Hosts Jonathan Owens, Ardis Watkins, Suzanne Beasley, and Sammy Cline discuss an approaching Arctic storm, personal memories of snow, and practical safety advice while thanking essential state workers who keep roads, hospitals, and prisons running during extreme weather.

The episode pivots to a deep dive on the state employee vacancy crisis and the DAVE Report on lapsed salary funds: how frozen positions, underfunding, and turnover harm services from DMV to prisons and universities, and why lawmakers should act.