Russ McKinney
Russ McKinney
Reporter, Producer
Russ McKinney has 30 years of experience in radio news and public affairs. He is a former broadcast news reporter in Spartanburg, Columbia and Atlanta. He served as Press Secretary to former S.C. Governor Dick Riley for two terms, and for 20 years was the chief public affairs officer for the University of South Carolina.
Stories
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2021 Session of S.C. General Assembly Begins Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
January 15, 2021This year’s session of the S.C. General Assembly got underway this week with one member describing it as "a session not like any other." Most lawmakers wore masks as the lingering COVID pandemic altered many time-honored legislative traditions. Adding to the unusual... -
State Lawmakers Opt Not to Move Ahead With New Budget
September 25, 2020Last Year's Operating Budget to Remain In Effect It now appears that South Carolina’s state government will operate for the first half of its’ current fiscal year using last year’s budget. A lack of action by the General Assembly this week left last year’s budget in place as... -
SC Officials Fear COVID-19 Spike Over July 4th Holiday
July 03, 2020As South Carolina enters the July 4th weekend, public health officials are bracing for what they term as a possible unimaginable number of new cases of the coronavirus. Gov. McMaster said this week the state is facing a test. "It's time for us to make up our minds. July the... -
SC Continues to See Record Number of New Cases Of COVID-19
June 22, 2020New cases of the coronavirus are soaring in the state causing a new set of challenges for state and local officials. For the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic, South Carolina saw relatively low numbers of cases attributed to a series of state mandates ordering... -
COVID-19 Pandemic Has Potential to Create "Education Crisis for A Generation" Of SC Students
June 02, 2020For the state's public schools the first of June normally marks the end of the school year. But this year the coronavirus outbreak changed that. On March, 2020 Gov. Henry McMaster ordered schools closed. Last week, State Education Superintendent Mollie Spearman delivered an... -
SC General Assembly Approves Budget Resolution, Adds New Funding to Combat COVID-19
May 15, 2020The SC House and Senate were finally able to agree on a resolution this week that will keep state government operating beyond the end of this fiscal year on June 30th. Lawmakers interrupted this year’s legislative session back in March because of the coronavirus outbreak...