New Health Director Announced

The new head of the state health department comes from Illinois.

Donald Kauerauf will be the next Director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, effective September 1st.
Kauerauf served as the Assistant Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health from 2016 until his retirement in 2018. More recently, he was selected to Chair the Illinois Terrorism Task Force and has served in that capacity throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

Governor Parson said, when he introduced Kauerauf, that the new director would be able to “hit the ground running”
But Parson added his own criteria:

Kauerauf said at his introductory press conference; he wants to travel the state:

Kauerauf comes from a background of public health and emergency management, a combination that Gov. Parson says will serve the state well.