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Missouri House members voted Wednesday to repeal a contentious law making it easier for landowners to incorporate their properties as villages. But they linked it to new restrictions on sexually oriented businesses.

On Tuesday, the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals upheld the ruling by Boone County Circuit Judge Gene Hamilton that Taron Crawford deserved a new trial because of ineffective counsel during his trial on a second-degree murder charge for the death of Charles Blondis in November 2003.

This is the fourth in a four-part series on growth and development in Columbia. You can find the other stories at ColumbiaMissourian.com.

You can also visit the Missourian’s Public Life blog, The Watchword, to read the reflections of reporters Rachel Heaton and Sarah Palmer, who have spent more than a month working on the series.

A group of Republicans in the state legislature approached the Democratic leadership Wednesday asking about the potential removal of House Speaker Rod Jetton.

Belongings, including several thousand dollars in jewelry, credit cards and a gun, were taken between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Wednesday from three houses on Locust Grove Church Road near Hatton Chapel Road, deputies said.

As a part of National Women’s Health Week, the Columbia/Boone County Health Department held a health and wellness fair Wednesday.

Columbia Public School’s remaining permanent substitute positions may be cut in the next draft of the budget.

The House has passed a $290 billion farm bill with a strong veto-proof majority. The legislation includes more subsidies for farmers, food stamps for the poor and special projects that lawmakers can bring home to voters this election year.

MU graduation ceremonies will be held Friday through Sunday. MU will distribute 5,194 degrees to 4,774 graduates, according to the MU News Bureau.

Senators stopped just short of a vote on an illegal immigration bill because of questions about its cost and jockeying over an unrelated measure. The legislative session ends Friday.

An Evangelical Manifesto urges evangelical Christians to focus on a biblical agenda, not partisan politics.

The interrogation techniques used on prisoners of war were authorized by the White House and should be considered war crimes.