ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) — Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are joining the investigation into a fire that destroyed a St. Louis-area country club.

The agency announced Monday a 24-person group was activated Sunday to help investigate a fire that broke out Feb. 16 at Bogey Hills Country Club. They will work with local and state agencies investigating the fire at the 55-year-old club.

No one was injured in the fire.

Assistant Chief Steve Brown with Central County Fire and Rescue said ATF was brought in because of the size and extent of the fire scene. He said no evidence has yet been found that arson was involved.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Homeland Security Department is greatly expanding the number of people living in the U.S. illegally who are considered a deportation priority.

The new guidelines under President Donald Trump call for the deportation of any individuals in the country illegally if they are convicted, charged or suspected of a crime, which could include traffic infractions.

Department memos released Tuesday eliminate guidelines under the Obama administration that focused enforcement on immigrants in the United States illegally who have been convicted of serious crimes or are a threat to national security. The Obama administration also focused its enforcement resources on people who had just crossed the border.

The new guidelines also called to send some immigrants caught crossing the Mexican border illegally back to Mexico, regardless of where they are from.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s largest state employees union has filed a lawsuit challenging a new law that eliminates most collective bargaining rights for public workers.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Iowa Council 61 filed the lawsuit Monday in Polk County District Court. It seeks an order halting immediate enforcement of the changes.

Gov. Terry Branstad on Friday signed the law prohibiting public sector unions from negotiating issues such as health insurance and supplemental pay. It exempts certain public safety employees, such as law enforcement officers and firefighters, from some negotiating provisions.

The lawsuit claims the law establishes two classes of public employee bargaining units, and the designation violates language in the state constitution that ensures equality to citizens.

A Branstad spokesman says the governor’s office is reviewing the lawsuit.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers won’t vote on expanding Medicaid until at least April 3.

The House Health and Human Services Committee voted Monday to table the bill right before the deadline for committees to pass bills onto the floor. That could kill the bill for this year.

Committee Vice Chair Susan Concannon says she will try to get House Speaker Ron Ryckman to exempt the bill from deadlines so that it can be considered later this year.

Expanding Medicaid would give coverage to people who earn up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level. It has support from health care advocates, providers, business groups and patients.

Conservative think tanks and a state agency overseeing the program oppose the bill.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Former Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has a new job at Centene Corp.

The Clayton-based company announced in a statement that Koster has been hired to be the managed care company’s senior vice president of corporate services.

Koster, a Democrat who served eight years as attorney general, lost last year’s race to become Missouri’s governor to Republican Eric Greitens.

Centene says Koster’s appointment is effective immediately.

GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) — Somali refugees who have settled in a Kansas meatpacking town are the cornerstone of an innovative recruiting effort to entice new doctors to rural hospitals.

It’s an effort that grew out of the realization that many millennials graduating from medical schools have a burning passion for international humanitarian work.

Hospitals that are involved in the effort are encouraging doctors to work with immigrant populations and learn the language and culture before heading overseas. They also offer generous time off for medical trips abroad.

Twenty-five Kansas doctors have joined a loose network of physicians working across western Kansas. The group is working to solidify that arrangement by forming a nonprofit group.

Their efforts come amid President Donald Trump’s attempts to restrict the influx of refugees.

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — Supporters of Route 66 are pushing to have the roadway added to a national list of historic trails.

Stakeholders in the iconic 2,400-mile road pushed to have legislation introduced in the U.S. House for the designation, which would likely make the road part of the National Park Service. If that happens, the federal agency would provide signs and online resources for the road.

Route 66 was an economic engine for small towns from Illinois to California before it was decommissioned as a U.S. highway in 1985.

The Joplin Globe reports the bill was co-authored by two Republicans from Illinois and a Democrat from California. It is in early legislative stages. Under the best possible scenario, it could become law around the end of the year.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A conference next month will focus on the best ways to raise awareness about the dangers of radon gas.

The Environmental Protection Agency is working with health officials in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Iowa to put on the conference in Manhattan, Kansas, on March 7.

The odorless colorless radon gas is the nation’s second-leading cause of lung cancer, behind smoking, and is the most common cause in nonsmokers.

The meeting will highlight ways to help the public reduce radon exposure.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — As House Republicans push for a bill preventing local governments from determining minimum hourly wages, some workers are expressing bewilderment over the potential loss of raises.

Minimum wage increases have been implemented in Johnson, Linn and Wapello counties, with additional raises scheduled. In Polk County, a phased-in increase is scheduled to start in April. The House could vote this week to stop Iowa’s cities and counties from increasing the minimum wage above the state’s $7.25 standard and override laws already approved.

For Cedar Rapids resident Effie McCollom, who works at AARP, the raise was “a little light at the end of the tunnel.” The Linn County minimum wage climbed to $8.25 in January and was to reach $10.25 in 2019.

House Speaker Linda Upmeyer says Republicans aren’t interested in raising the minimum wage.