Mississippi Edition

As hospitals are filling and more schools are switching to virtual learning, the state’s top health officers urge residents to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Then, the Governor’s budget proposes an end of the individual income tax. We hear response from lawmakers.

Plus, after a Southern Remedy Health Minute, we examine the Governor’s Patriotic Education Program.

Segment 1:

Several major hospitals in Mississippi are operating at maximum capacity because of increased coronavirus hospitalizations. The health care system is experiencing admission rates and ICU occupancy that are at their highest since late August. State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs says he’s concerned patients won’t receive the highest standard of care if intensive care beds are filled. State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers warns cases and quarantines in school communities are spiking.

Segment 2:

Governor Tate Reeves’ budget proposal for the next fiscal year includes phasing out the state’s individual income tax by 2030. The state income tax takes in $1.8 billion yearly. The governor says the plan will attract new businesses and residents to the state. of Booneville is on the Appropriations Committee. He tells Our Desare Frazier discusses with House Republican Tracy Arnold and House Democrat Robert Johnson.

Segment 3:

Southern Remedy Health Minute

Segment 4:

In the months leading up the 2020 elections, President Trump denounced the practice of critical race theory and championed the teaching of a historical narrative centered on the concepts of American exceptionalism. Now Governor Tate Reeves is introducing a plan to bring a similar program to Mississippi. In his proposed budget, Reeves allocates three million dollars for what he calls the Patriotic Education Fund. For many historians and teachers of history, the Governor's proposed program is antithetical. Dr. Robert Luckett is an Associate Professor of History and Philosophy at Jackson State University. He calls the program problematic, saying it is the job of historians to perpetually question the narrative.