LEGISLATURE MAKES MULE OFFICIAL ANIMAL OF MISSOURI

Once Missouri legislators decided to stop "horsing around," they passed the Missouri mule bill, and state Rep. Mary Kasten and Charles Woodford of the Cape Girardeau American Legion post kicked up their heels.

"We finally got what typifies Missourians turned into an official symbol," Kasten, a Cape Girardeau Republican, said during a telephone interview Wednesday from Jefferson City.

The House voted 132-9 Wednesday afternoon in favor of making the mule that state animal and square dancing the state's official folk dance.

The Senate voted 29-4 earlier Wednesday in favor of the bill after a long-running floor session.

The Missouri mule will become the state's official animal once Gov. Mel Carnahan signs the bill. Carnahan has favored passing the bill throughout the two-year campaign.

Carnahan spokesman Chris Sifford said: "It's likely that he will sign that legislation. He's fond of mules."

Kasten credits Missouri stubbornness and determination, traits of the mule, for getting the bill through the Legislature.

"I think a lot of people tried to make the bill seem frivolous," Kasten said, "but once they stopped horsing around with it we had our say."

Woodford said his and the Legion's push to get the bill signed leaves him with a feeling of relief and a sense of being unemployed.

"It's been a roller-coaster experience the last couple of months," he said. "First it looked wonderful, then bad, then worse, and finally great again."

The bill won't make drastic changes in the world, but the Missouri mule played a big part in American history, Kasten said.

-- The Associated Press contributed information to this story.