Jay Nixon

SPRINGFIELD --  Governor Jay Nixon easily won Tuesday's primary; he held his watch party in Springfield with the Greene County Democrats. Hundreds of supports packed into the University Plaza Hotel where the governor took the stage for about 20 minutes in what seemed more like a campaign rally than a watch party.    Nixon told supporters he has strong a record of reaching across the aisle to work with republicans. He highlighted what he called his bi-partisan efforts to balance the state budget without raising taxes and his work to revive the economy.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A former Republican state representative, Chuck Wooten, held an event on Sunday at Buckinghams near the Oasis Convention Center to show his support for Gov. Jay Nixon.  The Republican is openly endorsing a Democrat for re-election. Wooten said Nixon will be tougher on criminals than Nixon's Republican opponent, Dave Spence. Wooten also took a swipe at New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for coming to Springfield to stump for Spence. "I can't understand why they bring in Christie to town to support Spence when the unemployment in his state is a whole lot worse than it is -- it's way above the national average," he said.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo -- Missouri Governor was in town Wednesday at the South Side Senior Center to sign legislation concerning financial exploitation. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reports about one out of every five calls to the Elder Abuse Hotline deals with financial exploitation. It's a constant battle, and before this law prosecutors didn't have all the tools they needed to go after criminals. "It is an awful and unfortunate truth that each year thousands of older folks are the victims of financial exploitation," said Governor Nixon.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Gov. Jay Nixon spent Monday and Tuesday traveling across the state to promote his new plan for job creation.  Nixon stopped on Tuesday at a company here called Custom Powder Systems, where he held a news conference to talk about the plan.  "Our job is to create jobs in the future, to provide the training and resources and vision for where we're going to take this economy," said Nixon. Custom Powder makes processing equipment for the food and  pharmaceutical industries.  Chief Executive Officer Denise McIntosh said Custom Powder exports close to 30 percent of its products.  Producing and exporting are central parts of the Nixon's jobs plan.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Gov. Jay Nixon has signed an executive order authorizing a program that will provide $2 million of unallocated State Soil and Water District Commission funds to make sure farmers have the water wells they need. The executive order comes as many farmers say they are having trouble finding water for their livestock. At the Francka dairy farm in Polk County, the crops have stopped growing, and the feeding bill is mounting higher every day. "This year, instead of making hay, putting up hay; we've been feeding hay, feeding a lot of hay right now, kinda like it was the middle of January," David Francka explained.

HERMITAGE, Mo. -- Michael Brown is the new Hickory County prosecuting attorney.  Gov. Jay Nixon appointed him to the position on Tuesday, filling a vacancy created when former prosecuting attorney James Hackett became Hickory County's associate circuit judge. Brown lives in Hickory County.  He served as an associate circuit judge for Polk County for 24 years before retiring at the end of 2002.  After leaving the bench, he served first as a mediator and then as a private attorney in Bolivar.  Brown is a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserve.

President Obama, along with Gov. Jay Nixon, Rep. Billy Long, and Sen. Claire McCaskill toured the damage from Sunday's tornado in Joplin. Residents say they feel energized to rebuild and make Joplin better than it was. Paula and Shawn Nelson say they had goosebumps after hearing the President speak at Missouri Southern State University. Tammy Daniell says this visit gives residents that extra "oomph" to get the job done.

GAINESVILLE, Mo. -- Gov. Jay Nixon appointed Shane Ledbetter of Gainesville to be the Ozark County coroner.   The position was vacant because Ronald Mahan resigned. Ledbetter, a Republican, was deputy county coroner for the past four years.  He is an embalmer and funeral director for the Clinkingbeard Funeral Home in Gainesville, and previously served as an embalmer for funeral homes in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is in Springfield Thursday. He's expected to visit the Burrell Autism Center to sign House Bill 2010, which will provide funding to extend autism services to an additional 375 children through Missouri's five Regional Autism Projects. Those projects serve roughly 2,500 families across Missouri. The signing will take place at roughly 2 p.m.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Jay Nixon announced the date for the special election to fill the Eighth Congressional District Seat held since 1996 by Rep. Jo Ann Emerson.  In a news release on Tuesday afternoon, the governor's office said the election will be June 4. The announcement was prompted by a letter from Emerson saying her resignation from the seat was effective as of 11:59 a.m. on Tuesday.  The governor's office couldn't set a date for...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- People fired for missing work and not following company rules could have a harder time claiming unemployment benefits under a bill sent to Gov. Jay Nixon. The House voted 98-57 to pass the measure Wednesday.  The Senate passed the same bill in February. Fired workers who engaged in "misconduct" at the workplace can be denied benefits under current law.  But the legislation expands the definition of "misconduct" to include chronic absenteeism and "knowing" violations of an employer's rules.  The current standard requires "willful disregard" of an employer's regulations.

HERMITAGE, Mo. -- Michael Brown is the new Hickory County prosecuting attorney.  Gov. Jay Nixon appointed him to the position on Tuesday, filling a vacancy created when former prosecuting attorney James Hackett became Hickory County's associate circuit judge. Brown lives in Hickory County.  He served as an associate circuit judge for Polk County for 24 years before retiring at the end of 2002.  After leaving the bench, he served first as a mediator and then as a private attorney in Bolivar.  Brown is a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserve.

RICHLAND, Mo. -- Pulaski County Assessor Roger Harrison died last Saturday after falling while working on a barn near Richland.  An ambulance took Harrison to the hospital at Fort Leonard Wood but doctors were not able to save him. Harrison, 65, had served as county assessor since 1989.  He was elected to his seventh term last November, but assessors' terms don't begin until Sept. 1 because of the cycle of the work of their offices. Sheriff Ron Long said in an e-mail message that the fall appears to be “an accident, with no suspicious elements surrounding it.” Harrison's funeral is Wednesday at 2 at First Baptist Church in Richland.  The assessor's office is closed until Thursday morning.  County commissioners ordered flags at county facilities to be lowered to half staff in his honor on Wednesday.

CLARKSVILLE, Mo. (AP) - People in the eastern Missouri hamlet of Clarksville are getting a boost from the Missouri National Guard and even from prison inmates as they battle the surging Mississippi River.   The river is expected to crest nearly 11 feet above flood stage on Sunday at Clarksville, an unprotected town of 442 residents about 60 miles north of St. Louis. Residents and volunteers have built a makeshift levee made of gravel, plastic overlay and sandbags. On Saturday, attention turned to making sure the sandbag levee is sturdy enough to hold back the water.

JEFFERSON CITY   -   Missouri has been named the “ Best Trails State ” by American Trails, a   national, nonprofit organization working on behalf of the nation's hiking, biking and riding trails.   The award was announced today at the International Trails Symposium in Arizona. The national award is presented every two years to the state that has made tremendous contributions to promote and improve their trails system.   “Missouri has an outstanding system of trails that can accommodate a wide variety of activities ranging from a short walk to a hike through the wilderness,” said   Gov. Jay Nixon .  “This award is a great honor for our state, and I encourage all Missouri families to get out there and take advantage of this incredible resource found right here in the Show-Me State.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Gov. Jay Nixon said Tuesday that the Department of Revenue will no longer scan or retain certificates of qualification for Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW) permits.  The department's License Bureau offices started keeping those documents when it started using a central system of printing driver's licenses to save money.  Holders of CCW permits can have their driver's licenses show they have permits in case they're stopped and a concealed gun is found. "It has been determined that the scanning and retention of concealed carry certificates are not essential to the integrity of the license issuance process," Gov. Nixon said in a news release.   "We will continue to work with policymakers to ensure the security and privacy of our license issuance process.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The healthcare debate continued in Missouri on Wednesday with the state's governor again calling for an expansion of Medicaid during a stop in Springfield.  It is something he said would boost the economy, but some leading Republicans disagree. "The decision to move forward on Medicaid reform and expansion is the smart thing to do," said Gov. Jay Nixon during a stop in Springfield Wednesday. Nixon said during a speech at the Springfield Chamber of Commerce Wednesday that an expanding adult Medicaid eligibility to 138 percent of the poverty level would allow an additional $300,000 Missourians to qualify for the program.  Nixon said the expansion would would bring $1.8 billion dollars of federal money to the state in its first year.

      JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Missouri's Revenue Department could no longer keep a computer database of personal documents presented by driver's license applicants under a measure endorsed by the state Senate.  The bill given first-round approval Tuesday would require the Revenue Department to securely destroy the scanned copies of documents, such as birth certificates, collected since December from people seeking driver's licenses.  The...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.-- The first-ever observance of Vietnam Veterans Day in Missouri will be held on Saturday, March 30, as a day to give special recognition to veterans of the Vietnam conflict. Last summer, Gov. Jay Nixon signed into law a bill designating March 30 of each year as the day to give special honor to Vietnam veterans. As part of the recognition, the Governor will hold a ceremony at his Capitol office recognizing four military veterans, one each representing service in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.   -   Gov. Jay Nixon   today announced that attendance at   Missouri's State Parks   increased in 2012, another sign of Missouri's economic recovery. More that 18 million guests visited Missouri's State Parks in 2012, the fourth consecutive increase in attendance since Gov. Nixon took office, reversing a 10-year decline in parks attendance. “Whether you want to explore the great outdoors, or learn more about our rich history - Missouri State Parks have something for everyone,”   Gov. Nixon   said.