(AP) Missouri congresswoman Vicky Hartzler is a frequent critic of President Barack Obama. Her concern apparently also extends to his image.
After a visit Tuesday to the Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital in Columbia, Hartzler was looking for a place to do interviews with reporters.

Hartzler asked an aide to move a U.S. flag away from a portrait of Obama,  apparently so that the president’s picture wouldn’t be in the background of television camera shots.
Hartzler is a Republican who represents the 4th Congressional District in west-central Missouri. She has frequently criticized the Democratic president for his policies on health care, taxes and spending and the federal deficit.

(AP) — A Springfield man has pleaded guilty to killing a southwest Missouri couple in 2011, and authorities have said for the first time they believe the case was a murder for hire.

Tony Friend pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Rebecca and Russell Porter. Taney County prosecutors agreed to drop plans to seek the death penalty, meaning Friend will be sentenced to life without parole.

Five people were charged in the deaths of the Porters, who were abducted from their home in the Greene County town of Willard. They were shot and buried in rural Taney County.

Prosecutor Jeff Merrell said Tuesday he believes another defendant hired Tony Friend to kill the Porters, but he declined to discuss a possible motive.

(AP) A helicopter ambulance company that operates in 15 states has chosen the northeastern Missouri city of Moberly for a new base.

Air Evac Lifeteam announced Monday it’s preparing to start construction of a heliport and facility on two acres at the Randolph County Ambulance District. The base is expected to begin operating next year.

The company moved its headquarters last year to the St. Louis suburb of O’Fallon. It now operates 115 bases, with on-call crews consisting of a registered nurse, a pilot and a paramedic.

Randolph County officials say the Moberly base will serve all of northeast and north-central Missouri.

(AP) – For the third time in a little over a month, a Missouri appeals court ruling raises concerns about red-light cameras.

The Eastern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals on Tuesday reversed a lower court ruling that favored the red-light camera law in Arnold, Mo.

Several Missouri communities have hired companies to operate cameras to catch red-light violators. The vehicle owner is typically notified by mail and ordered to pay fines.

Plaintiffs’ attorney Ryan Keane says the latest ruling requires prosecutors to prove that the person being cited is the actual driver, not just the owner.

Messages seeking comment from Arnold officials and an attorney for American Traffic Solutions Inc., which operates Arnold’s cameras, were not returned.

Two other state appeals court rulings in November sided with red-light camera opponents.

(AP) – A new audit questions whether hundreds of Missouri welfare recipients are living out of state or using benefits for alcohol, tobacco and gambling.

The report released Tuesday by State Auditor Tom Schweich looks at about $96 million of benefits paid through electronic cards in 2012 for a program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

The audit found 366 cases in which recipients used a total of $461,000 of benefits exclusively out of state for at least three months. Although nothing prohibits out of state use, the report says that may indicate the welfare recipients no longer live in Missouri.

The audit also found about 1,600 cases in which $261,000 of benefits were used at locations appearing to be associated with alcohol, tobacco, gambling or adult entertainment.

(AP) – A former Joplin middle school science teacher will spend 28 years in federal prison for sexually assaulting a girl over nine years and recording some of the assaults.

Forty-year-old Charles Dominic Gastel of Carterville also will spend the rest of his life under supervised release when he leaves prison.

As part of a plea agreement reached Friday, Gastel admitted that he sexually assaulted the victim for about nine years and videotaped some of the assaults. The victim, who is now 19, said the sexual acts began when she was 10.

The Joplin Globe reports an affidavit says Gastel’s son saw a video on his father’s laptop computer that depicted a sexual assault.

Gastel, who taught at South Middle School, has been in federal custody since his arrest in July.

Dan Loy, Iowa Beef Center director

With an expected record corn crop in the bins, the drought of 2012 can finally be declared “over” by livestock producers.
Cattle producers have been very resourceful in stretching the corn supply, looking under every rock for alternatives and being as efficient as possible.

During the transition period some of the realities that feeders had become accustomed to were changed. Distillers grains were no longer cheaper than corn for example. Some of this was due to export demand and seasonal shutdowns of ethanol plants, and will likely change.

In any event this return to normal may require as much adjustment as the drought induced feed shortage. Along with these adjustments come opportunities. Here are three examples:

Retained ownership may once again become a more profitable alternative to marketing the calves at weaning. Improved margins for cattle feeding and custom feeders with plenty of bunk space make this an option for cow calf producers to seriously consider.

Corn farmers may once again find cattle to be a more attractive market for their corn. Marketing the corn crop through cattle is the historical basis for the development of cattle feeding in Iowa. Now the manure nutrients give this concept an even greater incentive, whether feeding corn or corn co-products.

Record values for calves and yearlings should allow cattle to compete with row crops for marginal land. This represents an opportunity to economically expand the resource base for cow calf production, allowing herd rebuilding to begin in earnest.

However, one thing that the drought of 2012 reminded us of is that there is risk in agriculture and that risk is unpredictable. Those necessary adjustments in efficiency and cost management that were required last year will continue to be important for success. Now is the time to prepare for the unexpected, position for the future, and if it is part of your business plan—to grow.

Look for more programming from the Iowa Beef Center this winter in cooperation with the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association on successful heifer development. For those of you who are rebuilding your herds, it is important to have the tools and technologies do this successfully. A series of 12 workshops across the state entitled “Heifer Development 2- Maintaining Your Investment” will be held between January 16 and Feb 19, 2014. This is a follow-up series to our 2011 series, “Heifer Development- Rebuilding our Future.”

The goal of the upcoming series is to improve retention in the herd by focusing on nutrition, calving, and reproductive management of late gestation yearlings and first-calf females. For more information on locations, dates, and curriculum, please see Patrick Gunn’s article on this series in this month’s

Growing Beef newsletter. Also, you will be hearing more about a major study and statewide survey focusing on opportunities to successfully grow Iowa’s cattle industry.

Speaking of the future I would like to assure you that it is in good hands. Last spring, Dr. Patrick Gunn and I began teaching the 400 level Beef Systems Management course at ISU that consists primarily of last semester seniors. Several of them plan to work in the beef industry, return to family beef operations or begin new beef businesses after graduation. These students will bring the human capital to revitalize the Iowa beef industry. To those of you who supported this or other classes at ISU through guest lectures or hosting tours and field trips, thank you.

As 2013 comes to an end we can reflect on what turned out to be another challenging year for cattle feeders. Cow-calf producers, with more abundant forage and higher prices are already experiencing prospects for improving economics. We hope that 2014 bring new opportunities for the Iowa cattle businesses and the farm families that run them.

(AP) — Two Kansas City grocery store owners are sentenced in a food stamp fraud scheme that netted $151,000.

Prosecutors say Ibrahim Alanabuki was sentenced Monday to 15 months in federal prison without parole. His wife, Mona Jwad, was sentenced to five years’ probation.

The couple owned the Al-Forat Bakery and Store in Kansas City.

Prosecutors say a third defendant, Hani Al-Zaidi, persuaded homeless people to give him their food stamps in exchange for cash. Alanbuki would make it appear he had sold food to the recipients, then distribute the money.

Alanabuki also accepted benefits to pay the beneficiary’s utility bills, or sell ineligible items. Alanabuki and Jwad also used other people’s food stamps to buy their own food.

Al-Zaidi was sentenced in October to time already served, about 15 months.

(AP) – Missouri’s unemployment rate declined in November while payrolls expanded by 15,000 jobs.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development reported Tuesday the jobless rate fell to 6.1 percent in November from 6.5 percent in October.

The leading gainer was educational and health services, which added 5,200 jobs last month. The construction sector grew by 2,300 and professional and business services increased by 2,000 jobs. The information, leisure and hospitality sectors each declined by 200 jobs.

Missouri’s civilian labor force was about 3 million, which is down 244 from October. The labor force includes people with jobs and those who are on unemployment but looking for work.

 (AP) – Springfield police say they have arrested a suspect in the stabbing death of another man.

Police say 30-year-old Christopher E. Williams was found unresponsive of apparent stab wounds Monday evening at a home in north Springfield. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Witnesses told police a suspect ran from the scene.

Early Tuesday, police arrested a 28-year-old Springfield man, who was later booked into the Greene County Jail on probable cause for second-degree murder.