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2:46 pm
Wed February 22, 2012

Central Missouri Humane Society selects new director

The Central Missouri Humane Society announced Kimberly Sherlaw as its new executive director Monday.  Since Dr. Alan Allert resigned from the post in October the No Kill Columbia Campaign has pushed CMHS to select a director who supported their No-Kill policy.

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Science, Health and Technology
9:17 am
Wed February 22, 2012

Earthquake rocks southeast Missouri

The early morning earthquake that rattled much of Southeast Missouri on Tuesday morning caused little damage. The 4.0 magnitude quake was centered near East Prairie, Missouri.

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Politics
9:08 am
Wed February 22, 2012

House committee hears bill allowing transfers to private schools

A House committee heard a bill Tuesday allowing kids from unaccredited school districts to attend non-public schools.

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Politics
9:02 am
Wed February 22, 2012

Possibly threatening email sent to lawmakers

Credit File / KBIA
The emails come weeks after a gun-target stickers were placed on some lawmakers' office doors.

An angry email that named four Missouri state senators and mentioned an Arizona congresswoman who was shot and wounded last year has been traced to an eastern Missouri resident.

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Politics
8:58 am
Wed February 22, 2012

Cole Co. Judge declares MOSIRA unconstitutional

Credit File / KBIA
The judge said failure by lawmakers to pass wide-ranging tax credit legislation in the fall special session renders the bill unconstitutional.

The Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act, or MOSIRA, has been ruled unconstitutional by a Cole County judge.

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Health & Wealth Update
7:46 am
Wed February 22, 2012

New program eases debt for rural medical students

Credit Jacob Fenston / KBIA
Brady Didion, fourth-year med student at MU, was recently chosen for an early loan repayment program with the National Health Service Corps.

The average medical school student graduates with close to $160,000 in debt. That heavy burden is one reason why there is a long-running shortage of primary care doctors in rural America. More and more graduating students choose higher-paying specialties over rural primary care. In this weekly update, a new pilot program helps medical students pay off loans as soon as they start residency, so it's easier to choose a lower-paying, but possibly more fulfilling career path.

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Education
4:20 pm
Tue February 21, 2012

Missouri files for No Child Left Behind exemption

Eleven states have been issued waivers from some provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, but Missouri was not one of them.  But as Maria Altman reports, the State Board of Education is trying to change that.

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Politics
3:14 pm
Tue February 21, 2012

Mo. House rejects plan to increase some farm taxes

Credit KBIA

 

Missouri House members have voted to reject a tax plan that would increase property taxes for the best farms.

Property taxes for farms are based on the land's "productive value." Farms are divided into eight groups based on land quality, with the best in Grade 1 and the worst in Grade 8. The Missouri Tax Commission has recommended increasing productive values for the four highest grades.

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Science, Health and Technology
2:59 pm
Tue February 21, 2012

High school athletes at risk for concussions

 

Eight hundred and seventy one high school students suffered concussions during last fall, according to a new survey conducted by the Missouri State High School Activities Association. Unsurprisingly, 75 percent of those concussions happened to football players.  State lawmakers made this survey mandatory last year, so there isn’t any previous data with which to compare it.

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Field Notes
12:16 pm
Tue February 21, 2012

Translating science into news

Credit Jessica Naudziunas / Harvest Public Media
Shari Freyermuth teaches science to non-science majors at the University of Missouri. She attended the workshop designed to help her communicate her research clearly.

Scientists researching complex topics often come up empty-handed when it comes time to explain their findings. It’s hard to distill years of intricate, complex research into tiny bytes a layman can understand.

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