Gov. Nixon to join President Obama in Warrensburg

President Barack Obama walks with Gov. Jay Nixon, right, and FEMA Director William Craig Fugate, left, as they view damage a week after the May 22, 2011, tornado devastated Joplin.
President Barack Obama walks with Gov. Jay Nixon, right, and FEMA Director William Craig Fugate, left, as they view damage a week after the May 22, 2011, tornado devastated Joplin.

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (AP) - Gov. Jay Nixon is joining President Barack Obama during his upcoming visit to the University of Central Missouri.

Obama is traveling Wednesday to the Warrensburg school and Galesburg, Ill., to make his case for spending on infrastructure and for universal pre-school programs. The president is also expected to highlight the economic benefits of overhauling immigration laws.

Nixon announced Saturday that he would join Obama during the Missouri stop. He noted that the University of Central Missouri is part of an Innovation Campus initiative that offers accelerated degrees in high-demand fields.

The trip will mark Obama's first visit to the state since a May 2012 commencement speech at Joplin High School. That visit marked the one-year anniversary of a deadly tornado that hit the southwestern Missouri city.