A Kansas City man has been sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for robbing a bank dressed as a woman.

Joshua J. Parker, 20, Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery.

In his plea, he admitted that on Oct. 21, 2011, he entered the U.S. Bank at 6940 Mission Road in Roeland Park, Kansas.

He pushed aside a customer at the counter, jumped on the counter and said, “I’m back.”

The teller recognized him as the person who robbed the bank two months earlier.

 

There were at least two other robberies by cross-dressing bandits in the Kansas City area in 2011, including a third robbery at the same Roeland Park location in July.

In the October robbery, Parker fled the bank in a Chrysler Sebring. When officers forced the car to stop near West 65th Street and Overbrook, Parker ran from the vehicle, wearing only black shorts and socks. He ran north through backyards and a low-lying creek bed, where he was arrested.

MoDOT officials say they’ve completed work on two bridges south of St Joseph on US-59 highway ahead of schedule.

The Cloverdale Bridge and the Gay Branch Bridge located between St. Joseph and Rushville have been closed since March 19 for repairs under MoDOT’s “Safe & Sound” bridge improvement program.

Motorists have been forced to detour around the two bridge projects.

On Thursday they were expected to reopen after just 45 days. The original work estimate was six to eight weeks.

A ribbon-cutting was planned Thursday morning after which the highway was expected to reopen.

A local theater company has decided to opt out of the Allied Arts Council and its annual Arts Fund Drive, saying the council’s new budget and audit requirements are too expensive.

In a news release, the Robidoux Resident Theatre (RRT) announced it will not accept funds from the drive.

“As of February, 2011 the board of directors of the Allied Arts Council mandated a full-audit from all agencies with an annual budget of $100,000,” RRT said in the news release.

RRT officials say the new policy has caused an undue financial burden. The company will continue completing a yearly outside review of its financial records.

RRT says it would have to spend $30,000 in audit and bookkeeping fees under the new policy, which officials say far outweighs their allocation of $25,487.00.

An audit at the state and federal level is required of groups with an annual budget of $500,000 or more, but RRT says the Allied Arts Council chose to set their audit policy at $100,000. RRT did request that the council revisit the policy: the council has chosen not to take action at this time.

In the news release, RRT acknowledged receiving allocations for years, and said the donations were a big part of the success the organization has enjoyed over the past 32 years.

According to the news release: “RRT is also very thankful to the work of the Allied Arts Council over the past 32 years, but due to the financial strain the new policy purts on the organization, RRT is forced to decline any participation in the drive and will work to make up the funds through special performances, development drives and donations.”

Central High School’s David Jordan has earned “Missouri Teacher of the Year” honors from a national organization.

Mr. Jordan, who is the coordinator of marketing and business at CHS, received the recognition from the Association of Career and Technical Educators.

“This honor is well deserved,” said Dr. Melody Smith, Superintendent of Schools.  “David Jordan is respected by his peers and exemplifies excellence.  He is truly a dedicated teacher.”

The award will be presented at the association’s annual conference in Springfield, MO this summer.  As the state winner, Mr. Jordan will be eligible for consideration for the regional teacher of the year, which encompasses several states.

(Newser.com) 
 
Facials, mani-pedis, and massages are so passé for the insanely rich—or the insane and rich, Cracked reports. Here’s the new normal among bizarre spa treatments: 

A wine spa in Japan allows you to swim in hot booze, tea, or coffee. The spa’s website notes that green tea is an effective antioxidant, and Cleopatra bathed in wine. As for the coffee spa, it will “perk up your senses.”

Chinese “fire cupping” is said to alleviate many physical problems, including congestion, bad circulation, and menstrual pains. Only problem: It involves lighting fires inside glass bulbs and sticking them to your back. The result resembles a minefield of red bruises.

A plant farm in northern Israel offers the full-body snake massage for $70. Bigger snakes will knead the belly or back while smaller ones wiggle around your face.

PLATTSBURG, Mo. (AP) – Charges against a northwest Missouri man have been upgraded to involuntary manslaughter after a passenger in his car died from injuries he suffered in an accident last October.

Fifty-eight-year-old Donald L. Mick Jr. of Plattsburg also was charged Tuesday with driving while intoxicated in the death of 48-year-old Jeremy Cheesman.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says Cheesman was injured in an accident Oct. 9.

Chessman died April 19 under hospice care in Liberty.

Investigators say Mick’s truck went off a road north of Plattsburg.  State troopers found Mick’s blood-alcohol content was .173 after the accident.

 

A study finds Missouri is missing out on nearly a half-billion dollars in revenue a year because it doesn’t tax Internet sales. Dr. David Valentine of the University of Missouri says that’s a conservative estimate. He says Internet sales continue to rise year after year, and so will the revenue Missouri is missing because it lacks a tax.

Valentine says Missouri could join a 24-state compact that now collects a so-called “streamlined tax” on Internet sales. Many Missouri lawmakers have already indicated they’re not interested in that.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – A new report indicates that St. Louis is a great travel destination for cheapskates.

Kiplinger.com came out with a list of the top 10 cities for cheapskates, and the Gateway City topped the list. Wichita, Kansas was listed number ten.

It turns out the listing is a good thing. The website notes that St. Louis has more museums and libraries than any city on its list. On a per capita basis St Louis beats New York and Washington, D.C., by a factor of 25.

It features many free attractions, including the St. Louis Zoo, Science Center, Citygarden and others.

Kiplinger notes that while St. Louis residents earn roughly the same amount as average Americans, their living costs fall nearly 9% below the norm.