Associated Press

The 911 Services administrator for Stoddard County in southeast Missouri is calling attention to a growing problem of children playing with discarded cellphones and accidentally calling 911.

The Dexter Daily Statesman reports that Carol Moreland says parents are apparently unaware that dialing random numbers from a cellphone or landline phone will eventually reach the 911 dispatch center, causing a distraction for dispatchers and emergency personnel.

The Missouri Department of Conservation is holding several meetings to discuss regulations for blue catfish.

Anglers and conservation officials have been concerned about declining blue catfish catches from Truman Reservoir for two decades and more recently from the Lake of the Ozarks. Both lakes have at least adequate numbers of smaller blue catfish but heavy fishing for those 24 inches and larger is keeping sizes smaller. The two lakes are formed by separate dams on the Osage River.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has declared an emergency because of the recent drought.

Gov. Jay Nixon and University of Missouri president Tim Wolfe will join utility executives and business leaders at an event designed to boost support for building small modular nuclear reactors in the state.

The event Monday on the Columbia campus is billed as an economic development summit, while officials await word on a U.S. Department of Energy grant application.

Westinghouse Electric Co. and Ameren Missouri are competing for a share of the $452 million the energy department has set aside for the new technology.

President Barack Obama has nominated a Missouri native to serve as the next chief of the National Guard Bureau.

Army Lt. Gen. Frank Grass currently serves as deputy commander of U.S. Northern Command. He began his career by enlisting in the Missouri Army National Guard in 1969 at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis.

As head of the National Guard Bureau, Grass will be the senior uniformed officer responsible for all policies and programs affecting the Army and Air National Guard. His appointment still needs confirmation from the U.S. Senate.

Civil War buffs are preparing to dedicate a memorial to mark the 150th anniversary of a central Missouri battle that helped weaken southern recruiting efforts in the state.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reported that a Union force of about 700 men clashed with fewer than half as many Confederate guerillas on July 28th, 1862, in the Battle of Moore's Mill. After about four hours of fighting near what is now the town of Calwood, the guerillas fled.

The Union recorded 13 deaths. There is disagreement about how many Confederate troops died.

Gov. Jay Nixon is urging Missouri soil and water districts to allow farmers to briefly graze their animals on livestock exclusion areas.

For months, Missouri's Republican U.S. Senate candidates have been campaigning by criticizing Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill and McCaskill has returned fire during campaign events. Now McCaskill says she is launching TV ads individually targeting her potential Republican competitors — Congressman Todd Akin, former state Treasurer Sarah Steelman and businessman John Brunner.

Federal weather forecasters predict the unusually hot dry weather that has gripped much of the nation will linger into fall, especially for the parched heartland.

Missouri Republican attorney general candidate Ed Martin is calling for the creation of a new task force dealing with government regulations.

Martin says the task force would focus on regulations for energy and the environment, health care and small businesses. It would be in the state attorney general's office. He says excessive government regulations hurt businesses and the economy.

On Thursday, Martin was traveling in southwestern Missouri to discuss his proposal during campaign stops in Branson, Neosho and Mount Vernon.