Missouri Arts Council awards grants locally

The Missouri Arts Council awarded four grants in Southeast Missouri as part of the distribution of $6.6 million in grants statewide, Gov. Matt Blunt announced. The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri received the largest local award, $26,355 for community arts programs. The other three grants were presented to Southeast Missouri State University, including $2,000 for a literature program, $11,172 for theater programs and $24,990 for a visual arts program with the Crisp Museum. This year's grant program is the largest in the history of the state arts council and grant awards increased 49 percent compared to the fiscal year 2008 grant program, Blunt said in a news release.