Holifield handled kickoffs and punts for Godby, and he had a long punt of 60 yards, while he consistently put kickoffs in the endzone. He is currently a starting power forward on Godby’s basketball team, which has been ranked #1 in the state for much of the season, and he previously has placed 3rd in the state in the high jump, where he has a personal best mark of 6-foot-11 inches.

Holifield chose Mizzou over Miami, Fla. and Rutgers, and also had interest from Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt, among others.

Sponsor Stanley Cox (R-Sedalia) is sponsoring the measure, which also lets patrons keep guns in their cars.

Missourians for Personal Safety says the bill just makes common sense, and the National Rifle Association agrees. However, the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys says the bill is just a veiled attempt to insulate businesses from litigation. Rep. Mike Colona (D-St. Louis), an attorney himself, he says these are decisions better left to juries …. not legislators.

Cox uses as an example an incident where a Starbucks was robbed and a patron who chased the burglar was struck by his car in the parking lot and later died. His family sued Starbucks. (Read the article here.)

Another legislator wants to expand Missouri’s concealed carry law to allow open carry regardless of any other ordinance. Rep. Paul Fitzwater (R-Potosi) says law-abiding citizens with concealed carry permits should not be at risk if their gun is showing, or if they’re in an area that doesn’t permit concealed carry.

Other bills before the committee looked at employer discrimination against concealed carry permit holders, and lowering the age to get a permit from 21 to 18.

The bills being considered are: HB 1319, 1369, 1045, 1621.

AUDIO: Jessica Machetta reports (1:32)

Mizzou led 41-33 with just over 14 minutes remaining, but ISU went on a 6-0 run and got some favorable calls as Chelsea Poppens completed a three-point play with 1:08 remaining, tying the game at 54-54. ISU eventually built a 57-54 lead but Sydney Crafton banked a three pointer with four seconds remaining to force OT.

In overtime, ISU’s defense locked down the Tigers and held them scoreless until a last-second layup by Crafton

State Budget Director Linda Luebbering

The gap in the budget had been $500 million but a recent mortgage settlement secured by the Attorney General’s Office has knocked that number down by $40 million.

State Budget Director Linda Luebbering says the Administration’s recommendations to balance the budget includes a $191.7 million reduction from where budget planners expected Medicaid would be. She tells lawmakers, “It’s an actual reduction of $20 million for general revenue from this year, but a $191 million dollar reduction from where we thought we would need to be because of the change in the Medicaid match rate.” Luebbering says it will not require a change in eligibility or a reduction in services provided.

$74.7 million of the administration’s budget recommendations also rely on measures still before the state legislature. A revenue collections bill would generate an estimated $12.9 million, with another $51.8 million to come from a tax amnesty bill. Both are sponsored by Representative Tom Flanigan (R-Carthage).

What had been a $16.9 million dollar recommended reduction to community and technical colleges has been scaled back to $10.5 million, also due to proceeds from the mortgage settlement.

Other amounts include $41 million from restructuring debt, $29.3 million in administrative savings, a $7 million reduction to biodiesel subsidy payments and a $2 million reduction to public health agencies.

The Administration’s top priority for the budget remains $203 million to the Foundation Formula. Luebbering says, “$198 million of that is needed just to keep the formula where it is this year.”

Luebbering tells the committee there are some positive signs in the economy. “The unemployment rate is down. We are starting to see a little bit of growth on the collections side. Not a lot yet this fiscal year. We were at 1.3 percent growth in our revenue collections at the end of January, so not stellar growth, but certainly it’s good to see that we’re continuing a positive on our collections numbers.”

Republicans question the validity of the lower unemployment numbers, saying that federal statistic does not count individuals who don’t have jobs and are no longer looking for them as being unemployed. Luebbering says the data still holds meaning, “Because it has historically looked at people who are looking for jobs or who have jobs. So, I think it is a historically relevant statistic that has been measured the same for years. Granted it’s not a complete number, but it at least is consistently calculated every month.”

The House Budget Committee will continue to hold agency budget hearings this week.

The bill would let employers refuse to provide health insurance coverage for sterilization, abortion, and contraception. He filed the bill in reaction to the Obama administration’s initiative a few weeks ago that Catholic hospitals complained would force them to provide coverage for those things for employees. The bill has been rushed to the floor for debate.

Senator Jolie Justus of Kansas City maintains the bill would talk about a lot more things if it really was about religious freedom. “There are a large group of people out there….who object to vaccines; they object to blood transfusions….And if we’re talking about true religious freedom, it should not be limited to reproductive health. But this isn’t about religious freedom. It’s about the national political debate as we head into the next presidential election,” she says

Other critics say the bill seems to allow employees to sue employers who don’t provide coverage those things under discrimination laws. Another suggests the lack of definition of “sterilization” could deny coverage for life-saving reproductive surgeries

Lamping has set the bill aside but could bring it back later.

AUDIO: Senate debate 1:39:00

Missouri, down by as many as 16, cut it to 4 after two free throws by Michael Dixon with 2:21 left, but Jordan Henriquez answered with an alley-oop dunk following a Tiger timeout. The Wildcats extended the lead on two free throws by Henriquez after a Steve Moore foul on a missed Dixon three-pointer and built a cushion from the foul line in the final minute.  The Tigers were 1 of 10 from beyond the arc in the final six and a half minutes.

Dixon scored 21 and Marcus Denmon added 19 for Missouri. The Tigers  entered the game hitting more than 50 percent of their shots, best in the Big 12 and third-best nationally.

The K-State loss was Missouri’s first home defeat of the season and just the fourth career loss at Mizzou Arena for the Tigers’ 5-man senior class. It also kept Missouri from the best start in school history. The previous two Missouri teams to start 25-2, in 1990 and 1994 under coach Norm Stewart, also lost.

AUDIO Missouri postgame

Representative Casey Guernsey

The Commission considers changes to those values every two years. This year it had suggested that those four categories’ values go up eight percent. Representative Casey Guernsey (R-Bethany) told his colleagues those areas of land were hit the hardest by last year’s floods.

“I would simply contend that this is not a year to be raising taxes on farmers who have been absolutely devastated by the floods all across the state.”

The Commission’s recommendation will still take effect unless the Senate also votes to reject it by March 4. A hearing on the matter was held earlier this month, but the matter remains in a committee.

The property tax changes would be effective for 2013 and 2014 assessments.

AUDIO: Representative Guernsey and Representative Jill Schupp (D-Creve Coeur), 12:45