Schaefer named new Office of Administration commissioner; Buxton becomes DNR director

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Gov. Mike Kehoe announced some changes to a couple of state departments in a pair of press releases on Friday.

Kurt Schaefer will become the commissioner of the Office of Administration. Schaefer takes over for Kenneth Zellers, who is retiring on Sept. 4. Jake Buxton will take over Schaefer’s old role as the director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Buxton is currently the deputy director of the department.

Schafer has three decades of experience in the legal field and had worked with Lathrop GPM, LLP, for more than 20 years. He is a former state senator from Boone County. Schaefer is a former assistant Missouri attorney general, special assistant US attorney, and deputy director and general counsel for DNR, the release says. He was named DNR director in 2024.

Buxton was named the DNR deputy director in January 2025 and has previously worked in the Governor’s Office and as a legislative liaison for the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and the Missouri Department of Conservation, the release says.