FINKE CONFIRMED AS COMMISSIONER:

Gov. Matt Blunt’s nominee for insurance director overcame criticism of the way he was selected to be confirmed by the state’s Senate. W. Dale Finke, a past president of the Missouri Association of Insurance Agents, was nominated in January and promptly received criticism for the insurance-industry heavy panel that recommended his nomination to Blunt.

However, the Senate looked past the criticism and confirmed Finke as insurance director last month. Finke, 65, was formerly CEO and president of Corporate Insurance Management in St. Louis, according to a statement released by MAIA. He most recently served as chairman of the MAIA’s government relations committee.