I agree with you, for the most part. I still like to tell the story of someone asking me where I was from and, not expecting him to recognize the word 'Winnipeg', I said I was from Manitoba. He frowned at me and asked where that was. I said it was just north of Minnesota. That brought another longer frown and the classic observation: "But there's nothing north of Minnesota".
The reason I mention this to you is that we were standing in the St. Louis City Hall Rotunda at the time. (Which is an amazing building, by the way.)
If your state officials and the team I am providing counsel to get their act together in the next hour, it'll be wheels up tonight and back to the Great White North. Thus ends my technical excuse to be temporarily on the St. Louis boards. It's been fun to pleasantly peruse the enemy's camp. Especially when my objective opinion was, and remains, the Blues in 6.
And, another by the way: while the people of Jefferson City might not be the most sophisticated, they are exceeding friendly, helpful and very competent at what they do. Many state capitols would be lucky to be so blessed.