Missouri governor taps DNR chief to lead agency overseeing state budget and purchasing

A veteran Republican politician and attorney will take over the state department responsible for providing support services to almost every other Missouri agency, Gov. Mike Kehoe announced Friday.

Kurt Schaefer, director of the Department of Natural Resources and a former state Senate Appropriations Committee chairman, will become Commissioner of Administration, Kehoe said in a news release.

Schaefer, a resident of Columbia, replaces Ken Zellers, who is retiring on Sept. 4. Zellers held his post from 2022. Schaefer has been director of natural resources since the start of Kehoe’s administration last year.

“Kurt is a well-respected and valuable member of the cabinet, and his background and experience in both the public and private sectors will serve him well as (he) takes on the work ahead,” Kehoe said in a news release.

Schaefer, an attorney, began his career in state government in the attorney general’s office. Under former Gov. Matt Blunt, Schaefer was legal counsel to the Department of Natural Resources and deputy director. 

Schaefer won election to the state Senate in 2008. After completing two terms, he ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for attorney general in 2016 and for a seat in Congress in 2024. 

Schaefer was a partner at Lathrop GPM law firm and was a registered lobbyist from 2017 to 2024.

The Office of Administration, the department Schaefer will lead, is the backbone of state government operations. It handles building and computing needs, maintains the state accounting system and provides the budget oversight and forecasting to manage state appropriations.

The department also operates the state payroll and purchasing systems.

One of the big challenges facing the department is whether to continue to work with a problem-plagued new accounting system, with an unknown cost to make it fully functional, or seek a new solution. The state continues to rely on a decades-old system that is difficult to maintain because many programmers who understand how to maintain it have retired or died.

“I look forward to working closely with the members of the legislature and the Office of Administration team to tackle the challenges facing OA and to find solutions that are efficient, flexible, innovative, and accountable,” Schaefer said in the news release.

Schaefer’s appointment must be confirmed by the state Senate.