JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri will cover more non-opioid treatment options for Medicaid recipients who suffer from chronic pain as part of an effort to prevent substance abuse.

The Missouri Department of Social Services says in a news release that new services that will be covered starting Monday include chiropractic care and acupuncture. The department’s Todd Richardson says the goal of providing the alternative and complementary therapy options is to provide pain relief “without the risks associated with an opiate.” He oversees Missouri’s Medicaid program for the poor, which is called MO HealthNet.

The release says the department estimates that adding the service will actually reduce costs by lowering prescription drug costs, eliminating emergency room visits, and avoiding the need for other medical services.

SPARTA, Mo. (AP) — Two former employees of a southwest Missouri city have filed lawsuits alleging that a white alderman used a racial slur and created a hostile work environment.

The lawsuits filed in January and March against the city of Sparta allege that Alderman Jarrett Iorg “engaged in discriminatory conduct.”

One suit says that city leaders retaliated against an employee after she filed a complaint alleging that Iorg mistreated her because she’s Mexican. The second lawsuit claims that another employee also faced retaliation after defending the woman. Sparta city attorney Pat Keck says she can’t comment on pending litigation.

Iorg is running unopposed in this week’s election after the board of aldermen voted last year not to remove him from office. A phone message left for him through the city wasn’t immediately returned.

By JOHN HANNA

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly will keep her top business development official after some Republicans in the Kansas Senate broke with the GOP majority and defied the state’s most influential anti-abortion group to confirm his appointment Monday.

I’m pleased the Senate voted to confirm @SecretaryToland. He represents the best and brightest this state has to offer. His energy, expertise and collaborative style will ensure that businesses have the partner they deserve and that the KS economy continues to grow. #ksleg

— Governor Laura Kelly (@GovLauraKelly) April 1, 2019

The vote for Commerce Secretary David Toland was 23-14 . Toland has been acting secretary since Kelly took office in January and would have been forced to step down if the Senate had rejected his appointment.

A little bit ago, the Kansas Senate voted to confirm me as the Secretary of Commerce to serve at the pleasure of @GovLauraKelly. I am honored to have this opportunity to serve the Department and our State.

— Secretary Toland, KDC (@SecretaryToland) April 1, 2019

Toland served last year as the unpaid treasurer for Kelly’s successful campaign for governor, but Republican critics questioned his business development and recruiting credentials. He served for 11 years as executive director of Thrive Allen County, a nonprofit economic development and public health group based in his hometown of Iola, in southeast Kansas.

The anti-abortion group Kansans for Life, a power in Republican politics, announced its opposition to Toland’s appointment last week. Thrive Allen County received grants in 2015 and 2018, totaling less than $20,000, to promote women’s health from a fund named for the late Dr. George Tiller, who performed late-term abortions in Wichita.

“I can’t support him because of that,” said Sen. Rob Olson, a conservative Kansas City-area Republican who previously backed Toland but voted against his confirmation.

Tiller was among a handful of physicians in the U.S. known to terminate pregnancies in their final weeks. His clinic was the site of repeated anti-abortion protests, including the weekslong “Summer of Mercy” in 1991. He was shot to death in 2009 in his church by an anti-abortion zealot who is serving a 25 years-to-life prison sentence.

Eleven of the Senate’s 28 Republicans voted to confirm Toland, along with the chamber’s 11 Democrats and one independent member. Supporters said Toland already has re-energized the state Department of Commerce.

“I think he will put us back on the map,” said Sen. Dinah Sykes, a Kansas City-area Democrat.

Toland has received credit for helping to lure a new grocery store to Iola and helping to persuade voters to build a new community hospital. Business leaders and local chambers of commerce from across the state endorsed his appointment.

“His energy, expertise and collaborative style will ensure that businesses have the partner they deserve and that the Kansas economy continues to grow,” Kelly said in a statement after the vote.

Some opposition to Toland’s confirmation had its roots in the local politics surrounding his work with Thrive Allen County. It intensified when GOP critics began questioning his credentials and Kansans for Life weighed in.

Mary Kay Culp, the anti-abortion group’s executive director, said it will monitor the Department of Commerce closely for signs that it is using its programs and economic incentives to encourage new abortion clinics to open in Kansas.

For my first official act as Secretary, I’m pleased to be hosting Commerce’s first Legislative Open House. As I’ve said before, transparency and communication are the name of the game with me. Pleased to be able to show our lawmakers the exciting things going on at Commerce. pic.twitter.com/cUENeuRDw4

— Secretary Toland, KDC (@SecretaryToland) April 1, 2019

“It doesn’t take much to see how this appointment could go horribly wrong,” said Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook, another conservative Kansas City-area Republican and strong abortion opponent.

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Authorities are investigating a weekend crash that injured two at a Kansas race track.

Just after 1p.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to Heartland Motorsports Park, 7530 SW Topeka Blvd in Topeka, according to Topeka Police. A single-vehicle crash had occurred on the road course during an event.

The vehicle, a 2019 Corvette left the track, struck a wall, rolled and caught on fire.

The driver, Anthony Dellaria, 42, of Tulsa, OK was transported to a local hospital code yellow and the passenger, Drew T. Casper, 23, of Manhattan, Kansas, was transported to a local hospital in critical condition.

The track’s owner, Enhanced Motorsports Performance, offers private track days at raceways in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, according to their social media page.

Police released no additional details Monday morning.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Monday that Missouri can execute an inmate who argued his rare medical condition will result in severe pain if he is given death-causing drugs.

The justices split along ideological lines in ruling 5-4 against inmate Russell Bucklew, who is on death row for a 1996 murder.

Justice Neil Gorsuch’s opinion for the court’s five conservative justices rejected Bucklew’s argument that subjecting him to lethal injection could cause a tumor in his throat to burst and make him choke on his own blood. Bucklew said that would violate the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

“Today we bring this case to a close at last because we agree with the courts below that Mr. Bucklew’s claim isn’t supported by either the law or the evidence,” Gorsuch said in summarizing his decision from the bench.

Bucklew was up against Supreme Court precedent in trying to get the justices to agree with him. The court has previously ruled that inmates challenging a method of execution have to show that there’s an alternative that is likely to be less painful. Bucklew proposed that Missouri execute him by having him breathe pure nitrogen gas through a mask instead of by injecting him with a lethal dose of pentobarbital.

But Missouri said no state has ever carried out an execution as Bucklew suggested, calling his proposal vague and untested.

Bucklew is on death row for the 1996 murder of Michael Sanders, who was living with Bucklew’s former girlfriend. After entering a trailer where the two were living with their children, Bucklew fatally shot Sanders and later raped his former girlfriend. Bucklew was arrested after a car chase and shootout with police.

The case is 17-8151, Bucklew v. Precythe.

JOHNSON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating an attempted homicide and attempted homicide on a law enforcement officer and continue to search for a suspect.

Just before 2p.m. Sunday police responded to an apartment complex in 15900 Block of West 127th in Olathe according to a media release.

During an attempted robbery, the armed suspect fired shots at the victim. The shooting suspect and another subject fled the area on foot.

A short time later, an officer confronted the suspect who shot at the officer, according to the release. The officer returned fire striking the suspect who was arrested. The suspect was taken for treatment and then to the Johnson County Adult Detention Center.

Police continued the search for the second suspect described as a black male wearing a red hooded sweatshirt and black sweat pants, according to the release.

There were no other injuries reported.

The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation.  Police have not released the name of the suspect in custody.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Two siblings have bought a Powerball ticket worth $2 million from a suburban Kansas City convenience store.

The  siblings anonymously claimed their prize Friday. The release says they rarely play Powerball but decided to buy four tickets Wednesday when they saw that the jackpot had reached an estimated $768.4 million. On one ticket, they used the random ages of family members and got all but one number right.

Picking five of the six numbers would normally be worth $1 million. But because they also bought the Power Play option, they doubled their prize.

The Shawnee, Kansas, store that sold the ticket is eligible for a $1,000 bonus.

One of the siblings lives in Kansas, while the other lives out of state.