Attorney General receives award from MoBikeFed

A Kansas City infoZine article says:

The Missouri Bicycle Federation recently presented Attorney General Jay Nixon with its "Distinguished Service to Missouri Bicycling" award in recognition of his efforts on behalf of the state's bicycling community and cycling resources. Members of the Federation were in Jefferson City to mark Bicycle Day at the Capitol by meeting with legislators and promoting legislation to make Missouri communities safer and more inviting for walking and bicycling.

Nixon was recognized for his 20 years of support for the Katy Trail State Park, created when Nixon was a state senator in 1987. The Federation also honored Nixon for his role to preserve the MKT bridge at Boonville.

"The Attorney General has been one of the few statewide leaders who has had the foresight to understand that changing the legal agreements that created the Katy Trail in order to remove the Boonville Bridge is a serious step that could endanger the legal status of 160 miles of the Katy Trail," the Missouri Bicycle Federation said in a news release.

The Federation also said that Nixon's support of the Katy Trail was vital in the successful effort to complete an agreement with Ameren to connect the Katy Trail from Windsor to Pleasant Hill. That provision was part of the $179 million settlement Nixon obtained with Ameren to resolve his lawsuit over the collapse of the Taum Sauk reservoir.

The Attorney General spoke for about 10 minutes to the group of citizens assembled from around the state for Bicycle Day at the Capitol.

Nixon told the story of his first foray into politics: When he was a Boy Scout, there was an opportunity to build a trail through their community that was blocked by objections from 3 county commissioners. 13-year-old Nixon was part of a successful community action to unseat the three offending commissioners at the next general election.

The award was one of several presented to key Missouri leaders during Bicycle Day at the Capitol.