KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Virgin Mobile says it plans to open its permanent U.S. headquarters in downtown Kansas City and hire up to 100 people.

The communications company currently is in a temporary office in the same downtown building and has been renovating a new floor for its headquarters. It expects to move to the new offices at the end of the summer.

The state of Missouri granted Virgin Mobile up to $1.87 million in incentives if the company creates 84 jobs during the next five years.

Virgin Mobile is affiliated with Sprint Corp., which is based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company’s decision to expand into Missouri is part of a plan to relaunch the brand under Sprint.

MOBERLY, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say an officer has shot and wounded a Missouri man who was wielding a knife.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said in a news release Wednesday that 37-year-old Joseph Ritter, of Moberly, is listed in serious but stable condition at a Columbia hospital. The release said Ritter, who is white, was shot Tuesday after a Moberly police officer responded to a “keep the peace” call from a home. The release provided no details about what led up to the call.

The patrol says Ritter began “acting erratically” before approaching the officer with a knife in a “threatening manner.” The Moberly officer who shot Ritter wasn’t injured.

No charges were immediately filed against Ritter, but the patrol is investigating.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s new Republican governor has named a partner at a global management consulting firm as the state’s chief operating officer.

Gov. Eric Greitens announced at a Jefferson City steel manufacturing business Wednesday that he picked Drew Erdmann from McKinsey and Company for the job.

Greitens created the COO position through executive order. He didn’t take questions from reporters.

Erdmann previously worked as the National Security Council’s director for Iran, Iraq and strategic planning in 2005 under former Republican President George W. Bush.

He worked as a member of the policy planning staff of the State Department from 2001-2003.

The executive order calls for the official to work with state agencies to cut redundant programs and improve efficiency.

Erdmann declined to comment to The Associated Press on his salary.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The family of a Kansas lawmaker’s 10-year-old son killed last summer on what was billed as the world’s tallest water slide has reached a settlement with the park’s owner.

Terms of the deal filed Wednesday in Kansas’ Johnson County District Court involving Caleb Schwab’s family were not immediately released.

A spokeswoman for Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts, Winter Prosapio, confirmed the settlement, which was first reported by The Kansas City Star. She declined to elaborate, other than to say the park’s owners plan to follow through on demolishing the slide as announced in November.

An attorney for two women injured with Schwab during the ill-fated ride last Aug. 7 says Wednesday’s action does not resolve any potential liabilities against the park by his clients.

No charges have been filed.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Some Republican lawmakers in Missouri are proposing to overhaul the state’s Medicaid system without waiting for President-elect Donald Trump and the Republican-led Congress to act first.

A Senate committee heard testimony Wednesday on a bill that would direct the state Department of Social Services to seek a “global waiver” from federal Medicaid requirements to remake the state’s program.

Sponsoring Sen. David Sater says the intent is to ask the federal government to provide Missouri’s Medicaid money as a block grant, giving the state greater flexibility over how to spend it. Federal Medicaid dollars currently are provided on a matching basis for each state dollar that’s spent on health care services.

Sater said he plans to bring the bill up for a committee vote next week.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican Gov. Sam Brownback is preparing to release the details of proposed tax increases and other measures to address the state’s budget problems.

Brownback Budget Director Shawn Sullivan was outlining the governor’s proposals Wednesday during meetings of the House budget and tax committees and the Senate budget committee.

The governor said during his State of the State address Tuesday evening that he would propose “modest, targeted” tax increases. He wasn’t specific but legislators expect him to seek higher liquor and tobacco taxes.

He also told reporters later that his proposals would include “one-time measures” to tide the state over until June 30.

The state faces a projected shortfall of $342 million in its current budget and gaps in funding for existing programs totaling $1.1 billion through June 2019.

Brownback also is calling on legislators to pass school choice measures and is reiterating his support for merit pay for teachers.

He expressed his support for initiatives favored by fellow conservatives in his State of the State address but provided few details.

He called for creating more competition in education and for expanding a program in which poor students can receive scholarships to attend private schools. The state gives an income tax break to corporations that contribute to scholarship funds.

Brownback also said the state should create a program for grading schools.

But lobbyist Mark Desetti of the Kansas National Education Association teachers union said Brownback is pushing ideas that have failed in other states. He said the governor is “behind the curve.”

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a woman accused of killing a Wichita woman and abducting her newborn daughter has been served papers that would extradite her from Texas to Kansas.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said Tuesday that 34-year-old Yesenia Sesmas, who is being held in the Dallas County Jail, was served papers Friday.

Sesmas is accused of killing Laura Abarca-Nogueda at a west Wichita apartment in November. She then allegedly took Abarca-Nogueda’s newborn daughter, Sofia, who was six days old at the time.

After a nationwide search, a tip led investigators to Dallas. Authorities found Sofia safe at a home and returned her to her relatives.

Bennett said he expects another update from Texas officials next week. The extradition process is likely to take up to three months.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers are putting a right-to-work measure on a fast-track to passage with support from a new Republican governor.

House members within days of the session’s January start held a Tuesday committee hearing on right-to-work bills barring mandatory union fees. A Senate hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature for years has wanted to enact right to work. But it’s been blocked by former Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon. Republican Gov. Eric Greitens’ support for the proposal means it likely will become law this year.

Still, union members, business groups and others for more than three hours argued the pros and cons of the proposal during a sometimes tense House hearing.

Proponents say the policy will bring businesses to Missouri. Opponents say it undermines unions and leads to lower wages.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad says his priorities for the new Iowa Legislature include removing state funding for Planned Parenthood and prohibiting public workers from bargaining for their health insurance.

Branstad highlighted his plans Tuesday during his annual Condition of the State address. It’s expected to be his last address before he becomes ambassador to China.

Branstad says he supports redirecting funding toward organizations that don’t perform abortions, though no state taxpayer money is spent on abortions. Republicans filed a bill Monday that would create a state-run program for distributing such funds. It’s unclear how that would affect federal dollars and how much such a program would cost.

Branstad says he wants to create one statewide health care contract for public workers, a move unions say would increase costs for those employees.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is preparing to give his annual State of the State address to a less-friendly Legislature amid serious budget problems.

The Republican governor was scheduled to speak Tuesday evening to a joint session of the GOP-controlled House and Senate.

The address gives Brownback a chance to outline his agenda for the 90-day legislative session and tout his policies.

But Kansas is facing projected budget shortfalls totaling $1.1 billion through June 2019. Elections last year left the Legislature less conservative as voters ousted two dozen Brownback allies.

The state has struggled to balance its budget since Republican legislators slashed income taxes in 2012 and 2013 at Brownback’s urging. The goal was to stimulate the economy but even some GOP voters concluded that the effort had been a bust.