Mike Parson

There will be nine National Guard teams deployed throughout the state, one for each of Missouri’s Highway Patrol regions, and each team can vaccinate up to 2,500 people per day depending on supply.

Gov. Mike Parson and four statewide officials took their oaths of offices on Monday — ushering in four more years of near total Republican rule over Missouri.

The past year's events redefined Missouri and St. Louis politics. And the COVID-19 pandemic and protests decrying police killing Black people played a huge role in shaping the biggest stories in the region and state.

The program is designed to help Missouri students attending a community college or technical school.

In addition to two dozen pardoned, Parson also commuted the sentences of four individuals.

This comes after the state recently announced a 12-week contract with health care consultant Vizient, as staffing at hospitals continues to be a struggle due to an influx of coronavirus cases.

Even as hospital leaders warned that their beds were nearly full — and Gov. Mike Parson assured the public that the state was prepared — some hospitals continued to report data that made their capacity appear larger than it was.

Hospitals across Missouri will soon receive help from a Texas-based company the state is hiring to provide additional workers and hospital beds. The support announced Wednesday will help hospitals care for additional coronavirus patients.

The legislation, which passed the House last month, now heads to Gov. Mike Parson’s desk.

Voters approved the constitutional amendment in August, and now it's up to state lawmakers to implement it.