The Gateway

Imagine having ‘The Most Magical Place on Earth’ in your basement. A Metro East area man has done just that, creating a near perfect replica of Disney World’s Magic Kingdom with Lego. St. Louis Public Radio’s Marissanne Lewis-Thompson transports us to a Magic Kingdom all the way in O’Fallon, Illinois.

Money is the driving force behind Data Centers across the country. They can be very profitable. Some of that cash is flowing to communities in Illinois: here's how that has impacted their municipal budgets.

Farming is expensive. And this year, it‘s gotten even pricier with the rising cost of fertilizer and fuel. Equipment prices have also reached historic highs. That’s why many farmers are choosing to fix their old tractors and combines instead of buying new.

People love their pets. Dogs, cats, even smaller companions like rabbits and hamsters are a normal part of many people's everyday lives. But some in the St. Louis region have four-legged family members that aren’t so common. For Tony Jennings, who lives in south St. Louis, it’s his 4-year-old pet, Dior, an alligator.

It was vaudeville star W-C Fields who warned, “never work with animals or children.” St. Louis Public Radio’s Rachel Lippmann set off to find out what happens when St. Louis Shakespeare Festival ignores that old axiom of show business.

Exposure to a highly toxic weedkiller called paraquat is tied to a person’s risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. Lawmakers in Missouri and other Midwestern states have tried to pass measures banning paraquat. But as the Midwest Newsroom’s Luke Nozicka reports, their efforts have stalled this year.

Silos have dotted the landscape for 150 years. But the tower-like structures on farms that hold fermented feed for livestock are threatened by development and old age. One “silo hunter” in Illinois has been tracking down her grandfather’s silos before they disappear.

Some of the special menu items at a restaurant in north St. Louis called Stevie's Jailhouse Kitchen are made with commissary products that 40-year-old Steven Gilliam used while locked away in federal prison. The menu is packed with unique dishes like locked and loaded jailhouse pizza and other seasonal options, and it’s recently expanded to include traditional soul food. STLPR's Lacretia Wimbley pays a visit.

Parents of young children know the reality — childcare can cost almost as much as a mortgage. In Missouri and Illinois, families are spending anywhere from 9 to 19 thousand dollars a year to have their child cared for during the day. However, a fix is in the works to update how childcare subsidies are granted.

More than 41,000 Missourians on probation or parole will have their voting rights restored this month. Advocates say the new law is a win, but officials should do even more.

Voters weighed in on a measure to make it harder to pass ballot initiatives, an effort to remove the Missouri income tax, and a rematch between U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell and Cori Bush. We'll talk about the results and what's next.

Lakes and ponds are great places for recreation and enjoying nature. But in more urban areas they lack nearby wetlands that can help keep them healthy. As STLPR’s Jonathan Ahl reports, Rolla is the latest place in Missouri to adopt a cheap and easy way to remedy this – by bringing the wetlands to the water.

The next generation faces a difficult agricultural economy in its efforts to take over family farm operations: how steep costs and economic uncertainty are impacting farm succession plans.

Missourians will decide Tuesday whether to make it harder for some constitutional amendments to be enacted. St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum reports on how backers say that the current process drowns out rural voices – but opponents counter that the amendment gives too much power to the state legislature.

On Tuesday, Missourians will decide the fate of a proposed constitutional amendment that gives lawmakers the ability to expand sales and use taxes in order to eliminate the state income tax. While proponents of the measure say it would create growth for Missouri, opponents argue it will increase the cost of living in the state. St. Louis Public Radio’s Sarah Kellogg reports.

Overland’s mayor is speaking out about the federal enforcement action preceding the deaths of a couple who'd recently left the city due to federal immigration enforcement action there. Plus, a breakdown at what the outcome of the Bush-Bell matchup will say about the future of the Democratic Party.

Two high schoolers represented St. Louis on the national stage at the Jimmy Awards. Langston Casey, a recent graduate of Grand Center Arts Academy, and Julia Gerling, a rising senior at Union High School, headed to the National High School Musical Theatre Awards last month. There, high school actors and actresses are coached and trained by Broadway professionals for scholarships.

A WashU professor says a bipartisan federal bill aiming to make it easier to build housing while targeting corporate landlords who buy up thousands of homes doesn't go far enough.

South St. Louis County residents are speaking out against a proposal to fill a quarry that has sat empty for decades. They worry the project could have negative effects on flooding, traffic and air quality.

Extreme thunderstorms are happening more frequently in Missouri. These often lead to flash floods. Jana Rose Schleis reports on how the increased threat of rising water is changing the work of emergency responders.