ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis police have a new truck — an ice cream truck. Police on Tuesday unveiled the new effort to reach out in a positive way to the community.

Police Chief Sam Dotson calls it “Operation Polar Cops,” an ice cream truck that will give away ice cream treats at various events and in neighborhoods. Police say the goal is to provide a “fun environment for citizens to have positive interactions with our officers.”

St. Louis police, like many other departments around the nation, are trying to soften the often tense relationship with the community it serves. Police in St. Louis have frequently been the subject of protests following fatal shootings of suspects, especially in the two years since Michael Brown’s death in nearby Ferguson.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Opponents of a cigarette tax hike that would benefit early childhood programs have filed two new lawsuits seeking to block it from the November ballot. One is a follow up to a recent appeals court decision that changed the measure’s ballot summary. Opponents contend all the petitions should be invalidated because of a Missouri law requiring that petitions bear the official ballot wording.

But Secretary of State Jason Kander is counting the petitions. He said Tuesday that an after-the-fact change in the summary should not overturn the will of the petition signers.

The other lawsuit contends the proposal violates the Missouri Constitution by how it raises and spends money.

The measure would raise the cigarette tax from 17 to 77 cents a pack and impose additional fees on some brands.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — S&P Global Ratings says it’s downgraded the state’s credit rating because of its ongoing budget problems. The rating agency said Tuesday it has dropped its rating for Kansas to “AA-,” from “AA.” The action comes three months after S&P put the state on a negative credit watch.

State Budget Director Shawn Sullivan says the S&P report cites a continued underfunding of the state’s pension system.

He says Kansas is still being penalized for years of neglect before improvements made in 2012.

The report also cites the state’s continued diversion of funds from highway projects to general government programs.

The state has struggled to balance its budget since slashing income taxes in 2012 and 2013. S&P downgraded the state’s credit rating in 2014.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Police in Lawrence, Kansas, say a 9-month-old girl’s stepfather is accused of abandoning the infant in a trash bin earlier this month.

The Kansas City Star reports that 27-year-old Marquis Jamall Young is charged in an arrest warrant with attempted first-degree murder and child abuse.

The child was found early July 7 in the trash receptacle at an apartment complex.

The infant was treated at a Kansas City-area hospital and was released about two weeks later.

A police spokeswoman, Sgt. Amy Rhoads, says the girl is in the state’s custody and will continue to receive outpatient treatment for her injuries.

It was not immediately clear Tuesday if Young has an attorney.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A man accused of sexual abuse in a pending civil lawsuit is suing Missouri Republican gubernatorial candidate John Brunner. In a petition dated Tuesday, California venture capitalist Michael Goguen accused Brunner of defamation.

The allegations against Goguen, which he denies, are an issue in the Missouri governor’s race because Goguen gave $1 million to Republican candidate Eric Greitens.

Brunner in a recent debate said Greitens took money from “the owner of a teenage sex slave.”

Brunner’s campaign spokesman says the lawsuit is an attempt by a donor of Greitens to distract from other issues in the race.

The other GOP candidates in the Aug. 2 primary are former U.S. Attorney and House Speaker Catherine Hanaway and Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder. They’ve called on Greitens to return the money.

GRESHAM, Neb. (AP) — Central Nebraska authorities say a 72-year-old man trapped Tuesday inside a grain bin has died.

Polk County Sheriff Dwaine Ludwig tells KOLN/KGIN TV that rescue crews were called to the scene north of Gresham early Tuesday morning after Gary Neujahr was buried in corn inside the bin.

Ludwig says Neujahr’s body was recovered around 10:20 a.m.

York Fire and Rescue, Gresham Fire and Rescue and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — General Mills is expanding a flour recall issued over a possible link to an E. coli outbreak after four new illnesses were reported.

The recall announced Monday covers several varieties of Gold Medal and Signature Kitchens flour produced on certain dates through February 10.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said flour produced at a General Mills plant in Kansas City, Missouri, is a likely source of the outbreak, which so far has sickened 46 people in 21 states.

The CDC said 13 have been hospitalized, and one person has developed a type of kidney failure. No deaths have been reported.

General Mills said the illnesses have been connected with consumers who ate or handled uncooked dough or ate uncooked batter made with raw flour.

 

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Police say four theft suspects have been arrested in Columbia after nearly backing into two mall security guards while trying to flee in a car with an unbuckled 12-day-old baby inside.

Police responded over the weekend to the Columbia Mall. Columbia police spokeswoman Bryana Larimer said in an email that when an officer confronted the four female suspects, they ignored the officer and went to a vehicle in the parking lot.

Police say the vehicle didn’t stop until police and security officers pulled the door open and removed one of the women from the car. Larimer says police found the unbuckled infant after the car stopped.

Larimer says the women had gone to six stores where merchandise had been stolen. No one was hurt.

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. (AP) — Federal workplace safety officials blame heat exposure in last weekend’s death of a 23-year-old landscaper in southeastern Missouri’s Poplar Bluff.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in a statement Monday that the worker from Dexter was assisting in tree-trimming efforts when he became overheated Friday afternoon. That’s when OSHA says the heat index reached about 110 degrees.

OSHA says the worker’s core body temperature exceeded 108 degrees, and he died the next day at a hospital.

His name hasn’t been released.

OSHA says the worker was on his fourth day working for a tree service based in Muncie, Indiana.