(AP) — More personnel changes are being made at the Missouri Department of Agriculture.

A department spokeswoman said Thursday that Deputy Director Dennis Baird is being replaced by Misti Preston. That comes several days after Gov. Jay Nixon announced that Director Jon Hagler was being replaced.

Agriculture Department spokeswoman Christine Tew said Baird will become a special assistant to the director in the agency’s land survey program in Rolla. That will take effect Oct. 21.

Baird will be succeeded by Preston, who is familiar with the agency from having served as its spokeswoman. Preston also has worked in the state health department and most recently was employed in Nixon’s Office of Administration.

Preston will be working with Harry Bozoian, whom Nixon named as the department’s acting director.

(AP) — Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt says there were no winners in the dispute that led to the 16-day partial shutdown of the federal government.

Blunt was the lone Republican in Missouri’s congressional delegation to vote Wednesday for compromise legislation that ended the shutdown and avoided a debt default.

But he said Thursday the dispute damaged the public’s confidence in government. He also says the government continues to spend and borrow too much — issues he says must still be addressed.

All six Missouri Republicans in the House voted against the legislation. Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill and the state’s two House Democrats voted for it.

The measure funds the government through Jan. 15 and allows the government to borrow normally through Feb. 7.

Boulevard’s Brewing Company founder John McDonald has sold the majority of his stake in the company to Belgium brewer  Duvel Moortgat earlier this week.

In an online announcement McDonald said, “I am honored and humbled to announce that I have chosen Duvel Moortgat as the long-term partner for Boulevard. An independent, family-owned craft brewer spanning four generations, Duvel Moortgat produces world-class beers at several breweries in Belgium, and owns and operates Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, NY. They bring to us an unparalleled depth of experience, strong resources, and an unwavering devotion to quality. Duvel Moortgat is committed to our people, to the expansion of our Kansas City brewery, and to growing Boulevard brands throughout the US and abroad. After spending a lot of time getting to know the company and its people, I am confident this is the right decision. We share the same values, respect each other’s achievements, and have the same obsession for exceptional beers.

Be assured that this is not goodbye. Although Boulevard is combining with Duvel Moortgat, I will remain closely involved, with a continuing stake in the business and a seat on the board. My commitment to sustainability initiatives will continue, as will Boulevard’s support of Ripple Glass, the glass recycling company I co-founded.”

 

Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway dedicated its new Logistics Park Kansas City (LPKC) Intermodal Facility in Johnson County today during the facility’s grand opening ceremony.  Governor Sam Brownback spoke at the event.

As one of Kansas’ largest economic development projects ever, the $250 million, 440-acre facility will provide businesses with a direct connection to the global supply chain via the BNSF’s transcontinental railroad that begins in California and terminates in Chicago.

It will also provide companies with the ability to quickly ship goods by rail and truck to their final destinations, as well as create thousands of jobs for Kansans.

LPKC is projected to help create an estimated 7,400 jobs in the immediate area of the development and 13,000 jobs in the state of Kansas at full build-out.

 

(AP) — A central Missouri college with a large number of students in the military is broadening its decision to defer tuition payments from veterans amid thegovernment shutdown.

Columbia College decided after the Oct. 1 shutdown to offer a six-month repayment plan to students eligible for military tuition assistance after such federal aid was suspended.

Now, the college is extending that help to military veterans along with active duty soldiers. Eligible students can also withdraw from classes without penalty.

The Columbia Missourian (bit.ly/1gJ9ojV ) reports the deferred tuition options will apply to the school’s upcoming eight-week term, which begins next week.

School officials say more than 3,500 students used veteran’s benefits in the 2012-13 academic year. The school has satellite campuses at 18 military installations, including Fort Leonard Wood.

 

(AP) — National parks and battlefields in southwest Missouri are back in business.

Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield near Springfield and the Buffalo National River all reopened Thursday morning after the partial government shutdown ended. They had been closed since the shutdown began 16 days ago.

All concessionaires at the park land on the Jacks Fork and Current rivers have resumed operation.

The  Wilson’s Creek Foundation’s 8K Bloody Hill race and run will take place Saturday.

And at the Buffalo National River, spokesman Caven Clark said the rangers removed barriers and unlocked gates early Thursday along the 135-mile length of the national park. Concessionaires also were open for business.

(AP) — The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City has received 161 photos from acclaimed photographer David Douglas Duncan, including 159 of artist

Pablo Picasso.

Duncan, a Kansas City native who is now 97, has lived in France since the 1950s. He met Picasso in 1956 and was a frequent guest in the artist’s home. The first book of those pictures was published in 1958.

Duncan also documented the Korean and Vietnam wars and many other historic events of the 20th century.

The museum announced Wednesday in a news release that some of the photos will be on display in the Bloch Building lobby of the gallery from Oct. 25 to Jan. 26.

House stenographer Diane Reidy was dragged Off the House Floor Wednesday night, yelling about Freemasons and God bizarre outburst

Watch the middle of the screen in front of the flag and then listen to her rant

(AP) — Stricter security measures are in place at a new housing complex for University of Missouri, after complaints about several large parties at the complex.

Residents of the Aspen Heights complex in Columbia will be restricted to four guests, with some exceptions. And access codes have been disabled, requiring residents to use a remote device to enter the complex’s gate.

Aspen Heights spokesman Stuart Watkins says the changes were put in place after complaints about the parties, including one Oct. 6 where gunshots were fired into the air. No one was injured.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1fFlQCc ) student organization meetings and some other gatherings will be permitted if they are approved in advance or are held in in the complex’s clubhouse.

(AP) — Missouri’s transportation and corrections departments have won awards from the state for their efforts to make government more efficient.

Three programs in the two departments were recognized Wednesday with the annual Governor’s Award for Quality and Productivity.

The Missouri Department of Transportation won a customer service award for a new call routing system that shortens the hold time for callers.

The agency also won an efficiency award for its design of Missouri Highway 5, which uses an alternating passing lane between the north and south lanes to avoid traffic congestion.

The Missouri Department of Corrections won an innovation award for a new approach at a Potosi facility that evaluates inmates who commit additional crimes behind bars tailors programs to reintroduce them into the prison’s general population.