WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Contracts with landowners are forcing a small number of companies to drill for oil and natural gas regardless of unfavorable market conditions.

The Wichita Eagle reports that producers are required by contract to drill in a newly acquired lease within a few years in order to maintain the land lease.

Kansas Independent Oil & Gas Association President Ed Cross says forcing producers to be picky about their leases keeps them thinking about the long-term success of their companies.

But other producers are taking advantage of lows costs in hopes for future profit. Some, like Rod Andersen of Kansas Petroleum Resources of Wichita, are testing wells at discounted prices and leaving the good ones uncompleted until oil and gas prices turn up.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Springfield police arrested the person they say dragged a police officer with a pickup truck before fleeing.

Investigators say the officer’s leg got caught in the wheel well of the truck in a parking lot at a Casey’s convenience store. The officer was dragged about 150 yards before the truck drove away.

Police spokeswoman Lisa Cox says the officer suffered moderate injuries but was awake and talking as he was taken away from the scene Saturday night.

The truck was found a few miles away and the driver was questioned. Further details were not immediately available.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police have asked Wichita officials to consider regulating massage businesses in hopes of reducing human trafficking.

It is unclear how many massage businesses actually operate in Wichita or the state, because they are unregulated and don’t require licensing.

Wichita police say they’ve had complaints since 2013 of some massage businesses that sell sexual acts and that some of these businesses are engaged in human trafficking.

The Eagle reports that Deputy Chief Hassan Ramzah says the move is aimed at keeping the community safe.

But Charles O’Hara, a lawyer who has represented clients charged with human trafficking, said police are using the regulation as an excuse to try to outlaw those businesses.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A measure to reverse the 2011 merger of Missouri’s highway and water patrols is being applauded by some local officials concerned about a drop-off in troopers on the state’s waterways.

But it is strongly opposed by Gov. Jay Nixon.

Republican Representative Diane Franklin of Camdenton filed a bill last month to dismantle the merger, which is costing taxpayers about $900,000 more each year than they paid for separate patrol divisions.

The Kansas City Star reports arrests for intoxicated boating sank by 61 percent since the January 2011 merger. The Highway Patrol reports there were 344 drunken boating arrests in 2010 but only 134 last year.

Stone County Commissioner Jerry Dodd said he’s hearing complaints from residents and business owners about fewer troopers on Table Rock Lake.

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — Visitors to the Homestead National Monument in southeast Nebraska might one day learn about the challenges pioneers faced by donning virtual reality glasses to tour an exhibit. Officials are considering developing high-tech exhibits at the park, but it’s not yet clear which ideas will end up in the long-term plans officials are developing.

Park Superintendent Mark Engler led the community meeting last week about the plans.

Engler says he’s intrigued by the idea of using a virtual reality presentation in a one-room school house at the park to help connect with younger visitors.

CLINTON, Mo. (AP) — Defense attorneys for a man accused of killing a 12-year-old Missouri girl are fighting the possibility of a death sentence even before the man goes on trial.

A circuit judge heard testimony Friday on motions challenging the prosecution’s notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Bobby Bourne Junior. He is charged with murder in the 2013 kidnapping and death of Adriaunna Horton of Golden City.

The Joplin Globe reports the state’s public defender’s office filed the motions to lay the groundwork for a possible appeal if Bourne is convicted and sentenced to death.

Circuit Judge James Journey indicated at a hearing in October that he doesn’t believe he has the authority to overturn the death penalty law. He said Friday he would rule on the motions soon.

EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) — Fire officials say they are investigating several fires in Lyon County as possible arsons.

The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release it found 14 starting points to a fire Saturday night.

The blaze started just north of Interstate 35 and stretched along the Interstate 35 corridor to the Coffey County line.

Authorities are looking for an early 1990s Chevrolet or GMC single or extended cab truck that was dark blue or black. It reportedly was driven by two white males in their mid-30s with full beards.

The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office, Emporia Fire Department and Reading Fire Department responded to the fires.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Fire officials say seven Hutchinson school buses were damaged in a fire that apparently was started by a discarded cigarette.

The fire was reported Saturday night just south of the Durham School Services in Hutchinson. A nearby tree row was on fire when emergency responders arrived.

Battalion Chief Rex Albright says the buses, a storage trailer and a building’s interior were damaged. Damage is estimated at $47,000.

Firefighters doused the blaze within 15 minutes. No one was injured.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s prison system is facing a staffing crisis that it may not be able to overcome amid a statewide nursing shortage and the state’s relatively low wages.

The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services says 14 of about 65 nursing positions are vacant, including 7 registered nurses, 2 nurse practitioners, 2 nurse supervisors and 3 licensed practical nurses.

Nursing leaders say recruiting nurses to the corrections department is difficult because of competition for nurses and better pay at hospitals and clinics.

ACLU Nebraska says unless the department acts quickly to increase staffing, it could face a federal lawsuit.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A long-running school finance case is proving costly for the state of Kansas and four school districts.

State Republican leaders argue money spent on the case could be used instead in classrooms. But an attorney for the Wichita school district argues the legal fees are small compared with the money on the line for the districts.

Those district conetend the state is not adequately funding schools. The state has spent $1.4 million on outside counsel, and that doesn’t include pay for eight attorneys in the attorney general’s office who have worked on the case since 2010.

The Wichita district has spent more than $1.6 million since 2010. The Kansas City, Kansas, Dodge City and Hutchinson districts also have spent thousands of dollars.