David Kelly, director of Missouri State Parks, has retired, effective Feb. 1. Laura Hendrickson was named interim director on Jan. 14, 2025.

JEFFERSON CITY — The director of Missouri State Parks has retired, and an interim director has been named.

Laura Hendrickson was chosen to serve as interim parks director, Kurt Schaefer, director-designee of the Department of Natural Resources, announced Tuesday. DNR oversees the Division of State Parks.

Hendrickson replaces David Kelly, who retired, effective Feb. 1.

Schaefer described Hendrickson as a veteran parks official with nearly 30 years of experience, including serving as director of the Ozarks Region for Missouri State Parks and superintendent at several parks, including Prairie State and Pomme de Terre.

The move adds to the list of top personnel changes in state government as newly sworn-in Gov. Mike Kehoe begins to leave his stamp on the capital city.

Kehoe had previously announced that Schaefer, a former Republican state senator from Columbia, would lead DNR.

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On Monday, hours before he left office, then-Gov. Mike Parson announced the retirement of Paula Nickelson, director of the Department of Health and Senior Services, effective March 1. Late Tuesday, Kehoe said he chose Sarah Willson, a veteran health care executive, to oversee DHSS.

As parks director, Kelly oversaw Missouri’s more than 90 state parks and historic sites.

On his watch, the state in 2022 opened Bryant Creek State Park in Douglas County, a nearly 3,000-acre park that includes mature forest, wet-weather waterfalls and frontage along Bryant Creek.

Missouri State Parks has also moved forward with development plans for Eleven Point State Park, which was the subject of protracted litigation and some opposition in the Legislature.

The park remains closed but was briefly opened April 8 for the total solar eclipse that darkened parts of southeast Missouri.

Missouri State Parks has also moved forward with plans to open the Jay Nixon Backcountry, named after the former governor whose administration added multiple parks to the state parks system during his tenure.

The state parks division has been working on flood recovery at numerous sites in southern Missouri after flooding in November.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources said six of the agency’s 93 state parks received damage from Nov. 3 rainfall totals of up to 12 inches, including Route 66 State Park near Eureka, Meramec State Park near Sullivan and Onondaga Cave State Park near Leasburg.

St. Francois State Park near Bonne Terre, Current River State Park north of Eminence and Montauk State Park near Salem were also affected.

Missouri State Parks saw over 20 million visitors in 2023, according to state estimates.

The parks system doesn’t charge admission fees and is supported by the one-tenth of one cent Parks, Soils and Water Sales Tax.

Missouri voters first approved the levy in 1984, and it is up for renewal on the statewide ballot in 2026.

Editor’s note: This story was updated early Wednesday to include the appointment of Laura Hendrickson as interim parks director.

View life in (snowy) St. Louis through the Post-Dispatch photographers' lenses. Edited by Jenna Jones.

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