The St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran a follow-up tonight on its earlier report detailing Missouri lawmakers' vacation junket to Hot Springs, Ark.
Nine legislators, including Marilyn Ruestman, R-Joplin, and House Speaker Rod Jetton, were at the Arkansas resort. Lobbyists spent approximately $5,000 on the junket, the article said. Unfortunately, the trip was described as for the "Republican Leadership Caucus," meaning lobbyists did not have to report gifts to any individual legislator.
Ms. Ruestman has not filed any reports indicating that she received any gifts from lobbyists in March, as I noted earlier today in The Turner Report.
Of course, taxpayers need not worry about the integrity of their elected officials. Lobbyist Larry Pleus, who represents AmerenUE, told the Post-Dispatch that no legislative business was discussed.
The Post-Dispatch article was written by Terry Ganey, one of the top investigative reporters in the state.