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Early findings don’t include cause of fiery Iowa derailment

NTSBGRAETTINGER, Iowa (AP) — An official says investigators have yet to determine what caused a fiery derailment in northwest Iowa.

The Union Pacific train derailed early March 10 on a trestle bridge spanning a creek near Graettinger, about 160 miles northwest of Des Moines. The National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report Thursday that 14 of the 20 derailed tankers released 322,000 gallons of ethanol.

The fire burned itself out more than 2½ days later. No injuries were reported.  The report said the train was moving 30 mph at the time, the maximum for that stretch.

Rail samples and video from the lead locomotive’s recorder will be analyzed. Board spokesman Peter Knudson said Monday that the derailment cause likely won’t be determined for least a year.

3 dead in explosion in St. Louis

SLFDST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson says a boiler that killed one person when it exploded at a box company in St. Louis flew about 500 feet before crashing through the roof of a nearby laundry business, killing two more.

The boiler exploded Monday morning at the Loy-Lange Box Co. Four other people were injured and at least two are in critical condition.

A third person at Faultless Healthcare Linen was pinned under the boiler but fire department responders were able to free that victim.

Jenkerson says the boiler was a cast iron cylinder about 8 or 9 feet long and 4 feet in diameter, weighing about 1½ tons. He says it was about the size of a van.

A piece of pipe about 8 feet long pierced the roof of the nearby Pioneer Industrial Corp., but no one was injured there.

Mississippi inmate captured in St. Louis after escape

Jermaine Butler
Jermaine Butler

RAYMOND, Miss. (AP) — Authorities say a Hind County inmate who escaped from jail almost a month ago was captured by U.S. marshals in St. Louis, Missouri.

News outlets report 24-year-old Jermaine Butler was arrested Friday in St. Louis, Missouri after escaping from the Hinds County Detention Center in Raymond.

Butler chiseled a hole through his cell to escape on March 4 with two other inmates. The other inmates are also back in custody.

Hinds County Sheriff Victor Mason says when Butler is returned back to Mississippi he will face escape charges.

Butler was arrested Feb. 9 in Mississippi on armed robbery and concealed weapon charges. Jackson police said Butler was also wanted for an armed robbery that occurred in December.

It’s unclear if Butler has an attorney.

Another stadium project in St. Louis on the ballot

sc-stl-proposed-stadiumST. LOUIS (AP) — A year after the NFL’s Rams abandoned St. Louis for Los Angeles, the city has a chance to again become a three-sport town if voters agree to help pay for a stadium for a new Major League Soccer franchise.

Voters will decide Tuesday whether to designate $60 million from an existing business use tax for the construction of a 22,000-seat soccer stadium in downtown St. Louis.

The ownership group SC STL would invest $95 million in the project and cover the league’s $150 million expansion fee, and they have asked the state to donate 24 acres of unused land.

Opponents say it would be wrong to spend public funds on a stadium and that the money would be better spent on St. Louis’ underfunded schools and infrastructure.

Outdoor Adventure planned for Indian Cave State Park

indian-cave-outdoor-ne-dot-govBROWNVILLE, Neb. (AP) — An Outdoor Adventure has been scheduled for April 29 at Indian Cave State Park in southeast Nebraska. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says activities will include a mushroom hunt contest, a fish fry, hayrack rides, youth horseback rides and kayaking.

There also will be a 1-mile and 5-kilometer runs. Registration for each race is $20 before April 22. Go to http://bit.ly/2mPVYPa to register.

Contact the park for more information at 402-883-2575. A park entry permit is required. The park sits 10 miles (16 kilometers) south and 5 miles (8 kilometers) east of Brownville.

Conagra recalls Hunt’s chili kits; may contain salmonella

Recall
Recall

CHICAGO (AP) — The maker of Hunt’s Chili Kits says it is recalling some because they might be contaminated with salmonella.

Conagra Brands Inc. said Sunday that it is cooperating with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to recall “a limited amount” of the kits.

The company says there have been no reports of people getting sick.

Conagra says there could be salmonella in a raw material used in the chili-seasoning packets. The company says consumers should return kits to the store where they bought them.

The recalled 44.8-ounce kits have “best by” dates of April 4, April 5 and May 1, and product codes 3534619500, 3534619600 and 3534622200 below the barcode. They were sold nationwide.

Conagra says consumers can call the company at 1-800-921-7404 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Central time, Monday through Friday.

Metal detectors at Missouri Capitol might lose funding

Missouri Capitol, Jefferson CityJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri House committee has removed funding for security measures installed this year in the state Capitol.

Rather than paying for X-ray machines and metal detectors put in place in January, the House Budget Committee this week authorized the Missouri Capitol Police to hire five more officers.

The Kansas City Star reports state lawmakers have been unhappy about the security measures since they were installed on the day after Gov. Eric Greitens took office in January. They were particularly upset when Greitens later removed a restriction against concealed weapons in the Statehouse.

Former Gov. Jay Nixon’s administration budgeted money to buy and install the security measures.

Metal detectors were installed at the Missouri Capitol after the Sept. 11 attacks but were removed in 2003 to save money.

Kansas City group launches outreach center for veterans

downtown kc Kansas cityKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City-area military veterans pressing to create a neighborhood of tiny homes for former service members have opened a veterans outreach center.

The Kansas City Star reports that the upstart Veterans Community Project’s center opened Thursday in a renovated 7,000-square-foot building in Kansas City, Missouri.

It ultimately will offer free legal services, job referrals and training, computer literacy courses, a food pantry, offices for project staff and free bus passes for area veterans, regardless of whether they’re homeless.

The Veterans Community Project aims to serve veterans that many programs won’t, including those who were dishonorably discharged and those who served in the National Guard or Reserves.

The group also hopes to have the first 10 tiny houses for veterans occupied near the center by late summer.

Men charged after Independence officer shot appear in court

police lights featureINDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) — Four men charged after a home invasion left an Independence police officer critically injured will each be held on $500,000 bond.

The Kansas City Star reports the suspects said little a brief court hearing Friday. A judge entered not guilty pleas for them, which is routine in criminal cases.

Officer Thomas Wagstaff remained in critical condition Friday after he was shot Wednesday while responding to a home in Independence.

Prosecutors allege two suspects, Ronar Santiago-Torres and Joseph Wyatt, broke into the home to gain access to a safe. They fled and Wagstaff was shot in the ensuing confrontation. Prosecutors say Wagstaff was accidentally shot by another officer but the investigation is continuing.

Two other men are charged with taking Santiago-Torres and Wyatt to the home to commit the crime.

Sessions: Ferguson emblem of tense relationship with police

Jeff Sessions US Attorney General
Jeff Sessions
US Attorney General

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Attorney General Jeff Sessions says Ferguson, Missouri, has become “an emblem of the tense relationship” between law enforcement and those it serves, especially minority communities.

Sessions was in St. Louis Friday for a speech to law enforcement leaders. He told them the Justice Department will work with them to battle the rising tide of violent crime in America.

Sessions says police misconduct must be addressed. But he says police work has become increasingly difficult in what he called “an age of viral videos and targeted killings of police.” He says law enforcement has been “unfairly maligned and blamed for the unacceptable deeds of a few bad actors.”

Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb, became a flashpoint for racial tension after the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014.

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