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People running short of money could have a new alternative for getting some quick cash under legislation pending before Democratic Governor Jay Nixon.

The bill would make it profitable for Missouri-based banks to offer short-term cash advances, similar to payday loans.

Some nationally chartered banks already offer the short-term loans with fees of about $50 on a $500 loan. Missouri law had allowed such loans, but the Missouri Bankers Association says that few banks offered them because the law set the maximum fee too low.

The multi-billion dollar makeover of the greater downtown Kansas City area over the past decade was intended in part to draw businesses, but census figures show the area has lost nearly 20 percent of its private employees in that period.

Indeed, the Kansas City Star reports that U.S. Census data from 2001 to 2011 show that greater downtown lost more than 16,000 jobs.

A leadership competition is brewing within the Republican caucus that has controlled the Missouri House for the past decade.

Caleb Jones, of California, Mo., said Monday he is running for House speaker. That top leadership post also is being sought by current House Majority Leader John Diehl, of St. Louis County.

Republicans now hold a veto-proof majority in the House. Current House Speaker Tim Jones is barred by term limits from seeking re-election in November 2014 to the House.

About 20 people gathered at the State Capitol on Saturday to remember their loved ones who are missing. These family members and friends of missing people came from all over the state to share stories to mark the annual Missing and Unidentified Persons Awareness Day. Marianne Asher-Chapman is the mother of Angie Yarnell, who went missing 10 years ago. She said her daughter’s husband eventually claimed he killed her, but he never told where her body is.

New legislation pending before Gov. Jay Nixon could give people running short of money a new alternative for getting some quick cash.

A bill would make it profitable for Missouri-based banks to offer short-term cash advances, similar to payday loans.

Some nationally chartered banks already offer the short-term loans with fees of around $50 on a $500 loan. Missouri law had allowed such loans, but the Missouri Bankers Association says that few banks offered them because the law set the maximum fee too low.

Bicyclists taking part in a cross-country race will be zooming across Missouri this week, and transportation officials hope motorists along the route will be extra cautious.

The annual Race Across America covers a 3,000-mile route from Oceanside, Calif., to Annapolis, Md.

Riders were expected to begin entering western Missouri this past Sunday, traveling via U.S. 54 to the Lake of the Ozarks area and Jefferson City.

The University of Missouri System Board of Curators unanimously passed a proposal to extend employee benefits to eligible adult dependents who meet certain criteria. This extension now means that same-sex partners may be eligible for these benefits, which include health, vision, and dental insurance. John Fougere is the chief spokesperson for the UM system. He said the decision will help the system attract a talented faculty and staff. 

University of Missouri Health Care will lay off or cut the hours and pay for 35 employees and eliminate 90 unfilled jobs in the coming year.

MU Health Care spokesperson Mary Jenkins told The Columbia Daily Tribune the job losses are due to cuts in federal health care payments from Medicare and the failure of legislators to expand Medicaid eligibility.

She says many of the 90 jobs that will be eliminated have been unfilled for most of the past year.

The University of Missouri will be conducting a drill Monday morning at its research nuclear reactor center. The center is located south of Stadium Boulevard and west of Providence Road in Columbia. The drill is meant to simulate what could happen during an emergency situation at the reactor.