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Nursing homes are facing challenges to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. On Friday’s “St. Louis on the Air” host Sarah Fenske talks to science and environment reporter Eli Chen about her recent reporting on the challenges facing nursing homes in our region. And during the show, we eavesdropped on a conversation between 98-year-old nursing home resident Jean Hemphill and her granddaughter, Evie Hemphill.

At the St. Louis hospital where Emma Crocker works as a registered nurse, only employees working in areas with confirmed COVID-19 patients, like the emergency room and ICU, were given N95 masks from the hospital’s collection. N95 masks are in short supply across the country, and the hospital wanted to conserve their supply. Yet, Crocker was concerned that she and her colleagues were being exposed to the virus by unknowingly infected patients coming into their outpatient oncology clinic, which is located within the hospital. In this episode, Sarah Fenske talks with Crocker about her push for all hospital health care workers to have access to N95 masks.

The COVID-19 outbreak has prompted another jump in weekly unemployment insurance claims in Missouri and Illinois. It is also causing St. Louis County to close its parks so more people follow a stay-at-home order. And amid the pandemic, lawmakers are set to return to Jefferson City next week.

Humane Society of Missouri President Kathy Warnick joined host Sarah Fenske on Thursday’s “Saint Louis on the Air” to talk about the organization's unique effort of partnering pets with families who are currently home-bound while still maintaining social distancing.

Host Sarah Fenske talked to Saint Louis Zoo Director Micahel Macek about how the zoo is adjusting to closing its doors to visitors and their #BringTheSTLZooToYou social media updates.

On Thursday’s “St. Louis on the Air” host Sarah Fenske talked to Michael-Jon Voss, co-founder and special projects director with ArchCity Defenders, about a nearly $1.7 million settlement of a class action lawsuit against the City of Ferguson, Missouri. The settlement affects more than 10,000 citizens of the area who were charged fees for the issuance of warrants or for failing to appear for a municipal court date in Ferguson.

Missouri's governor says the state budget is expected to take a more than $500 million hit related to COVID-19. Mike Parson is hoping money from the federal government will help fill that gap. Also, we speak with the incoming bishop for the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri on adjustments being made to deal with the outbreak.

All those hypothetical questions we love to debate around issues of privacy, freedom and other civil rights? Many of them feel a lot less theoretical these days. The spread of coronavirus — and restrictions placed by the government on the public and private sectors in response — has given these questions a greater sense of urgency. This conversation focuses on COVID-19’s implications for government power and its limits as expressed in the United States’ founding documents.

In determining the best guidelines for government action during the COVID-19 outbreak, city leaders and officials are looking at how different metros responded during the 1918 flu pandemic. The general consensus is that because St. Louis implemented more extensive quarantine measures, the area had a lower death rate than other cities in the U.S. Chris Naffziger, who writes about history and architecture for St. Louis magazine, says that while city officials managed to prevent the deaths of thousands during the pandemic of 1918 through 1920, St. Louis’ response to the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic wasn't quite what we remember.

The city of St. Louis has closed its buildings to the public as it deals with coronavirus. The move comes as another university takes a role in a potential COVID-19 treatment and another area newspaper takes drastic measures to cope with the pandemic.

The new Netflix series explores the remarkable life of St. Louis washerwoman toward hair care magnate Madam C.J. Walker. It paints a rivalry with another St. Louis entrepreneur, one based in part on Annie Malone. Sarah Fenske talks about the true stories of both women's lives with a panel of experts that includes Walker's great-granddaughter, and biographer, A'lelia Bundles.

Every day we report on the number of people who test positive for coronavirus and the number of people who die from it. Behind all of the numbers are personal stories. We talked with the families of Jazmond Dixon and Pete DaPrato. St. Louisan Jazmond Dixon, 31, was the first in the area to die from the coronavirus and Pete DaPrato, 72, of O'Fallon, Missouri, died last week.

On Tuesday's "St. Louis on the Air" host Sarah Fenske talked to two restaurant owners located in The Hill neighborhood. Following the COVID-19 outbreak, many restaurants had to change their dining models to curbside or delivery when they were forced to shut their doors to the public. Chris Saracino, the president of the Hill 2000 Neighborhood Association and owner of four restaurants, including Chris' Pancake and Dining and Bartolino's Osteria, talked with Fenske about how his businesses are holding up following the pandemic. Larry Fuse, a Hill resident and owner of restaurants Lorenzo's Trattoria and Gelato di Riso also joined the show.

Multiple nursing home residents in the St. Louis area have tested positive for COVID-19. Many homes are understaffed and are struggling to protect patients from infection. That battle comes as Missouri's governor prepares to extend social distancing measures and the state moves to waive some requirements for out-of-state doctors to treat coronavirus patients in Missouri.

Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where the Columbia Republican talked about how coronavirus upended the Missouri General Assembly’s legislative session. Rowden represents Missouri’s 19th District, which takes in all of Boone and Cooper counties. As majority leader, Rowden is responsible for what the Senate debates — making him one of the more powerful and influential lawmakers in Jefferson City.

Medical ethicists are trained to confront ethical questions in medicine, and the novel coronavirus raises quite a few. For instance, in China and Italy, there have been reports of hospitals being forced to ration care for COVID-19 patients. This form of rationing care and prioritizing treatment is determined by a hospital’s crisis standards of care guidelines. According to Dr. Kimbell Kornu, an assistant professor of health care ethics and palliative medicine at St. Louis University, hospital administrators and clinical ethicists around the U.S. are preparing their guidelines now, looking back to protocols from the SARS outbreak of 2003 and care in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In this episode, Sarah Fenske talks with Kornu about these and other ethical considerations surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Host Sarah Fenske talked to Reginald Howard, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 788 about the safety procedures Metro Transit has implemented following the coronavirus outbreak. During the show included audio from Ron Klein, the executive director of the St. Louis Metropolitan Taxicab Commission, who talked about what the local taxi business is doing to ensure clean safety practices for riders. Also included were two callers who voiced their own questions and concerns about public transportation during the pandemic.

St. Louis is taking more precautions as the number of COVID-19 cases in the region continues to increase. Officials are shutting down more recreation facilities in city parks. The action comes as area residents have more concerns about coronavirus. We answer some of those questions as part of our Curious Louis series.

When Square co-founder Jim McKelvey went looking for role models, he found that entrepreneurs, unlike businessmen, are in short supply. In his new book, “The Innovation Stack: Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time," McKelvey explores how people with big ideas and a lot of bravery can solve big problems and build new companies. In this conversation, McKelvey discusses his book with Sarah Fenske and shares his thoughts on how the coronavirus pandemic could change the status quo.

Host Sarah Fenske talks to Christina Weaver of The Women's Creative and Jordan Bauer of the Instagram account STLouisGram and St. Louis guide and coupon book Experience Booklet to discuss #314Together, a new group aimed to bring local business and customers together again.