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Worker Wellness Blog: Drug Cartels Recruiting Chemistry Students

1 week 3 days ago
by Dr. John Gaal Editor’s Note: Each week, Dr. John Gaal, director of worker wellness for the Missouri Works Initiative, a non-profit workforce formed by the Missouri AFL-CIO, collects and comments on news and trends in workforce wellness and life balance. Construction Forum carries the Worker Wellness & Well-Being Blog as a regular feature. The […]
Dede Hance

Tradeswomen Helping to Restore Historic Reeb House in Florissant

1 week 4 days ago
From St. Louis/Southern Illinois Labor Tribune:  Volunteers from Missouri Women in Trades (MOWIT) and the Carpenters’ Sisters in the Brotherhood rolled up their sleeves Nov. 16 in an effort to help restore the historic Reeb House in Florissant, which was extensively damaged by fire last year. The Reeb House, built in 1870, is one of […]
Dede Hance

New MODOT Director Focused on Staffing, Keeping Projects on Track

1 week 4 days ago
From Fox:  Following a leadership change earlier this month, the new director of the Missouri Department of Transportation said the agency is still on track to increase staffing and finish construction projects on time. At one point, the state’s transportation department was short a thousand employees. Now, there’s only 200 vacancies. This transition comes at […]
Dede Hance

Groundbreaking Held for New Cambria Hotel in Streets of Caledonia

1 week 4 days ago
From Mid Rivers Newsmagazine:  At 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new Cambria Hotel, located at 210/210 Rush Way in the Missouri Rush Sports Park. “We are excited about this project and its fulfillment of a long-term goal to have a new hotel as part of the WingHaven, […]
Dede Hance

Known for Engineering, MO S&T Looks to Build Its Biology Profile

1 week 4 days ago
From St. Louis Public Radio:  For most of its 150-year history, Missouri University of Science and Technology has been focused on and known for engineering and physical sciences. The campus in Rolla is looking to bring that same level of international profile to its biology and life science programs. Missouri S&T has approval to start […]
Dede Hance

Citizens Turn Out, Sound Off On Southeast “Connectivity”

1 week 4 days ago
From Webster-Kirkwood Times:  A meeting to discuss the future of Kirkwood’s southeast neighborhoods drew a crowd of concerned citizens on Tuesday night. The event was billed as an open house to review and provide feedback on ideas to better connect areas near Big Bend Road to the rest of Kirkwood. The effort is part of […]
Dede Hance

BW Design Group Fully Integrates AEC Capabilities

1 week 4 days ago
BW Design Group, a national leader in engineering, architecture, construction and system integration, announced today the launch of its Strategy to Commercialization™ platform, fully integrating its diverse set of Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) capabilities and realigning its AEC leadership to further deliver on the distinct needs of its clients in manufacturing and technology. As […]
Dede Hance

S.M. Wilson Celebrates Groundbreaking for CUSD #3A’s Addition

3 weeks 1 day ago
The 1993 high school wing, which housed a former gymnasium, was recently demolished. Now, Rochester Community Unit School District #3A is making way for a new cutting-edge science addition with a continued focus on its students’ future. This week, district officials, community leaders, faculty, staff, and students came together to break ground on the new […]
Dede Hance

Inaugural Southwest Illinois Economic Development Leadership Summit Recap

3 weeks 1 day ago
Ameren Illinois, in partnership with the Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), Intersect Illinois, Greater St. Louis, Inc., and the St. Louis Regional Freightway, recently held the inaugural Southwest Illinois Economic Development Leadership Summit, bringing together bi-state economic development leaders, the CEOs of major local companies, and other […]
Dede Hance

Two IBEW/NECA Contractors Earn AGC Keystone Awards

3 weeks 1 day ago
IBEW/NECA Electrical Connection contractors Guarantee Electrical and PayneCrest Electric took top honors for project excellence in the annual Associated General Contractors of Missouri (AGCMO) Keystone Awards. Guarantee was also named the Specialty Contractor of the Year (SCOTY) in the electrical category. The awards for construction excellence were celebrated at the AGCMO’s Construction Awards Gala on […]
Dede Hance

Grace Bueckendorf Wright Joins BEX Construction Services as Vice President

3 weeks 1 day ago
Grace Bueckendorf Wright has been named vice president at BEX Construction Services, a design-build general contractor primarily serving the St. Louis region. Wright was previously strategy director for Gorilla 76, a marketing agency specializing in revenue-focused marketing programs for technical business-to-business manufacturers. In that role, she led many successful initiatives in the areas of client […]
Dede Hance

MOKAN Salutes IBEW/NECA’s Sylvester Taylor

3 weeks 1 day ago
IBEW/NECA Electrical Connection Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Sylvester Taylor is being saluted for his vision and leadership. Taylor is the recipient of the 2024 MOKAN Workforce Diversity & Inclusion Award. Since its founding 50 years ago, MOKAN has worked to grow opportunities for minority- and women-owned businesses on construction projects. The Electrical Connection […]
Dede Hance

DOORWAYS’ Campus Now Complete With Housing, Retail Pharmacy

3 weeks 1 day ago
Trivers, an architecture, planning, urban design and interiors firm based in St. Louis, partnered with DOORWAYS, an interfaith non-profit organization that provides housing and supportive services for those battling homelessness or unstable housing, poverty and poor health from HIV, to complete its Jefferson Avenue Campus located in North St. Louis with a new permanent housing […]
Dede Hance

Carpenter/Inventor Michael Cox Wins Arch Grant

3 weeks 1 day ago
by Tom Finan, Executive Director/Co-Founder, Construction Forum Michael Cox, a staff carpenter for BJC Healthcare, took a constant problem that he was encountering on the job — damaged drywall from flooding — and turned it into patented, marketable product, which he calls StepStuds™ . Thursday (Nov. 21st) that innovation garnered Cox recognition and a $75,000 […]
Tom Finan

Nonprofit Seeks Developers for Vacant Millennium Hotel

3 weeks 1 day ago
From St. Louis Business Journal:  Gateway Arch Park Foundation, the group that has the Millennium Hotel property in downtown St. Louis under contract, is seeking development proposals for the site. The nonprofit, which serves as the conservancy for the nearby Arch grounds and surrounding areas, on Thursday issued a request for proposals for the former […]
Dede Hance

How Tech is Transforming the Future of Skilled Trades Education

3 weeks 1 day ago
From Global Trade:  Programs in skilled trades take two or more years on average and lead students to lucrative-paying jobs, job security, great benefits and the opportunity to eventually become their own boss. These perks coupled with new cutting-edge technology have driven a new wave of individuals into the field. Enrollment in trade schools has […]
Dede Hance

Businesses Ready to Match Rams Money Spent Downtown

3 weeks 1 day ago
From St. Louis Post-Dispatch:  The chief of the region’s main business lobby says the private sector is prepared to more than double a $100 million public investment in downtown infrastructure and buildings outlined in new legislation to allocate the city’s $250 million share of the Rams relocation settlement. The commitment was included in a letter […]
Dede Hance

Ameren Illinois Completes Second East St. Louis Solar Farm

3 weeks 1 day ago
From St. Louis Public Radio:  Ameren Illinois on Tuesday unveiled the completion of the second of its two solar farms in East St. Louis in the utility’s effort to create more sustainable energy. East St. Louis resident Imogene Hairston lives steps from Ameren Illinois’ newly built solar energy farm in the Metro East town. The […]
Dede Hance

Examining Recent Patterns in Residential Building Permits

3 weeks 1 day ago
From Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis:  The explosion of home values during and after the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened housing affordability across the U.S. In May and June 2024, housing affordability stood at its lowest point since 2006, as measured by the Atlanta Fed’s Home Ownership Affordability Monitor. One possible way to improve housing […]
Dede Hance

Why the Construction Outlook for 2025 Looks ‘Cloudy’

3 weeks 1 day ago
From St. Louis Business Journal:  The U.S. construction industry is staring down a number of uncertainties heading into 2025. Perhaps the biggest unknown is how President-elect Donald Trump’s policies — especially around tariffs and immigration — will affect the cost of construction materials and the availability of labor. But the direction of the U.S. economy, […]
Dede Hance