JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s proposal to offer scholarships for adults to study high-demand fields received bipartisan pushback from state senators Tuesday.

Members of the Senate Education Committee questioned whether a new scholarship is needed, why the state should pay for that job training and which programs would be covered.

The skepticism among lawmakers could signal trouble for one of Parson’s priorities for the 2019 legislative session, which runs through mid-May.

At issue is $22 million in “Fast-Track” workforce grants to cover tuition for adults over age 25 who have household adjusted gross incomes of less than $80,000. The grants could only be used for those pursuing degrees, certificates or credentials in careers in high need of trained workers.

“It’s certainly being fast-tracked, and I’m not sure it’s well thought out,” Sen. Bob Onder, a Lake St. Louis Republican, said after the hearing.

Parson pitched the idea during his first State of the State speech earlier this month as part of his focus on workforce development. Republican Sen. Gary Romine, of Farmington, sponsored the bill debated in committee Tuesday.

Parson spokeswoman Kelli Jones said the governor is “excited that the Legislature is taking quick action” and that he “encourages dialogue” from lawmakers.

“He’s very confident that Fast-Track would directly impact thousands of Missourians and positively impact workforce development needs,” Jones said.

Missouri’s Department of Higher Education has said the program could serve 16,000 people annually.

Under Romine’s bill , students under age 25 who are not enrolled in classes for two academic years would also qualify for the grants. The scholarships would cover any costs not already paid for by other state and federal grants, and students would need to maintain at least a 2.5 GPA to continue receiving funding.

Onder questioned the need for creating a new grant program as opposed to putting more money toward existing state scholarships. Republican Sen. Ed Emery, of Lamar, said it’s usually businesses that pay to train workers and he’s concerned about the burden falling on taxpayers instead.

Higher Education Commissioner Zora Mulligan told lawmakers that existing scholarships are available for younger students and recent high school graduates and the Fast-Track grants are meant to help make higher education affordable for older adults. She said businesses are less willing to invest in training because employees tend to switch jobs more frequently.

Sen. Jill Schupp, a Creve Coeur Democrat, is among those senators who worry that the specific programs the scholarships would cover have yet to be officially decided by the state Coordinating Board for Higher Education, although Mulligan said data the board will use to make a decision are available online .

Schupp said she still has questions about the age cutoff and who will be left out of the program, but she said a discussion she had with Mulligan and the Department of Economic Development director after the hearing “moved me a little bit closer to being on board.”

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A prison inmate has admitted to fracturing another inmate’s skull with a metal pipe, leaving the man in a “semi-vegetative state” for several months.

49-year-old Jimmy Eastep Jr., pleaded guilty Monday to assault with a dangerous weapon.

According to his plea agreement, Eastep assaulted 52-year-old Michael Seaman at the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth in January 2016 after Seaman called him a name.

Investigators found a 20-inch metal pipe with blood next to Seaman.

Investigators say Seaman was not able to communicate with them for almost a year.

Eastep was linked to the assault by DNA testing.

The plea agreement calls for Eastep to be sentenced to another 3.5 years in prison.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 43-year-old Topeka man who was once convicted of setting a fire that killed a 53-year-old woman has pleaded not guilty in a court-ordered retrial.

Frank Jerome Robinson entered the plea Monday to charges connected to a fire that destroyed an apartment house in 2006, killing 53-year-old Marvina Washington.

He is charged with reckless second-degree murder and aggravated arson. A trial date was not scheduled.

Robinson was convicted in 2009 of reckless second-degree murder and aggravated arson. He was sentenced to 36.5 years in prison.

The Kansas Court of appeals ruled in January that Robinson should receive a new trial because his attorney at the original trial didn’t provide an adequate defense.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Authorities have arrested a second suspect in the shooting death of the student body president of a historically black college in Missouri.

Police in Jefferson City, Missouri, announced Tuesday in a news release that 19-year-old Michael Bouchee was taken into custody overnight in Texas on a second-degree murder warrant in the death of Lincoln University senior D’Angelo Bratton-Bland, who is from Chicago.

Bouchee and another suspect, 29-year-old Deangelo Frazier, initially were chargedwith dealing drugs in the neighborhood where Bratton-Bland was killed last month. Witnesses told police that before the shooting, Bouchee and Frazier had been pointing weapons and yelling at people standing by cars. Police say there’s no evidence that Bratton-Bland did anything to contribute to the shooting.

Bouchee is awaiting extradition, while Frazier is imprisoned in Missouri on unrelated charges.

TOPEKA —Governor Laura Kelly released a Medicaid expansion bill Tuesday that will expand affordable healthcare to 150,000 more Kansans, protect and strengthen rural hospitals, and bring Kansas federal tax dollars back to the state, according to a media release from her office.

“It’s long past time to expand Medicaid so that more Kansans have access to affordable healthcare, our rural hospitals can stay open, and the tax dollars we send to Washington can come back home to Kansas to help our families,” said Kelly. “This bill meets the unique needs of Kansas patients, hospitals, providers, and diverse communities while remaining financially sustainable.”

The Governor’s Medicaid expansion bill is based on the version of the 2017 Bridge to a Healthy Kansas bill that passed the House and the Senate and was later vetoed by Governor Sam Brownback.

“Kansans overwhelmingly support Medicaid expansion,” said Kelly. “They know it will mean access to quality, affordable healthcare and support for our rural hospitals. It’s time we listen to the people of this state and expand Medicaid.”

Kansas is one of just 14 states left that has not yet expanded healthcare to families who desperately need it.

“I’ve seen first-hand how illnesses are diagnosed late, and how Kansans have been hurt financially, by not having access to healthcare,” said Lee Norman, acting secretary of Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). “I know we can do better, and this bill is a monumental step forward.”

To view the governor’s Medicaid expansion bill, click here.

“Medicaid expansion will benefit the state of Kansas, our families and our children in many ways,” said Laura Howard, secretary of Kansas Department for Children and Families and Aging and Disability Services. “It’s the most important tool Kansas can utilize to provide the necessary treatment and services to vulnerable Kansans.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs are planning more than $10 million in upgrades to Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs announced Monday that the renovations will include a “modernization” of the Arrowvision scoreboard, along with waterproofing and new seats — with cup holders — in the stadium’s upper deck.

Chiefs President Mark Donovan said in a news release that the last stadium renovation was completed a decade ago.

The team said the scoreboard will remain the same size but will have new LED panels to improve clarity.

The work could begin next week.

The Chiefs are paying for the work but can ask in the future to be reimbursed by the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The University of Missouri is planning to raise the cost of food and housing at three campuses beginning next school year.

The university system officials approved the rate hikes for the Kansas City, St. Louis and Rolla campuses on Monday.

The Columbia campus will be the only one with declining costs since officials approved lower room and board rates in November to attract more students.

University spokesman Christian Basi says the Kansas City campus will raise its predominant plan for food and dorm living by almost $300 a year, from about $10,330 to $10,630. Basi says the Rolla campus’ rates will go up by about $225, and the St. Louis campus will hike rates by $200.

University officials plan to finalize the increases Feb. 7.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say wind gusts have toppled power lines and overturned at least one vehicle in northeast Kansas.

The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill watch from Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning for an area that included Topeka, where it predicted wind chill index readings would be between minus 10 degrees and minus 25 degrees.

Highest wind gusts observed so far today in northeast Kansas–up to 63 mph in Topeka/Lawrence: https://t.co/PYGOpALyCB #kswx

— NWS Topeka (@NWSTopeka) January 28, 2019

The Kansas Highway Patrol says a tractor-trailer “flipped” Monday on the Kansas Turnpike about 1 mile east of Lawrence as gusts of up to 56 mph were reported. Also Monday, downed lines left more than 2,600 Westar Energy customers without power, although only a handful remained in the dark by Tuesday.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A twice convicted Kansas rapist who has spent more than half his life in prison has been arrested in another sexual assault.

Shawnee County Jail records show that 58-year-old Billy Jack Hayes was booked early Monday on suspicion of rape in one case and aggravated burglary and misdemeanor sexual battery in another case. No charges were immediately filed.

Kansas Department of Corrections records show that Hayes has been in and out of prison for the past four decades. He has convictions for rapes and other crimes committed in 1974 and 1984 in Shawnee County. He was paroled most recently in September.