Politics

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri praised the Pentagon’s decision to lift the ban on women serving in combat.

The changes, announced Thursday, will not happen overnight. All services branches are supposed to come up with plans by mid-May for integrating women into combat positions.

Blunt, a Republican, called the decision “inevitable.”

One of the major holdups in the expansion of the Keystone Pipeline was Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman’s apprehension. But after Nebraska state officials approved a revised route this week, both of Missouri’s U.S. Senators are calling on the president to sign off on the expansion.

The Keystone Pipeline already runs through Missouri. What the Keystone Pipeline XL would do is expand the pipeline – adding routes from Alberta to Kansas and Oklahoma to Texas.

It would also enlarge the size of the pipes’ diameter by 6 inches.

If today's press conference at Oak Brook Elementary in the Parkway School District is any indication, Gov. Jay Nixon hopes to make investment in education a focal point as he starts his second term.

Details - including exact dollar amounts - will have to wait for Monday's State of the State address. But the Democrat Nixon says the new money will span from early childhood to college. His initiatives include: