JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) -- Federal officials have granted Joplin's request for a deadline extension on several federally funded tornado recovery projects.
Sens. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat, and Roy Blunt, a Republican, announced the extension from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in news releases Thursday. The two U.S. senators from Missouri had urged FEMA to take a serious look at Joplin's request for more time. About $1 million in federal funds were at risk.
At issue are repairs to city streets and sidewalks that were pushed back by related federal projects, such as upgrades to the sewer system, which had to be completed first. That resulted in the city missing a deadline.
Joplin has been working to rebuild from a massive 2011 tornado that destroyed a large swath of the city and killed 161 residents.