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Illinois reached a milestone Thursday afternoon. The average price per gallon ticked up from $4.99 to $5. While KSDK was on a virtual call with Gas Buddy's head of petroleum analysis, Patrick De Haan, his tracker updated to reflect the new $5 average. "I'm just sitting here," De Haan said pointing to his laptop, "I've been watching this Illinois state average at 4.99 and it's driving me nuts, wait oh look, it just hit 5." The $5 state-wide average includes heavy hitter prices, like the ones in…

From offices designed to feel like home to pay bonuses for perfect attendance to a company whose policy is to have no policies, these St. Louis employers offer some of the more unique strategies for attracting new employees and keeping the ones they have happy.

Just about everything – travel, communication, letters, cars you don’t drive, cameras that aren’t cameras, and oh yeah, phones that aren’t dialed, have ushered in a whole new era. And some of us have been left at the starting gate.

The bank's president and CEO said the ranking is “recognition of a great deal of work that has been going on for several years.”

Requests for St. Louis County to allocate more money to the downtown convention center expansion are likely to face an uphill climb, particularly after the revelation that taxpayers will spend more on debt for the project after a delay in issuing bonds, two lawmakers said Thursday.

The St. Louis Business Journal has been recognizing top workplaces and what they are doing to attract and retain employees for more than 20 years through its Best Places to Work program. And over the course of that time, companies have offered a broad menu of benefits to its employees.

Cushman & Wakefield is among the region's largest commercial real estate firms with $1.34 billion in local volume of real estate transactions in 2021. The firm has more than 1,700 local employees and annual revenue of $9.4 billion.

CarShield, which sells extended auto repair service contracts, offers employees opportunities to enhance their skills with continuing education.

Clayco, among the region's largest construction firms, offers employees a challenging and creative work environment, making it one of St. Louis' best places to work.

A new leader has been chosen for the Missouri Historical Society, which operates the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park, the MHS Library & Research Center and Soldiers Memorial Military Museum downtown. See who's succeeding the retiring president and CEO, Frances Levine.

McCarthy Holdings Inc., which includes McCarthy Building Cos. and Castle Contracting, is creating an inclusive workplace through several perks.

Veterans United Home Loans, founded in Columbia, Missouri, started its St. Louis operation in early 2020. By August 2020, the full-service mortgage lender was hoping to add at least 85 people to its office here. But by early 2021, Veterans United hired more than 250 employees for the St. Louis office — triple its initial goal.

St. Louis-based consulting firm Slalom offers its employees robust benefits, including paid parental and health leave.

Staffing firm Concero, led by president and CEO Jay Murchison, is among the 2022 Best Places to Work in the small company category. Concero has 21 employees in the region.

Staffing and recruitment firm Westport One is able to retain its employees with lucrative compensation plans and fun trips around the world, officials said.

"We know that to do great work requires great balance," the company said. "So we work smart and play hard, often together. And sure, we've got some cool perks, but that's just icing on the cake."

Obtaining, maintaining and enforcing patents in Europe is complex and expensive. Currently, once a European patent is granted, it must be registered (validated) in each (European) country in which the invention is to be protected. The requirements for registering the patent vary by country, making registration of the patent complex. Additionally, any changes of ownership must be recorded in each country in which the patent is registered. Further, to prevent the patent from lapsing, annuities (annual…

St. Louis' development agency on Thursday approved the hiring of a marketing agency to help develop its brand. The nonprofit St. Louis Development Corp.'s board voted to hire Candid LLC, led by President Becky Freetly, to help redesign its logo and website. The contract is not to exceed $140,000. A second phase, for an undetermined fee, could see the firm develop a strategic marketing and communications plan for SLDC, "including but not limited to economic justice," according to SLDC documents. SLDC…

A new classified facility under construction in a historic building in downtown St. Louis will bring 500 jobs when it opens in September, with most of those jobs new positions, a representative of the project said.

Michael Lippert said he loves history. He’s also living it. Lippert is from the fourth generation of a family to run Liese Lumber Co. in Belleville. On a recent day at the office, he was looking at a photograph taken in 1908 of the lumberyard at 319 East Main St. He noted that horse and buggies were used then to make deliveries. “You could drive horses through exactly where I am sitting right now,” Lippert said. Next month, Liese Lumber is celebrating its 150th year in business. The Lippert…