News-Leader: E. coli report reached Nixon's staff

Springfield News-Leader reporter Chad Livengood notes in an article posted today that the e. coli scandal has reached where everyone knew it was headed from the first- right into Gov. Jay Nixon's office:

The record now reflects at least two high-level Nixon staffers were aware of the results -- up to four weeks before Watson says he found out in late June -- and they didn't instruct DNR to distribute the information to the general public.

At least one Nixon aide sought to contain the release of information to just media outlets in the lake region, which has fueled the controversy as the DNR and Nixon get accused of a possible cover-up.

"Why didn't the governor's office do something with the information they had regarding water in other parts of the lake?" asked state Sen. Kurt Schaefer, a Republican member of a Senate committee investigating the matter.

Last week, former DNR communications director Susanne Medley told Senate investigators she informed Nixon aide Jeff Mazur on May 29 and gave him "periodic updates" in the following weeks as DNR wrestled with how to portray the results without -- in Medley's words -- panicking the public or harming the tourism industry.