It’s buried in this Carthage (Mo.) Press story about a meeting of city and county officials in Jasper County, Mo., but it’s good news nevertheless:

Honey also reported that Commissioner Darius Adams had secured a Missouri Department of Transportation grant of about $100,000 to create a Route 66 museum in the Courthouse.

The Jasper County Courthouse is an excellent place for a Route 66 museum. The road runs nearby, and it’s hard to miss such a distinctive building.

Foreign trade executives from 16 countries will be guided next week by the Illinois governor’s team to tour several tourist-related attractions, reports the Lincoln Courier.

In Lincoln, they will meet with local business leaders and learn more about regional tourism, including Looking for Lincoln and the Route 66 Scenic Highway.

Because foreigners have generally shown an intense interest in Route 66, I’ll bet those executives will pay attention more closely to the Mother Road attractions than of Abe Lincoln’s.

Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel and prominent Red Dirt artists Cross Canadian Ragweed and Stoney LaRue are booked to play at Clinton Motorsports Park on Friday, June 22, coinciding during the Route 66 Festival in Clinton, Okla.

The festival Web site says that music will start at 5 p.m. Tickets won’t go on sale until next month. It will be on concert listings as the second annual Levelland Jam. Check back with Cross Canadian Ragweed’s site for updates and buying tickets.

Asleep at the Wheel is known as the best flag-bearer of Western swing music in the land. The group just finished as the backing band for the Last of the Breed tour that featured Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Ray Price.

Also, Asleep at the Wheel drummer David Sanger is a Route 66 fan who’s produced two various-artists albums, “Songs of Route 66: All-American Highway” and “More Songs of Route 66: Roadside Attractions,” that pay tribute to the Mother Road.

And Bobby Troup’s “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66″ is a regular part of the band’s set list.

Cross Canadian Ragweed boasts a substantial fan base in Oklahoma and Texas as purveyors of Red Dirt, a hybrid of country, rock and folk music native to the Southwest. All by itself, Cross Canadian Ragweed will draw a sizable crowd. LaRue is another Red Dirt musician who’s attracted quite a following and plays 300 shows a year.

If you plan to attend the festival for several days and haven’t booked motel rooms for the Friday, you’d better do it now. The fans of these artists will take up a bunch of rooms in a hurry.