All right, I will admit it: I started the day with an agenda, which is an absolute violation of journalistic ethics. But thankfully, I escaped my first Missouri State Fair experience with integrity intact.

Gov. Matt Blunt is scheduled to make an appearance in Thursday in Sedalia.

As the charges and countercharges mount in the firing of Gov. Matt Blunt’s deputy counsel, it would be easy to overlook the central issue. That is whether the governor’s office has flouted the Missouri Sunshine Law.

Sedalia will be Missouri’s capital for Tuesday.

Rick McBride, of State Fair Community College, has received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award, which was presented by the Missouri Community College Association, is given to the top community college teachers in the state each year.

ProEnergy Services has been recognized by Gov. Jay Nixon for the development, investment and jobs the business created in the last year.

Gov. Jay Nixon will be in Sedalia Wednesday to announce more than $4 million in grants for Missouri schools to help fund technology.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Prepared text of Tuesday’s State of the State address by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon:

Gov. Matt Blunt and his cabinet spent Tuesday afternoon at the Pettis County Courthouse and other places in Sedalia, talking face-to-face with local people who took advantage of their presence here.

The stars of the show may have been 6-year-old Logan Cary, his grand champion ham and Gov. Matt Blunt, but the trio shared the limelight with dozens of political candidates and their handlers Thursday.

Legislation that would allow startup ambulance districts to be funded through sales tax levies will be sent to the governor’s desk after it was passed by the Missouri General Assembly in the closing days of the legislative session.

JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon talked taxes, storm response and the state’s economy during remarks Thursday at the Governor’s Mansion to members of the press.

Gov. Jay Nixon has appointed Darren Doherty, a University of Central Missouri graduate student from Blue Springs, to serve as the student member of the institution’s governing board.

JEFFERSON CITY — State officials pledged bipartisan efforts in dealing with Missouri’s budget Thursday while addressing members of the press.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police surrounded an office building near the governor’s mansion on Tuesday after a report of a disturbance initially believed to be a hostage situation. But they said there was no confirmation of hostages taken.