Kansas City bridge to be named after the late Senator Mary Groves Bland
Gov. Eric Greitens on Friday signed into law legislation in the form of Senate Bill 322 containing language proposed by former State Rep. Randy D. Dunn, D-Kansas City, that would rename a Kansas City bridge the Memorial Mary Groves Bland Bridge after the late Senator Mary Groves Bland.
Mary Groves Bland first began her tenure serving the 43rd District in the Missouri House in 1980 and was later elected to serve the 9th District Senatorial District from 1998 until her final term in 2005. Sen. Bland was the first African-American female state Senator from Kansas City, a strong advocate for minority and fought tirelessly to develop solutions to expand health care in Missouri. Sen. Bland passed away in February of 2016.
“The legacy and impact left behind by Sen. Bland is one that will live on for ages,” said Dunn. “Because of the barriers she broke and the work she put forth to encourage minority success, generations after her can take the insight she provided and spread it to everyone. Sen. Bland was a public servant and an inspiration to us all. I am pleased that we are honoring her contributions in a significant way.”
The Memorial Mary Groves Bland Bridge is located on I-70 near 18th & Vine, also referred to as the Jazz District, which is located in Rep. Dunn’s former legislative district.
