The U.S. Department of Education, USDOE, says spring standardized testing will continue this year after being canceled in 2020 because of COVID-19, but the federal government is offering states some flexibility in how those tests are administered and how the data is used. 

As the COVID vaccine rollout continues, Midwesterners have a lot of questions about distribution plans — and the vaccine itself. One state is getting help from a surprising place: public libraries.

This story was produced by Side Effects Public Media, a news collaborative covering public health.

The recent COVID surge was enough to push BJC Healthcare to start deferring some scheduled procedures at hospitals in the St. Louis area. In Columbia, where the University of Missouri is located, hospitals aren’t there yet.

But it’s not out of the question.

The ¿QPM? team takes some time to reflect at the end of Season 5. They discuss how the episodes impacted them and how they’ve been getting through the year. Esperamos que las historias from this season have been a light during este tiempo difícil.

En este episodio we talk to Antonia Quiñones Peña, Kim Wasserman and John Hazinski sobre la implosión de una chimenea en una planta de carbón en La Villita, la justicia medioambiental y el plan sobre cómo avanzar.

En este episodio we talk to Chef Benoit Angulo about how COVID-19 has brought La Cocinita Restaurant back to its food truck roots and allowed for them to donate over 7,000 meals to date across Chicagoland.