Newscast for January 2, 2012

Regional news from the KBIA newsroom, including:

• Higher education leaders in Missouri are expecting a dismal year when it comes to state funding.
• U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill considers herself both a watchdog and an underdog.
• Missouri legislative leaders will be redefining their approach to economic development when the 2012 session begins.
• Transportation officials have released a plan exploring two options for expanding passenger rail service in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
• The American Civil Liberties Union has warned the St. Joseph School District that it's coming close to breaching the separation of church and state
• Missouri soon will be displaying an array of battle flags from the Civil War
• A group of students at the Missouri University of Science and Technology have found a way to use segments of DNA embedded in bacteria to detect glucose.