Janet Saidi

The number of Missouri students taking foreign languages is on the rise – with enrollment in foreign language classes doubling over the past 20 years. But the increase isn’t being driven by education policy, finds KBIA’s Chris McDaniel in this report.

Regional news from the KBIA newsroom, including:

• Missouri agriculture needs 13 feet of snow to make up for summer droughts
• A state representative wants to strengthen state campaign finance laws
• UM researchers helping to launch realistic fake chicken product

Regional news from the KBIA newsroom, including:

• Missouri Highway Patrol enforces federal ban on cellphone use on the road
• Timothy Wolfe newest president at University of Missouri
• State auditors missing over a half million dollars in receipts

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - A suspect in a double slaying in Missouri is in fair condition after being shot by police in the lobby of an upscale hotel in the state capital.

Dent County Sheriff Rick Stallings says law enforcement officers began pursuing 44-year-old Marvin Rice of Salem after a witness reported Rice shot a man and woman on Saturday.

Stallings says Rice led officers on a high-speed chase across rural Missouri before fleeing on foot into a prominent hotel near the Missouri state capitol. He was shot and wounded in an exchange of gunfire in the lobby.

Regional news from the KBIA newsroom, including:

• Legal attempts to  throw out Missouri congressional redistricting maps fail
• Cole County police say heroin use and drug related crimes may be up
• Kirksville announces budget proposal 

Regional news from the KBIA newsroom:

• Columbia's city council adds protects gender identity in employment
• Missouri's horse industry reacts to lift on horse-slaughter ban
• More DWI check points on Columbia roads this week
• Light snow creates multiple accidents on the road

A professor at the University of Missouri has found a way to lower the cost of turkeys for us all this Thanksgiving, KBIA’s SARAH REDOHL reports.

MU Football Coach Gary Pinkel has issued an apology today for what he calls a “lack of judgment,” following his arrest last night by Boone County Sherriff’s deputies on suspicion of Driving While Intoxicated. Meanwhile, MU Chancellor Brady Deaton says the Athletics Department has his support in taking the “appropriate action.”

Local news from the KBIA newsroom.