JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens has appointed Jackson County Circuit Judge W. Brent Powell to the state Supreme Court. Greitens announced Powell’s selection Tuesday to replace former Judge Richard Teitelman, who died in November.

Powell has been a judge in the Kansas City area since his appointment in 2008 by former Republican Gov. Matt Blunt. He previously worked as an assistant Platte County prosecutor and an assistant U.S. attorney in Kansas City.

In Missouri, a commission screens Supreme Court applicants and recommends three to the governor. The other two candidates Greitens had to pick from had Democratic ties. State Western District Court of Appeals Judge Lisa Hardwick has served as a Democrat on the Jackson County Legislature, and attorney Benjamin Lipman has donated to Democratic candidates, though not in recent elections.

FULTON, Mo. (AP) — Police in central Missouri’s Fulton say a body found encased in concrete inside a container is likely that of a developmentally disabled man missing for nearly a week from a group home.

Police said in a statement Tuesday that the body discovered the previous day in a Fulton storage unit may be 31-year-old Carl DeBrodie. Results of any autopsy on the body have not been released.

DeBrodie’s cousin, Rebecca Summers, says DeBrodie had been living at a Fulton group home for the past nine years and was reported missing April 17.

No other details were immediately released.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A group that specializes in turning around distressed hospitals has expressed interest in acquiring a nonprofit Catholic hospital in Topeka.

California-based Prime Healthcare’s nonprofit arm notified Gov. Sam Brownback last week that it has “potential interest” in “saving” St. Francis Health. The letter was given anonymously to The Topeka Capital-Journal and also provided to The Associated Press.

St. Francis’s Denver-based owner, SCL Health, said previously that it would stop operating the 378-bed hospital whether or not it is successful in finding a buyer.

SCL Health spokesman Brian Newsome said in a statement that several groups “have come forth to discuss potential scenarios.” Brownback’s spokeswoman says there are “multiple options” for keeping St. Francis open. Among them, St. Francis has approached a second Topeka hospital about taking over its operations.

KANSAS CITY, Mo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–In response to consumer flavor trends and as part of its ongoing innovation efforts, Hostess® said it has introduction of Chocolate Cake Twinkies®: chocolate cake with creamy filling, in the same iconic Twinkie™ shape.

Hostess said consumer feedback fed another exciting improvement to Hostess’s snack cake portfolio: Fudge Covered Twinkies, more commonly known as the Chocodile®. Fudge Covered Twinkies feature a Twinkie enrobed in a smooth fudge layer, and have been reinvented by its larger size, a higher crème-to-cake ratio, an intensified fudge coating and slightly modified shape.

Hostess Brands, LLC is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, and operates bakeries in Emporia, Kansas, Columbus, Georgia and Indianapolis, Indiana.

Both Hostess Chocolate Cake Twinkies and Fudge Covered Twinkies are now available at retailers nationwide and are sold in single-serve, twin-pack and multi-pack formats.

ROGERSVILLE, Mo. (AP) — The son of a southwest Missouri man who was killed in a dog attack has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that the suit was filed Thursday in Christian County.

Eighty-five-year-old Werner Vogt was attacked in November 2015 while riding his bicycle in a wooded area of Christian County. He died several weeks later.

The sheriff’s office used DNA testing to link two boxers that lived nearby to the attack. Sheriff’s investigators also discovered that the owners got rid of the boxers afterward. The new owners said they didn’t know anything until after investigators arrived to take DNA samples.

Attorney Jim Corbett says the dogs should be confiscated or euthanized. The suit also seeks to recover medical expenses and other damages from the dogs’ original owners.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The death of a colleague’s son has spurred lawmakers in the often anti-regulation Kansas to toughen the state’s inspection requirements for amusement parks.

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback signed legislation on Monday that strengthens amusement park regulations. The bill passed the House and Senate by wide margins.

The change comes after Republican Rep. Scott Schwab’s 10-year-old son, Caleb, died last summer on a waterslide at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City, Kansas.

An investigation into the death is ongoing, but the waterslide, which was dubbed the world’s highest when it opened, has been closed since the accident.

The Schwab family has settled with the park’s owner, the manufacturer of the raft that carried riders down the slide, a general contractor and a consulting company.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The leader of a multi-million fraud that involved impersonating Cerner employees was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $19 million in restitution.

Fifty-six-year-old Albert Davis, of Richardson, Texas, was sentenced Monday. He pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Prosecutors say the conspirators created a fake Cerner business entity, a fake Cerner bank account, a fake Cerner Internet domain and leased virtual office space for a fake Cerner address in Kansas City. The also created fictitious employees and documents.

They used the fraud to turn business deals and several lawsuits in their favor, solicit investors and obtain bank loans.

Davis acknowledged in his plea that he was the leader of the scheme.

Four others have pleaded guilty in related cases.

SCHUYLER, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 3-year-old Nebraska boy has died after a car power window closed on his neck.

Colfax County Attorney Denise Kracl (KRAHT’-suhl) said Monday that 3-year-old Everton Isay Romero was pronounced dead Friday at an Omaha hospital. Kracl says Everton never regained consciousness after the window closed on him April 15 outside a store in Schuyler, where he lived.

She says it’s unclear how the window button was activated in the parked car. Everton’s mom had powered the rear window down. Investigators couldn’t determine how long the window was closed on the boy’s neck.

Kracl says no autopsy was performed because there’s no evidence any law was violated. She says the boy’s mother “acted appropriately the entire time.”

Schuyler is about 60 miles northwest of Omaha.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens has signed into law statewide regulations for ride-hailing companies including Uber and Lyft.

The governor signed the bill Monday at St. Charles Community College. It requires app-based companies to conduct driver background checks and pay a licensing fee.

The law will also exempt such companies from local and municipal taxes, require drivers to submit to background checks and to buy vehicle liability insurance.

Uber and Lyft say the law will allow them to expand throughout the state.

Similar legislation has stalled in past years over concerns about local ordinances governing the app-based services. The current version includes compromise provisions that allow airports to charge ride-hailing service drivers the same fees as taxis and allows St. Louis and Kansas City to audit drivers.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Authorities say a hunter accidentally shot his brother and a friend after mistaking them for wild turkeys in southeast Kansas.

The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism says the victims were shot in face and body on April 12.

Crawford County Sheriff Dean Peak says the shooting was ruled an accident. Peak says the victims were hit by shotgun pellets and are expected to survive. The victims are at the University of Arkansas Medical Center in Fayetteville, which isn’t releasing their conditions.

The wildlife department’s game warden, Jim Bussone, tells the Wichita Eagle the three men were hiding behind preserved turkey tail fans, which are used to disguise hunters, but ended up hunting each other while making turkey calls to lure the animals.

Bussone says the shooter broke several hunting safety rules, including shooting at movement.