Top Of The Morning News: Monday, January 23, 2012

A daily digest of headlines from KCUR.

• Governor Nixon: Avoid Tuition Hikes Despite Budget Cuts
• MODOT Looks To Private Sector Not Voters For I-70 Tolls
• Health Group Pushes Farmers To Reduce Antibiotic Use

Governor Nixon: Avoid Tuition Hikes Despite Budget Cuts

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon (D) is warning Missouri’s college administrators not to raise tuition to make up the difference in budget cuts he announced this week during his annual State of the State Address.  The governor wants to cut the state’s Higher Education budget by nearly $106 million, or 12.5 percent.  Read more here.

MODOT Looks To Private Sector Not Voters For I-70 Tolls

The head of the Missouri Department of Transportation says it wouldn't take a public vote to rebuild Interstate 70 using tolls. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports MoDot director Kevin Keith says private sector companies would fund the project and collect tolls to recoup their investment. The Missouri Trucking Association says the I-70 toll question should go to voters. Previous efforts to pass constitutional amendments to permit state toll roads and bridges have failed.

Health Group Pushes Farmers To Reduce Antibiotic Use

Though the FDA recently backed away from a proposal that would ban the use of some antibiotics in livestock feed,  health advocacy groups are campaigning to eliminate the practice – and they're taking their message directly to farmers.