Troubling news from the Midwest: http://www.velonews.com/article/94831/

The Governor of Missouri has decided to freeze 1.5 million dollars, contractually given to the Tour of Missouri, in an attempt to right the states financial woes.It is even to the point where the Lt. Governor has placed a call to arms for cyclists across Missouri and the world to call Gov. Nixons office and demand the funds be unfrozen. The funds are available, they cannot be used for anything else, and the state of missouri is legally bound by contract to release them. The hopeful consensus is that this money is just tied up in silly politics and the issue will be resolved soon. In the meantime, call the Missouri governors office and make sure he knows how important this major stage race is to american professional bike racing. Astana, Saxo Bank, Cervelo, Katusha, Columbia, Garmin, are all confirmed for this race. The big names of the tour are ready to come back to the US, lets make sure they can.

Here's the letter from Lt. Governor Kinder along with the information on how to call Gov. Nixon's office: http://www.tourofmissouri.com/save-the-tour-of-missouri.html

Curtis