(AP) — Missouri expects to save $4.8 million by refinancing some of its debt.

The State Board of Public Buildings approved the refinancing of special obligation refunding bonds on Wednesday.

Gov. Jay Nixon says the refinancing will save $900,000 during the current budget year and $4.8 million over the life of the bonds.

Nixon says the state’s credit rating has allowed for lower interest rates, which translates into millions of dollars of savings for taxpayers. The governor said the nation’s three major credit rating agencies last week confirmed Missouri’s AAA rating.

(AP)  A Liberty man has been charged in his wife’s shooting death.

Clay County prosecutors filed the second-degree murder charge Wednesday against 45-year-old Ervin Carroll. His wife, Linda Carroll, was killed Tuesday night in an apartment, and her female friend was shot in the foot.

Court documents say the friend told police that Ervin Carroll piled his wife’s belongings on the floor and told her to leave. He later approached with a shotgun, and it went off as Linda Carroll tried to push it away.

The Carrolls had been married for 23 years.

(AP) — An escaped emu has been captured after causing a flap at a Johnson County park.

The flightless bird was found running loose Wednesday morning at Kill Creek Park in the western part of the county.

Johnson County Park & Recreation District field biologist Matt Garrett says park staff managed to herd the creature into a building. By later in the day, officials believed they had located the emu’s owner, a nearby landowner.

Garrett says the emu wasn’t mature.

Emu Association secretary Mike Martin says emus are native to Australia and can grow to be 6 feet tall and weigh 100 to 120 pounds. They are raised for meat, leather, eggs and oil.

A 53-year-old man has died after the farm equipment he was driving overturned and rolled onto him in western Missouri.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol identified the victim as Michael D. Ray of Odessa. The deputy coroner went to the scene Wednesday night and estimated that Ray died Tuesday.

Students in Kansas City School District are on alert today.

They are asked to be aware of suspicious vehicles in neighborhoods near Northeast High School.

This information was released by the school district.

STRANGER DANGER ALERT: Be aware of suspicious vehicles in neighborhoods near Northeast High School.

We urge the community and students to be aware of suspicious persons in white/gray passenger vans near Northeast High School. People in those types of vans have attempted to abduct students as they are walking in the neighborhoods around the school.

If you note suspicious activity or are threatened by a potential abductor, immediately call 911 or KCPS Security at 418-8813.

Students should also follow these safety tips:
-Walk in groups when traveling to and from school.
-Be aware of your surroundings. If something looks or feels suspicious, call 911 or tell an adult at the school.
-Do not talk to strangers.
-Ask neighbors you trust to keep an eye out for suspicious activity before and after school.
-If someone attempts to touch or grab you, move away quickly and find an adult you trust.

AP) — A burn center at the University of Kansas Hospital is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

The hospital says in a news release that the Burnett Burn Center is accredited for adult and pediatric burn patients. That makes it the only burn center in the region to have either accreditation.

The center’s staff cares for about 350 patients each year. They treat traditional burns, as well as electrical, chemical and frostbite-related burns. The program also takes care of patients with soft tissue infections and adverse drug reactions that cause skin to fall away.

Caregivers, donors and patients are meeting Thursday night at the Annette Bloch Cancer Care Pavilion in Westwood to mark the anniversary.

(AP) — A new report says Missouri revenues are up 2.7 percent through the first three months of the fiscal year from the same period last year.

The state Office of Administration said Wednesday that net general revenues totaled $1.95 billion from July through September. Net general revenues were about $804 million in September alone, an increase of 8.3 percent from September 2012.

For the fiscal year so far, individual income taxes are up 3.8 percent and corporate income taxes are up 28.4 percent from the previous fiscal year.

AP) — An attorney for a girl and her parents says a lawsuit involving a western Missouri priest convicted of producing child pornography has reached a tentative

settlement.

Rebecca Randles, who has represented dozens of clients who claim to have been abused by Roman Catholic priests, declined Wednesday to discuss terms of the agreement.

A spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph also declined to comment before a judge approves the deal.

The lawsuit against the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, Bishop Robert Finn and the diocese was scheduled for trial Monday. A hearing on the settlement agreement is set for Oct. 25.

Ratigan pleaded guilty to five federal child pornography charges and was sentenced last month to 50 years in prison.