MU football coach Gary Pinkel pled guilty to driving while intoxicated Friday.

He was sentenced to two years of unsupervised probation.

Pinkel had been arrested Wednesday night on suspected DWI. The next afternoon, the university suspended him without pay for one week. Other penalties imposed on Pinkel include a one-week salary contribution to a University of Missouri wellness program.

The various penalties could cost Pinkel more than $300,000.

Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder announced Friday he would not seek the GOP nomination for governor.

Instead, Kinder plans for re-election for a third term as lieutenant governor.

Kinder had been the presumptive GOP candidate, but ran into controversy concerning use official funds for lodging in St. Louis and later from allegations that he attended bars with scantily clad women.

Until his surprise announcement, Kinder and his staff had given every indication he intended to make the race.

Four years ago, Kinder had dropped a possible race for governor after former U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof had announced his campaign.

Earlier this week, a St. Louis businessman, Dave Spence, announced his candidacy for governor. Kinder said he would support Spence.

Kinder may not have a free shot for the Republican nomination to keep his job as lieutenant governor. Sen. Brad Lager, R-Maryville, announced earlier in the week his candidacy.

Chris McKee, son of a prominent St. Louis developer, also had announced his candidacy, although the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported he intended to drop out.

Earlier, House Speaker Steve Tilley, R-Perryville, dropped his campaign for lieutenant governor.

The redistricting judicial panel secretly convened to decide who Missourians get to vote for in the next election.

The six judges on the redistricting panel refuse to disclose any information on the meeting or plans.

Western District Court of Appeals Judge Lisa Hardwick who's chairing the panel refused to comment.

Chief Judge Don E. Burrell Jr. on the commission kept walking when asked about the meeting.

The other four judges serving on the panel are Robert G. Dowd Jr., Nancy Steffen Rahmeyer, Roy L. Richter and James E. Welsh.

The House Democratic leader voiced criticism of the secrecy when told about it.

"On public policy matters that are important that only happen every ten years like this does, that are of that importance, I think they should be done in a full and transparent process in front of the world to see," said Rep. Mike Talboy, D-Kansas City.

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Gov. Jay Nixon just said he will offer state help in managing some St. Louis County parks to keep them open on Wednesday.

However, Sen. Jim Lembke, R-St. Louis County, said it is not the governor's business to offer that help.

According to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch's article, Nixon said a state-county operation would same money.

However, Lembke said he questioned where the money will be from. He said it is unconstitutional to use money dedicated to state parks to fund parks outside the system.

"He can't unilaterally go around the appropriations process and promise funds that he does not have ability to appropriate," said Lembke.

Lembke also said they have serious challenges to set the priorities of people in spending their money in the budget process and there is no extra money for Nixon to make his promise.

Lembke said what the governor can do is to encourage county executive to rearrange the county's priority. He said the county can find money elsewhere and make cut other places in the budget to fund the parks.

Lembke said he has heard from many constituents saying they want the parks to remain open and he is communicating with the county executive office on the behalf of the constituents.

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Governor Jay Nixon joined broadband stakeholders and industry leaders at the second annual Missouri Broadband Summit to promote Internet accessibility.

The summit is a part of the state's MoBroadbandNow initiative, which was founded by Nixon in 2009 to expand and enhance Internet accessibility in Missouri.

Nixon said access to broadband is not a luxury for the future, but a necessity to keep the economy moving forward.

By the end of 2014, Nixon's goal is to let 95 percent of Missourians have broadband accessibility.

University of Missouri head football coach, Gary Pinkel, will not coach Saturday's game against Texas Tech.

This comes after the Boone County Sheriff's Department arrested Pinkel Wednesday night on driving while intoxicated charges. 

The Boone County Sheriff's Deputy arrested Pinkel Wednesday night around 10:15 pm in Columbia. Officers pulled Pinkel over for lane and signal violations. After pulling Pinkel over, deputies believed Pinkel had been drinking.  Officers transported Pinkel to the Boone County Jail where he later posted $500 bond.

Major Tom Reddin would not comment on specifics, but this is Pinkel's first offense.

Last year Mizzou football players Beau Brinkley and Will Ebner were arrested for DWI and subsequently suspended. Also, assistant coach Bruce Walker was arrested for DWI.  Both players were suspended for two games as a result of their arrests. 

In a statement released Thursday morning Pinkel apologized for his actions.  "My staff and I constantly reinforce with each of our players the importance of not putting yourself into a position such as this. I did not follow that here and for that, I sincerely apologize to the University of Missouri, to our administration, to the Board of Curators and to our fans. I have already met with our staff and communicated with our players and have apologized to them," said Pinkel.

Athletic Director, Mike Alden, also released a statement saying he is disappointed in Pinkel's actions.  "He is known as a man of great character and integrity. However, this absolutely goes against everything we stand for, and everything that he teaches his players in regards to our social responsibilities. We hold ourselves to very high standards, and this is a very serious breach of those responsibilities," said Alden.

Pinkel said he will face whatever form of punishment the athletic department finds necessary.  "I accept full responsibility for my actions and will abide by whatever course of action our leadership deems appropriate," said Pinkel.

MU Chancellor Brady Deaton released a statement saying he is disappointed to hear about Pinkel's arrest.  "Coaches must hold themselves to the very highest of standards. His lack of judgment is especially concerning since he serves as a role model for our students, said Deaton.

At a press conference Thursday afternoon Alden announced Pinkel will not coach Saturday's game against Texas Tech.  In addition to his week-long suspension, Pinkel's punishments include donating a week's salary to the MU Wellness Resource Center.  This salary totals to over $40,000.

Other financial punishments include a one year pay freeze, no social and academic incentives, and no bowl bonuses. 

The financial impact of this DWI arrest total to more than $300,000. Aside from the financial impacts, Pinkel has to write an apology letter to fans, will have a letter of reprimand placed on his file, and must complete 50 hours of community service by next summer. 

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President Obama filed to run in the Missouri's primary this week.

The primary is scheduled for February 7th.

Eight Republican candidates already filed for the primary.

Obama joins Republican candidates: Herman Cain, Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Gary Johnson, Michael Meehan, Keith Drummond, and Jon Huntsman.

Obama is the only Democratic candidate on the ballot right now.

Several Missouri state lawmakers agreed there should be discussion next year on using tolls to fund reconstruction for Interstate 70.

At a meeting of the Joint Legislative Committee on Transportation Oversight, Missouri Department of Transportation Director Kevin Keith urged lawmakers to support his department's plan to make Interstate 70 a toll road to recover the costs of major improvements to the interstate. The worn-down interstate's overcapacitated lanes and old bridges are among the reasons Keith said the interstate is in desperate need of a repair.

Under the plan, MoDOT would partner with private contractors to improve I-70 from the U.S. Highway 40-61 junction in Wentzville to the I-470 junction near Kansas City. Such improvements could include the expansion of new lanes, bridges and dedicated truck lanes on the interstate.

Keith said he estimates the project would cost anywhere from $1.5 billion to $4 billion, but he said a newly renovated interstate would keep MoDOT from spending $75 million to $95 million per year on maintenance.

"[We] have got to have some way to pay for it. And right now it's the only option I know of," Keith said.

Other lawmakers, including House Transportation Committee Chairman Charlie Denison, R-Springfield, suggested a sales tax increase as another source of funding.

In 2007, Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Stouffer, R-Napton, supported a statewide sales tax increase to deal with overcrowded interstates.

Stouffer also expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of a new toll.

"I have a concern -- I don't know how real it is -- that if you toll 70, you will push traffic onto other roads that aren't built for the heavy traffic," Stouffer said.

Keith said it was a "valid concern" and that a toll would undoubtedly cause some traffic to leave.  

He estimates the project could be completed in the next five years. 

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Thirty-five years ago, Kenny Rothman co-sponsored Missouri's child abuse law, which requires anyone who works with children to immediately report suspected child abuse.

But like Pennsylvania, that law requires that some professionals such as teachers only have to report the suspected abuse to their supervisors.

Rothman, now a St. Louis County attorney, said if he could do it over, he would not have included that exemption.

"The administration could cover it up like it was done here in Pennsylvania, or it could take too long because administrations have a tendency to be bulky and cumbersome," Rothman said.

A staff attorney from the Missouri State Teachers Association said he does not think a change is necessary and that the system works well with teachers reporting abuse to principals.

Senate Democratic Leader Victor Callahan, D-Independence, said he has not heard of any plans to change the child abuse law during the upcoming legislative session.

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The embattled director of Missouri's Economic Development director David Kerr will leave his position at the end of the year.

Kerr's department has come under attack after the failure of an economic development project promoted by his agency has left the city of Moberly with nearly $40 million in bonds for a project that has been abandoned.

Earlier this year, the company Mamtek failed to make payments on bonds for development of factory it was developing in Moberly under an economic development project approved by Kerr's department.

Subsequent legislative investigations identified a southeast Missouri economic development project the state abandoned after it was discovered that the developer had been convicted of check fraud.

Also spotlighted by the legislative investigation was the failure of an economic development project in Kirksville by a company called Wi-Fi Sensors.

A statement issued by the governor's office reported that Kerr would continue to work for Jay Nixon as an unpaid consultant.

In the statement, Kerr was quoted as saying he wanted to spend more time with his children.

The Department of Economic Development released a report showing unemployment dropped to 8.5 percent in October.

That's down 0.2 percent from September.

According to this report, Missouri's unemployment rate is 1 percent lower than the U.S. unemployment rate.

The industries that saw the largest job increase were private education, leisure and hospitality, and administrative support services.

Despite this news, top officials from the Department of Economic Development were unable to comment.

Spokesman for the governor's office Scott Holste was also unavailable.

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Chairman of the House Transportation Committee Charlie Denison said the head of the Missouri Department of Transportation has contacted him for the proposal of making I-70 a toll road.

Denison said he supports highway funding, but toll roads are not the best option.

"All good coming in and out of the state of Missouri will go up if we use toll roads. So it is a good source of funding? Not necessarily," said Denison.

Denison said another possible option for funding might be a sales tax increase.

"Not gasoline tax, because we need to probably bring that down a little bit, but turn around and do a sales tax," said Denison.

But Denison said it might take several years to make that happen.

Meanwhile, Denison also said I-70 is not the only highway that needs to rebuild.

"We have a dire need on 70, but we get just as great a need on 44 in my opinion. And we get just as great a need for some of our farm-to-market roads that are not getting anything at this particular time," said Denison.

Denison said they need to find a new source of revenue to build new highways.

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The average value of farmland in several states throughout the Midwest and West is up 25% more than last year, despite droughts and flooding.

According to a survey released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, that's the biggest annual increase in land value since it began keeping survey records in 1994.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City covers western Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Colorado and northern New Mexico.

The Federal Reserve said bumper crops and strong farm income from northern Plain states is the biggest reason for the increase.

Kelly Smith with the Missouri Farm Bureau said Missouri's farmland has also seen steady gains in value the past few years.

"This would be across the state - whether it's cropland, pasture land, forest, timberland - we have seen values rise," said Smith.

Smith attributes the rise mostly to rising commodity prices.

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Joplin City officials say almost half of the 7,500 homes that were destroyed in the May 22 tornado are now under repair.

Joplin has issued almost 3,700 building permits for repairs, rebuilding, and new construction projects.

Joplin Public Information Officer, Lynn Onstot, says more than half of the building permits call for repairs of over $100,000.

Onstot credits much of the progress to the thousands of volunteers that came to Joplin following the May tornado.

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Missouri strip clubs attempted to take off restrictions that Missouri state law placed on them in 2010, and failed, according to the Associated Press.

The Missouri Supreme Court unanimously voted against lifting restrictions such as full nudity, alcohol permission and staying open past midnight.

The restrictions not only apply to strip clubs, but any sex oriented business. The lobbyists for strip clubs say it was an infringement on free expression, and the court disagreed.

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As pedestrian deaths so far this year threaten to surpass last year's total, the Missouri Department of Transportation launched a pedestrian awareness campaign called "Be Smart. Be Seen."

Transportation department spokeswoman DeAnne Rickabaugh said there have already been 54 pedestrian deaths for the first nine months of 2011. There were 57 pedestrian deaths in 2010, which puts 2011 on track to surpass this statistic.

Rickabaugh said drivers and pedestrians should be more attentive to one other, especially in highway situations. Drivers should pay attention to pedestrians, and pedestrians should take measures to ensure their own safety, she said.

Rickabaugh suggested pedestrians walk on the shoulder against traffic flow and look drivers in the eyes. She said pedestrians who do not know how to address their car troubles should stay in their cars if possible and call police or assistance to deal with the issue.

MoDOT plans to hold events to spread awareness about pedestrian safety.

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St. Louis businessman Dave Spence announced his intention to run for Missouri governor in an interview with the Associated Press Tuesday.

Spence, a Republican, will most likely enter into an August primary election against embattled Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, although he has yet to formally declare his candidacy.

The winner of this primary would face current Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon in a November 2012 gubernatorial election.

Spence, 53, is a current head of the firms Alpha Packaging and Legacy Packaging, which make products for pharmaceutical companies. He has never run for public office.

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St. Louis businessman Chris McKee and state Senator Brad Lager both announced they will run for Lieutenant Governor.

This comes after Speaker of the House Steve Tilley dropped out of the race last week.

Lt. Governor Peter Kinder will not run again and is expected to run for governor, but he has not yet announced his plans for the 2012 election.