A sudden political surprise. Low water on the Mississippi River. A Medicaid proposal caught in the crosshairs in Jefferson City. There’s been plenty of news to cover over the last few weeks in Southeast Missouri.
A Special Election
Jo Ann Emerson’s resignation from Congress and the subsequent scramble to fill her vacated seat has filled our headlines during the early part of the year. KRCU has covered her resignation and the political parties’ nominating meeting to name candidates to run in the June 2 special election. The Republicans will run Missouri House of Representatives Speaker pro tem Jason Smith, and the Democrats chose East Prairie’s Representative Steve Hodges. Expect to hear more from both Smith and Hodges in the months leading up to the election, including more interviews on KRCU’s Going Public. We hope to produce “Meet The Candidate” features about Smith, Hodges, Libertarian candidate Bill Slantz and the Constitution Party’s Doug Enyart.
Rolling On The River
The ongoing drought brought Mississippi River levels to treacherously low levels in December and January. River navigation leaders urged the Army Corps of Engineers to release water from Missouri River reservoirs to help keep barges -- and the nation’s infrastructure -- afloat. The Army Corps is not legally permitted to release Missouri River water to benefit the Mississippi River, so the Corps used timely releases from Kinkaid Lake in southern Illinois to give a few extra inches to riverborn traffic. The Corps took advantage of low water to remove rock pinnacles near Thebes and Grand Tower to effectively lower the river by two feet at this rockiest stretch. These actions, along with some much welcomed rain, allowed river traffic to continue on the river throughout the winter. KRCU’s Jacob McClelend reported for NPR’s All Things Considered and Weekend Edition Sunday as well as Harvest Public Media about the low water’s impact.
Medicaid Expansion
The United States Supreme Court struck down the Medicaid expansion provision of President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act last year. States must voluntarily choose whether or not to expand Medicaid coverage. The federal government is dangling a carrot to get states on board -- the feds will cover 100% of the cost for the first three years, and then gradually reduce the federal contribution through 2020, when the federal government will cover 90% and the states will chip in the rest. Missouri governor Jay Nixon, a Democrat, has been criss-crossing the state, touting the plan as a way to bring insurance coverage to 300,000 working individuals with low incomes. The Missouri Hospital Association and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce back the plan. But Republicans in the veto-proof Missouri legislature have not expressed the same appetite for Medicaid expansion. We’ll be covering the Medicaid issue over the coming months.
You might have heard two new reporter interns at KRCU, Megan Moore and Colby Powell. Megan is a Communication Studies major and Colby is studying journalism. Megan has done a great job and recently reported on violence and overcrowding in the Illinois prison system. Colby did some nice spots on the potential Medicaid expansion and its impact on mental health coverage. Both have reported on February’s double homicide on South Pacific Street in Cape Girardeau.
We also have a radio production intern, Jacob Haun, who you might hear from time to time on This Week At Southeast. All three of our interns will graduate at the end of the semester. If you know any bright students who want a truly challenging and rewarding internship opportunity, please send them our way. We are still looking for interns, especially reporters, during the summer and fall semesters.
There are many, many topics we want to cover over the next few months. We’ll have more stories about the special election and Medicaid. Expect to hear plans to complete the St. Johns Bayou levee project near New Madrid, personal stories of immigrant children separated from family, and much, much more.