Jaquie Melloway and John Trapp are the leadership team that run Room at the Inn, the local overnight shelter in Columbia that serves unhoused people. They spoke about some of the things that have surprised them about the folks they serve.

Reighna is an unhoused woman in her 40s. She spoke about some of the systemic challenges that can make it hard for people to climb out of homelessness, but also about the community that supports her.

Amy is an unhoused woman in her 50s who we met at Room at the Inn, the local overnight shelter in Columbia. She spoke about some of the challenges of trying to take care of her health while living on the street with chronic illnesses.

Hogs for Hunger is a program that allows farmers to donate pigs to their local food banks or senior centers for a tax deduction. Since the program began, more than 2.6 million servings of pork have been donated.

Dr. Allison Sindle is a dermatologist with Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, down in the Bootheel. She comes from a farming family and spoke about some of the ways farmers – and farmers’ loved ones – can help keep them safe from the sun.

Farming is a common way of life in Shelby County in Northeast Missouri, but farming doesn’t come without it’s challenges. In the last few years, it was found that the county had one of the highest rates of suicide by firearm in the state.

Emma Alexander and her family live in southwest Missouri and come from a long line of Missouri farmers. She and her 16-year-old son Lucas recently sat down and spoke about how farming and its challenges benefit their mental health and well-being.

Dr. Zane He is a psychiatrist with University of Missouri Health Care. He works at the MU Student Health Center as a sort of “school psychiatrist." He spoke about how he's seen the stigma around mental health change during his career, and about how simply talking about issues can help reduce the stigma around mental health.

According to the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services, stroke is the sixth leading cause of death in Missouri. Dr. Adnan Qureshi with University of Missouri Health Care is an expert on strokes and spoke about how treatment options for strokes have expanded during his time in the field.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have already been more than 700 measles cases in the United States so far this year. That's more than double the number of cases reported in all of 2024.