CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — An aide for St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger has resigned after it was revealed he asked Stenger and the county police chief to write letters to a federal judge in support of his nephew, who pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge.

John Saracino resigned Monday. His nephew, Michael Saracino II, was sentenced in December. He has not reported to prison yet.

Police Chief Jon Belmar and Stenger each wrote letters of support to the federal judge as she determined the prison sentence.

John Saracino says the letters, which were under federal seal, were accessible to the public.

The St. Louis County police board chairman has said that the board would consider whether Belmar violated department policy when he wrote the letter.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A bill to permit jails and prisons to charge inmates a copayment for health care services has been rejected by the Legislature for the rest of the year.

Lawmakers voted unanimously Tuesday to hold the measure until April 20, nearly guaranteeing it will not be revisited this session.

The proposal by Sen. Tyson Larson of O’Neill would allow copayments of up to $10 for every self-initiated, non-emergency visit to a health care provider.

Exceptions would include treatment for mental health, preexisting conditions, chronic illnesses and medical emergencies.

Opponents note that the Department of Correctional Services has said it would not enact the policy if the law passed. Some say a copayment could discourage inmates from seeking medical help.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback’s office is defending a budget proposal that a child advocate says would make it easier for Kansas to siphon money from early childhood education. Gov. Brownback unveiled last week a state budget that would shift the entire Children’s Initiatives Fund to the State General Fund in fiscal year 2017.

The governor’s office says the move is meant to increase accountability and consolidate early childhood programs within the Kansas State Department of Education, which education commissioner Randy Watson says sought the change to better coordinate initiatives.

Shannon Cotsoradis, CEO of Kansas Action for Children, said she does not see how the move leads to better coordination.

The governor’s spokeswoman, Eileen Hawley, said existing childhood programs funded by the Children’s Initiatives Fund will be continued to be fully funded.

SIKESTON, Mo. (AP) — Authorities in southeast Missouri are investigating a possible murder-suicide.

Officers cordoned off an area early Tuesday in the community of Sikeston. A spokesman with the Department of Public Safety says the area is the scene of a suspected murder-suicide.

An investigation is underway. The names of the people who died weren’t immediately released.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lancaster County authorities say deputies seized 1,517 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated $7.5 million and arrested three people after a traffic stop on Lincoln’s west side.

The Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday the pot was stuffed into duffel bags inside a recreational vehicle that was pulled over Friday on U.S. Highway 77, about two miles southwest of the Capitol.

Chief Deputy Jeff Bliemeister says it was his department’s largest Lancaster County drug seizure by poundage and street value.

Bliemeister says Isabel Mallar, of Martinez, Georgia, and Rahman Nabavi, of Alpharetta, Georgia, are expected to be formally charged later Tuesday with marijuana possession with intent to sell. He says Abbas Hajianbarzi, also of Alpharetta, is expected to be charged with conspiracy.

Court records don’t list lawyers for any of them.

OSKALOOSA, Kan. (AP) — Jefferson County Attorney Jason Belveal says he doesn’t expect to file charges against officials involved in an investigation that led to a man being wrongly convicted in the 1999 death of a 14-year-old Kansas girl.

Belveal says a former prosecutor, county sheriff and a Kansas Bureau of Investigation agent made mistakes while investigating the case of Floyd Bledsoe but he doesn’t believe the mistakes were intentional.

Bledsoe served more than 15 years in prison for the death of 14-year-old Zetta Camille Arfmann before his conviction was overturned and he was released from prison last year. His brother, Tom Bledsoe, admitted to the crime in notes he left before he committed suicide.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports the KBI is re-examining the case but it’s unlikely to address the original investigation.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A voicemail provider says Columbus and central Ohio lead the nation in generating robocalls from bill collectors, politicians and other sources.

Statistics from voicemail provider YouMail Inc. show Columbus was the top city for sending out the calls in December, with 68.9 million calls recorded. That outpaced second-place Kansas City’s 42.1 million calls. The company tallies which cities send and receive the most robocalls.

The Columbus Dispatch reports there are several reasons why Columbus leads the way in annoying people by phone. There are lots of call centers for large financial institutions that handle credit cards for third-party retailers. The area also is home base for a lot of telemarketers.

Columbus ranks 26th in receiving such calls. Atlanta was tops last month with 59.8 million calls received.

HICKMAN, Ky. (AP) — The Dorena-Hickman Ferry on the western tip of Kentucky will be reopening after weeks of high water.  The ferry that connects Hickman, Kentucky to Missouri near Dorena was scheduled to reopen Tuesday at 7 a.m. CST.

It has been closed for several weeks since floodwaters covered the ferry landing on the Kentucky side.

The ferry is the only direct route from Missouri to Kentucky, since the two states are the only in the U.S. that are not directly connected by a road.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — An 18-month-old Missouri law that allows casinos to issue credit to well-heeled patrons is working as intended, casino operators say.

But operators say a few tweaks could make it even more useful.

Under provisions that went into effect in July 2014, seven of the state’s 13 casinos now offer lines of credit to customers who qualify to borrow at least $10,000 and have the ability to pay it back within 30 days.

Troy Stremming, of Pinnacle Entertainment, says the current threshold can turn off some credit-worthy gamblers who might want only a few thousand dollars and don’t want to jump through hoops to prove they’re qualified for $10,000. He says Pinnacle will be talking to lawmakers about it.