State Sen. Travis Fitzwater (R-Holts Summit) speaks on the Missouri Senate floor in Jefferson City on March 23, 2023 (file photo courtesy of Dean Morgan at Senate Communications)

At the May meeting of Missouri State University’s Board of Governors, Melissa Bledsoe was officially announced as the dean of the Darr College of Agriculture.

She’d been serving as the interim for more than a year.

Provost John Jasinski made the introduction, noting many of Bledsoe’s accomplishments.

“Melissa has been recognized in the state of Missouri, nationally and internationally, for her work,” he told the MSU board at the May 9 meeting. “She’s had great mentors, lots of external partnerships with the Missouri Department of Agriculture — working with Silver Dollar City right now, Convoy of Hope — continues to teach and mentor and guide.”

Jasinski pointed out that the expert in plant physiology and nutrition had obtained several grants and presented research nationally and internationally.

Bledsoe earned a bachelor’s degree in horticulture and a master’s degree in plant science from Missouri State and then a doctorate in plant, insect and microbial sciences from the University of Missouri.

After working at MU’s division of plant sciences from 2010-13, she was hired as an assistant professor at Missouri State and then promoted to an associate professor.

Bledsoe is currently an endowed professor through the Clif and Gail Smart Professor in Agriculture award. She was also named the interim dean in 2023.

“Dr. Bledsoe is the right choice to lead the Darr College of Agriculture as it continues to evolve, offering unique ‘farm-to-fork’ curriculum and learning experiences,” Jasinski said in a news release announcing Bledsoe was the permanent dean, starting May 1.

“Her student-focused, team-oriented and results-driven approach — combined with her understanding of changing internal needs and external expectations — will serve the college well for years to come.”

More: New pact outlines roles, responsibilities of Missouri State and MSU Foundation

The structure of the Darr College of Agriculture changed as part of the university’s recent academic realignment, taking hospitality leadership under its umbrella.

“The momentum of the Darr College of Agriculture is fueled by many opportunities on the horizon. I look forward to working with colleagues and the ag community to develop our programs to support the agriculture industry,” said Bledsoe, in the release. “It’s all for our students to learn, grow, and lead the future of agriculture.”

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A filibuster from Missouri Democrats hit the 28-hour mark on Thursday evening, as they continued to block Republicans in the Missouri Senate from passing legislation that would make it harder for voters to amend the state constitution.

Currently, initiative petitions only need a simple majority of more than 50% to pass. However, Republicans want to make the process more difficult as an initiative petition on abortion that is poised to go on the ballot in November. Initiative petitions were used to legalize medicinal and recreational marijuana and expand Medicaid in Missouri. 

An initiative petition is a form of direct democracy that allows voters to amend their state constitution or state statute without going through the legislature or governor. About half of the states in the U.S. have some form of initiative or referendum.

The measure would require future amendments to have a majority vote in at least five of the state’s eight congressional districts, as well as a majority vote statewide. Democrats oppose the measure, but the bill passed the House in March.

“We are more than happy to let this SJR out of this chamber without the steroids of politics, otherwise known as ballot candy that has nothing to do with the initiative petition process,”  Senate Minority leader Sen. John Rizzo D-Independence, said during his Tuesday night shift of the filibuster. 

Rizzo added that he would even vote for it if the ballot candy was removed, even though it would be a “horrible vote for him” in an effort to end the deadlock. 

Despite passing the bill in March, the Missouri House added the so-called “ballot candy” that would add language to the ballot asking residents if they want to ban non-citizens from voting and ban foreign entities from sponsoring constitutional amendments. 

However, the Missouri Constitution and federal law already prohibit non-citizens from voting. Democrats argue that Republicans only want this language on the ballot to “deceive” voters. 

“There’s a group of people in the majority party that are dead set on making sure that people are misinformed about what they are voting on so that they lose their rights to be able to bring things forward to the ballot box,” Rizzo said. “The good news is the Democratic Party is standing strong with the senior John Ashcroft from 1992 who also agrees with us that this was not a good idea in the 90s.” 

The legislature is set to adjourn at 6 p.m. Friday, and the Missouri Senate is still on Monday’s business. The filibuster began around 2:40 p.m. Monday and Democrats have insisted on blocking all actions in the Senate until the session adjourns. The record for the longest filibuster in the Missouri Senate was set by Republicans in May when they stalled for 41 hours.

Check back for updates.