RFT 📰

Completing his years-long metamorphosis to political cockroach, St. Louis police union spokesman Jeff Roorda is joining the Republican Party and launching a campaign for a 2022 state Senate seat in Jefferson County.

Making the announcement in Tuesday in an interview with FM NewsTalk 97.1's Marc Cox, Roorda declared his candidacy while touting his record of "standing up for law and order and a safe community" — even though Roorda's history suggests his principles have less to do with community needs and more with making sure police officers can do whatever they want without consequences.…

Originally slated to begin tomorrow, the United States Postal Service has opened its portal to order four free at-home COVID-19 tests, delivered to your address.

President Joe Biden announced the move last week, saying half a billion tests would be available to order; tests are limited to four per household and will ship seven to twelve days after you place your order. The tests available are rapid antigen at-home tests, not PCR, and show results within 30 minutes, so no lab drop-off is required.…

The St. Louis St. Patrick’s Day Parade is back, lads and lassies, along with a slew of others. After a 2020 cancellation and a virtual parade for 2021, the parade will hit the city streets on March 12.

The 53rd annual parade starts at 20th and Market Streets and will conclude at Broadway and Clark streets.…

Pants are so pre-pandemic.

Cupid’s Undie Run is planning a return to St. Louis streets on February 12 and you’re invited to let your freak flag fly. (For a good cause, of course.)

Running around on downtown streets in your unmentionables might get you a visit from the cops on any other day, but on Cupid’s Undie Run day it’s not just allowed but encouraged.

SEE ALSO: Cupid’s Undie Run Was a Cheeky Good Time

Cupid’s Undie Run is a charity event that bills itself as the “nation’s largest pantless party” and you’re encouraged to go as bare as you dare in the name of charity.

From Cupid’s Undie Run:

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Like a lot of people during the first weeks of the pandemic, Mike Evans found himself stuck in his home with nothing to do but eat, drink and doom-scroll through social media.…

A proposed Missouri bill would amend the state law that currently blocks the federal "Right to Try Act" signed under the Trump administration in 2018. If passed, the new law would allow certain Missouri patients to legally pursue treatments involving psychedelic drugs.…

The City Foundry (3730 Foundry Way) is adding another national brand to its lineup: City Winery will make its debut in St. Louis later this summer.

City Winery doubles as a live music venue and a winery. Situated next to the Food Hall, the venue will boast a pizza bar, coffee roasting station and a “proprietary tap system with eco-friendly glasses of wine straight from stainless steel kegs,” according to a press release.…

Beloved Golden Girl and animal activist Betty White died on December 31, 2021, just a couple of weeks short of her 100th birthday.

This was fully unacceptable to many people around the globe, so the internet got together and declared today — what would’ve been her 100th birthday — as the day of the #BettyWhiteChallenge.

To participate in the Betty White Challenge, all you have to do is send a few bucks to some pups and kitties: Fans of White are honoring her memory today by making $5 (or more) donations to animal shelters and charities.


If you want to get in on the giving action but you also don’t have lunch plans, Sugarfire Smoke House is making it easy to give money while also feeding your face.

Visit a Sugarfire or Hi-Pointe Drive In locations today to get the Betty White special (a hot dog and chips, which was reportedly her favorite meal) and they’ll donate proceeds to Stray Rescue of St. Louis, a local animal shelter that seeks out and takes in animals that “no other organization will help or would simply euthanize because they are too expensive to heal” and then gets them adopted into their new homes.

Participating Sugarfire Smoke House locations serving the Betty White special:

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Apparently, drowning puppies didn’t poll well enough. So, state Representative Cody Smith, R-Carthage, has settled for the next best evil pursuit he could find: taking away health care from poor people across Missouri at the next opportunity.…

Fewer than one in five vaccine-eligible children in St. Louis have gotten their full inoculation, but that rate still ranks near the top statewide, as new data show Missouri continues to struggle in protecting children from COVID-19.

Missouri is among many states where vaccination rates for young children between the ages of five and eleven have stalled.…

It's not uncommon, when perusing the wares at a dispensary, to get the good old-fashioned upsell from your budtender.…

Along with household items and food kits, the St. Louis Area Foodbank will hand out COVID-19 tests at its upcoming distribution next week.

Those in need can visit the food bank's “Food on the Move” truck at the Rock Road Metro Station, 7001 St. Charles Rock Road, in order to receive the rapid antigen testing kits, food and household items on January 18 from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Masks are required if you plan on visiting, and if you are feeling sick, the organization asks that you send someone else to pick up the test for you.


St. Louis is experiencing a record-breaking amount of hospitalizations and case numbers while tests have been hard to come by – especially as some sites come under fire for their trustworthiness.…

Lacy Clay, who represented St. Louis in Congress for 20 years, will be lobbying on behalf of a South Korean business group whose members have operations in North Korea.

As first reported by Politico this week, Clay joined the Washington D.C. office of lobbying and law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in May. Clay will be working on the account for the Corporate Association of the Kaesong Industrial Complex.…

St. Louis Standards is a weekly column dedicated to the people, places and dishes that make our food scene what it is.

If you want to know the special place Meshuggah Café holds in the hearts of its longtime regulars, consider the term owner Jen Kaslow uses when she recounts its history.…

Burger 809’s founder Tasha Smith knows all fries are not created equal. She’s laughing, but she is dead serious about the extensive research she’s put into the partner to her bite-sized burgers.…

A Crestwood man accused of stabbing his neighbors' dog to death in front of them is headed to trial next year.

A St. Louis County judge has set a long-awaited trial date for John Ross III for January 23, 2023.  The 62-year-old was charged in 2019 with felonies of animal abuse by mutilating an animal while it is alive and unlawful use of a weapon.

Crestwood police say the dog, Teddy, strayed into Ross' yard on Greenview Drive before the attack.…

Add the Saint Louis Science Center to a list of temporary COVID-19 closures.

Due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, the center announced it’ll close its doors for two weeks beginning at 4:30 p.m. on January 17. Currently, the center plans to reopen its doors on February 3, but said in a press statement that it will “continue to evaluate the situation throughout the closure.”

Todd Bastean, the president and CEO of the science center, said the organization is confident its protocols have been effective in keeping the environment safe for visitors and employees, but they are following the advice of health experts.

“Throughout the pandemic, the Science Center has been following guidance from the CDC and city health officials closely to ensure the safety of our community, guests and team members,” Bastean said in the release.…

A St. Louis firefighter died early this afternoon battling a fire in a vacant two-and-a-half-story brick building in the 5900 block of Cote Brilliante in the Wells-Goodfellow neighborhood.

St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson told media at the scene that two firefighters entered the blaze to make sure that there was no one was trapped inside.…

David Gorden is possibly the most ambitious comic creator in St. Louis.…

Kelly Krug Whitener's family dodged COVID-19 for two years until last Friday when her son tested positive at the family's pediatrician's office.

Since the family had been exposed and Whitener was feeling under the weather, Whitener went with her daughter on Monday to get tested at Ballpark Village.…