Associated Press

A former Missouri governor and a St. Louis attorney are to be sentenced in federal court for misusing money to make political donations.

A master planner hired to guide Joplin's recovery from the deadly May 2011 tornado plans to present his first slate of projects to city elected leaders Monday night.

No Kansas Jayhawks will be appearing on Show-Me State license plates — at least unless Missouri lawmakers say it is OK.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon signed into law Thursday a broader higher education measure that would require state lawmakers to approve specialty license plates for colleges and universities. State lawmakers were seeking to impede possible efforts by fans to have the University of Kansas featured on a Missouri license plate.

A former Missouri governor plans to ask for probation when he is sentenced Monday in federal court for misusing money involved in illegal political donations.

Gov. Jay Nixon has signed legislation that could provide relief for state employees working long hours at high-security mental health facilities.

Missouri insurance regulators say Aflac Inc. has agreed to pay $1.6 million in fines to three states to settle allegations about its business practices.

Missouri expects to save about $44 million this year by refinancing some of its debt at lower interest rates.

Two separate boards of state officials gave preliminary authorization this week to the bond refinancing.

That action had been anticipated for some time. Gov. Jay Nixon had proposed to refinance more than $500 million of bonds as part of the budget plan he outlined in January. Lawmakers also had calculated the savings into the budget for the 2013 fiscal year that began this past Sunday.

Missouri residents are encouraged to call a state consumer hotline for help if their electricity is shut off during the current heat wave because they couldn't pay the bill.

The state's hot weather rule forbids utilities from disconnecting electrical services when temperatures are projected to be higher than 95 degrees, or the heat index is expected to exceed 100 degrees.

Temperatures above both thresholds are expected to continue through the weekend and much of the summer in the Midwest.

Several Republicans are criticizing the ballot summaries that Missouri Democratic Secretary of State Robin Carnahan has prepared for measures dealing with health insurance and appellate judges.

The Republican-led Legislature referred both measures to the November ballot. Carnahan wrote the ballot summaries because lawmakers did not include their own.

Lawmakers who sponsored the measures say those summaries are misleading, and two GOP leaders pledged to file a lawsuit.

Republican businessman Dave Spence has chipped in another half-million dollars to his Missouri gubernatorial campaign.