Stifel Nicolaus Market Strategist Joe Battipaglia says a double-dip recession is not likely because the economy has still not fully recovered from the most recent recession.

Battipaglia notes Missourians can prevent feeling the turmoil of the economy by making long-term investments such as higher education, rather than short-term expenditures like vacations.

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Judge Jon Beetem of the 19th Circuit Court in Jefferson City will decide Friday to whether to block a law limiting the Missouri porn industry.

Among numerous provisions, the legislation would disallow nudity in strip clubs.

If he does not block the law, it would take effect Saturday.

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The worst economic downturn since the Great Depression has scared Missourians into socking money away instead of spending it.

That has led a record 122,000 Missouri parents to use the state's 529 college-savings plan to invest for their kids' education.

Even though half of the direct-investment funds have lost value this year, parents should focus on long-term results, state Treasurer Clint Zweifel told Missouri Digital News in an interview.

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During a conference call Wednesday, Missouri Republican Party Executive Director Lloyd Smith said U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton has "lost touch" with Missouri's 4th Congressional District.

"[Skelton's] a liberal in Washington, and when he comes back here, he's a liberal just as well," Smith said.

Ryan Hobart, Communications Director for the Missouri Democratic Party, countered Smith's statement, saying Skelton "is an independent voice who votes with the needs of the district."

Skelton will face off with Republican opponent U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler in less than seventy days.

Egg producers in Missouri say the national recall of eggs because of Salmonella contamination has increased demand for locally produced eggs.

Producers in the St. Louis area say they will need to add more chickens to meet the increased demand.

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Vicky Hartzler, the Republican challenger in Missouri's 4th Congressional District, doesn't really think the Show-Me State has a naval base, as she may have implied in an interview earlier this month, her spokesman said Monday.

Hartzler criticized Democratic U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton, her opponent, on his military advocacy in an Aug. 12 interview with KSHB/Channel 41 in Kansas City, Mo. "We have the smallest navy here that we have had since the early 1960s," she said.

Missouri is a landlocked state, and does not have a naval base. Whiteman Air Force Base has some U.S. Navy personnel, and the military hosts some naval train

Fourteen teachers filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the state, saying budget cuts that cost them their jobs in Missouri's virtual schools program breeched their contracts, the Associated Press reports.

The teachers say dozens of educators got layoff notices improperly, because their contracts guaranteed they'd have their jobs for more time. Lawmakers cut the virtual schools' funds last year, the AP says.

The teachers filed suit in Boone County. The lawsuit names the state of Missouri, the state's Board of Education, the University of Missouri system's Board of Curators, and a business unit of the university, the AP says.

Winners of three Missouri House primary races could face recount challenges after the Secretary of State certified the election results Tuesday, the Associated Press reports.

In Kansas City's 40th District, John Joseph Rizzo beat Will Royster by three votes in the Aug. 3 election. Judy Wright tallied 13 more votes than Mike Waltemath in the 5th District in northwest Missouri. The St. Louis area's 77th District saw an 11-vote victory, with Eileen Grant McGeoghegan beating Doug Clemens.

Candidates who lose by less than 1 percent can ask for a recount within a week of the Secretary of State certifying the results, the AP says.

In the state's U.S. Senate race, primary winners Robin Carnahan, the current Democratic Secretary of State, and Roy Blunt, a Republican U.S. representative, won by large margins and will not face recount challenges.

Missouri's Natural Resources Department reported Monday that about 1,000 gallons of wastewater had been released into Lake of the Ozarks Sunday.

The rupture occurred in the wake of a water quality symposium August 18, attended by Gov. Jay Nixon.

The department reported the release was the result of a sewer main break around Arrowhead Estates.