Rebecca Smith
Health ReporterRebecca Smith is an award-winning reporter and producer for the KBIA Health & Wealth Desk. Born and raised outside of Rolla, Missouri, she has a passion for diving into often overlooked issues that affect the rural populations of her state – especially stories that broaden people’s perception of “rural” life. She created a conversations-based journalism project, Missouri Health Talks, in 2016 that empowers people throughout the state to share their stories of access to healthcare – in their own words.
She has degrees in both Journalism and Chemistry from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, and often says health reporting is the perfect marriage of individual’s stories and reporting on science.
You can reach her at smithbecky@missouri.edu or 573-882-4824.
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Parts of Missouri will experience totality during the solar eclipse on April 8, but viewing the solar event without the proper eye protection can be dangerous.
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Joe Jefferies is a certified peer support specialist who lives in Fayette. They spoke about their queer identity and journey toward recovery from substance use disorder, as well as about the need for more resources in rural communities.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued a health advisory due to an increase in measles cases across the United States – including in Missouri. KBIA’s Rebecca Smith sat down with Dr. Amruta Padhye, a pediatric infectious diseases physician at University of Missouri Health Care, to learn more about the disease and what symptoms folks should be on the lookout for.
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The fur industry has a long history in the state of Missouri, and while it looks different now – it’s still around. KBIA’s Rebecca Smith recently went to the annual Missouri fur auction and brings us this look at fur trapping's role in the community and in conservation.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to inform doctors and public health officials of an increase in measles cases across the United States – including in Missouri.
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After several months of discussion and anticipation from community members, the Columbia City Council declared Columbia a “safe haven” city for LGBTQ+ people this week .
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The annual Great Backyard Bird Count is happening now and will continue all weekend – through Monday, February 19th. This is a global event where people are asked to go outside in their community, look and listen for birds, and submit their data to the eBird database.
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Paige Spears has been incarcerated in the Missouri Department of Corrections for nearly 35 years. At the age of 26, he was given a life sentence plus 30 years for an armed robbery he committed in 1988 – where no one was physically injured. He’s now 62. We met up with his family in January-Wabash Park in north county St. Louis recently and spoke about Paige and how his absence for more than 30 years of incarceration has impacted them.