KANSAS CITY (AP) – The Kansas City school district is looking into overseeing a charter school after receiving a crucial approval from state education officials.

Superintendent Stephen Green said in a news release Friday the district can “begin to map out” options after the Missouri Board of Education agreed Tuesday to allow it to act as a sponsor. No plans are in place, but Green said there have been some “very preliminary conversations” about opening a charter school as part of the Urban Neighborhood Initiative.

The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Greater Kansas City are backing the neighborhood revitalization effort. One goal is to develop a new, high-achieving charter elementary school to be surrounded by new, mixed-use housing.

NEVADA, Mo. (AP) — The state attorney general’s office has dropped a murder charge against a Vernon County man who was accused of having his estranged wife killed.

The Joplin Globe  reports that Assistant Attorney General David Hansen filed documents in court this week dismissing the first-degree murder charge against 59-year-old Bob Beisly II without prejudice, meaning the charge can be filed again if new evidence is found.

Beisly, a rancher, had been accused of paying a hired hand $10,000 to kill 47-year-old Belinda J. Beisly in July 2009. In a probable-cause affidavit, the hired hand detailed how Beisly allegedly approached him multiple times to commit the crime. The hired hand denies that he is the one who killed Beisly’s wife.

The defense filed a motion in recent weeks to have Beisly’s murder charge dismissed on grounds that depositions taken in the case revealed that potentially exculpatory evidence had disappeared.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Two children who were killed by their father before he shot himself during a standoff in Springfield will be buried this weekend.
Services for 4-year-old Brodie Ray Williams and 2-year-old Marley Kathryn Williams will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Shadel’s Colonial Chapel in Lebanon.
Police say the children’s father, Bill Williams, killed them before a 23-hour standoff Sunday at an apartment complex. Officers found Williams dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot after the standoff ended.

The Springfield News-Leader reports  a candlelight vigil o honor the children is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Jordan Valley Park in Springfield. Another vigil is planned in Lebanon Sunday at 7 p.m. at Atchley Park.

TOKYO (AP) — For hamburger aficionados who can’t get enough of it, Burger King has an answer: a grilled burger-scented fragrance.

Burger King said Friday that the limited “Whopper” grilled beef burger-scented cologne will be sold only one day on April 1, and only in Japan.

Sounds too good to be true? But it’s not an April Fools’ Day joke. The date marks the “Whopper” burger day for the company.

The limited “Flame Grilled” fragrance can be purchased at 5,000 yen ($40) per purchase of the burger that comes with flame-grilled beef. There will be only 1,000 of them.

Burger King said it hoped the scent would also seduce new grill-beef burger fans.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Restaurants and other businesses say they should be responsible for withholding state income taxes only from wages and the amount of tips workers report to them.

The Missouri Senate approved a measure Thursday that would specify businesses are not responsible for withholding taxes from tips that employees fail to report.

Restaurant owners say the state’s Department of Revenue has been trying to collect from employers when the department thinks workers have not reported cash tips as income.

They say they must trust employees to report cash tips because there is no way to track that income.
The measure passed 31-0 and now goes to the House for consideration.

BRANSON, Mo. (AP) — Dozens of people were evacuated from the Yakov Smirnoff Theater in Branson after smoke filled the theater.

No one was injured in Thursday’s incident at the theater.

Branson Fire Chief Ted Martin says the fire started in a storage room near the kitchen area. He says it is likely one of several baseboard infrared heaters stored in a room was turned on, causing some old theater seats in the room to catch fire.

KYTV-TV reports smoke poured into the theater as a performance by Acrobats from China was about to begin.
Smirnoff was not at the theater at the time.

Martin says he’ll meet with theater owners Friday to determine when the building can reopen.

FORSYTH, Mo. (AP) — A preliminary hearing will be April 10 for the man charged with killing a 6-year-old girl in Branson.
KOLR-TV reports a judge on Thursday set the hearing for 55-year-old John Roberts, who is charged with first-degree murder in the Feb. 21 death of Jasmine Miller.

Branson police say they found the girl dead inside Roberts’ room at the Windsor Inn. She apparently had been strangled. They were searching the area after the girl was reported missing.

Roberts lived at the hotel, as did the girl and her parents. Court documents indicate Roberts used snacks to lure the girl into his room.
The Windsor Inn is an extended-stay hotel on Branson’s 76 Strip and is a short walk from several attractions.

ROCKY MOUNT- A Missouri woman died in an accident just before 7:30 a.m. on Thursday in Morgan County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 1999 Chevy Blazer driven by Donna M. Grammer, 55, Rocky Mount, was on Route Y just north of Route W and attempted to pass a 2001 Dodge Durango in a no passing zone.

The Blazer struck a 2012 Ford Expedition head-on before hitting the Dodge on the driver’s side.

Grammer was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Millard Rekus Funeral Home.

The driver of the Ford Larry E. Paynter, 63, Eldon, was transported to Lake Regional Hospital.

The driver of the Dodge Kaylee N. Hawk, 17, Rocky Mount, refused treatment at the scene.

The MSHP reported all were properly restrained at the time of the accident. Rocky Mount is an unincorporated community in eastern Morgan County,

ATLANTA (AP) — Graco has agreed to pay a $3 million fine for delayed reporting of consumer complaints about difficulty opening car seat buckles.

As part of the agreement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Graco will invest $7 million in child passenger safety programs and education.

Graco Children’s Products Inc. is a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Newell Rubbermaid Inc.

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — A new Joplin hospital that replaces one destroyed by a deadly tornado is opening its doors to patients Sunday.

The $465 million Mercy Hospital Joplin features 205 private rooms and features that will make it better able to withstand another disaster. Builders say critical areas of the hospital, such as the emergency department and intensive care unit, have windows rated to withstand 250 mph winds.

The facility replaces St. John’s Regional Medical Center. The hospital was knocked 4 inches off its foundation in the May 2011 EF-5 twister. Five patients and one visitor were among the 161 people killed.