BOONE COUNTY – Authorities have arrested an 18-year-old who is suspected of firing gunshots outside a Columbia church during the funeral of a community activist.

The suspect identified as John Cosey is jailed on suspicion of unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action. No one was injured when gunfire erupted Saturday outside of Christian Fellowship Church as services were underway for 26-year-old Ahmonta Harris.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Department says Harris was killed after “unlawfully” entering a home near a golf course and getting into a confrontation with an armed 20-year-old resident. Friends and relatives dispute that Harris would have committed such a crime.

Harris frequently spoke at meetings and was best known for organizing a controversial event dubbed the “Fireworks War” as a way to bring people together.

The AP contributed to this report

TOPEKA—Fiscal year tax collections have exceeded previous year’s totals by $221.20 million according to data from the latest revenue report released Monday from the Kansas Department of Revenue.

Fiscal year 2019 tax collections so far total $2.70 billion, exceeding estimates by $2.74 million.

November tax collections were up $38.60 million, or 8.41 percent over last year. November’s tax collections exceeded expectations for the month by $2.74 million.

Individual income tax collections in November totaled $235.02 million which is $27.40 million or 13.20 percent above the same time last year. November sales tax collections fell slightly short of last November’s collections by $115,000.

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — Missouri and Kansas supporters are optimistic that the iconic Route 66 is on the road to becoming part of a National Historic Trail.

U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Jim Inhofe announced this week that a bipartisan bill would include Route 66 in the National Trails System Act.

The route connected Chicago to Los Angeles and was an economic boon for small towns — including in Missouri and Kansas — before the interstate system was built. The House of Representatives passed a similar bill in June.

Supporters say the designation would revitalize towns along the historic corridor. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a similar bill in June.

The proposal would allow the National Park Service to administer Route 66. The agency would award federal funds for preservation, development and promotion.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) – A southeast Missouri baby sitter has pleaded guilty in the dog attack death of a 13-month-old girl.

33-year-old Erica Jordan, of Cape Girardeau, agreed to a plea deal Friday. In exchange for pleading guilty to second-degree involuntary manslaughter, a charge of endangering the welfare of a child was dropped.

Prosecutors say she was caring for Loxli Chavez in March when a pit bull-mix attacked the girl. Jordan was temporality keeping the dog at her home for her brother. She told police the dog was “not good with children.” She said the dog also had bitten her son but that she thought he had calmed down after being neutered.

Sentencing is set for Jan. 18. She faces up to four years in prison.

CASS COUNTY— One person died in an accident just before noon Sunday in Cass County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2003 BMW Motorcycle driven by Kristian P. Metz, 48, Adrian, was northbound on Interstate 49 just north of the North Cass Parkway exit.

The motorcycle attempted to overtake and pass a 2009 Dodge Ram driven by Javen E. Fogle, 15, Peculiar. The motorcycle struck the left rear of the pickup and traveled off the left side of the road.

Metz was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to the Jackson County medical examiners office.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers will get a crash course in sports gambling this week as they consider how to capitalize on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in May that lifted a federal ban on it.

Seven states offer legal sports betting , and Kansas is among numerous other states considering whether to jump on the bandwagon. The surge in interest comes after New Jerseysuccessfully challenged the federal ban, clearing the way for gambling on games to expand beyond Nevada.

Democratic Gov.-elect Laura Kelly voiced support for expanding into sports betting during her campaign. Kansas already allows commercial casino gaming. The challenge is the details, said state Sen. Bud Estes, a Republican from Dodge City who is the chairman of the committee that will handle bills on the topic.

“I don’t want to skate on thin ice on something we don’t know anything about,” he said, while adding that it is “probably” going to happen in some form. He’s encouraging all lawmakers to show up Tuesday and Wednesday in Topeka for a special interim committee session on the topic.

No legislation has been drafted yet for the upcoming session, which starts Jan. 14.

Key issues include ensuring the tax rate isn’t so high that betters turn to illegal wagers and providing oversight to prevent fraud or cheating in games. Where and how bets can be cast also raises other questions. Will betting be restricted to casinos or allowed at sports bars, too? Are mobile betting apps permitted? If so, who will manage them?

“If we start passing legislation for interest groups, we could make a real mess,” Estes said. “We need to be educated. I’m not going to let my committee go out and pass a lot of legislation right out of the bag. We need to be smarter before we do it.”

During the last legislative session, Republican Rep. Jan Kessinger, of Overland Park, introduced a bill that received a hearing but failed to gain much traction. Budget officials estimated that it would have generated $75 million a year. He plans to try again next year.

“That is not waving a magic wound, boom,” he said of the revenue such a bill would generate. “It would take a while to get up to speed.”

He said the money could allow the state to address several pressing issues, including foster cases , the state pensionsystem and highways. He said some money would be set aside to help problem gamblers.

Kessinger would like to see sports betting available in social settings, such as sports bars and restaurants.

“It will generate more excitement and interest in sports, which I think will drive more traffic into these social settings,” generating jobs and more revenue from taxes of food and drink sales, he said. “There are a lot of different opportunities there.”

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – The University of Missouri System will offer voluntary buyouts for some tenured faculty starting this spring.

Provost Latha Ramchand said in an email to faculty and staff Friday that full-time and benefit-eligible tenured faculty who are 62 or older, with at least five years of service, can apply for the payouts.

The Columbia Missourian reports the lump sum will be 1.5 times an employee’s benefit-eligible salary, not exceeding $200,000.

Spokesman Christian Basi said the buyouts are an effort to provide more financial flexibility as departments plan budgets for next year.

Ninth-month faculty who take the buyout will retire Sept. 1, 2019. Twelve-month faculty will retire between July 1 and Sept. 1, 2019.

Basi says the system doesn’t have a goal for the number of faculty who take the buyout.