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St. Louis County Council requests investigation of prosecuting attorney's office during Wesley Bell's tenure

2 months 3 weeks ago
The St. Louis County Council is asking the state auditor to investigate the practices of the prosecuting attorney's office over the past six years. On Tuesday, the council passed a resolution to make that request, which came less than a week after former prosecutor Wesley Bell left office and was replaced by Melissa Price Smith. In a written statement, Republican Councilman Mark Harder, who represents the 7th District in west St. Louis County, said the complaints primarily focus on the mishandling…
Jonathan Fong

St. Louis schools remain fully accredited despite criticism from state education board member

2 months 3 weeks ago
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s system for rating schools came under fire Tuesday morning as the State Board of Education looked at the accreditation status of districts. Questions about the department’s system arose as Kerry Casey, a board member from Chesterfield, pushed for St. Louis Public Schools to be demoted from fully accredited to provisional accreditation. “I’m very concerned as I read the paper daily here in St. Louis about the failures of the…
Annelise Hanshaw

Kim Gardner spent 35 work days taking nursing courses, audit says

2 months 3 weeks ago
Former Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner spent more than $50,000 without permission and allowed the rate of cases processed to crater while spending nearly 35 work days taking nursing courses, an audit from the Missouri state auditor said. "Taxpayers should be outraged by how this office was run into the ground by Gardner at the same time she was using tax dollars to throw parties for her staff, and to pay for her personal legal fees that were a result of her own incompetence," Missouri State Auditor…
Sam Clancy

Republican candidate for Missouri House speaker draws scrutiny over $6M earmark

2 months 3 weeks ago
As a new legislator in 2023, Missouri state Rep. Justin Sparks became the leading advocate for a proposal to create a child care facility serving employees of the St. Louis County Police Department. A few months after lawmakers approved spending $6 million from federal Covid relief funds to create the center, Sparks took a job with the organization in charge of the project, the National Law Enforcement Foundation. So far, the foundation, created in 2022, has used $3.7 million of the funding. Sparks,…
Rudi Keller

Lawsuit accuses St. Louis Public School Board of illegally banning advocate from meetings

2 months 3 weeks ago
An education advocate filed a federal lawsuit Monday against St. Louis Public School Board alleging it illegally banned him from meetings and district property. Chester Asher, founder of Coalition for STL Kids, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Missouri with the help of the First Amendment Clinic at Washington University in St. Louis. He alleges the ban violated his constitutional rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Named as defendants…
Debra Chandler Landis

Nominations now open for all 2025 Business Journal awards programs

2 months 3 weeks ago
The St. Louis Business Journal has opened up the nomination process for every 2025 awards program — from the Corporate Philanthropy Awards, celebrated in May, to the 40 Under 40 Awards, recognized in November. The 2025 awards lineup includes the return of some signature programs, like the Most Influential Business Women Awards and our Champions for Diversity & Inclusion program. It also includes the Business of Pride Awards, the Family Business Awards, the Corporate Counsel Awards and our Best…
Veneta Rizvic