Loan agency transfers money for building plan

Loan agency transfers money for building plan

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's student loan authority Friday transferred $230 million to the state to finance Gov. Matt Blunt's college construction plan. The transfer is the first installment of a plan that ultimately will take $350 million from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority over several years. Most of the money will help finance new or improved buildings at Missouri's public colleges and universities. A lawsuit by student borrowers tried to block the transfer by claiming the money should instead be used to reduce interest rates and forgive student loans, but a Cole County judge refused to issue a temporary restraining order earlier this week.