At the opening concert of this year’s Scott Joplin International Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, Missouri, Mayor Stephen Galliher announced that the Missouri State Legislature had passed legislation to rename the section of Highway 50 through town as the Scott Joplin Memorial Highway. It will include the section from the east city limits west to Highway 65 or Limit.
With the designation announced, funds were raised to pay for the signs and installation, including two generous donations from long time festival supporter David Almquist and author Larry Karp. Karp donated the proceeds from the sale of his 2016 book Brun Campbell: The Original Ragtime Kid to help cover the cost of the signs and setting them in place. David Almquist has helped with the Sedalia festival for many years and his brother, Nevin was a former Festival board president. Local Sedalia state legislator Nathan Beard and Rep. Steve Cookson from Poplar Bluff were credited with sponsoring the project and winning approval in the state’s general assembly.
