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Damage was reported at a nursing home, but none of the several dozen residents were injured. Ambulance district director David Tetrault of nearby St. Francois County said one person in the region was hospitalized and three others were treated for scrapes and bruises.


Paul Mayer, chief of the De Soto Rural Fire District, said quite a few buildings had light to heavy damage, with some of them listed as uninhabitable. At least one tornado touched down, he said.


Lawmakers and visitors to the Capitol building in Jefferson City were evacuated briefly to the basement, prompting 10-year-old Ashley McFarland to break into tears.


Lt. Gov. Joe Maxwell handed the fourth-grader his cell phone so she could talk to her father. "I've never been in a tornado before," said Ashley, on a class trip from Independence. "I was afraid that my family wasn't safe."


Forty people died in three states Sunday as dozens of twisters touched down in the Midwest and Southeast. The National Weath...