State briefs 11/1/2017

Missouri to erect Norm Stewart statue

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Former longtime Missouri basketball coach Norm Stewart will be honored with a statue outside Mizzou Arena. The Board of Curators on Tuesday voted to authorize the statue of Stewart, who coached at Missouri for 32 seasons. The Columbia Missourian reported Athletic Director Jim Sterk said funds are in hand for the $196,000 project. Sterk says more than $218,000 has already been raised and donors have pledged another $76,000. Any excess money will be used for the basketball program and facility improvements. Stewart compiled a 634-333 record. His teams won eight Big Eight Conference championships and six conference tournament titles.

McCaskill tweets her husband is improving

ST. LOUIS -- The husband of Sen. Claire McCaskill remains hospitalized in St. Louis, but the Democratic senator said on Twitter he is showing signs of improvement. Developer Joseph Shepard is hospitalized in an intensive care unit. McCaskill on Monday posted that he has "a very big heart but right now not working very well." In a Twitter posting Tuesday, McCaskill wrote Shepard was still "in ICU but better." Another tweet showed a brief video of his heart monitor and read, "Watching my husband's heart in his room in ICU. Working better today." A spokeswoman for McCaskill said she has no additional information about Shepard's condition beyond what the senator posted. McCaskill and Shepard have been married since 2002. They have a home in suburban St. Louis.

Four members sue county executive

CLAYTON, Mo. -- The on-going battle between St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger and some members of the county council has escalated, with four members filing suit against Stenger. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the lawsuit, filed Monday, also names two other county officials. It cites an effort to discourage oversight by blocking the county auditor from hiring a staff. The council hired Mark Tucker as auditor by a 4-3 vote in February. Stenger, a CPA, has said Tucker lacks the accounting experience for the job. The lawsuit seeks enforcement of separation of powers and checks and balances as provided by the county charter. It also names county counselor Peter J. Krane and director of personnel Sue Daniels. Three of the four council members filing suit are Democrats, as is Stenger.

Hawley seeks opioid distributor records

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley is demanding documents from three major opioid distributors he said didn't report suspiciously large shipments of prescription drugs. Hawley told reporters Tuesday his office is reviewing AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson as part of efforts to investigative the opioid crisis. Hawley said companies are required by law to report suspicious opioid shipments. He said there's evidence to suggest the distributors he's investigating looked the other way instead of reporting large shipments. He's trying to get more information through the document request. An AmerisourceBergen spokesman said the company has reported and halted potentially suspicious orders, and a McKesson spokeswoman said that company is reviewing Hawley's request. Cardinal Health didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Rockwell Automation rejects Emerson bid

NEW YORK -- Rockwell Automation is rejecting an unsolicited takeover bid from Emerson Electric, saying it's not in the company's best interests. Following media reports of a deal that sent its stock soaring, the Milwaukee industrial automation company confirmed Tuesday that it received two offers. Shares of both companies were halted briefly. Rockwell Automation Inc. said Emerson offered $215 per share in cash and stock earlier this month, or roughly $27.61 billion. Emerson's original bid of $200 per share was made in August. Emerson Electric Co. of St. Louis said talks between the companies are off.

-- From wire reports