Associated Press

Missouri budget negotiators have agreed to keep a program that provides health coverage for the blind, but they've also attempted to attach some strings.

The Missouri House has voted to give lawmakers authority over space in the Capitol that includes the Hall of Famous Missourians after controversy over the induction of radio host Rush Limbaugh.

A black man who helped galvanize anti-slavery efforts before the Civil War has been inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians.

The Missouri House has endorsed legislation barring local governments from regulating the speech and advertising of centers that counsel women on alternatives to abortion.

The University of Missouri-Kansas City is considering changing its name to the University of Kansas City.

Sen. Claire McCaskill has extra security in place following a comment at a Tea Party rally last week.

A suspected bank robber who was shot following a chase in Columbia confessed to police that he robbed another bank last month.

Rumors swept the Missouri Capitol that the bust of conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh was being delivered Tuesday, along with the bust of former slave Dred Scott.  House Speaker Steven Tilley recently announced that both would be inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians this year.  The sculptor, E. Spencer Schubert, made a post to his website Tuesday indicating he was transporting both busts to the Capitol – but the post was later altered to remove the reference to Limbaugh.

A disagreement over $2 million for a university is contributing to a stalemate on Missouri's $24 billion budget plan.

Republican House Speaker Steven Tilley wants to add the money for his alma mater, Southeast Missouri State University. The Cape Girardeau school has the second lowest funding-to-student ratio among Missouri's public universities.

 Springfield Mayor Jim O'Neal is leaving the job, effective immediately.

O'Neal announced his resignation Monday after a city council meeting. He said business and family pressures had prevented him from concentrating on his duties as mayor. O'Neal owns O & S Trucking.

O'Neal was elected in 2009 and re-elected in April 2011.

Mayor Pro Tem Bob Stephens is taking over.

The council also will begin the process of electing a new mayor pro tem and appointing someone to fill the rest of Stephens' term as council member.