A policy amendment approved by the Kansas Board of Regents earlier in December has left employees of public universities in Kansas concerned about their rights to free speech and has stirred a national First Amendment debate.

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More than 60 species of birds, from cardinals to wrens, were expected to be tallied in Joplin on Saturday in the Christmas Bird Count, an annual public science survey to provide data on bird population trends.

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Don’t ask me when El Vaquero will reopen, but it’s getting really close. When you see a guy sweeping the parking lot, that’s a sure sign an opening is imminent.

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Continuous enrollment in spring 2014 classes will remain under way at local colleges and universities for the next few weeks.

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Republican legislators in Missouri have made one of their New Year’s resolutions clear for 2014: add Missouri to the list of right-to-work states. Of the nine bills pre-filed by legislators aimed at restricting union activity in the state, six are right-to-work bills. Seven of those nine bills have been drafted by Southwest Missouri lawmakers, including four of the right-to-work measures.

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Owners of an independent baseball franchise who want to locate in Joplin say they are confident they can generate enough support for the team to make the renovation of Joe Becker Stadium worthwhile. They say they were going strong in El Paso, Texas, with the Diablos as a franchise of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball until the city decided to build a new stadium for an affiliate team of the San Diego Padres.

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Leaders in the Joplin community have published a collection of stories about the 2011 tornado and the recovery efforts that followed. First-hand accounts for the book, titled “Joplin Pays It Forward,” were written by city and school leaders; officials from health care centers and public utility companies; leaders in the business and media communities; representatives of churches and nonprofit organizations; and individuals with federal, state and local disaster relief groups and agencies.

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Two sisters from Bentonville, Ark., were killed and a third sister was in serious condition following a three-vehicle accident at 2:45 p.m. Thursday on Interstate 49 in Pineville, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

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The 2014 KOMA Beef Conference begins at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 14, at the Joplin Regional Stockyards on Interstate 44 east of Joplin. The keynote presenter for the evening is Dave Rethorst, Beef Cattle Institute Director of Outreach at Kansas State University, whose topic will be, “Animal Welfare, BQA (Beef Quality Assurance) and Beef Production — How It All Fits Together.”

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A southeast Kansas farmer whose video parody “What Does the Farmer Say” went viral last month has a new hit with his take on a Miley Cyrus song that features twerking cows.

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