Memorial highway receives Senate approval

A proposal to name interstate interchanges in the state after local soldiers killed in action in Afghanistan and Iraq has received Senate approval. Originally proposed by state Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, Senate Bill 84 would establish the "Heroes Way Interstate Interchange Designation Program. Each specific interchange would be determined based on the hero's hometown.

"Heroes Way provides a way to memorialize these heroic soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who do not return home to their family and friends," Crowell said in a press release issued this morning. "It provides communities throughout Missouri with an opportunity to acknowledge the loss they all feel when one of their own is killed in combat."

To be eligible for recognition, at least one member of the General Assembly must sponsor the fallen soldier, who must have been killed in action while serving in Afghanistan and Iraq on or after Sept. 11, 2001. Once approved, two signs would be placed in the north-south and east-west directions of the fallen soldier's hometown exit.

The measure now moves to the state House of Representatives for a vote at an undetermined date.