(AP) – State emergency officials say Missourians need to prepare for a potential earthquake.

February is Earthquake Awareness Month and the 202nd anniversary of the 1812 New Madrid earthquake. State Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Barrett says an earthquake offers no advanced warning – unlike other natural disasters – and would have a significant and long-term effect on Missouri.

Several events are planned in conjunction with the earthquake designation. The Missouri Seismic Safety Commission meets Tuesday and the St. Louis Science Center is conducting an awareness day Saturday. A program also is scheduled Feb. 22 at Onondaga Cave State Park.

The New Madrid seismic zone is centered in southeastern Missouri and is the most active fault east of the Rocky Mountains.

(AP) – A Missouri House committee is scheduled to consider legislation that would change the ability of certain public employee labor unions to collect fees.

The Workforce Development and Workforce Safety Committee is planning to hear public testimony Monday on the measure its supporters call “paycheck protection.”

The bill would prohibit a union from receiving fees that are deducted automatically from a public employee’s paycheck. It would also require unions to get written authorization to spend a person’s fees on political activities.

Unions representing “first responders,” such as police and firefighters, would not be affected by the bill.

The Republican-controlled Legislature passed a similar bill last year, but it was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.

(AP) – A small group of Kansas City community leaders has met to talk about what to do with the unaccredited Kansas City school district.

Mayor Sly James convened the daylong summit Saturday at Bartle Hall. Although he offered no specifics, he described the meeting as “productive” and said it include a “lot of divergent views” and a “very diverse group of people.”

James says that over the next few days, the comments will be sorted through and sent onto the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro is collecting public comments on several proposals for how the state should intervene in poor-performing districts in Kansas City and elsewhere

(AP) – A power company would be blocked from building a 340,000-volt transmission line through two Missouri counties under a newly introduced bill.

The Joplin Globe reported that southwest Missouri lawmakers introduced the bill in the House this past week. Twelve days earlier, an Arkansas judge gave the green light to Southwestern Electric Power Co., a subsidiary of American Electric Power, to build the line along Route 109.

Spanning 25 miles in southwestern Missouri and 31 in northwestern Arkansas, Route 109 begins in Benton County, Ark., goes north to cross the southern reaches of McDonald and Barry counties in Missouri. It then turns south to reach its endpoint near Berryville in Carroll County, Ark.

(AP) – A woman’s body has been found inside a burned Kansas City home.

The home engulfed in flames when firefighters responded early Sunday. After extinguishing the flames, firefighters found the victim near the front of the home.

The home has been declared a total loss. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

 (AP) – An ethics and complaints hotline for the University of Missouri system has received nearly twice as many reports as it did in 2012.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports the hotline received 74 calls in 2013 compared to 39 in 2012. Most of the calls came from MU Health employees.

Problems raised in complaints have varied. Four under investigation by administrators deal with unfair treatment or inappropriate behavior toward employees. Others relate to billing issues.

MU Health public relations manager Mary Jenkins says the increase is not surprising and corresponds with efforts to publicize it. Jenkins says employees are told they can and should call if there is a problem.

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill met with Philomena Lee to discuss Irish adoption laws and Philomena’s work to reunite American children separated from their Irish families through forced adoption. The story of Philomena’s decades-long search for the son who was forcibly adopted and raised by a family in St. Louis, Mo., is the subject of a recent book and Oscar-nominated film.

“Philomena’s story is heart-wrenching, and she has one of the most just causes you could possibly have-the simple premise that if a child is taken from a mother against her will, there should be an easy way to reconnect with that child,” McCaskill said. “Unfortunately in Ireland, for many years there was a repugnant practice of children taken from their young mothers, put in a home, and when the child got a certain age, shipped off to America to new parents. I have a blended family of seven children. All of my husband’s children from his first marriage are adopted, and we are fortunate in that his oldest son has reconnected with his birthmother-we know and socialize with her, and they have a wonderful relationship. So I know firsthand how important it is to keep those doors open and to allow the transparency and availability of adoption records so that children and parents can have the opportunity to reunite when it is their life’s wish.”

Philomena and her daughter Jane Libberton were inspired to take action on the issue of forced adoption by the recent outpouring of support surrounding the true story of Philomena’s decades-long search her son, who was taken from her while living at the Sean Ross Abbey in Rosecrea, Ireland. Philomena and her son Anthony were deliberately kept apart and never reunited, despite the fact each was actively looking for the other.

Sitting alongside McCaskill today, Philomena and her daughter talked about her family’s story.

“He died thinking I abandoned him,” Philomena said of her son. “But I know he’s now at peace.”

Philomena and her daughter created the Philomena Project in association with the Adoption Rights Alliance. The Philomena Project aims to prevent similar tragedies and reconcile families that were separated under similar circumstances in honor of Anthony’s memory. It is calling on the Irish government to make adoption records public and transparent as swiftly as possible.