JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri House committee has approved two measures that could require people to show government-issued photo identification to vote.

One measure would ask voters to amend the state constitution to allow photo ID requirements. The other bill outlines how Missouri would implement those requirements if the amendment passes.

The Missouri House Committee on Elections voted 8-3 Tuesday to approve both bills.

The bills’ sponsors say anyone without proper identification would still be able to cast a provisional ballot. Opponents say provisional ballots are rarely counted and basically amount to taking away someone’s vote.

The legislation still must pass through another committee, but the full House could vote on the measures as soon as next week.

Similar legislation has been introduced in the Senate.

ELKHART, Kan. (AP) — Part of the Cimarron National Grassland is closed during an investigation into the deaths of seven cattle.

The closure imposed in December at the grassland in Morton County will last until at least May 1, or until it is rescinded. About 2,600 of the 108,000 acres are closed to all motorized and non-motor access.

The Hutchinson News reports the Morton County Grazing Association leases the grassland each year. Some range riders found the cattle dead in October. A veterinarian determined the animals had inhaled something that caused their deaths.

The closure was implemented because of the potential for hazardous airborne conditions.

District Ranger Lance Brown says the animals’ deaths did not appeared to be caused by anything malicious.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Highway Patrol is proposing an increase in the state’s vehicle title fee to pay for more officers in 35 counties that currently have no assigned troopers.

The KBI says it is also looking for ways to fill 20 job openings.

Patrol Superintendent Mark Bruce on Monday suggested the vehicle title fee be increased to $17.50 from $10, with the revenue earmarked to hire 75 more patrol troopers.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports KBI Director Kirk Thompson said his agency has 20 openings for criminal investigators and is struggling to keep forensic scientists because of low pay. He says the KBI had funds to add five more agents in the past year but is having trouble attracting candidates.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A woman who tried to flush nearly $4,000 in drug money down a toilet was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said in a news release that 26-year-old Marisela Rameriz was sentenced Monday for one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Rameriz admitted she helped arrange for 16 mounts of methamphetamine to be transported from California to Kansas. When she was arrested, she tried to flush $3,880 in cash down a cell block toilet.

One of her co-defendants, Jorge Rodriguez-Maciel, was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Another is scheduled for sentencing Friday and the third is awaiting trial.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is preparing to outline his legislative agenda during the annual State of the State address.

The speech is scheduled for Tuesday evening before a joint session of the Republican-dominated Legislature in the House chamber. The GOP governor has focused in his previous speeches on broad themes.

Brownback has said that the massive personal income tax cuts enacted at his urging in 2012 and 2013 are working and stimulating the economy. But the state has struggled to balance its budget since and must close a projected $190 million shortfall for the fiscal year that begins in July.

His address will be live-streamed on the state’s website.

Brownback budget director Shawn Sullivan plans to release details of the governor’s spending recommendations Wednesday.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A couple accused of killing the woman’s mother is scheduled to go to trial in November, despite continuing problems obtaining medical records in the case.

A judge on Monday set a Nov. 28 trial date for Gypsy Blanchard and Nicholas Godejohn, who are each charged with first-degree murder in the death of Clauddinnea Blanchard in Springfield last summer. The Springfield News-Leader reports that date could change because Gypsy Blanchard’s attorney plans to seek separate trials.

Prosecutors say the Blanchards convinced people that Gypsy Blanchard was disabled to raise money but that is not true. Attorneys have had trouble getting Gypsy Blanchard’s medical records because her mother set up blocks to prevent her daughter from seeing the records.

Gypsy Blanchard and Godejohn were arrested last July in Wisconsin.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The world’s largest lottery jackpot has grown to $1.5 billion because of continuing strong Powerball ticket sales.

Lottery officials increased their estimate of the huge jackpot for the second day in a row Tuesday because of immense interest in the prize.

The record-breaking Powerball jackpot could grow yet more before Wednesday’s drawing if ticket sales continue to exceed expectations. Officials reassess the estimate daily.

The odds of matching all six numbers to win the jackpot are one in 292.2 million.

The $1.5 billion prize would be paid in annual payments over 29 years. Or the winner could opt for a lump-sum payment of $930 million.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Ferguson city councilman and former mayor who was the driving force behind the “I Love Ferguson” campaign that began amid the turmoil that followed the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown has died.

City officials confirmed that 56-year-old Brian Fletcher died Sunday, but say the cause of death is unknown.  Fletcher served as mayor from 2005 to 2011, then returned to politics with his election to the council in April.

Brown, who was black and unarmed, was killed by Ferguson officer Darren Wilson during a street confrontation on Aug. 9, 2014. A St. Louis County grand jury and the U.S. Department of Justice declined to prosecute, but the shooting led to sometimes-violent protests. Fletcher and others began the “I Love Ferguson” campaign soon after the shooting.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Department of Transportation says its worst-case scenario has been avoided.

The department had warned that by 2017 the state wouldn’t have enough money to fully maintain three-quarters of its roads.

The department’s latest financial forecasts show the situation improving.  Tax revenue is up thanks partly to cheaper gas prices. And the first federal highway legislation in more than seven years has guaranteed money for transportation that Missouri hadn’t planned on.

Transportation department Director Patrick McKenna says the state now expects to be able to maintain all its roads in their current condition and prevent the number of bridges in critical condition from rising.

The department plans to tap into savings and use some creative accounting to drawn down all the federal money to which it’s entitled.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A fleeing motorist is charged with causing a suburban Kansas City crash that injured a pregnant woman so severely that she died soon after her baby was delivered.

Twenty-one-year-old Raphael Sherman was charged Monday in Johnson County District Court with involuntary manslaughter in the death of 25-year-old Denise Lopez of Kansas City, Kansas. Bond is set at $250,000. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.

Police say the crash happened Sunday night in Overland Park soon after police in nearby Prairie Village attempted to stop a driver. Police say three vehicles were involved in the crash.

The woman who died was 39 weeks pregnant. Police say her baby is doing well. Five other people were taken to hospitals with injuries that police said weren’t life-threatening.