Show Me Today - The Voice of Missouri

Missouri K-12 public school students are adjusting to a new academic year with a new school safety law and cell phone ban.

Alisa Nelson talks to John McDonald, with the Missouri School Boards’ Association’s Center for Education Safety, who says the new normal is helping with learning time.

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September is Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month: a time to highlight resources available to those struggling with mental health and substance abuse.

Rick Strait, Substance Abuse Division Director and Suicide Prevention Coordinator for Community Counseling Center, joins Show Me Today.

Missouri 988 sponsors this segment.

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The world we live in today faces school safety threats regularly.

The Missouri School Boards' Association's Center for Education Safety has been using a video simulator for the past year to help train school employees for the worst.

Alisa Nelson gets an update from member John McDonald, who says the simulator's popularity has taken the center's training around the state. 

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Teachers spend their days caring for students, but who’s caring for the teachers? In Missouri, a program called TeachWell aims to do just that—providing free, bite-sized wellness tools to help educators manage stress, build resilience, and create healthier classrooms. Katie Epema, Director of School-Based Mental Health at DESE, joins us to explain how this program works, why it matters, and how it connects with other resources, such as the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

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This weekend’s Great Forest Park Balloon Race will feature a very special passenger. Lorraine “Happy” Haake, just days shy of her 96th birthday, will take to the skies as the event’s oldest aeronaut, thanks to Friendship Village’s 50th anniversary “Senior Moments” program.

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The Veterans Community Project in St. Louis – the latest community of tiny homes and services in Missouri is busier than ever, according to Rebecca Tallman, the director of the site. She tells Ashley Byrd about its latest successes…and who is needing their help these days.

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Filmmaker Yance Ford will assume the role of Visiting Artistic Director for True/False 2026.

Ford has shown films at True False, and won awards for his films, including an Emmy and a Sundance prize. He explains why he says – he owed the Columbia Festival a year of his time—and his unique role.

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Alex Embree, Interim Director at the University of Missouri's Office for Financial Success, shares tips that can help prevent students from running out of cash and having to ask their parents for more money. Embree notes that young adults can encounter several personal financial pitfalls.

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Eric Kopinski, the Director of the Improve I-70 program, which is expanding Interstate 70 in Missouri to six lanes, says they’re making sure the construction materials and the work itself are top quality.  

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Measles is back in Missouri. Health officials have confirmed seven cases so far this year, and they’re urging people to take it seriously. We spoke with Nathan Koffarnus, an epidemiologist with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, who says measles spreads quickly and can be dangerous—especially for those who aren’t vaccinated. 

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