KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A festive holiday train started its trip through Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri.

The Kansas City Southern Holiday Express Train began its journey Friday in Victoria, Texas. After stops in 20 cities, the trip will end Dec. 15 at Union Station in Kansas City, where the six-car train will remain on display through Dec. 19.

It features a smiling tank car dubbed “Rudy,” a gingerbread boxcar, a flatcar carrying Santa’s sleigh, plus a reindeer stable and a miniature village. There’s also an elves’ workshop and even a little red caboose.

Guests get to visit Santa and tour the train.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A man who was arrested after sleeping in a Kansas storage unit with his two children and his dismembered wife’s remains has been charged in a California killing.

The Desert Sun reports that Justin Tod Rey was charged Wednesday with murder in the death of Sean Ty Ferel. The Palm Springs, California, man disappeared in May 2016 after vacationing with Rey. Three months later, Rey crashed Ferel’s vehicle in Los Angeles. Ferel’s body hasn’t been found, but his blood was in the trunk, and his belongings were found in an Arizona storage unit that Rey had rented.

Rey is jailed on $1 million bond in Kansas on child endangerment charges. He’s also charged with abandonment of corpse in Missouri, where his wife died. His attorney didn’t return a phone message.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri State Board of Education has voted down an effort to fire the state’s top education official.

Members voted 4-4 Tuesday on the question of ousting Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven. Five votes were needed to remove her.

Republican Gov. Eric Greitens has been pushing for her removal but hasn’t elaborated on why. He’s filled five seats on the eight-member board, the majority needed to vote her out.

But the Tuesday attempt to ax Vandeven backfired. It was not immediately clear which of Greitens’ five appointees voted to keep her during the closed meeting.

Vandeven didn’t comment Tuesday. Greitens’ spokesman, Parker Briden, didn’t immediately respond to Associated Press requests for comment Tuesday.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Shareholders have overwhelmingly approved a proposed merger of Kansas’ largest electric company with a Missouri firm.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Deaths from opioid overdose could exceed traffic fatalities in Missouri this year, for the first time ever.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has recorded 733 opioid overdose deaths through Aug. 31, compared to 591 traffic deaths recorded by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

For all of last year, the state had 908 opioid overdose deaths and 947 traffic fatalities.

Opioid overdose deaths have become so alarming that President Donald Trump declared a public health emergency. In Missouri, nine summits are taking place across the state to help first responders and others deal with the epidemic.

The St. Louis area is particularly hard-hit. So far this year, 175 deaths have been recorded in St. Louis County and 125 in St. Louis city.

DETROIT (AP) — Ford is recalling more than 73,000 full-sized vans in North America to fix a wiring problem that could cause fires and other electrical issues.

The recall covers Ford Transit vans from 2015 through 2017 that have a trailer tow computer module.

Ford says water can enter the module and cause corrosion. That could cause an electrical short and an increased fire risk. Corrosion also can cause unexpected seat belt pretensioner activation, rapid flashing of turn signals, loss of heating and air conditioning controls and other problems.

Ford says fires could happen when the ignition is off so it’s recommending they be parked outdoors until repairs are made.

The company says it knows of two fires in Canadian fleet vehicles that could be related. There’ve been no injuries reported.