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Nixon gives 60 days for viable stadium plans to be completed and presented to the Rams to keep the NFL in St. Louis (AUDIO)

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Edward Jones Dome. (photo/stadiumjourney.com)

Edward Jones Dome. (photo/stadiumjourney.com)

During a media teleconference on Wednesday morning, Governor Jay Nixon tabbed two prominent St. Louis area business and civic leaders with the task of laying out a plan for the state of Missouri to present to the Rams as a viable stadium option for keeping the NFL team in St. Louis.

Nixon has called on former Anheuser-Busch president Dave Peacock and Clayton attorney Bob Blitz to work over the next 60 days to analyze the current situation and present options that can be given to the NFL and Rams organization.

Nixon said there are no two better people to lead this charge, which needs to be completed within two months, so the state can communicate back to the Rams in advance of January 28th. That is the deadline the team set to provide notice of their intent to convert their lease with the dome from year to year.

Peacock was on the Pro Football Hall of Fame advisory board. According to Nixon, he brings expertise and contacts regionally and nationally that will help in this process. Peacock has also worked directly with the NFL on advertising and marketing matters while with A-B.

Blitz was part of the legal team that brought the Rams to St. Louis from Los Angeles.

“The NFL understands that we are very serious here. We are prepared to look at serious options to make sure we (St. Louis) stay an NFL city,” Nixon said.

Listen to Governor Nixon’s teleconference, including his opening statements and Q & A.

While Nixon didn’t share many details of the parameters that he has set for Peacock and Blitz to work within, Nixon acknowledged that tax payers must be protected and that private investment is a primary component of any proposal for NFL facilities in the St. Louis area.

Governor Nixon said all options are on the table, which could include building a new open air stadium. Nixon wouldn’t specifically comment on the area that is located north of Lumiere Place Casino and south of the Stan Musial Bridge on the north edge of downtown.

The state is still on the hook for $12 million and the city and county of St. Louis for $6 million apiece each year until 2025 to pay down the dome stadium debt.

Bellefontaine Neighbors Senator agrees with Nixon, tax-cut bill could hurt vulnerable Missourians (AUDIO)

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Gov. Jay Nixon and senior members of his administration will visit the Branson Public Schools District Office on Tuesday to discuss the impact of House Bill 253 with area school administrators, teachers, school board members and others, according to Nixon’s office.

Nixon vetoed House Bill 253 in June, calling it an unaffordable experiment that would force dramatic cuts to education and raise taxes on prescription drugs, and the legislature has the opportunity to override that veto during veto session Sept. 11.

Sen. Gina Walsh (D-Bellefontaine Neighbors) says she voted no on the bill during regular session, and she’ll vote no again.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, every day in the press … if we’re not in Jefferson City, we get the information the same way everyone else does, through you guys,” Walsh said in an interview. “I’ve heard that it could be a slam-dunk and I’ve heard that it could be a rough veto session. So I don’t know what to think of it.”

Nixon’s office reports that data requested by the Missouri Association of School Administrators from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shows that House Bill 253 would drain hundreds of millions of dollars from public schools throughout the state.

“I think the bill is a bad idea,” Walsh says. “I think it will hurt people, especially in my district, which is a poor district, there are a lot of senior citizens… putting a sales tax on medication would absolutely hurt them.”

House Republicans will need all 109 votes to override the veto in September. That includes getting a few Republicans who voted against the measure during regular session to change their votes to a “yes” this time around.

AUDIO: Jessica Machetta reports (1:12)

Key note speaker kicks off the start of the legislative session at Gov.’s Prayer Breakfast (AUDIO)

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The Governor’s Prayer Breakfast on Thursday marks another year of prayer, political gathering, and the start of the legislative session for 2013.

The Prayer Breakfast kicked off the 2013 legislative session with remarks from Governor Nixon, Senior Pastor Dr. Doyle Sager with the First Baptist Church in Jefferson City and Key Note Speaker, World Wide Technology founder and chairman David Steward.

Steward says it’s important to have prayer at the breakfast because the event should be honored through prayer. “Well, it sets the tone for the rest of the meeting or the gathering itself. It’s honoring God in a very special way for what he’s done for us and is putting him first,” he says.

But one message he hopes to relay to others is, “God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and love. I hope they leave here with the courage to boldly profess their lord and savior,” Steward says.

The first prayer breakfast was in 1953 that started the tradition in Missouri.

 

AUDIO: Mary Farucci reports. (0:58)

 

 

Gov. Nixon kicks off Joplin Habitat (AUDIO)

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Bernie Federko, Alan Benes, Mattt Cassel, Aaron Crow and Danario Alexander join Governor Jay Nixon in announcing the Joplin Challenge. UPI Bill Greenblatt

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon announced the 2012 Governor’s Joplin Habitat Challenge. The goal, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, is to build 35 new homes in the Joplin this year and provide continued aid to the city’s recovery.

Speaking prior to the Mizzou-Kansas basketball game on Saturday, Governor Nixon was flanked by members of the St. Louis Blues, Cardinals, Rams, Kansas City Chiefs and Royals, Kansas Speedway and Missouri Tigers. The 35 homes will be divided into seven different neighborhoods, which each neighborhood assigned a sponsor among the seven teams. Players, coaches and members of each sports organization will visit the neighborhoods throughout the year to work alongside volunteers and professional builders.

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