A new report says Missouri's March unemployment rate fell by three-tenths of a point to 9.1 percent.

Monday's report from the state Department of Economics also says Missouri employers added a net of more than 24,000 jobs last month.

The hospitality and leisure sector had the biggest gain, adding about 6,300 jobs, while retailers added 5,800 jobs. Other notable increases were construction, with 4,200 jobs added, and business and professional services, up by 2,700 jobs.

A 40-year old Asian elephant at the St. Louis Zoo named "Donna" has tested positive for tuberculosis, but is expected to be just fine.

Donna the Elephant came to the St. Louis zoo as a 3-year old juvenile in 1971.

All elephants get complete medical evaluation each year including blood collection, vaccinations and trunk cultures to look for tuberculosis.

Randy Junge, the Zoo's Director of Animal Health said the 40-year-old pachyderm will live off-display for the next year, but won't be quarantined.

A newspaper's review of travel records has found that U.S Sen. Claire McCaskill spent far less for four years of flights on her private plane than two former Missouri senators spent for travel over similar time spans.

Starting next year, Illinois businesses will see a tax increase and the recently unemployed will lose a week of unemployment benefits.

That's because of a compromise bill passed this month in the Illinois Legislature.

The Rockford Register Star reports the deal is part of a longer-term plan to help contribute to Illinois' depleted unemployment trust fund, which is $3 billion in debt to the U.S. Treasury.

Updated 4:35 p.m. April 11, 2011 with comment from Jones and Tilley.

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster says Congress overstepped its constitutional powers under the commerce clause when it mandated that most Americans have health insurance or pay a penalty.

Koster says he filed a document (see below) Monday with a federal appeals court supporting a Florida lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the new federal health care law.

Jury Selection Begins in Coleman Murder Trial

Jury selection begins today in Perry County Illinois in the trial of Christopher Coleman. That’s according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The former Marine is accused of strangling his wife and two sons and then staging the crime scene with threatening messages on the walls.

Imagine that you've just been told you have only a short time to live. What would you want your family and community to remember most about you? In St. Louis, a hospice program called Lumina helps patients leave statements that go beyond a simple goodbye. 

Below is the top-ten list of the St. Louis region's best-selling adult and children's books. The list is compiled by the St. Louis Independent Bookstore Alliance.

For the week ending April 3:

Adult

Photo by "djmark1972" on Flickr.com.

Join the St. Louis Public Radio Flickr group to see interesting photos from the St. Louis region and submit your own. Each week, we feature on our website one outstanding photo from the group.

Missouri's Civil War Heritage Foundation is trying to raise money for a driving trail exploring Ulysses S. Grant's path through the state in the first year of the Civil War.

The group is hosting a fundraising dinner next Wednesday at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.

Foundation president Gregory Wolk says they're working on a segment of the Grant Trail in St. Louis County and in talks with other counties about future projects.