RIVER RADIO NEWS 011714
ONE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY IN CONNECTION TO DEATH OF CAPE GIRARDEAU WOMAN
One person has been arrested in connection to the death of a Cape Girardeau woman.
According to authorities, 28 year old Brandon L. Banks was taken into custody in St. Louis on Thursday. Banks was arrested in connection to the death of 40 year old Marsha Ann Brown, whose body was discovered in Southern Illinois by a motorist on Tuesday.
JONESBORO WOMAN KILLED IN CRAIGHEAD COUNTY WRECK
A Jonesboro woman has died following a two vehicle wreck Thursday in Craighead County.
According to the Arkansas State Police, 82 year old Maria Hernandez was killed when the vehicle she was a passenger in crossed the median of Highway 63 and struck another vehicle.
Four other people were injured in the wreck.
ASU FOOTBALL PLAYER KILLED DURING HOME INVASION
A football player at Arkansas State University was killed earlier this week in his hometown.
According to the Jackson, Tennessee police department, 21 year old Markel Owens was shot and killed during a home invasion robbery Wednesday night. Another man was shot and killed during the incident, while Owens’ mother also received a gunshot wound.
Authorities are searching for two suspects in the case.
WOMAN REPORTEDLY STABBED BY BOYFRIEND IN STEELE
A woman is in serious condition after allegedly being stabbed by her boyfriend.
According to KFVS, the victim was stabbed in the leg Wednesday and had to be airlifted to a Memphis hospital. Officers have arrested 37 year old Anquan Williams, who was reportedly at the scene.
Williams is facing charges of armed criminal action, first degree domestic assault, and tampering with physical evidence in felony prosecution.
OSCEOLA HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER ARRESTED FOR ALLEGED SEXUAL CONTACT WITH A STUDENT
An Osceola High School teacher surrendered to authorities Thursday after being accused of inappropriate sexual contact with a student.
According to prosecuting attorney Scott Ellington, 28 year old Nichole J. Winberry, of Paragould, was arrested on four counts of first degree sexual assault.
Ellington says that an investigation began when the Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline received a report that Winberry had engaged in sexual contact with at least one Osceola high school student.
BUTLER AND RIPLEY COUNTIES DESIGNATED AS CERTIFIED WORK READY COMMUNITIES
Butler and Ripley Counties have designated as Certified Work Ready Communities by American College Testing
According to the ACT Work Ready Communities website, the CWRC recognition means a county has a system in place to provide employers' irrefutable data that it can deliver a quality workforce with the skills employers need.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon joined local business leaders Thursday at the Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce to congratulate Butler and Ripley Counties on the designation.
Nixon also announced that his budget proposal for the next fiscal year will include an additional $4.5 million in additional resources for Missouri Works Training, which provides customized training opportunities to companies creating or retaining jobs in the state.
DRIVING EXAM STATIONS TO BE CLOSED MONDAY
Driving exam stations across the state of Missouri will be closed Monday.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol says that the closures are in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday. Normal operations will resume on Tuesday.
KANSAS TAX CUTS FRAMING MISSOURI DEBATE
Supporters and critics of Missouri tax cut plans both are pointing to the results of recent tax cuts in Kansas.
Several business groups testified during a Senate committee hearing Thursday that Missouri must cut taxes to discourage employers in the Kansas City area from moving across the state line.
But opponents said Kansas revenues and education funding have suffered as a result of its tax cuts.
The Senate panel considered three proposals Thursday. One would cut taxes only on business income. Another would reduce Missouri's individual income tax rate. A third bill would phase in tax cuts for both businesses and individuals. No vote was taken.
Republican legislative leaders have made an income tax cut a priority this year after Democratic Governor Jay Nixon vetoed last year's bill.
MEDICAID OVERHAUL INTRODUCED IN MISSOURI SENATE
The Senate chairman of a Missouri Medicaid study panel has introduced a plan to revamp the health care program without expanding it.
Republican Senator Gary Romine, of Farmington, filed legislation Thursday that would expand the use of managed care plans and provide financial incentives for patients to hold down their medical costs.
Romine's legislation largely follows the recommendations of a special committee he lead last year. It makes no mention of expanding Medicaid eligibility for lower-income adults as allowed under President Barack Obama's health care law.
Missouri's Republican legislative leaders have repeatedly said they want to overhaul the Medicaid program - not enlarge it.
Romine's bill would let Medicaid enrollees who chose high-deductible health plans, but don't incur many costs, keep a portion of the savings.
JUDGES HEAR APPEAL OF FLAG DESECRATION CASE
The constitutionality of Missouri's flag desecration law is under consideration by a federal appeals court panel in St. Louis.
A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday heard oral arguments in the case of Cape Girardeau resident Frank Snider III.
Snider was arrested in 2009 for cutting up an American flag, throwing it into the street and trying to set it on fire. When that failed he used a knife to shred it.
Police arrested Snider, citing Missouri's flag desecration statute. Prosecutors dismissed the charge after learning of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that deemed a similar law in Texas unconstitutional.
In 2012, a federal judge in St. Louis ruled Missouri's law was unconstitutional. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster appealed to the 8th Circuit.
