JOPLIN, Mo. — President Barack Obama and Missouri Governor Jay Nixon will be in Joplin on Monday to mark the one year anniversary of the deadly tornado which tore a path of destruction through town.
Obama and Nixon are both scheduled to speak at the Joplin High School commencement ceremony on Monday evening on the campus of Missouri Southern State University.
The EF-5 tornado struck Joplin on May 22, 2011, less than an hour after the school concluded its 2011 graduation ceremonies. A total of 161 people were killed in the storm, with scores more injured and hundreds of homes and businesses destroyed.
On Tuesday morning, Nixon and his wife will attend an outdoor service at Freeman Hospital, followed by a brunch with Joplin faith leaders and an American Legion presentation. They will then work on a Habitat for Humanity home with a Joplin family.
