The Gateway

Missouri's black bears are just now waking up from their long hibernation. The animal once thought extinct in Missouri is back and thriving, in part due to decades of effort by state workers.

After a year in the position, interim St. Louis Development Corporation CEO Otis Williams says developers have a more predictable process when it comes to building in St. Louis. He speaks with STLPR's Kavahn Mansouri about his hopes moving forward.

The Angel Band Project brings music therapy to women who’ve experienced sexual violence. Participants help heal by writing and recording original songs.

Six years ago this month, an EF-3 tornado cut a 60-mile path across Nashville, Tennessee and surrounding counties. Among the hardest-hit areas was North Nashville. Like north St. Louis, it is the historic heart of the city’s Black community. St. Louis Public Radio’s Rachel Lippmann recently traveled to Tennessee to find out the lessons St. Louis leaders can learn from Nashville’s recovery.

A new Washington University School of Medicine study examines how the app, uMAT-R, improves recovery outcomes for people with a substance use disorder lacking stable housing. STLPR's Marissanne Lewis-Thompson digs in to why it's working.

An exhibition of rarely seen photos now on view at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis highlights the story of Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, two women whose lifelong romance fueled their artistic collaboration.

There are eight weeks remaining in the 2026 Missouri Legislative Session. After a week off, lawmakers are returning to Jefferson City today to a hefty to-do list, including passing this year’s state budget. STLPR Statehouse and Politics reporter Sarah Kellogg breaks down what could happen during the second half of the session.

This week marks 10 months since a deadly tornado tore through parts of St. Louis. As the region enters what has recently been the busiest months for tornadoes, St. Louis’s Emergency Management Agency, which leads disaster response and helps prepare the city in case of emergencies, remains underfunded and understaffed. St. Louis Public Radio's Hiba Ahmad breaks down how long the funding issues have been in place and what the future looks like for the agency.

Local breweries are now getting into the THC business by creating hemp sodas and seltzers that can result in a marijuana-like high. But, due to a congressional ban, these products — and potentially the entire industry — now have an expiration date.

The County Council's passage of a resolution opposing any “merger, re-entry, consolidation, or structural reunification of the City of St. Louis with St. Louis County now or in the foreseeable future” came the same day County Executive Sam Page announced a push for public input on the widely discussed plan. Plus, St. Louis singer, songwriter and dancer Jordan Ward has become a rising R&B star in recent years. He took time away from his world tour to sit down with STLPR's Chad Davis to talk about his introspective new album.

As the St. Louis County Justice Center awaits a follow-up visit after failing an inspection last year, a former guard is speaking up about the apathetic culture among some nurses and staff. St. Louis Public Radio’s Lacretia Wimbley reports.

Tomorrow is primary election day in Illinois. Illinoisans have contested races for U-S Senate, Governor and some local U-S House seats. St. Louis Public Radio Metro East reporter Will Bauer breaks it all down.

Diving in to the (latest) pitch to merge St. Louis to dig out of a financial pit, to eliminate the income tax in Missouri, and the big game for St. Louis University Basketball. Plus, a conversation with comedian Samantha Bee ahead of her local show.

The city recently learned the Federal Emergency Management Agency won't reimburse for the cost of demolishing most vacant buildings destroyed during the May 16 tornado, leaving the future of the buildings and the north city neighborhoods in limbo. But STLPR's Kavahn Mansouri reports, the vacant buildings in the path of the tornado are just the most recent chapter in the city's long history of vacancy issues.

A Syracuse University researcher says new ICE agreements spreading across Missouri will shift immigration enforcement onto local police — with possible consequences for towns and taxpayers.

East-West Gateway, the bi-state area’s council of governments, kicked off an initiative to create a common vision for the St. Louis region. They’ll do that by creating a regional alignment plan they hope will create a framework that helps leaders from different sectors, like government, the arts and non-profits, work together. St. Louis Public Radio’s Kavahn Mansouri spoke with Jim Wild, executive director of East West Gateway, about what the plan might look like in practice.

Cities and suburbs may not be connected to the region's farms, but they are seeing a growth in FFA chapters.

St. Louis drinkers love Stag – the historic lager with roots in Belleville. But some distributors have recently told bar owners they will soon be out of kegs of the beloved beer. St. Louis Public Radio’s Sarah Fentem reports on the future of Stag, and whether the pints being enjoyed this year could be the last.

In the past few years, video gaming machines have become a controversial public policy and political issue in Missouri. The devices, also known as video lottery terminals or VLTs, resemble slot machines in casinos and can be found in gas stations, convenience stores and fraternal organizations all over Missouri. And while state lawmakers are divided about whether they should be legal or not, a federal judge’s ruling is prompting state and local officials to get them removed.

Protein is having its moment in the spotlight. Companies are adding more protein-enhanced products to their lineups as demand grows. The new federal dietary guidelines unveiled earlier this year also put the nutrient front and center. Harvest Public Media’s Tadeo Ruiz Sandoval reports on whether Americans actually need more protein.