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Power-Hungry Data Centers Are Warming Homes in the Nordics

5 months 2 weeks ago
From Bloomberg:  When Finnish engineer Ari Kurvi takes a hot shower or turns up the thermostat in his apartment, he’s tapping into waste heat generated by a 75-megawatt data center 5 kilometers away. As its computer servers churn through terabytes of digital information to support video calls, car navigation systems and web searches, an elaborate […]
Rachel Finan

Local Musician Returns to Jerseyville on Midwestern Tour

5 months 2 weeks ago
JERSEYVILLE - Musician Mattie Schell will return to the Riverbend region on her Midwest Express tour with Jackson Stokes. From 7–11 p.m. on Friday, May 30, 2025, Schell and Stokes will open the free summer concert series Rock the Block at City Center in Jerseyville. Schell recently released her album “Everything Means Nothing,” and she looks forward to sharing new music with the Jerseyville crowd. “Oh man, it’s been such a cool ride,” Schell said. “It’s called ‘Everything Means Nothing,’ but it means everything to me that I can have that out.” A Jerseyville native, Schell is looking forward to taking her music on the road with Stokes starting next week. They will travel throughout the Midwest on the Midwest Express Tour, with stops in Iowa, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. The Rock the Block concert is part of the tour. Schell explained that each show will feature an hour of her original music, followed by an

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There Was a Time When the US Government Built Homes for Working-Class Americans

5 months 2 weeks ago
From The Conversation:  In 1918, as World War I intensified overseas, the U.S. government embarked on a radical experiment: It quietly became the nation’s largest housing developer, designing and constructing more than 80 new communities across 26 states in just two years. These weren’t hastily erected barracks or rows of identical homes. They were thoughtfully designed […]
Rachel Finan

City Foundry to Focus First Live Art Market on Tornado Relief

5 months 2 weeks ago
From St. Louis Magazine:  Following the devastating storms that caused damage across the St. Louis area on the afternoon on May 16, City Foundry has announced that the first of its new series of Live Art Markets at the 15-acre Midtown site will be dedicated to providing relief to affected communities. Tornado Relief Night, scheduled for May 21 from 5:30 – […]
Rachel Finan

Who is McCormack Baron Salazar?

5 months 2 weeks ago
From The Telegraph:  McCormack Baron Salazar (MBS), a development company based in St. Louis, has a large impact in the Metro-East area. Its first project in the Metro-East was in St. Louis, converting the Washington Hotel, originally built in 1903, to Washington Apartments, which still stand. This project started in 1979 under the Section 8 program […]
Rachel Finan

Benny the Bull Joins Giannoulias To Promote REAL ID

5 months 2 weeks ago
SPRINGFIELD - Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias and Benny the Bull joined forces today to remind Illinoisans that the office continues to issue REAL IDs following the May 7 enforcement date. Giannoulias hosted Benny at the office’s REAL ID Supercenter, located at 191 N. Clark St., where the Bulls mascot took advantage of some downtime during the summer break to apply for a REAL ID before the NBA season kicks off in the fall. “As we’ve been saying for months, the May 7 REAL ID ‘deadline’ wasn’t really a deadline. The enforcement period has begun at airports and the unprecedented demand we experienced has started to wane,” Giannoulias said. “For those still interested in getting a REAL ID, we’re continuing to offer expanded service throughout the state for fast, specialized service.” Since the enforcement period took effect nearly two weeks ago, demand for REAL IDs in Illinois has dropped with fewer applicants

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St. Louis to Demolish Historic McKee-Owned Buildings Near Downtown

5 months 2 weeks ago
From St. Louis Post-Dispatch:  The city’s building safety chief says two historic vacant buildings north of downtown need to be demolished in the wake of a damaging fire over the weekend. Building Commissioner Ed Ware said Wednesday that the buildings, owned by controversial developer Paul McKee’s NorthSide Regeneration, sustained considerable damage in the blaze, and […]
Rachel Finan

U.S. Army Corps to Host Lock and Dam 25 Project Meeting

5 months 2 weeks ago
ST. LOUIS – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District, will host a meeting to provide additional information on the new 1,200-foot lock at Lock and Dam 25. The meeting will be held at Lock 25, 10 Sandy Slough Road, Winfield, Missouri, May 22, starting at 10 a.m. Project team members will have posters with designs and will be available to provide information, answer questions, and discuss the project with attendees. Attendees will also be able to tour the project. The St. Louis District, in collaboration with the Inland Navigation Design Center, or INDC, are in the process of completing the design for the new 1,200-foot lock that will expand the existing Lock and Dam 25. The project team will provide additional information on the project development and future construction as the design efforts reach the 95% design point. Feedback, comments and questions from the community members are welcome in this first of many engagements to be held throughout the completio

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Festus R-6 to Spend Almost $5M on Intermediate School Addition

5 months 2 weeks ago
From Leader Publications:  Festus R-6 school officials have allocated nearly $5 million to build an approximately 10,500-square-foot addition to Festus Intermediate School at 1501 Mid-Meadow Lane. The Festus Board of Education voted unanimously April 17 to award a $4,976,990 contract to Brockmiller Construction of Farmington to build the addition. The company submitted the lowest of […]
Rachel Finan

Democrats in Congress decry ‘outrageous’ DOJ charges against New Jersey colleague

5 months 2 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats on Tuesday blasted the assault charges the Trump administration is pursuing against New Jersey U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver following a clash with law enforcement earlier this month outside an immigration detention center in Newark. Leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus, Democratic Women’s Caucus and Congressional Progressive Caucus defended McIver at a press conference […]
Shauneen Miranda

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem stumbles over questions from Democrats on habeas corpus

5 months 2 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Tuesday was grilled by senators on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee about funding estimates for a barrier along the southern border, as well as concerns about the Trump administration’s adherence to due process in immigration enforcement. Noem was sharply criticized by Democrats for […]
Ariana Figueroa

Troy Man Who Killed His Mother Sentenced To 30 Years In Prison

5 months 2 weeks ago
EDWARDSVILLE — Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine announced Tuesday that a Troy man convicted of first-degree murder in the death of his mother has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. Neil Howard, 46, received the sentence Tuesday for the murder of his mother, Norma J. Caraker, 60, of Troy. She was strangled with a bungee cord in September 2023. Following a week-long trial in February, a jury convicted Howard of first-degree murder. Evidence and testimony presented by Assistant State’s Attorney Luke Yager and Assistant State’s Attorney Ryan Kemper suggested Howard was unhappy about his mother’s dating. The evidence and testimony showed that she was killed in her bedroom, shortly after she had a date. At a sentencing hearing Tuesday, Yager sought a sentence of at least 45 years in prison. Yager noted that Howard had previous arrests involving incidents with other family members. “It is clear that the defendant is a violent individual, and

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