KANSAS CITY (AP) – A Kansas City citizens advisory group has recommended replacing the existing three terminals at Kansas City International Airport with a new single terminal.

The Kansas City Star reports 19 of the KCI Terminal Advisory Group’s 24 members voted in favor of a single terminal, subject to more information on cost.

That decision mirrors a plan the city’s Aviation Department has recommended – but which many in the public have rejected because they prefer the current distances between parking and terminal gates.

The advisory group’s recommendation is intended to guide the city toward one of its most important civic building projects of the next decade.

The group concluded the airport has too much crumbling infrastructure, aging operating systems and insufficient gate and security space to simply do nothing.

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Missouri lawmakers have given final approval to a proposed amendment to the state Constitution intended to strengthen the right to bear arms.

The Republican-led Senate voted 23-8 on Wednesday to send the bill to the November ballot. The proposal passed the House a day earlier with a 122-31 vote.

The amendment would define the right to bear arms as “unalienable” and require the state to defend against any “infringement” of that right. It would also include defending one’s “family” with a firearm as a guaranteed constitutional right.

Supporters say the measure would force courts to use a higher standard of review when considering the constitutionality of gun controls.

It would also specify that the Legislature could still impose restrictions on gun ownership for convicted violent felons and the mentally ill.

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May 6, 2014–U.S. farm lenders should be able to handle a weakening farm economy and plateauing farmland values, according to Fitch Ratings. We believe that the prudent steps taken by the Farm Credit System (FCS) during the recent run-up in land values, as well as the structural traits inherent in the system, will be sufficient to stave off any meaningful correction in land values. Overall, we view risk management practices as key credit strengths, particularly relating to credit and liquidity risks.

Values of cropland, particularly in the Midwest region of the U.S., have sharply increased over the past few years due to low interest rates and volatile commodity prices. With commodity prices trending downward and long-term interest rates bottoming out in early 2013 and now appearing to rise, we expect increases in farmland values to slow and potentially even reverse, resulting in downward pressure on farmland prices over the long term.

There could be some adverse impact to credit quality should land values start correcting. However, we note that the System Banks (AgFirst, AgriBank, CoBank and Farm Credit Bank of Texas) and associations have taken reasonable steps to mitigate a correction, namely lower loan to value limits (65% versus regulatory limits of 85%) and debt caps per acre based on a sustainable price level for commodities.

Furthermore, we believe the second-loss position the System Banks take on loans to their respective associations is also a significant risk stabilizer for plateauing or correcting land values. With the exception of CoBank, the majority of the loan portfolios of each System Bank are in a second-loss position, with the underlying associations absorbing losses first. Each association has a different capital and earnings profile, but most are very strong, especially the larger ones.

We also observe the level of debt that has been taken on by farmers is relatively small compared with the recent run-up in land prices, strengthening farmers’ balance sheets. The value of total real estate owned by farmers grew 7.5% during 2013 compared to 4.2% in property-related debt, according to the USDA. This should allow farmers to maintain adequate financial flexibility in case their net worth is squeezed by falling land values.

The ability of the FCS to obtain liquidity at reasonable terms and its liquidity risk management processes are key credit strengths. During the financial crisis, liquid market functions seized up and investors flocked to investments such as U.S. Treasuries and cash equivalents. Through all of the market turmoil, the Federal Farm Credit Bank Funding Corporation never lost access to cost-effective funding and was able to issue discount notes daily with terms that would not have significantly or adversely impacted the financial performance of the FCS.

Cost-effective market access was likely maintained due to the FCS remaining intact given its limited exposure to the subprime mortgage market. We believe that such access could be hampered should the system be significantly and adversely impacted by a major disruption in the agricultural sector. However, strong liquidity risk management practices, such as the common minimum liquidity standard (which was codified to regulation by FCS regulators), would allow the system to withstand a market disruption with adequate funding for multiple months.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Senate has started debate on legislation that would curb the ability of public employee unions to collect and spend fees automatically deducted from workers’ paychecks.

The measure taken up Tuesday night would require some employees to give annual written authorization for fees to be deducted directly from their paychecks. Annual consent would also be required for a union to spend a worker’s fees on political activities.

Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed similar legislation last year. To bypass a likely veto, this year’s bill would head to the ballot for voter approval instead of the governor’s desk. Like last year, the legislation would not apply to unions representing first responders.

Senate Republican leaders have called the measure a top priority this year. The House passed a similar version earlier this year.

Jefferson City, MO–Gov. Jay Nixon said today that the agreement by legislators to back his plan to rebuild Missouri’s only maximum-security psychiatric facility in Fulton will strengthen public safety across the state. The House and Senate budget conference committee announced today that the Fiscal Year 2015 budget would follow the Governor’s recommendation for a strategic bond issuance to replace the crumbling and dangerous Fulton State Mental Hospital. The Governor urged the House and Senate to pass this vital portion of the budget and send it to his desk.

“Rebuilding Missouri’s only maximum-security psychiatric facility will improve treatment for patients, protect those who care for them, and strengthen public safety across the state,” Gov. Nixon said. “Since I first proposed a strategic bond issuance to address the needs in Fulton, bipartisan support for replacing this crumbling and dangerous facility has continued to grow. I want to thank the members of the conference committee for answering my call to move forward on this critical and long-overdue public safety priority in a fiscally responsible way that will benefit patients, caregivers and our communities. The next step is for the full House and Senate to pass this budget measure and send it for my signature.”

Gov. Nixon proposed a targeted bond issuance for the construction of a new Fulton State Mental Hospital in his 2013 State of the State Address. The Governor again called for the construction of a new Fulton State Mental Hospital in his 2014 State of the State Address.

Gov. Nixon’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget included the funds for a strategic bond issuance to support the construction of a new maximum and intermediate security psychiatric facility in Fulton that will be safer and more conducive to modern treatment. In Fiscal Year 2014, the legislature appropriated $13 million to begin the planning and design process.

Last month, the Governor announced the selection of the lead design firm for the project. The qualifications-based selection process conducted by the Office of Administration’s Facilities Management, Design and Construction Division resulted in the selection of Parsons Brinckerhoff, a global consulting firm with offices in St. Louis which assists public and private clients to plan, design, construct and maintain thousands of critical infrastructure projects around the world. Upon final completion of contract negotiations with Parsons Brinckerhoff, work will begin on the planning and design of the new hospital. Construction of the facility is expected to begin in the late spring/early summer of 2015 and be completed in 2016.

According to studies previously commissioned by the Legislature and other projections by the Office of Administration, the cost of this new facility will be $211 million. The Missouri Department of Economic Development estimates that a $211 million project could create more than 2,500 jobs during its construction.

Opened in 1851, Fulton State Hospital is the oldest state psychiatric hospital west of the Mississippi River and houses the state’s only maximum security psychiatric facility. The Biggs Forensic Center at Fulton treats patients with serious mental illness who are committed by Missouri courts for evaluation and treatment related to a crime, or who have seriously assaulted patients or staff in other state psychiatric hospitals. Since 2007, Fulton State Hospital has taken in more than 1,000 admissions from 99 Missouri counties and the City of St. Louis.

The final report of the Senate Interim Committee on Capital Improvement Assessment and Planning, issued on Dec. 1, recommended that the Legislature fund renovations and new construction needed for improvements at Fulton State Hospital and identified this issue as one of the state’s top priorities for capital improvement.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The University of Missouri has rented a former design showroom to house up to 600,000 moldy books as a cleanup effort begins.

The books were damaged by mold at an off-campus underground storage site.

Professor Dan Hooley says Belfor, a restoration company, is in the process of moving half the books to a Texas location to be cleaned.

The process is expected to last until at least June 2015, at a cost of $2 per book.

WASHINGTON– U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill spoke this week with Executive MBA students from the University of Missouri-Kansas City on a variety of issues as they spend their residency in Washington, D.C.

“A good education is a key to ensuring continued job growth in Missouri,” McCaskill said. “I congratulate this group of young leaders on their achievements, and on earning the tools to create jobs and enhance our business environment in Missouri.”

The UMKC Washington residency program seeks to educate business students and business leaders on the principles and realities of public policy. With more than 20,000 alumni worldwide and more than 30 years of experience, the campus has had the privilege of educating some of the brightest minds in business.

HENRIETTA (AP) – A man who escaped from the Ray County jail has been recaptured.

The county sheriff’s department says Jeremy Glenn Miller was captured Tuesday night. Details about where and how Miller was captured were not immediately released.

Miller escaped on Saturday after forcing his way through a ceiling into an attic and got into the jail garage area before fleeing.

Miller was being held on a probation violation. His original charge was felony property damage.

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Missouri’s House has endorsed a proposed amendment to the state Constitution intended to strengthen the right to bear arms.

The Republican-led chamber voted 122-31 on Tuesday to send the bill back to the Senate where a similar version passed previously. Lawmakers must agree on an identical bill before the session ends May 16.

Legislative approval would put the measure on the November statewide ballot.

The amendment would define the right to bear arms as “unalienable” and require the state to defend against any “infringement” of that right. It would also include defending one’s “family” with a firearm as a guaranteed constitutional right.

It would also specify that the Legislature could still impose restrictions on gun ownership for convicted violent felons and the mentally ill.