With renewed attention because of the Ken Burns’ documentary on the subject, the Dust Bowl hold lessons for the modern day. Missouri improves its rate for premature births. It’s a daily dose of news from KCUR.
Dust Bowl Serves As Warning For Today
The Dust Bowl of the 1930s left an indelible mark on the Midwest and on history. It is the drought against which all others are measured. . Exposed wheat fields were the source of the storms. The fields were plowed up in the 1910s and 1920s in a land rush spurred by high wheat prices and government homesteading programs. When the rain stopped in the 1930s, clouds of loose topsoil went airborne. Learn more here.
Premature Birth Rates Fall In Missouri
The March of Dimes has released its annual state rankings of premature birth rates, giving Missouri a grade of "C" for the second year in a row. The state's preterm birth rate has been gradually improving over the past five years, falling from 12.8 percent in 2006 to 11.6 percent in 2011. That puts Missouri right about at the national average, and just slightly better than neighboring Illinois. Read more here.