Ex-lieutenant governor picked for stadium panel

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Former Democratic Lt. Gov. Harriett Woods has been named to the board that oversees the St. Louis Rams' football stadium.

Gov. Bob Holden appointed Woods on Monday to the 11-member St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority. The board was created in 1989 to oversee the finances and operation of the domed stadium and convention center.

Woods, 74, of University City, is a former journalist who began her political career in 1967 on her hometown city council. She was appointed to the state transportation commission in 1974 and was elected two years later to the state Senate, where she served two four-year terms.

She was elected to a four-year term as lieutenant governor in 1984, becoming the first woman elected to a statewide office in Missouri.

Woods failed twice in U.S. Senate bids in the 1980s but then served as president of the National Women's Political Caucus from 1991 to 1995.

"Harriett is a long-standing role model for women in public service," Holden said in a statement.