Associated Press

Fewer than one-fourth of Missouri's registered voters cast ballots in this year's primary elections.

The secretary of state's office said Wednesday that 23 percent of the state's nearly 4.1 million registered voters actually voted in Tuesday's primary.

The top draw was a constitutional amendment expanding the right to pray in public places, which attracted a total of nearly 943,000 votes while easily passing.

About twice as many people cast Republican ballots as Democratic ballots — led by the GOP race for U.S. Senate, won by Congressman Todd Akin.

Missouri voters will be asked in November to raise the state's tobacco tax and let St. Louis run its own police department.

Springfield officials have certified the signatures on a petition that seeks to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana in the city.

A 25-year-old passenger who died in the crash of a double-decker Megabus in Illinois was a native of India traveling to central Missouri.

A Joplin woman has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for embezzling $150,000 from her partner in an interior decorating business.

The U.S. Attorney's office says 39-year-old Peggy Newton must also repay the money under the sentence she received Thursday.

Newton was a partner of Diane Pine in a decorating business called Evergreen and Amber. Prosecutors said that from late 2006 to mid-2009, Newton wrote 393 checks on the company account for her personal use.

Missouri drivers may notice some ominous messages along the state's roadsides.

The Missouri Department of Transportation says it has begun using its electronic message signs along highways to report the number of people who have died on the state's roads so far this year. The messages also include the percentage of those killed who were not wearing seat belts.

The new safety campaign comes as Missouri has seen a 14 percent increase in traffic fatalities this year — an unwelcome reversal after six years of declining fatality figures.

Officials have scheduled a series of open houses in north-central Missouri to discuss a disease that's fatal to deer.

The Missouri Department of Conservation will hold six public meetings this month in towns near areas where chronic wasting disease has been found. The events will include presentations on the disease and actions that have been taken to prevent its spread.

A Kansas City company has announced plans for a $400 million high-power transmission line in northwest Missouri.

The St. Joseph News-Press reports that Kansas City Power and Light will partner with the Omaha Public Power District to build the 150- to 190-mile transmission line. The precise route hasn't been determined, but the line is intended to connect Sibley, Missouri with Nebraska City, Nebraska.

The company says planners will spend the next year identifying the possible routes. Officials hope to have the transmission line in service by June 2017.

Missouri businesses directly harmed by the summer heat and drought can get low-interest loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Small nonfarm businesses, agricultural cooperatives and nonprofit organizations are eligible for up to $2 million for expenses caused by the drought. The deadline for loans is March and applications can be submitted online at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.

Missouri utility regulators have given approval for what Ameren Missouri calls the most aggressive energy efficiency plan ever in the state.

Under the plan approved Wednesday by the Missouri Public Service Commission, Ameren will invest $147 million over three years in several programs that seek to reduce electricity use by 800 million megawatt-hours.

The plan was part of a negotiated settlement among Ameren, PSC staff, consumer advocates and environmental groups.