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EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) - A one-time appellate court judge is being appointed to fill a vacant St. Clair County court position after the judge who once held the job resigned over drug charges.

The Belleville News-Democrat reports Republican Steven P. McGlynn was named to the post Wednesday, replacing Mike Cook.

Cook resigned in May after being charged with heroin and gun possession as part of a widening courthouse drug scandal.

He was charged in the case after the March death of colleague who died from a cocaine overdose at Cook's western Illinois hunting cabin.

McGlynn was appointed to the appellate court in 2005, but lost an election bid the next year. He was later appointed to the county circuit court following a retirement. He lost another judgeship election last year.

Customers in the Metro East are overpaying by $300 million dollars a year for their smartphone plans. The study was released by the Citizens Utility Board in cooperation with wireless research firm Vaildas.

Rajiv Ravulapati with Citizens Utility Board tell KTRS News that consumers may not want to switch from their current carrier, but that change could save a lot of money, "Consider prepaid plans, because they are getting more sophisticated these days. To the point where Boost Mobile, for example, offers a no-contract plan which offers unlimited talk, text, and data for $50 a month."

There are more tips on how to cut your cell phone and smartphone bill at CUBCellphonesaver.com.

PRESTON, Minn. (AP) - A Minnesota mother and her 18-year-old son are accused of stealing nearly $5,000 in frozen gopher feet and selling them for a bounty.

   Thirty-seven-year-old Tina Marie Garrison and Junior Lee Dillon, both of Preston, were charged last month with receiving stolen property and theft. They allegedly gave the feet to local townships that offer rewards as they try to limit the gopher population.

   Garrison has pleaded not guilty. Her son has a hearing next month.

   The complaint says a gopher trapper reported to authorities that bags of feet were stolen from his freezer. According to the complaint, the owner found Dillon had turned in $1,014 in feet in November. In December, Garrison turned in $3,780 in feet.

   The Post-Bulletin reports Dillon denied turning in any feet for the bounty.