On this episode of 'Going Public', Ginny Smith, Executive Director of Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority (CTA), discussed CTA's partnership with Southeast Missouri State University to provide expanded transportation for students, replacing the SEMO shuttle program with CTA buses. CTA's ridership increased by over 100% from July 2022 to May 2023 due to efficiency and community partnerships. The new service will offer more frequent access to local businesses and amenities. Additionally, CTA collaborated with FlixBus to establish a bus stop in Cape Girardeau, offering affordable routes to cities like Chicago and Memphis. Smith emphasized safety measures, including live camera footage and driver training, and encouraged the use of CTA's new transit app for better service planning.

SEMO student workers will see their pay rise to at least $13.75 an hour this August under a new Missouri law, with a further increase to $15 set for 2026, ending the university’s lower student wage.

In this episode of 'Going Public', we speak with Jakob Pallesen, who personally conducts the trainings that will be offered during Southeast Missouri State University’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) eight-week Early-Stage Business Bootcamp. This series launches the newest cohort beginning August 26 and runs through October 14 at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce.

In this episode of 'Going Public', we speak with Jakob Pallesen, who personally conducts the trainings that will be offered during Southeast Missouri State University’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) eight-week Early-Stage Business Bootcamp. This series launches the newest cohort beginning August 26 and runs through October 14 at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce.

After the second time appearing on the ballot—this time with a different funding structure, the City of Cape Girardeau water infrastructure issue passes.

Missouri advocates for families say the federal budget "megabill" could make it harder for them to put food on the table. The changes shift more of the administrative costs for SNAP, the federal program formerly known as food stamps, onto the state, and make it harder for some people to qualify for benefits.

Illinois schools have already been grappling with a teacher shortage, budget deficits, and growing student needs. Experts say there was an anticipated budget shortfall of $280 million due to frozen federal K-12 funds, but administration officials say those funds are now unfrozen.

New Medicaid work rules are raising fears among many Missourians about losing health insurance. Under the new federal budget bill, adults on Medicaid expansion will have to prove 80 hours of work or volunteer time each month. However, health experts say Medicaid backlog is the real issue.

The Illinois Department of Education, in partnership with Chapin Hall, released a new interactive trauma tool to help track adversity factors to which children may be exposed in districts across the state that may negatively impact their ability to be successful at school. Experts say they hope the Illinois Children’s Adversity Index encourages collaboration to more effectively allocate resources to districts that need it most.

Drivers with zTrip’s IRIS microtransit program are suing, accusing the company of cheating them out of thousands in overtime. The federal class-action suit, filed in Kansas City, says drivers regularly worked more than 40 hours a week without time-and-a-half pay because zTrip wrongly treated them as independent contractors.