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High Costs, Hesitant Buyers & Shifting Policies Set Stage for 2026

1 day 5 hours ago

From Construction Business Owner: As the economy enters a new year, the construction industry can expect a bracing but generally supportive operating environment. “The U.S. economy is holding up admirably well despite a major trade shock caused by tariffs,” said Bernard Yaros Jr., lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics (oxfordeconomics.com). “We look for an acceleration […]

The post High Costs, Hesitant Buyers & Shifting Policies Set Stage for 2026 appeared first on Construction Forum.

Dede Hance

St. Louis County Sees Crime Drop of 8.5 Percent in 2025

1 day 5 hours ago
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — St. Louis County Police Chief Kenneth Gregory announced Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, a steady decline in major crimes within the department’s jurisdiction, with an overall 8.5 percent reduction in major offenses in 2025 compared to the previous year. The department reported significant decreases across nearly all crime categories, including a 9.6 percent drop in homicides and a 10.5 percent decline in aggravated assaults. Crimes against persons fell by 6.6 percent.

St. Louis Ends Search for Escaped Vervet Monkeys

1 day 5 hours ago
ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Department of Health has ended its search for vervet monkeys reportedly seen in the northern part of the city and is now focusing on enforcing local ordinances that prohibit the ownership of non-human primates. The decision was announced Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, following several resident reports of monkey sightings beginning Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, near a northern city park. Despite deploying Animal Care and Control officers and increasing patrols after additional

US Supreme Court appears poised to affirm trans athlete bans in Idaho, West Virginia

1 day 5 hours ago
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared likely Tuesday to keep in place laws in Idaho and West Virginia banning transgender athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams. The outcomes from the nation’s highest court expected later this year could have sweeping implications for transgender rights more broadly as President Donald Trump’s […]
Shauneen Miranda

Elon Musk Plays Disinfo Telephone: How Oregon’s Mundane Voter Roll Cleanup Is Turned Into False Claim Of ‘Fake Voters’

1 day 5 hours ago
I made the mistake of opening up X yesterday to look something up, and the very first post that appeared in my feed was a perfect, almost pedagogical example of how the game of “disinformation telephone” gets played. Let’s walk through it, because understanding how this works is important. The game works like this: Someone […]
Mike Masnick

Altonized Community Federal Credit Union Female Athlete Of The Month: Libero Maci Timpe Shows Remarkable Growth in 2025 Season

1 day 5 hours ago
PIASA — Maci Timpe, a senior libero for the Southwestern Piasa Birds, concluded her volleyball career in the fall of 2025 after demonstrating consistent improvement throughout the season. Timpe’s development on the court earned her recognition as the Altonized Community Federal Credit Union Female Athlete of the Month for the Piasa Birds. Southwestern head girls volleyball coach Derek Dempsey praised Timpe’s growth, noting her enhanced ability to read angles and anticipate plays

Demographer Sandoval: Immigration Will Drive All U.S. Population Growth by 2030; Where STL Sits

1 day 6 hours ago

In an email last week, Saint Louis University demographer Ness Sandoval said new federal projections confirm a demographic shift already affecting the St. Louis region and much of the country. Citing the Congressional Budget Office’s The Demographic Outlook: 2026–2056, Sandoval highlighted a key finding from the report: starting in 2030, annual deaths in the United […]

The post Demographer Sandoval: Immigration Will Drive All U.S. Population Growth by 2030; Where STL Sits appeared first on Construction Forum.

Tom Finan