State briefs 3/29/04

Five killed in crash on I-29; baby injured

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Five people died and a baby was injured when their minivan crossed a grassy median on Interstate 29 and collided head-on with a tractor-trailer. The Missouri State Highway Patrol did not immediately identify the woman, girl and three men killed in the crash Saturday afternoon five miles north of St. Joseph in Andrew County. The patrol said some of the victims were from Germany and some from Canada.

Missouri House weighs privatizing state jobs

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A customer service operator in India answers the phone when Missourians have questions about the state's food stamp program. That's because the state contracted with a Scottsdale, Ariz., firm, and its customer service department in India two years ago to manage Missouri's electronic benefit cards for food stamp and welfare programs. That doesn't sit well with Rep. Mark Abel, D-Festus, who told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that taxpayer dollars should be used to create jobs, "not send jobs overseas." Abel is sponsor of a measure that would require state contracts to stipulate that only U.S. citizens or residents do the work.

-- From wire reports