JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri education officials have granted provisional accreditation to the Kansas City School District.

The unanimous vote Tuesday by the State Board of Education means that Kansas City schools no longer will be labeled as unaccredited when classes start next week. That will remove the option for some students to transfer to other nearby schools at the expense of the Kansas City district.

Kansas City schools had been unaccredited since January 2012.

State education officials said Kansas City students have shown some improvement academically but that many still failed to score as “proficient” on Missouri’s standardized tests.

State Board President Peter Herschend said it will be a challenge for Kansas City schools to maintain their new provisional status over the next year.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A second leading bond-rating agency has downgraded its credit rating for Kansas and cited what it calls the state’s “structurally unbalanced budget” following massive personal income tax cuts.

Standard & Poor’s said Wednesday that it is dropping its rating for Kansas to AA from AA+. The agency also dropped its rating for bonds backed by state tax dollars.

Moody’s Investor Services downgraded its credit rating for Kansas in May.

S&P said in its report that Kansas will probably need to cut spending in the future to offset the income tax cuts. The reductions were enacted that the urging of Republican Gov. Sam Brownback to stimulate the economy.

Brownback noted that the state’s rating remains high and said rating agencies don’t like tax cuts.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – An influential Jefferson City lobbyist whose legislative victories included bringing legalized riverboat gambling to Missouri has died at 88.

On Wednesday Senate Leader Tom Dempsey along with the rest of the Missouri senate mourned the death of John Britton. They spoke out by saying, “We mourn the loss of one of Missouri’s favorite sons, a man we were privileged to call a colleague and a friend. Though he would never have called himself a hero, that is exactly what he was.”

John Britton died Tuesday at a Jefferson City hospital after an extended illness, said his son-in-law Robert Burns, an Associated Press reporter in Washington.

One of Britton’s first clients in a half-century lobbying career that made him one of the most influential people in the state Capitol was Anheuser-Busch, a company he represented despite having quit drinking.

Britton, a notorious chain smoker who frequently flaunted the Capitol’s no-smoking rules, worked to keep beer taxes down and fought limits on public smoking.

Britton was previously a speech writer for then-Missouri Attorney General Thomas Eagleton.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – The Greene County medical examiner’s office is investigating the death of a 23-year-old man whose body was found at the T-Mobile store where he worked.

Forensic investigator Tom Van De Berg told The Springfield News-Leader the investigation into the death of Kenny Reynolds is ongoing. He says an autopsy was conducted Monday.

A police report says Reynolds was found unconscious July 28 in the weight room at a Springfield T-Mobile store where he had been lifting weights. The report says Reynolds, a customer care specialist, had been bench pressing when the bar fell on his neck.

His widow, Maranda Reynolds, says he died two days later at a hospital.

T-Mobile says it has submitted a report to the federal agency that oversees workplace safety.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Opponents of Missouri’s Right to Farm constitutional amendment are weighing a recount request after the measure appeared to pass by the slimmest of margins.

The unofficial tally from Tuesday’s election showed that Amendment 1 carried by a margin of 0.2 percent. The measure was favored in most rural counties, but opposition in the St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Columbia areas was nearly enough to offset it.

The amendment declares farming a right. It is part of an effort to fortify the ag industry against animal-welfare activists and opponents of genetically modified crops, who fear the amendment will be used by corporate farms to escape unwanted regulations.

SPRINGFIELD (AP) – Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Patterson said Springfield police and Greene County sheriff’s employees were justified in the fatal shooting of a Springfield woman in May.

The officers shot 50-year-old Tracey Liniger outside a Springfield storage facility in May.

Patterson said in a letter sent Tuesday to Sheriff Jim Arnott and Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams that the shooting was justified under laws applying to self-defense and apprehending an armed and dangerous felon.

The Springfield News-Leader reported Liniger’s daughter, Marcey Hartman, has previously said her mother battled depression and cancer.

Patterson wrote that Liniger offered a man at the storage facility $1,000 to kill her. He said she refused officers’ orders to surrender and pointed a gun at them before she was shot.

CHEROKEE, Kan. (AP) — A clerical error is causing some funding questions for a southeast Kansas school district.

Southeast USD 247, with schools in Clearwater and Weir, will have to return money from a four-mill capital outlay that was used in the 2013-14 school year. The error also means the district spend the funds for the upcoming school year.

The Pittsburg Morning-Sun reports that the district was authorized in September 2012 to renew its annual collection of four mills in capital improvement funds for the next five years. However, the board’s resolution was not certified because of a clerical error.

This year, the board proposed increasing the capital outlay from four to eight mills. The error in the original proposal was found when a resident sought records related to the proposed increase.

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — After three years without a permanent home, ground has been broken in Joplin for a new center to treat autism.

The former autism center was destroyed by the May 2011 tornado.

The Joplin Globe reports the $4.3 million, 20,000 square-foot building will offer better diagnoses for autism spectrum disorders, learning environments and enhanced treatment.

Bill and Virginia Leffen, of Joplin, donated $3 million for the facility in December 2011.

COLUMBIA (AP) – Several Missouri universities will share a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation for a five-year study on the potential impact of climate variations on agriculture, ecology and social issues.

The grant, announced Tuesday, will be shared by four University of Missouri campuses, Lincoln University, St. Louis University, Washington University and the St. Louis Science Center.

Each institution will use its share of the money for research on various aspects of climate, plant biology, community resilience and education/outreach.

John Walker, director of the Division of Biological Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia, said the project will predict short- and long-term changes in climate and research the impact on plant life and communities.