when did southwest missouri state became missouri state
Missouri State University In 2004, with the election of Springfield native Matt Blunt to the governorship and the approaching centennial of the university's founding, new support developed for the name change. It was opposed by the University of Missouri System (which operates the four campuses of the University of Missouri), which feared that the name change would lead to duplication of academic programs and ongoing battles for students and state funding. In 2005 the name-change bill was passed, following a late-night compromise between University of Missouri System President Elson Floyd and then-Southwest Missouri State President John Keiser, stating that Missouri State University would not duplicate certain professional programs offered by the University of Missouri. The bill to rename the University finally passed the Missouri Senate (25–7). On March 1, 2005, after more than seven hours of debate, the bill passed the Missouri House (120–35). Governor Blunt signed it into law on March 17, 2005—the centennial anniversary of the University—at the Plaster Student Union where several student leaders and state leaders were present.
Missouri River The Missouri makes a bend to the southeast as it winds through the Great Plains, receiving the Niobrara River and many smaller tributaries from the southwest. It then proceeds to form the boundary of South Dakota and Nebraska, then after being joined by the James River from the north, forms the Iowa–Nebraska boundary. At Sioux City the Big Sioux River comes in from the north. The Missouri flows south to the city of Omaha where it receives its longest tributary, the Platte River, from the west.[18] Downstream, it begins to define the Nebraska–Missouri border, then flows between Missouri and Kansas. The Missouri swings east at Kansas City, where the Kansas River enters from the west, and so on into north-central Missouri. To the east of Kansas City, the Missouri receives, on the left side, the Grand River. It passes south of Columbia and receives the Osage and Gasconade Rivers from the south downstream of Jefferson City. The river then rounds the northern side of St. Louis to join the Mississippi River on the border between Missouri and Illinois.[14][15]