BizJournal 💲📰

The meetings and events industry is almost back to pre-pandemic levels, but St. Louis-area experts say it has changed in several ways.

The feds on Thursday revealed health care fraud charges against a well-known St. Louis urgent care operator.

The auction, which ended Wednesday, was seen as key because a new holder of the note could have moved to foreclose on the building's current owner, giving the 1.2 million-square-foot structure a new owner.

Element8, an internet service provider based in Fort Worth. Texas, said Wednesday it has made an investment in Wisper as part of its “national expansion strategy.”

Centene Corp.’s Texas subsidiary has received a new contract under a state-federal program for low-income individuals who have physical or mental disabilities or who are elderly.

The new space will feature a "molino," a traditional mill where corn is grown into fresh masa and which will include a retail counter where customers can buy masa products like tortillas and tostadas.

Growing up in a family that ran a retail-centered commercial real estate firm, Laura Jones always expected she would one day work for RL Jones Properties, which is owned by her parents, Ramona and Lloyd Jones. Graduating during the Great Recession accelerated the timeline.

The move ends a 14-year reign as CEO of the company, which has grown from around $20 million in revenue to nearly $1 billion thanks, in part, to an aggressive growth-by-acquisition strategy.

Technology that police say has helped reduce crime along Chicago area expressways is coming to the Metro East. Illinois State Police began installing license plate reader cameras on Chicago area expressways following the enactment of the Tamara Clayton Expressway Camera Act on January 1, 2020. Clayton was on her way to work in February 2019 when she was shot and killed while driving on Interstate 57 near Cicero Avenue in Chicago. Between 2021 and 2022, shootings dropped by 47% and homicides dropped…

Mallinckrodt, a specialty drugmaker whose U.S. unit is based in St. Louis, is reportedly in discussions with hedge funds about again filing for bankruptcy to cut off about $1 billion in payments meant to assist people with opioid addiction.

Anheuser-Busch InBev on Wednesday announced a corporate restructuring in which about 2% of its U.S. workforce will be cut.

Missouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services is gearing up to grant almost 50 small business licenses to budding cannabis entrepreneurs, as part of a provision to give back to communities affected by the war on drugs.

St. Louis' largest health care system has downsized its space in a prominent office building off Interstate 64 — part of a continued trend influenced by remote work.

First Mid Bank & Trust has promoted Mandy Lewis as its new executive vice president and chief operations officer, saying her appointment shows the bank’s “commitment to nurturing talent and fostering growth from within.”

Missouri residents who bought alcohol at Schnucks in the last seven years could be owed money. Schnuck Markets reached a settlement in a class-action lawsuit that alleged the company used misleading price comparisons on alcohol in print ads, circulars, in-store shelf signs and on its website. The company denied the claims but agreed to pay a $4 million settlement. As part of the settlement, Schnucks customers who purchased alcohol any time between Dec. 3, 2015, and Feb. 15, 2023, are eligible for…

A developer plans to use tax incentives to convert a vacant historic warehouse in Midtown into apartments and offices, in an estimated $4.5 million redevelopment project.

Copeland, the climate technologies business recently spun out of Ferguson-based Emerson Electric Co., said Wednesday it has hired Sean Lannon as its chief financial officer.

The $300 million plan to redevelop the AT&T tower in downtown St. Louis into apartments and commercial uses could get another official nod from the city Wednesday, in addition to another incentive for construction.

After years of nearly unprecedented pay gains among workers, salary increases are starting to come back down to earth in St. Louis and beyond.

A lawsuit filed Tuesday in Cole County is attempting to block the implementation of Missouri’s ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors. Attorneys at the ACLU of Missouri and Lambda Legal argue the ban could have “extremely serious negative health consequences.” “On its face, the law enshrines discriminatory practices in our health care system by specifically denying transgender Missourians under the age of eighteen access to evidence-based gender-affirming medical care while stripping…