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It’s that time of year again when the open enrollment period has begun for health insurance from the ACA Marketplace. Our next guest says that employers should be aware that some of the rules for this are different this year. Mike Switzer interviews Frank Knapp, president and CEO of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce in Columbia, SC.

Here’s one of the more interesting stories that we’ve come across recently: Horseshoe crabs off of our coast are being captured, some of their blood drawn, and then they are returned to the sea. This crab blood is then used by a lab in Charleston to create a test for contamination of injectable medicines - everything from COVID vaccines to chemotherapy. Mike Switzer interviews Foster Jordan, a senior vice president with Microbial Solutions Management in Charleston, SC, which is a division of Charles River Laboratories.

Mike Switzer interviews John Warner, a serial entrepreneur and founder of Innoventure in Greenville, S.C. This week John highlights Dr. Martine LaBerge, the Chair of the Department of Bioengineering at Clemson University, and recipient of this year’s Dr. Charles Townes Individual Achievement Award from InnoVision.

We’ve entered the final quarter of 2021 and so far so good for our economy. Should we expect the stability and growth to continue? Mike Switzer interviews Joey Von Nessen, chief economist at the Darla Moore School of Business at USC in Columbia, SC. Joey also discusses USC’s upcoming Economic Outlook Conference scheduled for Dec 7, 2021

With the holiday season fast approaching, many families will be gathering together soon. Our next guest thinks that might be a good time to have a family discussion about aging parent care and estate planning. Mike Switzer interviews Jon Robertson, a certified financial planner with Abacus Planning Group in Columbia South Carolina.

Retirement plans can sometimes be very confusing, maybe because there are so many types that involve a myriad of tax laws. Our next guest says that marriage and divorce can add even more complicating factors. Mike Switzer interviews Stephanie Vokral, a certified financial planner and a certified divorce financial analyst with the Financial Knot in Columbia, SC.

Food Share began in Canada and has now spread across our country as the need for affordable fresh, healthy food has become more critical. Food deserts affect many rural or inner-city areas, and with the pandemic, all these problems have been exacerbated. Thanks the U S C school of Medicine, a grant from Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and a cadre of local volunteers, people in many areas can get a small or large box of fresh, healthy food every two weeks. Two persons involved came to Sumter recently to explain how citizens with chronic health problems can make improvements to their lives using this program -- and we fixed a delicious, healthy meal from a Food share box. If you’d like to see that episode, go to mig.org and watch the Nov. ninth show.

If you go to mig.org and watch the Nov. 9 show, you’ll learn about Food Share and how getting fresh food to people became even more critical during the pandemic. When people get their box every other week, they get recipes, too. Forty percent of us have gained weight during the pandemic; lack of exercise, eating “comfort foods,” and finding it harder to get fresh foods. The meal we cooked on that show was delicious, and I looked at the Food Share website to see if I could find more recipes. Boy, oh, boy -- what a treasure trove. I’m going to start fixing some of these meals, get healthier suppers for my family, and expand my repertoire and recharge my interest in cooking at the same time. Who can resist “garlic smashed sweet potatoes with parmesan cheese?”

On this edition of the South Carolina Lede for November 16, 2021: Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., on new infrastructure projects funded in part by the bipartisan bill he voted for; climate change and the outcomes of the COP26 summit; a look at surging inflation rates and supply chain issues; and more.