KANSAS CITY (AP) – Prosecutors have charged a man in the fatal stabbing of a Kansas City man.

Jackson County prosecutors say 39-year-old Joel Suarez of Independence killed Victor Albarran on Nov. 30. He is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree burglary and armed criminal action.

Authorities say Suarez drove to Albarran’s home and kicked in the door. They say he stabbed Albarran several times with a knife.

Authorities didn’t indicate a motive in the attack.

Online jail records didn’t list an attorney for Suarez.

OVERLAND PARK- A Missouri man was injured in an accident just before 5 p.m. on Tuesday in Johnson County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Pontiac Vibe driven by Ghassan Ali Atie, 41, Blue Springs, MO., was westbound on Interstate 435 at Quivira in Overland Park.

Traffic ahead slowed and the Pontiac struck the rear of a 1999 Chrysler driven by Timothy Alonzo Vincent,
Vincent was transported to Overland Park Regional.

Atie was not injured.
The KHP reported both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident.

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – A deadly deer disease has been found for the first time in a northern Missouri county.

The Missouri Department of Conservation reported this week that an adult buck killed by a hunter in Adair County tested positive for chronic wasting disease.

This is the first case of the disease in Missouri since early 2013 and the first case among wild deer outside of Macon County.

There have been 11 cases of chronic wasting disease among captive deer in north-central Missouri since it first was found in a private hunting reserve in 2010.

This is the 11th case among wild deer, and all 10 others were found within 2 miles of a private deer facility.

Missouri officials in October toughened regulations for deer ranches and preserves to stop the disease’s spread.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder plans to run for re-election in 2016, a campaign spokesman confirmed Tuesday.
Kinder, who was first elected to the post in 2004, will be seeking his fourth term as Missouri’s second-ranking executive and, if he wins, would be the state’s longest-serving lieutenant governor.
Campaign spokesman Michael Hafner confirmed Kinder plans to run for re-election.

“It has been an honor to serve as Missouri’s Lieutenant Governor, and I look forward to the 2016 campaign,” Kinder said in a written statement.
Fellow Republican Bev Randles announced Monday that she had formed an exploratory committee as she considers whether to run for lieutenant governor. Wealthy political activist Rex Sinquefield gave Randles $1 million on Monday that can be used for polling, travel and other expenses.

Randles is chairwoman of the Missouri Club for Growth, a conservative group largely funded by Sinquefield. The $1 million appears to be the largest single donation from an individual to a candidate in state history.

Kinder said he’s “taken on and defeated bankrolled challengers before.”

Kinder raised more than $416,000 this year and had more than $57,000 in his campaign account as of Sept. 30, according to his October quarterly financial report.

A spokesman for Randles said she can use any leftover money from her exploratory committee for a full-blown campaign if she decides to run.

JEFFERSON CITY -In a letter to Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission Chairman Stephen Miller today, Gov. Jay Nixon asked the commission to conduct an analysis of options for utilizing tolls to improve and expand I-70 and free up resources for road and bridge projects around the state.
“A strong transportation system is critical to Missouri’s economic competitiveness, but Missouri’s transportation funding is approaching a critical juncture,” said Gov. Nixon. “That is why I am requesting that the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission analyze and provide options for utilizing tolls to address one of our most pressing transportation infrastructure needs – improving and expanding Interstate 70 – and to free up resources currently dedicated to repair and maintenance on I-70 for road and bridge projects throughout the state.”

A copy of the Governor’s letter is here 

JIM SALTER, Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The sister of Missouri death row inmate Paul Goodwin is asking Gov. Jay Nixon to commute the sentence to life in prison, calling execution an unjust penalty for a man with the mental capabilities of a child.

Paul Goodwin is scheduled to die by injection at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. He used a hammer to kill a 63-year-old St. Louis County woman in 1998.

An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and a clemency petition both claim that Goodwin has an IQ of 73. His sister, Mary Mifflin, says her brother remains child-like, even in prison.

The Missouri Attorney General’s office responded to the high court appeal citing testimony at Goodwin’s trial, where a psychologist testified that Goodwin’s IQ is not low enough to be considered mentally disabled.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Three high-ranking House Democrats are pressing for hearings on police tactics and race in the wake of the deaths of two unarmed black men at the hands of police in Ferguson, Mo., and Staten Island, N.Y.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Hallmark Cards Inc. has removed blue and silver gift wrap from circulation after a customer complained that she saw a swastika embedded in the design.

The Kansas City, Missouri-based company alerted retailers to the problem Monday after receiving a complaint Sunday night from a Walgreen’s customer in Northridge, California. The disputed wrap was featured in a Hanukkah display but Hallmark spokeswoman Julie Elliott says the gift wrap wasn’t intended for the Jewish holiday.

The Kansas City Star reports the gift wrap was distributed by Walgreen’s, which is no longer selling it.

Elliott said in a news release that Hallmark didn’t intend to offend anyone.

She said it was an oversight that no one at Hallmark noticed that intersecting lines in the paper could be seen as a swastika pattern.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Five finalists are vying to be chosen as the next Missouri commissioner of education.
The State Board of Education this week announced the list of candidates to replace Commissioner Chris Nicastro.

Former Rockwood and Wentzville Superintendent Terry Adams of Lake St. Louis; Branson Superintendent Douglas Hayter of Walnut Shade; Joplin Superintendent Charles Huff of Joplin and interim Mehlville School District Superintendent Norman Ridder of Imperial are among the finalists.

Deputy Commissioner of Education Margaret Vandeven also is a candidate.

Nicastro will resign at the end of the year, ending a five-year tenure marked by criticism as the state adopted new school accreditation standards and dealt with struggling districts.
Board members will interview the finalists next week in Jefferson City.