The number of American bankruptcy cases continues to rise, with Missouri and Kansas following the national trend.

Statistics released Wednesday by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts showed Missouri ranked 14th among the states in per-capita bankruptcy filings.

Through the year ending Sept. 30, Missouri had 5.06 bankruptcy filings per 1,000 population. That compares to 3.25 filings two years earlier.

For the same period, Kansas filings hit 3.75 per thousand, up from 2.71 in 2007. The most recent number ranked Kansas 31st among the states.

The statistics include all chapters of bankruptcy protection.

Nationwide, bankruptcy rose 34.5 percent (more than 1.4 million total) from September 2008 through this September, the report said. Nevada topped the list of per-capita filings, recording 10.5 actions per 1,000 population.

A-list ticket

Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill scored a much coveted invitation to the White House state dinner Tuesday night for India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

On the A-list that included media personalities (Katie Couric and Brian Williams), Hollywood luminaries (Steven Spielberg and Alfre Woodard) and Washington bigwigs (Colin Powell and Vernon Jordan), Ms. McCaskill made the guest list with her husband, Joseph Shepard.

By her account, she sat next to White House senior adviser David Axelrod and chatted about family and health care. The Democratic senator noted that the guest of honor seemed moved by the warm welcome.

"Our alliance with India is very important," she said on her Twitter site. "I think tonight strengthened it."

On an evening of minded manners in the capital, Ms. McCaskill earlier pondered a matter of technology and etiquette: Can you tweet at a state dinner? She ventured that her mother would find it tacky.

A short time later, she told her Twitter followers, "OK, OK, definitely tacky. But I will report in after dinner. Love you Mom."

High participation

The U.S. Agriculture Department fears that some states fall short in their administration of food assistance programs. According to a report released on Tuesday, Missouri is not one of those states.

In fact, Missouri totaled 100 percent participation among people eligible for food stamps in 2007. It was the only state to reach triple digits. Nationwide, the participation rate was 66 percent for that year.

The Kansas participation rate was 57 percent.

Of the report, titled "Reaching Those in Need," USDA Under Secretary Kevin Concannon stressed the need for states to encourage eligible Americans to use the federal program.

Nationwide, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program served 36.5 million people in August, up from 29.4 million the previous August.

According to a 2008 report by the Missouri Department of Social Services, 5,585 households in Buchanan County get food stamps on an average monthly basis, with 16,449 residents yielding $14.6 million in benefits.

Ken Newton can be reached

at kenn@npgco.com.