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Morning headlines: Friday, August 19, 2011

(Courtesy Missouri State Fair)

Good morning! Here are some of today's starting headlines:

Missouri State Fairgrounds temporarily close after nighttime storms

Update: A tweet from the Missouri State Fair: "State Fair to Open Gates at 3 p.m. Today - Luke Bryan and Josh Thompson will take the Grandstand Stage at 7:30 p.m. as scheduled"

Original Story:

The Missouri State Fairgrounds are closed after a strong storm knocked out power.

Fair officials say all events scheduled for Friday morning have been canceled. Fair official say they hope to have power restored by noon.

The storm knocked down several tents and trailers, as well as trees and power lines when it blew through on Thursday night.

Livestock owners and concessionaires will be allowed onto the grounds to check their property but the grounds are closed to the general public.

Kansas City Power and Light reports that about 7,600 customers were without power in the Sedalia area Friday morning.

Christopher Coleman moved to out-of-state prison

A former Marine convicted in the 2009 strangling deaths of his wife and their two sons has been transferred to a maximum security prison outside Illinois.

Department of Corrections spokeswoman Sharyn Elman told the Belleville News-Democrat that Christopher
Coleman was transferred Thursday from the Pontiac Correctional Center.

A Corrections Department official revealed in June that Coleman would be moved under the Interstate Compact Agreement. It allows prisoners in high-profile cases to be moved out of state for safety and security reasons.

Elman says no specific incident prompted the move. She wouldn't disclose the location of Coleman's new home.

Coleman was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in May for killing of Sheri Coleman and their 11-and 9-year-old sons in their Columbia home.

Mo. unit helps recover $2.8M in rural stolen property

Gov. Jay Nixon says the Missouri Livestock and Farm Protection Task Force has recovered more than $2.8 million in stolen property from rural areas since 2009.

The task force works with the Highway Patrol, sheriffs and farmers to solve thefts of livestock and farm equipment. It also deals with property and drug crimes in rural areas.

Nixon says the cooperation is making a difference in recovering stolen property and preventing thefts.

The governor says that through Aug. 15, the task force has investigated 891 incidents and been involved in the arrests of 182 suspects.