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A winter storm that moved into the St. Louis area overnight is already making travel conditions hazardous.

There’s plenty you can make with ingredients that you probably already have on hand, and the list of toppings abound.

Seven people involved in the theft and sale of catalytic converters have been arrested, prosecutors said this week.

SPRINGFIELD – After years of working with the General Assembly to make fiscally responsible choices, protect working families, and pay down Illinois’ debt, Governor JB Pritzker today proposed his fourth balanced budget, delivering $1 billion in relief from grocery, gas, and property taxes as well as making unprecedented payments to state pensions and the rainy day fund. With revenues from corporate taxes, cannabis, online sales taxes and income far exceeding initial projections, the proposed budget provides significant one-time relief to families, while continuing the responsible fiscal decisions that led to two credit upgrades for the state. Building on the administration’s previous efficiencies, the budget invests in critical areas of growth and services, including education, public safety and small businesses. Select highlights include: Family Relief Plan $475 million in property tax rebates for families, with a one -time property tax rebate payment

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The new C-suite hire comes during a growth period for the St. Louis software startup, which closed a $7.8 million Series A financing in October 2021 and has expanded its workforce by roughly 40% in the past six months.

ST. LOUIS - Extreme weather can make the roads hard to navigate. The Missouri Department of Transportation has a helpful tool for motorists to check before they head out. MoDOT's traffic cameras are visible on their Gateway Guide. Once a viewer is on the Gateway Guide site, they can look to the left side of [...]

ALTON - State Representative Amy Elik (R-Fosterburg) issued the following statement after Governor Pritzker’s annual budget address to the Illinois General Assembly: “Governor Pritzker’s budget address is nothing more than a mirage. It may seem appealing but once you find out the details, his proposal fails to address the fiscal crisis the state of Illinois is faced with today. It was just two years ago when Pritzker went all-in to support the graduated income tax hike and when it failed, he threatened Illinoisans with a large income tax increase or massive loss of services. "And now during an election year, he is dangling tax cuts in the hopes that voters forget his desperation to increase taxes over the last couple years? Keep in mind, his proposal is only temporary to get through the election, how about he support making these tax cuts permanent? But let us not forget Governor Pritzker signed 24 tax and fee increases into law since he first took office. I support

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White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday accused Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and other conservatives of "parroting Russian talking points" amid the looming threat of conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Ask the experts from the Missouri Department of Transportation, St. Louis and St. Charles counties and St. Louis City your questions about highways and roads. The live chat starts at 1 p.m. on Wednesday.

Arch Apparel owner Aaron Park says in a press release that the store makes it a point to showcase staples of St. Louis (remember the Nelly collab?), and that’s exactly why their newest line features Lion’s Choice. “We’re huge fans of Lion’s Choice,” Park added.…

A meteorologist expects 7 to 11 inches of snow in the St. Louis region by the time the snowstorm wraps up.

Think Secondhand

With cancelled reservations, staffing shortages and supply chain issues, St. Louis' restaurant industry continues to suffer from the grip of COVID-19.

Our Love Story: The Couple: Lauren & Kyle (aka boo) from Alton/Belleville Date Met/Started Dating: February 16, 2018 Briefly Describe First Date: Had Maevas coffee and conversation. As soon as I met him I knew I was in trouble! Took one date before I told all my friends I was going to marry this man! Name Something You Enjoy Doing Together: We both love music, food, laughing, dancing.. just hanging around the house with the kids, and watching the bird feeder. Share Advice For A Happy Relationship: Honesty, communication, and vulnerability. We started our relationship on these principles and they’ve gotten us through tough times for sure!

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Way back in 2014, Oklahoma state senator (and former police officer) Al McAffrey had an idea: what if cops could issue traffic tickets electronically, without ever having to leave the safety and comfort of their patrol cars?

The idea behind it was officer safety. This would keep officers from standing exposed on open roads and/or interacting face-to-face with a possibly dangerous driver. The public's safety was apparently low on the priority list, since this lack of interaction could permit impaired drivers to continue driving or allow actually dangerous people to drive away from a moving violation to do more dangerous things elsewhere.

It also would allow law enforcement agencies to convert drivers to cash more efficiently by speeding up the process and limiting things that might slow down the revenue stream, like having actual conversations with drivers. On the more positive side, it would also have lowered the chance of a traffic stop turning deadly (either for the officer or the driver) by limiting personal interactions that might result in the deployment of excessive or deadly force. And it also would limit the number of pretextual stops by preventing officers from claiming to have smelled something illegal while conducting the stop.

Up to now, this has only been speculative legislation. But it's becoming a reality, thanks to government contractor Trusted Driver. Run by former police officer Val Garcia, the program operates much like the TSA's Trusted Traveler program. Users create accounts and enter personal info and then receive traffic citations via text messages.

The program is debuting in Texas, where drivers who opt in will start being texted by cops when they've violated the law.

It's a concept never done before, and it's about to happen in Bexar County: Getting a traffic ticket sent to your phone without an officer pulling you over. One police department will be the first in the nation to test it.

"It's not a 100% solution, but it's a step forward in the right direction," said Val Garcia, President & CEO of the Trusted Driver Program.

Garcia is one of five former SAPD officers who are part of a 12-member team that created and developed Trusted Driver.

"We're proud to still give back with what we've gained with our experience as a law enforcement officer," said Garcia.

The company claims the program will have several benefits, above and beyond limiting cop-to-driver interactions that have the possibility of escalating into deadly encounters. Some of the benefits aren't immediately discernible, but giving cops more personal information could actually help prevent the senseless injury or killing of drivers who may have medical reasons that would explain their seeming non-compliance. Here's Scott Greenfield highlighting this particular aspect of the Trusted Driver Program.

But this also offers an opportunity that can be critical in police interactions and has led to a great many tragic encounters.

“If you’re deaf, if you have PTSD, autism, a medical condition like diabetes or a physical disability but you’re still allowed to drive,” said Garcia. “It really gives an officer information faster in the field to handle a traffic stop if it does occur and be able to deescalate.”

That police will be aware that a driver is deaf or autistic could be of critical importance in preventing a mistaken shooting, provided the cop reads it and is adequately trained not to kill deaf people because they didn’t comply with commands.

Unfortunately, the cadre of cops behind Trusted Driver seem to feel citizens are looking for even more ways to interact with officers, even if this interaction is limited to text messages.

Through Trusted Driver, police are also able to send positive messages to drivers who are doing a stellar job obeying traffic laws.

Just like cops thinking they're doing a good thing by pulling over drivers who haven't committed a crime to give them a thumbs up or a Thanksgiving turkey, Trusted Driver seems to believe the public will be receptive to text messages from cops telling them they're doing a good job driving, delivered to them via a number they associate with punishment for criminal acts. And it's not like drivers in the program will be able to select which messages they receive: once you've opted in, you can have your heart rate temporarily increased by the law enforcement equivalent of slacktivism -- one Trusted Driver believes will somehow build and repair the public's relationship with the law enforcement officers that serve them.

This lies somewhere between the frontier of law enforcement and the inevitability of tech development. It's not that it's an inherently bad idea, but there's a lot in there that's problematic, including officers receiving increased access to driver's personal info, which will now include their cell phone numbers. Law enforcement officers have a history of abusing access to personal info and this program gives them the opportunity to do so without ever leaving their patrol cars.

Then there's the unanswered question about enforcement. Will members of this program receive more tickets just because they're easier to ticket? Or will traffic enforcement still be evenly distributed (so to speak) across all drivers? Like other automated traffic enforcement efforts, tickets will be issued to the owner of the vehicle, rather than the actual driver, which is going to cause problems for people who haven't actually committed a moving violation, beginning with increased insurance rates and possibly ending with bench warrants for unpaid tickets that were issued to the wrong person.

Still, it's worth experimenting with. But it needs to be subject to intense scrutiny the entire time it's deployed. There's too much at risk for agencies and the general public to just let it hum along unattended in the background, steadily generating revenue. Unfortunately, if it does that part of the job (deepening the revenue stream), concerns about its use and operation are likely to become background noise easily drowned out by the sound of city coffers being filled.

Roses and chocolates are nice and all, but how about something more memorable? This weekend is a perfect time to check out some crafty events to find the perfect gift for your Valentine—even if your special someone is you.

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