GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. (AP) — Police in a Kansas City suburb say a body found by a man walking his dog may be that of a woman reported missing last month.
Grain Valley police said in a release Sunday that the body was discovered Saturday. Police tentatively identified the deceased as 28-year-old Amber Jo Bradley-Couch, of Oak Grove. She was reported missing in early February.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City’s Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art has begun installing a massive triangular walk-in glass labyrinth that’s scheduled to open to the public in May.
The work, called Glass Labyrinth is by Kansas City native Robert Morris. The piece is made up of dozens of 7-foot-high, 1-inch-thick glass panels that will form a large triangle with a maze of interior glass walls.
The work is scheduled to be open to the public May 22 during a celebration inaugurating a yearlong series of activities marking the Sculpture Park’s 25th anniversary.
Unlike a temporary Morris labyrinth in Brazil, the Nelson version will be permanent.
JEFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri had expected to receive about $130 million this April under an annual settlement payment from tobacco companies.
But it looks like Missouri will get less than half that amount because of an arbitrator’s ruling that state officials failed to diligently enforce the settlement a decade ago.
House Budget Committee Chairman Rick Stream says the bill faces opposition and definitely won’t pass in time to reverse this year’s reduced tobacco payment.
JEFFERSON CITY, MO -If you choose to drive impaired this St. Patrick’s Day weekend, your luck will run out. More than 200 Missouri law enforcement agencies will take part in a special impaired driving crackdown that puts additional officers on the road March 14-17.
The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety reminds motorists to “Choose Your Ride.” with special campaign messaging to designate a driver, call a cab, or the options can include a ride in a patrol car, or even worse – a hearse.
“Statewide, law enforcement made 412 DWI arrests during a similar campaign in March of 2013,” says Colonel Ron Replogle, Superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. “Officers are committed to removing impaired drivers from our roads.”
Throughout March, safety advertising in restaurants and bars across Missouri serve as reminders of the importance of choosing a completely sober ride, such as a taxi. However, the alternative options of a patrol car or a hearse are sobering reminders of the consequences of choosing the wrong ride.
Drinking and driving is a lethal combination. A person who causes a fatal crash while intoxicated, can be charged with involuntary manslaughter, a felony resulting in up to seven years of prison time, a $5000 fine, or both.
One person was injured in a Saturday crash on US 36 in Dekalb County.
A 2000 Dodge Van driven by Adam M. Rauber, 28, Jameson was traveling west on US 36 six miles west of Cameron.
The vehicle slid off the north side of the highway and came to rest on an embankment. A passenger in the van Heidi N. Hunsaker, 29, Milan, Mo was transported to Heartland Regional Medical Center.
The MSHP reports both were wearing seat belts.
The Health Informatics and Information Management program in the Department of Nursing and Allied Health at Missouri Western State University is joining the American Health Information Management Association in celebrating the 25th annual Health Information Professionals Week March 16-22. This year’s theme is “Transforming Healthcare with Information.” As part of the week, HIIM is hosting a free conference for health information professionals on Thursday, March 20.
“We want to use this week to showcase the various aspects of the profession ranging from expertise in health information management, data integrity and analytics, privacy and security, to the very important part we can play in consumer advocacy and engagement and the promotion of personal health records,” said Marsha Dolan, professor and coordinator of the HIIM program. “We also want to highlight the many opportunities for graduates of our program. HIIM is one of the fastest growing fields in healthcare, and our efforts in ensuring the integrity of health information is vital to providing quality patient care.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, HIIM is one of the 20 fastest-growing occupations in the United States, with a projected growth rate of 22 percent over the course of the next decade. As many as 50,000 new jobs are anticipated by 2017.
Missouri Western offers a Bachelor of Science in Health Informatics and Information Management, transitioning in the past three years from a long-standing associate degree program to a bachelor’s degree. For more information, visit www.missouriwestern.edu/hiim.
The MWSU HIIM Class of 2014 is cohosting the March 20 spring conference with the Pony Express Health Information Management Association. Health information professionals from throughout the region will spend the day learning about the latest and best practices and regulatory information.
AKRON, Ohio (AP) — The next generation of the Goodyear blimp is getting ready to take flight as the company retires its current fleet of airships.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. says the helium-filled airship unveiled Friday at a hangar in the Akron, Ohio, area is bigger, quicker and more maneuverable than earlier blimps. The company says it will provide a longer flight range and better aerial broadcast capabilities for event coverage.
Before then, it needs one more component: a name. Goodyear is collecting suggestions through a contest on its website until April 4.
A St. Joseph woman died in a Saturday evening crash
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports Audrey E. Mitchell, 43; St. Joseph was driving a 2005 Pontiac Grand Am north on Loop 29, .5 mile north of Country Club Village at 7:30 p.m.
The vehicle traveled off the east side of the road into the median and struck an embankment. The vehicle continued into the northbound lanes of loop 29 and struck the front of a 2014 GMC Acadia driven by Susan K. Rost, 63, Savannah.
Mitchell was ejected and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Rost was transported to Heartland Regional Medical Center. The MSHP reports both drivers were wearing seat belts.
SPRINGFIELD (AP) – A southwest Missouri man has been sentenced to life in prison for sexually abusing two female family members under the age of 12 between 2008 and 2011.
The Springfield News-Leader reports 54-year-old Brett Sanders won’t be eligible for parole for at least 25 years.
He was convicted in January on three felony counts of first-degree statutory sodomy, one felony count of sexual misconduct involving a child and two felony counts of first-degree child molestation.
His victims, now 12 and 14, testified at his trial about their abuse while living in his home. They only disclosed the abuse after moving away from Sanders to another state.
The older victim testified Sanders threatened her with a gun if she disclosed the abuse, while the younger victim testified that she was scared.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Senate began work this week on an overhaul of the state’s criminal code, but obstacles still remain to get the bill across the finish line.
The bill’s backers are confident a measure can pass this year, but acknowledge the legislation’s 1,100-page size has made it difficult for lawmakers to support.
Senators also expressed frustration that Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon has not weighed in on the bill and are worried he would veto the legislation.
