and Brownback endorsed Perry’s 2012 campaign for the GOP nomination for president.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Kansas City, Kansas, police say they’ve detonated what appeared to be a pipe bomb that a 4-year-old boy found near his bus stop and brought home.

Authorities say the boy’s grandfather called police Tuesday after the child kicked the device up a hill and down a street on his way home from school. A witness tells KMBC-TV the suspected bomb was larger than a soda can and wrapped in duct tape. She says she thinks she saw a fuse.

A bomb squad disposed of the device and no injuries were reported.

Police are investigating why the device was in the neighborhood.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A state senator from St. Louis will push for passage of a law requiring a 10-year sentence for any gun crime in Missouri.

Democratic state Sen. Jamilah Nasheed was in north St. Louis on Tuesday to call for stiffer penalties on gun crimes. She says she plans to introduce a bill during the next legislative session in January that would impose a mandatory 10-year sentence for conviction of any gun-related crime.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of a federal commission planning a memorial near the National Mall to honor the late President Dwight D. Eisenhower are voting on how to proceed after years of controversy.

The Eisenhower Memorial Commission met last week but didn’t have enough members present. So they are holding an electronic vote by the end of the day Wednesday on how to proceed.

Architect Frank Gehry has presented a revised design for a proposed memorial park after objections from critics and Eisenhower’s family. The revised design eliminates two large, metal tapestries on the sides of the park. One long tapestry would remain as a backdrop, depicting the Kansas landscape of Ike’s boyhood home.

The memorial commission is deciding whether to proceed with Gehry’s design.

Eisenhower’s family has called for a simpler design.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Topeka Zoo has temporarily postponed a black bear exhibit after adopting a second orphaned cub.

The zoo took in a female cub named Valor this month who had been orphaned in Alaska. Zookeepers on Tuesday introduced her to their other cub, Independence.

The exhibit tours have been postponed so the animals can get used to each other. It’s unclear when the exhibit will reopen.

The cubs will live together until they are old enough to meet Sneak and Peak, adult black bears who arrived at the zoo in 1996 from Peoria, Illinois.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Republican Party is criticizing an event aimed at boosting support among teachers for Democrat Paul Davis in the governor’s race because it was being held at a state Supreme Court justice’s home.

Tuesday’s evening barbecue was organized by Richard Green, who is a retired high school teacher and the husband of Justice Carol Beier.

A flyer for the event suggested that participants make a $20 donation.

Beier told The Associated Press she was not involved in setting up the event and was not attending. Neither Davis nor lieutenant governor candidate Jill Docking were attending.

Davis hopes to unseat Republican Gov. Sam Brownback in the November election. The Kansas GOP called the event inappropriate.

Davis spokesman Chris Pumpelly said the GOP is resorting to what he called “manufactured outrage.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration says consumers in most states will have more insurance options next year under the president’s health care law.

The Health and Human Services department on Tuesday reported a net increase of 63 insurers joining the market in 44 states. The preliminary figures show 77 insurers entering for the first time, while 14 are dropping out.

The health insurance exchanges offer subsidized private plans to people who don’t have coverage on the job. Last week the largest provider in Minnesota’s marketplace announced its exit, prompting concerns in that state and beyond.

HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said greater competition will help keep premiums in check.

There will be winners and losers. Indiana will see a net gain of five insurers, while California faces a net loss of two.