(AP) A northwest Missouri man who left his 8-month-old son alone in the bathtub was sentenced to three years in prison for the boy’s drowning death.
Shawn Winkfield-Maynard of St. Joseph was sentenced Monday for involuntary manslaughter in the August death of Kion Raheemadien Winkfield-Maynard.
Prosecutors say Winkfield-Maynard was playing video games while the boy was in the tub.
Winkfield-Maynard at first said the child was left alone for 10 minutes but later said it might have been about an hour because it took his video game character that long to die.
Winkfield-Maynard he was arrested in Carthage two weeks later after the boy’s death.

(AP) Menards is recalling 1,800 pre-lit artificial Christmas trees because the lights may overheat, start a fire or cause an electric shock.

The artificial trees were sold for about $300 exclusively at Menards stores between September and November, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said. The recall is for the Twinkling Pine artificial tree sold under the Enchanted Forest brand. They were made in China and imported by Seasonal Specialties LLC.

The recalled trees are 7 1/2 feet tall and have 400 champagne-colored light-emitting diode lights. The model number for the recalled tree is 287-1261 and its UPC code is 741895425478. Both numbers are printed on the box and on a red tag attached to a tree branch.

Menards, which is based in Eau Claire, Wis and includes a location in St. Joseph, said it received two reports of the tree’s light strings overheating, melting or smoking. No injuries have been reported.

The CPSC said customers should unplug the tree immediately and return it to Menards for a refund.

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The Northwest Missouri State University Board of Regents approved the naming of the University’s next dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the renaming of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) in honor of its ninth president during its regular meeting Friday, Dec. 13, as well as a series of curriculum proposals and partnerships.

Dr. Michael Steiner, who has served Northwest as the chair of its Department of Humanities and Social Sciences since 2008 and as a faculty member in the department since 1997, will serve as dean of the University’s College of Arts and Sciences, effective Jan. 1.
With the Board’s approval, the CIE will be renamed the Dean L. Hubbard Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in recognition of the distinction with which he served as president of Northwest from 1984 until his retirement in 2009.
The CIE, which the University dedicated in September 2009, was Hubbard’s vision to provide unparalleled learning and research opportunities for Northwest students and faculty in a wide range of disciplines. The 46,679 square-foot combination research center and high-tech business incubator combines academic and entrepreneurial resources while providing assistance and encouraging development of new small businesses.

Additionally under Hubbard’s leadership, Northwest gained national recognition for its “Culture of Quality,” an initiative designed to foster continuous improvement in all aspects of University operations. Among many other distinctions in this area, Northwest became the first education institution in the state to win the award four consecutive times in 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2008.
During the 1980s, Hubbard was instrumental in making Northwest the first comprehensive electronic campus in the United States. That effort continues today as the University provides all students with a fully loaded notebook computer.
“He elevated the quality of this institution, not only locally and in the state, but nationally and internationally, and it’s time that we honor him,” Jasinski told the Board.

The approved curriculum changes include the creation of a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in graphic design, major and minor programs in liberal arts and sciences, and a multitude of updates to science majors as the result of a multiyear review of Northwest’s biology curriculum. Within the biology curriculum, the Board approved the creation of a comprehensive major in biology with three tracks – cellular and molecular biology, biomedical sciences and general biology. Northwest also will revise current programs in biology and psychology, marine biology, wildlife ecology and conservation, pre-professional zoology, clinical laboratory science, biology education and unified science.
“This is by far the single most robust curriculum package we have seen, and the work by our faculty, departments and Faculty Senate has been outstanding in moving these proposals through our system,” Jasinski told the Board, noting several of the proposals are a direct result of Northwest’s strategic enrollment initiative.

The Board approved the addition of a teaching position at Northwest’s Phyllis and Richard Leet Center for Children and Families, which serves children 3 years old through sixth grade through its various programs. Northwest Provost Dr. Doug Dunham said the new teaching position is the result of a successful grant application by Leet Center Director Cindy Scarborough that will fund an additional classroom of 20 students.
The Board also approved agreements with Tamwood International to assist Tamwood students with obtaining conditional acceptance to Northwest and with BIZ English, a cooperative initiative to offer a business English certificate program in Korea, as well as an amended agreement with Barrons-Auxier, which provides business services training at Northwest’s St. Joseph Center.
In other business, the Board heard the results of the University’s annual financial audit, conducted by accounting firm BKD, LLP. The audit provided Northwest with an unqualified opinion and identified no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in the University’s financial reporting.
The Board of Regents is responsible for sound resource management of the University and determining general, educational and financial policies.