Nixon makes appointment to Conservation Commission

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Jay Nixon has named the former head of a not-for-profit conservation group to the Missouri Conservation Commission.

Nixon announced the appointment of Dave Murphy on Wednesday. Murphy, a Democrat, retired last year as executive director of the Conservation Federation of Missouri. He owns a 376-acre farm in northeast Missouri's Clark County.

If confirmed by the state Senate, Murphy would serve through June 2019.

The Senate blocked Nixon's appointment of Kansas City lawyer Tim Dollar to the Conservation Commission earlier this year. Senators then refused to allow Nixon to withdraw the appointment, preventing Dollar from serving on the commission in the future.

Republican senators have said they took the step because Nixon had not followed through on a commitment to select someone from northern Missouri.