217 Today: One medical school wants more students to become doctors in rural areas

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Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022

Today’s headlines:

  • Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker Wednesday intends to announce plans to lift the indoor mask mandate that has been in place since August.

  • A bill to protect possible victims of sexual assault and harassment has passed the U.S. House and will now go to the Senate.

  • Unit 4 announced after the Champaign teachers’ vote to allow a potential strike that the board was “disheartened” and that its contract proposal focuses on underserved students. 

  • Coles County has announced two additional deaths from COVID-19. That brings the death toll in the county to 158.

In today’s deep dive, we’ll look at efforts to increase the number of doctors in rural areas where there’s been an increasing shortage.

217 Today is produced by Farrah Anderson. Reporting today contributed by Dave McKinney, Michelle O’Neill, Emily Hays and Steph Whiteside

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Farrah Anderson

Farrah Anderson is a 2024 graduate of the University of Illinois. At Illinois Public Media, Anderson works as a general assignment reporter focusing on police and investigative stories.