JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) – A new park in Joplin is designed to offer a healing spot for those who survived the May 2011 tornado that devastated the city and killed 161 people.

The Resilience Butterfly Garden and Overlook opened Thursday at Cunningham Park during the half hour that the tornado hit Joplin three years ago.

The Joplin Globe reports the garden and overlook were designed by Drury architecture students. It re-creates the outline of three homes that were destroyed by the tornado, and incorporates a pavilion, water features, storyboards and benches.

The dedication also completed the rebuilding for the three Joplin parks – Cunningham, Parr Hill and Garvin – that were damaged or destroyed by the tornado.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have issued a Silver Alert for an 80-year-old Kansas City, Kansas man who has dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Police say John E. Burris told his family Thursday evening that he was in Overland Park buying a pair of shoes. Family members said he sounded confused and said he was lost trying to get home.

Authorities believe Burris might have driven north along Kansas 7 toward Atchison or Leavenworth. He is driving a maroon or burgundy 1995 Crown Victoria with Kansas Tag of 440BZH.

Burris is a black man, 6-feet-2-inches, 180 pounds with brown eyes, gray hair and a full gray beard. The family was not sure what clothes he was wearing.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) highlighted his support for several key provisions passed in the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) today. The bill authorizes critical funding for the operation of our inland waterways, ports, and harbors and passed in the Senate today.

Blunt co-chairs the bipartisan Senate Mississippi River Caucus, serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and is the Ranking Member of the Commerce Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security.

“It’s been estimated our nation’s internal waterway system has more navigable water than the rest of the world, and these waterways happen to overlay the world’s largest piece of continuous farmland,” Blunt said. “With the expansion of the Panama Canal and the explosion of world food and energy needs, we must take advantage of our valuable waterways to compete in the global economy. I’ll continue to work through the Appropriations Committee to ensure we’re using taxpayer dollars wisely to fund our important waterway operations, including the dredging of the small inland ports serving as the on and off ramps to the Mississippi River.”

Specifically, Blunt supported a number of important priorities in the WRRDA bill, including:

Small Ports Funding: Blunt helped negotiate two new separate avenues for funding small ports. Out of funds appropriated above baseline Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund dollars, Blunt helped secure a portion of those funds to go towards underserved harbors, placing language in the bill that would direct the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to consider the total quantity of commerce supported by the water body on which the project is located. On the lower Mississippi River alone, around 500 million tons of cargo moves each year- so this will help prioritize spending to Mississippi River ports.
Project Authorizations: WRRDA authorizes projects reviewed and recommended by the Chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Blunt worked to ensure critical projects in Missouri received a decision before WRRDA’s passage. This resulted in the authorization of two projects in Missouri: the Jordan Creek Flood Risk Management Project and a project for renovations to the flood wall and retaining wall in Cape Girardeau. In 2009, then-Congressman Blunt secured appropriations to study the Jordan Creek Flood Risk Management Project. The project will assist the City of Springfield, Mo. in reducing damages from flash floods along Jordan Creek, the surrounding area of which is heavily urbanized. The project will reduce 65 percent of the damages through detention basins and channel modification.
St. Charles Land Swap: Blunt, along with U.S. Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer (Mo.), worked to include authorization for the exchange of land between Ameren Corporation and the Corps. The exchange will reduce the Corps’ portfolio of commercial industrial leases and allow the Corps to expand its existing Public Stewardship Program in Illinois.
Resilient Infrastructure: Blunt’s amendment ensures two new government studies authorized by WRRDA include an analysis of the use of resilient construction techniques was included. Resilient construction techniques help to reduce future vulnerability from flood, storm and drought conditions. Resilient construction has the potential to substantially reduce property damage and loss of life resulting from all forms of natural disasters.
Protection of the Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project: Blunt worked to ensure that a section prohibiting the Corps from charging for surplus water on the Missouri River would not be paid for with dollars from the Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project.

DETROIT (AP) — Suzuki is recalling more than 184,000 small cars in the U.S. because the steering columns can catch fire.

The recall covers Forenza models from 2004 through 2008 and Reno models from 2005 through 2008. Both vehicles were made for Suzuki by General Motors.

The Japanese automaker says the headlamp switch or daytime running light modules can overheat, melt and catch fire on the left side of the steering column.

The company will notify owners and fix the problem for free. It hasn’t scheduled the repairs yet.

GM on Wednesday recalled 218,000 Chevrolet Aveo subcompact cars for a similar problem as the company continues to review safety issues and issue recalls.

It was GM’s 29th recall this year, bringing its total number of recalled in the U.S. to around 13.8 million.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri has been slower than usual in paying out tax refunds this year.

Figures provided to The Associated Press in response to a Sunshine Law request show the Department of Revenue had nearly 367,000 income tax refunds still pending on May 12, nearly a month after the deadline to file tax returns.

That’s almost three times as many as were still lingering in recent years. In 2013, the department had more than 125,000 tax refunds pending on May 12. In 2012, the number of pending tax refunds on that date was a little less than 127,000.

The delay in paying refunds comes as Missouri’s revenues have been falling short of projections.

Through the end of April, Missouri’s net general revenues were up just 0.5 percent for the 2014 fiscal year.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri campground owners could gain a new tool for dealing with misbehaving guests.
A bill passed by the Legislature would allow campground owners to eject those who stay beyond the departure day, create a disturbance, default on payments or violate a state or federal law.

Campers who refuse to leave could be charged with a misdemeanor and face a fine of up to $500 and from 30 days to six months in jail.

The provisions would not apply to campgrounds in state parks.
Supporters say the measure would let campground owners more quickly and efficiently address problems when they arise.
Lawmakers gave the measure final approval before wrapping up their annual session last week. It now awaits action by Gov. Jay Nixon.

WASHINGTON – A sweeping defense bill was approved by a key Senate committee today after being shaped and strengthened by U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, a senior member of the panel.

The annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), sets spending and policy for the Pentagon for the next fiscal year. After days of debate over the legislation and dozens of amendments, the Senate Armed Services Committee today gave final approval to the bill, sending it to the full Senate for consideration.

McCaskill worked with fellow Missouri Senator Roy Blunt to successfully include an amendment keeping the E/A-18 Growler production line open. McCaskill also included provisions building on last year’s historic reforms to curb sexual assaults in the military, strengthening POW/MIA-recovery efforts, protecting taxpayer dollars from being spent on insecure infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, and boosting accountability by strengthening whistleblower protections.

“Missouri has a proud tradition of military service, and I’m proud to once again help craft policies to bolster our national security, and maintain the critical role our state plays in keeping America safe,” said McCaskill, who also chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Financial & Contracting Oversight. “This legislation includes huge steps forward on stronger accountability over taxpayer dollars, on keeping our promises to our military veterans, and on our continuing effort to better protect and empower victims of sexual assault. And its wide, bipartisan support is a welcome reminder that America’s security doesn’t have to be a partisan issue.”

McCaskill-an outspoken advocate for transparency-once again insisted on a committee vote to open up to the public the full committee’s consideration of the defense bill. That motion was defeated 18-8. McCaskill was the first Senator in years to hold any portion of the debate open, public session.

Provisions successfully included by McCaskill in the legislation include:

• E/A-18G Growler Aircraft: McCaskill and Blunt secured an amendment that authorizes $100 million for the Navy to keep the Growler production line open and directs the Navy to take steps to ensure the Navy retains the option of buying more EA-18G aircraft if further analysis of airborne electronic attack (AEA) force structure indicates the Navy should buy more EA-18G aircraft. The amendment also directs the Navy to brief the defense congressional committees by September, 2014 on options available to the Navy for ensuring that the Navy will not be precluded from buying more EA-18G aircraft if that is what the Navy analysis concludes should be done. An estimated 15,000 people work at the plant that manufactures Growler and Super Hornet aircraft in St. Louis, Mo.

• Further Reforms to Curb Sexual Assault in the Military: Last year, McCaskill helped shape and pass into law an historic overhaul of how the military handles rapes and sexual assaults. McCaskill has proposed additional legislation that would continue to build on these historic reforms-cosponsored by Senators Kelly Ayotte and Deb Fischer-adding more provisions to protect and empower victims and increase reporting and prosecutions, including the elimination of the “Good Soldier” defense. The Senate approved the legislation unanimously in March, and McCaskill successfully pushed for its inclusion in the annual defense bill. McCaskill also won inclusion of a measure that would require the Department of Defense to maintain a database that will capture the names of alleged sexual assault offenders who are named in a restricted report. This would enable criminal investigators to know if suspects under investigation for a sexual assault might have been named in earlier restricted reports, which could point to a repeat offender.

• Strengthening POW/MIA Recovery Efforts: This McCaskill amendment would create one Department of Defense agency responsible for POW/MIA matters, with one federal official in charge. This would be the first official step in restructuring POW/MIA accounting following McCaskill’s investigation last year into the troubled recovery efforts. The amendment addresses the key deficit identified by the Government Accountability Office and McCaskill, which is that there was no one agency or official in charge to coordinate and be held accountable for POW/MIA recovery.

• Limiting Afghanistan Reconstruction Funding: McCaskill included two amendments that will curb wasteful spending on infrastructure projects in Afghanistan. The first amendment prohibits funding for any infrastructure project in Afghanistan that government employees or members of the military cannot access for purposes of conducting oversight, while the second amendment ends funding for the Afghanistan Infrastructure Fund.

• Contractor Requirements and Whistleblower Protections: McCaskill included amendments that extend whistleblower protections to subgrantees, prohibit contractor reimbursement for time and materials spent responding to Congressional inquiries, and bolster the prohibition on reimbursement for fees accrued in defense against whistleblower retaliation claims.