(AP) A Missouri judge has struck down the cost estimate but upheld the language voters would see on a proposed ballot measure limiting some campaign contributions.

The initiative would cap donations to candidates for statewide office and the Legislature at $2,600. Missouri repealed limits on campaign contributions in 2008.

Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem on Tuesday ruled the ballot summary satisfactory but found the cost estimate to be insufficient and unfair. He returned it to the auditor’s office, which was reviewing the decision Wednesday.

Proponents hope to get the question on the 2014 ballot.

(AP) – Officials with Kansas City’s Union Station have endorsed a plan that would shift management of the Kansas City Museum at Corinthian Hall to the city’s parks department.

The agreement calls for the city to take over managing the museum’s collection, most of which belongs to Union Station. The city would also manage the museum’s longtime home located in northeast Kansas City.

The approximately $1.4 million in annual tax revenue for the museum would be retained by the city, which would lease space at Union Station for $131,000 a year. The executive committee of Union Station’s board voted unanimously in favor of the plan Tuesday.

The City Council is expected to vote on the plan next week.

(AP) – A January preliminary hearing has been scheduled for a southwest Missouri man accused of killing a football coach at Missouri Southern State University.

Jeffrey Bruner is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the Nov. 1 death of 37-year-old Derek Moore outside a Joplin movie theater. Moore was shot several times in the parking lot of the theater where he had gone with Bruner’s estranged wife. Bruner has pleaded not guilty.

Online court records show that on Wednesday, Jasper County court scheduled a preliminary hearing for Bruner for Jan. 9.

Bruner, who is 39 and from Joplin, is being held without bond in the county jail.

Moore was in his first year at Missouri Southern as an offensive line coach.

Rep. Sam Graves spoke in KC on Tuesday and shared his thoughts about it on his Facebook page.

“I appreciated the opportunity to speak to the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce  and provide an update as to what’s happening in Washington DC. I enjoyed hearing from local business leaders about their thoughts on the issues facing our state and nation – including concerns about how regulations impact small businesses – and how we can work together to solve the challenges in front of us.”

(AP) — Former legislator and long-time business owner Terry Presta has been named the new executive director of the Kansas Lottery.

Gov. Sam Brownback announced Presta’s appointment Wednesday. He replaces interim director Sherriene Jones-Sontag, who filled the post after the announcement that executive director Dennis Taylor was retiring.

Presta served in the Kansas House from 1995 to 1999. He was the president and CEO of Overland Park-based Presto Convenience Stores until January 2013. Brownback cited Presta’s business experience in making his selection for the position.

Jones-Sontag will stay with the lottery as deputy director. Taylor had been handling special projects for the lottery in addition to serving as an interim director. He previously was secretary of the Department of Administration for Brownback.

(AP) – Kansas City health officials say at least two area children have lead poisoning from a contaminated cosmetic product commonly used in Myanmar.

The product, which is called Thanakha, and is also spelled “thanaka” or “tanaka,” is a yellowish paste made from tree bark that is worn on the face and arms to treat acne or as a sunscreen.

The health department says the contaminated product found in Kansas City was in a silver-colored metal container with a cardboard cover featuring a woman wearing a pink dress. The label is printed in Burmese.

The health department is urging anyone who’s used the product to get their blood tested for lead.

(AP) — Wyandotte County authorities are investigating after a man’s body man was recovered from Wyandotte County Lake.

Officials said police received a call late Tuesday to report the body on the east edge of the 400-acre lake, about two miles from the park entrance. The victim was a white male about 58 years old.

Officials were treating it as a crime scene.

 (AP) — Sporting Kansas City’s MLS Cup presale for season-ticket members was apparently compromised.

Real Salt Lake fans acquired the online code and bought up tickets during the Tuesday presale for the Dec. 7 game, which will decide the MLS champion at Sporting Park.

Real Salt Lake says the tickets bought by the leaked code will be cancelled. The visiting team is allotted 1,000 tickets, which will be distributed by Real Salt Lake.

Tickets bought by Sporting KC season-ticket members using the compromised code also will be invalidated.

Sporting KC officials confirm the presale went awry, but says the team will work with season-ticket holders who made legal pre-sale purchases to ensure they have game tickets. Tickets go on sale to the general public Monday.

(AP) – A new federal task force wants to reduce hate crimes in the Kansas City area by promoting awareness of the problem and fostering open discussion of solutions.

The Department of Justice Community Task Force on Hate Crimes was announced at a news conference Tuesday. It’s a joint effort of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Kansas City, the DOJ Community Relations Service and the FBI’s Kansas City office.

The Kansas City Police Department and several local organizations also are members of the task force.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Kaste says the number of hate crimes in the region has remained constant over the past few years. But Kaste adds that any number of such offenses is too many.

(AP) – Actor and comedian Rob Riggle will flip the switch that lights up Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza on Thanksgiving night.
The annual event attracts tens of thousands of people to the upscale shopping and dining district, where several blocks of buildings will be outlined in holiday lights through Jan. 12.
A local celebrity gets the honor each year of flipping the switch with help from a child chosen at random from the crowd.
Riggle grew up in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kan., and graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School and the University of Kansas.
Musical performances and fireworks will also be part of Thursday night’s festivities.