The Gateway

Coronavirus complicated the academic year. We asked some first-year teachers to document their experiences over the last few months by recording audio diaries.

iLLPHONiCS has been a big presence on the St. Louis music scene since 2006. The pandemic has given members plenty of time to fine-tune a new album. They are also preparing for their first live show in more than a year.

Former U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill discusses whether Democrats can ever become relevant in Missouri. In a wide-ranging interview, she also criticizes the man who defeated her, Senator Josh Hawley, the race for Senator Roy Blunt’s seat and her job at MSNBC.

George Floyd’s death one year ago today and the national protests that followed prompted lawmakers in Illinois to pass legislation to address systemic racism. That includes a measure dealing with health care.

The pandemic forced many small towns to cancel large festivals that they depend on for tourism. The events are returning this year to many communities throughout the Midwest.

Census numbers show Illinois will lose a seat in Congress and many observers believe it will come from consolidation in the Metro East.

A Florida-based real estate investor with Missouri roots is leading a company that is snapping up wineries in St. Charles County. He wants to convert the Augusta area into the nation's next big region for wine-related tourism.

The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum is poised to reopen this year after being shut down since 2019 for a nearly $40 million renovation. The 3,000-square-foot addition will help make the story of Truman and his presidency relevant to what's happening today.

Residents are pushing to permanently open a gate that blocks pedestrian and car traffic into the DeBaliviere Place neighborhood.

Tensions among lawmakers and measures that did not pass are overshadowing accomplishments of the just-completed Missouri legislative session. Those achievements could have a far-reaching impact.

St. Louis-based band Drangus has been making music for five years. The three-person group creates synth-pop music. Frontman Tom Pini started the group after splitting with successful emo-indie rock band, Foxing.

Summer festivals are signature events for many communities in the region.. They were a casualty of the pandemic last year. Now that people are getting vaccinated and restrictions on large gatherings are being reduced, organizers are working on plans to bring them back.

Despite working with both traditional school districts and charter schools, many backers of St. Louis Public Schools see The Opportunity Trust as a shady organization bent on privatizing public schools in Missouri.

Lawmakers in Missouri probably won’t get to debate how the state should spend more than $2.5 billion in additional Coronavirus Relief Act money. In Illinois, health officials are moving ahead with a plan to vaccinate workers as they return to their offices.

Harris-Stowe State University’s 20th president started the job during the height of the pandemic. Dr. Corey S. Bradford Sr. says the university has made it through the toughest part of the outbreak, while still planning to increase student enrollment and to launch initiatives to boost employment opportunities for African American graduates.

More cannabis dispensaries are popping up in the St. Louis region offering infused soda, cookies and chocolate bars. This comes as demand for edibles is booming in Missouri.

As part of the effort to improve conditions in on-base housing, Fort Leonard Wood is reestablishing its Mayor program, where each neighborhood elects a mayor to help solve problems and build a better sense of community. Some soldiers and their families believe in the program, others say it won't address long-running problems.

Shelters and nonprofits are focusing on the vaccination of people in the region without homes. Those efforts, combined with others getting the shots, could mean lifting many restrictions by the Fourth of July.

What started as a tense debate over whether Rockwood’s schools should reopen in person last fall has descended into schoolyard bullying among the adults.

It’s morel mushroom hunting season in much of the Midwest. Finding the hollow, sponge-like edible mushrooms can be somewhat lucrative. They sell for an average of $25 to $40 a pound and even more when the season ends.