Lawmakers looking to rename state park named after former governor

JEFFERSON CITY • Two Republican state lawmakers want to reverse plans to name Missouri’s newest state park for former Gov. Jay Nixon.

Angry that a 1,200-acre tract in Reynolds County was named after Nixon just before he left office Monday, state Sen. Gary Romine of Ste. Genevieve and Rep. Paul Fitzwater of Potosi have filed legislation that would change the name to Proffitt Mountain State Park.

Romine says his motivation is two-fold.

First, he thinks Nixon is being selfish in having a park named after him. And Romine believes the former Democratic chief executive upset people in the region when he used millions of dollars in lead mining settlement money to transform land in Missouri into state parks.

“This is tantamount to a slap in the face of my constituents,” Romine said. “Nixon must think pretty highly of himself to think he could get by with naming a park after himself after he misused the funds meant for remediation and restoration of the lead belt area. It’s a double whammy.”

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