89.9 KRPS Public Radio News Blog

Blood donations have stabilized during the 6th month of the pandemic, but K R P S’s Fred Fletcher-Fierro tells us blood drives held at schools have decreased substantially.  

The Community Blood Center of the Ozarks was one of the essential businesses that remained open during the first months of the pandemic. But when schools and businesses closed, that meant C B C O couldn’t send their mobile blood teams to sites throughout Southeast Kansas, Southwest Missouri, and Northwest Arkansas. That put a severe strain on the blood supply to the 44-area hospitals that the organization supplies. That cut the availability of blood by 50 percent. Chris Pigram of the C B C O says that many of their operating procedure are unchanged for donating blood are unchanged, except for one. “Mask are required. We’ve increased our sanitation conditions, which were already really stringent. We operate under the guidance of the Food and Drug Administration. We’re considered a pharmaceutical manufacture, so they were already pretty stringent, but we have doubled down on those.” If you have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and have fully recovered, the CBCO asks you to consider donating convalescent plasma, which scientists are using to study the disease. For more information or to schedule an appointment. Visit cbco.org

It’s Morning Edition on KRPS. We are in the midst of a political season like no other in Kansas. Consider this. Every house and state senate seat is up for grabs in the Kansas Legislature. All four seats congressional seats too. Races also include one for the US Senate, pitting First District Republican Congressman Dr. Rodger Marshall, and a former Republican turned Democrat and District 7 State Senator, Dr. Barbara Bollier, who visited Pittsburg on Tuesday. I spoke with Bollier after a rally that took place at Lincoln Park. I first asked why expanding Medicaid in Kansas was so important to her?   

It’s hard to miss the numerous ads and editorials, on Facebook and Twitter that Bollier’s opponent Rodger Marshall has continued to use to attack the State Senator and her campaign regarding funding the police, and her unwillingness to sign a pledge that will not defund the police. I asked Bollier what she had to say to possible voters who see these attacks by Marshall and give voting for her a second thought?  

Next, climate change an important topic during a summer of which we have seen numerous uncontrollable wire fires out west and devastating hurricanes. A poll released from Yale Climate Communication recently and reported on by the Kansas News service this week says that about 70 percent of Kansans believe that climate change is real. I asked Bollier what would be some of the policies or changes that she would hope to work towards if elected?  

I spoke with Democratic Candidate for US Senate Dr. Barbara Bollier at Lincoln Park in Pittsburg on Tuesday September 14. She is taking on Congressman Rodger Marshall. The general election takes place on Tuesday, November 3rd.

On Monday, the city of Joplin held their bi-weekly COVID-19 update as the number of active cases continues to increase. This Thursday will mark the one-month anniversary of the mask mandate in Joplin not being extended by the Joplin city council. Over the weekend, the health department recorded a record level of cases with 197, as of Monday afternoon, that number has now receded to 190 cases. There are currently 316 people also in quarantine.

Joplin Mayor Ryan Stanley “I think we’re at the highest level of cases I can remember us having. In talking to the hospitals, the hospitals are maintaining around 47 people hospitalized. Of which 29 are in the medical-surgical unit, and then 17 are in ICU.” This past weekend Missouri, which has had no statewide health in place since June, surpassed 100,000 total confirmed coronavirus cases with 1,705 COVID-19 related deaths.

Happy Tuesday, and thanks for joining me for The Rundown, news headlines from K R P S 

Kansas is approaching 50 thousand coronavirus cases overall, with a consistent pace of new positives.

More than two-thirds of Kansans believe that global warming is happening, according to the latest survey from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

Sedgwick County revised the latest coronavirus pandemic health order Monday.

On Monday, the city of Joplin held their bi-weekly COVID-19 update as the number of active cases continues to increase.

The American Red Cross of Southern Missouri is looking for disaster relief volunteers.  The organization’s executive director, Stacy Burks, says they need volunteers willing to travel to areas of the U.S. that are being impacted by storms. To learn more about volunteering, go to redcross.org/volunteertoday  Monetary donations to help with relief efforts are also needed.  To donate $10, text “Laura” to 90999. 

That’s it for a Tuesday Rundown, be sure to subscribe to the Rundown in the iTunes stores or in Google podcasts. 

Happy Monday, and thanks for joining me for The Rundown, news headlines from K R P S 

Republicans agreed Friday to extend the Kansas coronavirus disaster declaration after assurances that Democratic Governor Laura Kelly would not close businesses again.

For the second time in nearly three months, an official with the Crawford County Health Department is stepping down.

Investigators are trying to determine who is responsible for damaging a cave at the Buffalo National River in Arkansas. Vandals broke into a locked gate at Fitton Cave in August. 

Kansas State University will not have a spring break next semester.

On Friday, Ozark Christian College in Joplin announced that the campus would institute a campus-wide self-quarantine for students.

That’s it for a Monday Rundown, be sure to subscribe to the Rundown in the iTunes store or in Google podcasts. 

As texting has become an immediate source of communication for many of us, scammers have started to use the method more frequently in order for you to send them money for fake products or services or even to install malware on your phone. Usually, a scammer sends a text with a web link that looks real, so it is easy to understand why so many people are deceived. Some scams that residents in the Four States are seeing include job offers, coupons, or gift cards.

Stephanie Garland of the Better Business Bureau in Springfield says that residents are also receiving fake package delivery text messages, “In some cases, people are getting texts saying we found a package from June that is pending for you please assume ownership as scheduled for delivery all you have to do is click this link right here.” Stephanie says that scammers then send a follow-up text for the following month to make the scam appear real. To see which scams are taking place in your area or to find out if you’ve been the victim of a scam, visit bbb.org.

Happy Friday, and thanks for joining me for The Rundown, news headlines from K R P S 

The Chiefs beat the Houston Texans 34 to 20 last night at Arrowhead Stadium in the NFL’s season opener.

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly told a congressional hearing Thursday that states need more help responding to the coronavirus.

The Missouri Department of Health reported 1,116 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, marking the second day in a row that the state has reported over 1,000 new cases.

Governor Laura Kelly will ask Kansas lawmakers Friday to extend the state’s disaster declaration related to the coronavirus.

As texting has become an immediate source of communication for many of us, scammers have started to use the method more frequently in order for you to send them money for fake products or services or even to install malware on your phone.

And now for our feature of the day, a conversation with Pittsburg State Universities Provosts and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Howard Smith.

That’s it for a Friday Rundown, be sure to subscribe to the Rundown in the iTunes stores or in google podcasts. 

 For the first time this week the state of Kansas released the names and locations of coronavirus clusters throughout the state. The document produced by KDHE listed 78 locations, included eight colleges and universities, such as Pittsburg State that has at least 100 cases. In response the university has shifted many of its classes online.  On Wednesday afternoon I spoke with Dr. Howard Smith, the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at PSU. The interview took place in-person inside of his office in Russ hall. Both of us were wearing masks.

There are now 55 days before the Presidential election, and voters in Missouri will also elect a Governor. Missouri Governor Mike Parson and State Auditor Nicole Galloway have been officially on the campaign trail for about a year. The topics of the campaign are tremendously different than they were 12 months ago because of the pandemic.   Professional of Political Science Dr. Daniel Ponder at Drury University in Springfield says that softening poll numbers for President Trump could lead to a closer Governor’s race in Missouri, “What that does mean is that maybe there’s a movement and leaves an opening for Galloway. What we have been seeing is that there’s a lot of money coming in from outside the state of both Parson and for Galloway.” 

Trump won Missouri by 19 percent in 2016, but according to polling completed by We Ask Americans and published last week, Trump only leads Biden by 5 percent. It’s undetermined just how much the race for President will affect the Governor’s race in Missouri. In one poll released last week, Parson maintains an over 9-point edge on Galloway. 

The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers to be on the lookout for scams concerning senior citizens and the coronavirus. A lot is going on this year; between the pandemic, a national election, and the US census taking place, scammers have more opportunities to try and lure people and get your credit card or bank information. Another popular scam in Southwest Missouri involves asking a customer to pay over the phone for Medicare. Stephanie Garland of the Better Business Bureau in Springfield, “Right now, during this coronavirus, there are people who are losing money daily. And some senior citizens are unfortunately thinking that they are finding great opportunities. And they’re not.”

 Stephanie says that Medicare will never call you on the phone; instead, they will contact you through the snail mail. Also, the coronavirus pandemic has provided opportunities for scammers to target Southwest Missouri residents with promises of free COVID-19 testing kits through Medicare. You can contact the Better Business Bureau if you think you’ve been the target of a possible scam at bbb.org.