TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A 36-year-old Missouri man has been placed on probation after pleading guilty to having a pipe bomb at his former apartment in Oklahoma.

Federal court records in Tulsa show Richard C. Cole received 2½ years of probation when he was sentenced Thursday on one felony count of possession of an unregistered destructive device. Cole faced up to 10 years in prison.

Cole, of Joplin, was charged in August after the landlord of Cole’s former apartment in Afton found an improvised explosive device in a garage after Cole was evicted from the rental.

Authorities later discovered two 1-pound canisters containing “mixed Tannerite,” a binary explosive, two boxes of ammunition and a pipe bomb in an ammunition container. The explosive device was rendered safe and nobody was hurt.

BENTON COUNTY — One person died in an accident just before 9p.m. Tuesday in Benton County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a Pontiac G6 driven by Kolton D. Taylor, 21, Lincoln, Missouri, was westbound on Fourdney Road just east of Davis Avenue in Lincoln.

The vehicle traveled off the road and struck a tree.

Davis was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas declared an emergency Tuesday at its most crowded maximum-security state prison over what Gov. Laura Kelly called “serious staffing shortages” inside a lockup that’s had multiple inmate disturbances over the past two years.

But Kelly acknowledged that the most immediate effect of the declaration — longer hours for workers — isn’t a real solution to staffing problems that continue to plague the El Dorado Correctional Facility. And the corrections chief who declared the emergency said the extended hours for staff probably can’t be sustained for more than a few months.

Interim Secretary Roger Werholtz told The Associated Press in an interview that the Department of Corrections is looking at having El Dorado employees work four, 12-hour shifts a week, instead of the typical schedule of five, eight-hour shifts. Also, he said, the department might try to attract new employees by offering them higher hourly pay without benefits. He also said it could consider contracting for private prison beds.

Kelly told a gathering of state employees that she also will pursue additional funding for the prison system and changes in sentencing laws that could lessen prison crowding. Her budget proposals include an additional $3 million for prison staffing.

“The shortage there is really a huge safety and security issue,” Kelly told reporters before speaking to dozens of government workers at the Statehouse. “This is not something anybody wanted to do, but it absolutely had to be done.”

The state declared an emergency at the El Dorado prison in June 2017, also because of staffing shortages, and employees sometimes worked 16-hour days for the rest of the year. Werholtz acknowledged Tuesday that requiring longer hours for an extended period of time can make it harder to keep officers.

Kelly met legislative leaders Tuesday morning to let them know the declaration was coming.

“I voiced my concern that I probably wouldn’t agree” with the longer hours for workers, said Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, a Kansas City-area Republican.

Sarah LaFrenz, the president of the Kansas Organization for State Employees, which backed Kelly in the governor’s race last year, said the emergency declaration is only a temporary fix. Still, LaFrenz said the union is encouraged that Kelly is “taking this critical situation seriously.”

The move comes as neighboring states face problems in crowded prisons. Nebraska’s prison system faces a July 2020 deadline set by state lawmakers there to reduce prison overcrowding, but its director has acknowledged it probably will miss it. In Oklahoma, the state’s prisons director is seeking more than $800 million to build two new prisons.

In Missouri, GOP Gov. Mike Parson is proposing to consolidate a prison where a riot occurred last year with another facility in the same community, hoping that the savings can be used to boost officers’ pay.

Both Oklahoma and Nebraska have had deadly prison riots in recent years. While riots in Kansas haven’t caused inmate or staff deaths, the state has spent at least $414,000 repairing damage and replacing equipment from four riots at three prisons, including the one in El Dorado. A riot in July 2018 at the El Dorado prison, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of Wichita, cost the state nearly $177,000.

The El Dorado prison reported Tuesday that it had 84 vacancies among its 360 uniformed officers. For the 12 months ending with June 2018, the turnover rate was almost 54 percent — by far the highest in the state prison system.

Werholtz said his declaration gives the department more flexibility, though he acknowledged that the department already is “working staff excessive amounts of time.” The department reported spending $8.2 million on overtime during its 2018 budget year, more than four times as much as it did five years before.

“At this point, I don’t see any other viable alternative for keeping the facility open and safe,” he said.

The state in recent years has boosted its starting pay for corrections officers to $15.75 an hour, but Werholtz said that’s still not competitive. The emergency declaration allows the department to boost that figure to $20.50 without benefits.

The prison’s population has risen over the past eight months, partly because the state is shifting inmates as it builds a new prison in Lansing to replace its oldest lockup.

The El Dorado prison held 2,029 inmates as of Monday, or 74 more than its declared capacity of 1,955 inmates — a number reset after former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration increased the number housed two-to-a-cell. The prison held an average of 1,854 inmates a day during 12 months that ended with June 2018.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas declared an emergency Tuesday at its most crowded maximum-security state prison over what Gov. Laura Kelly called “serious staffing shortages” inside a lockup that’s had multiple inmate disturbances over the past two years.

The declaration from Interim Corrections Secretary Roger Werholtz allows the El Dorado Correctional Facility to require employees to work longer shifts. But Kelly told a gathering of state employees that she also will pursue additional funding for the prison system and changes in sentencing laws that could lessen prison crowding.

“The shortage there is really a huge safety and security issue,” Kelly told reporters before speaking to dozens of government workers at the Statehouse. “This is not something anybody wanted to do, but it absolutely had to be done.”

The Kansas Department of Corrections is also going to offer additional pay to hire temporary staff to provide relief, according to a media release from the state.

The move comes as neighboring states face problems in crowded prisons. Nebraska’s prison system faces a July 2020 deadline set by state lawmakers there to reduce prison overcrowding, but its director has acknowledged it probably will miss it. In Oklahoma, the state’s prisons directors is seeking more than $800 million to build two new prisons.

Both states have had deadly prison riots. While riots in Kansas haven’t cause inmate or staff deaths, the state has spent at least $414,000 repairing damage and replacing equipment from four riots at three prisons, including the one in El Dorado. A riot in July 2018 at the El Dorado prison, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of Wichita, cost the state nearly $177,000.

Werholtz said the prison has 86 vacancies on it staff of fewer than 500 employees. He and other corrections officials have said that staffing problems have not eased despite efforts in recent years to boost pay for corrections officers.

Meanwhile, the prison’s population has risen over the past eight months, partly because the state is shifting inmates as it builds a new prison in Lansing to replace its oldest lockup.

The El Dorado prison held 2,029 inmates as of Monday, or 74 more than its state capacity of 1,955 inmates — reset after former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration increased the number housed two-to-a-cell. The prison held an average of 1,854 inmates a day during 12 months that ended with June 2018.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ corrections secretary has declared an emergency at the state’s most crowded maximum-security prison because of what the state calls “serious staffing shortages.”

Gov. Laura Kelly’s office released a statement Tuesday announcing Corrections Secretary Roger Werholtz’s declaration for the El Dorado Correctional Facility, but it provided few details about what actions will follow.

Past declarations have allowed the prison to force employees to work longer shifts. El Dorado saw multiple inmate disturbances in 2017 and 2018, and the state spent nearly $177,000 repairing damage from a July 2018 riot.

Kelly said she met Tuesday morning with legislative leaders to discuss problems at the prison about 30 miles east of Wichita.

It was holding 2,029 inmates as of Monday, or 74 more than its stated capacity of 1,955.

TOPEKA, KAN. – A woman who operated massage parlors in Kansas pleaded guilty Tuesday to operating a prostitution business, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

Weiling Nielsen, 54, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy.

Nielsen owned and operated Naima Asian Massage and Serenity Health Spa in Lawrence, as well as Jasmine Massage in Topeka. In her plea, she admitted the massage parlors provided sexual services to customers for payment in cash. Nielsen and others advertised the services on the internet. Nielsen and her husband deposited cash into various bank accounts and purchased money orders for deposit in bank accounts in California.

In her plea agreement, Nielsen agreed to pay a $650,000 judgement, which represents the proceeds of the crime.

Sentencing is set for May 15. Both parties are recommending three years on federal probation.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Lawrence school Superintendent Anthony Lewis is planning a community discussion after a student allegedly brought a gun to school for the fifth time this school year.

The last incident occurred Tuesday at Lawrence High School, where a gun was found in a student’s book bag after administrators received a tip. That came after another student brought a handgun to school last Wednesday.

Other incidents were reported in April and September at Lawrence High School and Lawrence Free State. No one was injured in any of the incidents. All the students have been disciplined except one, who investigators determined forgot a rifle was in his car after a hunting trip.

Lewis said the district needs the community’s help to address what could be a dangerous problem.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A fire at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Columbia, Missouri, was intentionally set and is being investigated as a possible hate crime, the FBI said in a statement Tuesday.

The agency also said it is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for the fire early Sunday .

The FBI said surveillance video shows a person wearing dark clothing entering the Planned Parenthood-Columbia Health Center about 4:05 a.m. Sunday. When that person later walked out of the clinic, smoke could be seen coming from the building, according to the agency.

No one was inside the building when the fire was reported. The building’s sprinkler system extinguished the fire before Columbia firefighters arrived. Firefighters told police the fire was “suspicious in nature,” Columbia police said.

Federal civil rights crimes investigated by the FBI include violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which makes it a crime to intentionally damage or destroy the property of a facility because it provides reproductive health services.

The clinic remained closed Tuesday. Dr. Brandon Hill, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said in a statement Monday that the building sustained limited damage and crews are working to reopen it as soon as possible.

“Planned Parenthood Great Plains has a long history serving patients in Columbia, and we remain committed to providing a full range of sexual and reproductive health services in this community,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the organization didn’t immediately return a call Tuesday.

The Columbia clinic does not currently provide abortions because of new state regulations that took effect last year requiring abortion doctors to have admitting physician privileges at nearby hospitals. Finding a doctor with those privileges became more difficult after the University of Missouri Hospital in Columbia stopped offering the privileges in 2015.

Planned Parenthood has unsuccessfully sought a legal exemption to the requirements, leaving a clinic in St. Louis as the only one that provides abortions in Missouri.

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COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say they’re investigating a suspicious fire at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Missouri that is seeking to regain its ability to offer abortions.

Columbia police said officers responded to an alarm at the clinic on Sunday around 4 a.m. A small fire had started inside the structure and the building’s sprinkler system extinguished it. Firefighters told police the blaze was “suspicious in nature,” according to a statement from the police department.

No clinic staff or patients were present when the fire started, and there were no injuries, Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Emily Miller said. The clinic was closed Monday amid the investigation, but the organization said the facility would reopen as soon as possible.

“We are working with law enforcement, as the source of the fire is suspicious and the incident is currently under investigation,” Miller said in a statement released Sunday.

Planned Parenthood was required to stop providing abortions at the clinic last yearafter new regulations went into effect requiring abortion doctors to have certain privileges with a nearby hospital.

The Columbia Planned Parenthood clinic has been unable to secure physician privileges or find a doctor with those privileges after a panel of medical staff at University of Missouri Health Care voted to stop offering those privileges altogether in 2015. The vote came amid a Republican-led legislative investigation on abortion in the state.

Missouri is down to one clinic offering abortions. That clinic is in St. Louis.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Sen. Josh Hawley has been subpoenaed to answer questions about his handling of Missouri’s open records law while he was the state’s attorney general.

The Cole County Circuit Court issued the subpoena late Monday as part of a lawsuit against Gov. Mike Parson’s office.

St. Louis attorney Elad Gross, a Democratic candidate for Missouri attorney general in 2020, filed the lawsuit. He is seeking records involving communication between the governor’s office and A New Missouri, a political nonprofit supporting former Gov. Eric Greitens’ agenda, as well as other groups.

Parson’s office said the records would cost $3,600 and take six months to produce.

The Kansas City Star reports Hawley’s spokeswoman, Kelli Ford, called Gross’ efforts a political stunt. She didn’t say whether Hawley would try to quash the subpoena.