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Known for his “you paid for it” confrontations, the Fox-2 journalist found a way to bring not just a stick, but a carrot.

An election preview double feature: In Missouri’s sprawling sixth district, U.S. Congressman Sam Graves has represented voters for more than two decades. He’s heavily favored to retain his seat this year–even as some critics say he’s lost touch with the district over the years. Plus, Missouri’s 1st Congressional District Democratic primary could determine what type of political leadership takes hold throughout the St. Louis region. St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum breaks down the high-stakes race between Congresswoman Cori Bush and St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell.

ST. LOUIS - Hot and very humid conditions continue Thursday. Storms Thursday morning and afternoon may help dial back that heat a touch, but the humidity will remain tough to take. A cold front is on the move across the Midwest on Thursday. Well ahead of it, we are tracking a morning round of showers [...]

Def Leppard is currently on their Summer Stadium tour with Journey, and each night fans are being treated to a set list filled with hits, including several songs from their hit…

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"Mack didn't deserve this," his girlfriend and co-worker said. "We want his killer caught because he deserves justice."

For decades, wealthy owners and financiers have gotten cities to pay for their sports stadiums. It’s not so easy anymore.

Next year in Washington will be all about the tax debate. In Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro is trying to accelerate corporate tax cuts, at odds with the top of the ticket.

She just needs to remember the positions she took as a senator from 2017 to 2020.

by Lulu Ramadan and Sydney Brownstone, The Seattle Times

This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with The Seattle Times. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published.

When lawmakers in Washington set out to expand a lucrative tax break for the state’s data center industry in 2022, they included what some considered an essential provision: a study of the energy-hungry industry’s impact on the state’s electrical grid.

Gov. Jay Inslee vetoed that provision but let the tax break expansion go forward. As The Seattle Times and ProPublica recently reported, the industry has continued to grow and now threatens Washington’s effort to eliminate carbon emissions from electricity generation.

Washington’s experience with addressing the power demand of data centers parallels the struggles playing out in other states around the country where the industry has rapidly grown and tax breaks are a factor.

Virginia, home to the nation’s largest data center market, once debated running data centers on carbon-emitting diesel generators during power shortages to keep the lights on in the area. (That plan faced significant public pushback from environmental groups, and an area utility is exploring other options.)

Dominion Energy, the utility that serves most of Virginia’s data centers, has said that it intends to meet state requirements to decarbonize the grid by 2045, but that the task would be more challenging with rising demands driven largely by data centers, Inside Climate News reported. The utility also has indicated that new natural gas plants will be needed.

Some Virginia lawmakers and the state’s Republican governor have proposed reversing or dramatically altering the clean energy goals.

A northern Virginia lawmaker instead proposed attaching strings to the state’s data center tax break. This year, he introduced legislation saying data centers would only qualify if they maximized energy efficiency and found renewable resources. The bill died in Virginia’s General Assembly. But the state authorized a study of the industry and how tax breaks impact the grid.

“If we’re going to have data centers, which we all know to be huge consumers of electricity, let’s require them to be as efficient as possible,” said state Delegate Richard “Rip” Sullivan Jr., the Democrat who sponsored the original bill. “Let’s require them to use as little energy as possible to do their job.”

Inslee’s 2022 veto of a study similar to Virginia’s cited the fact that Northwest power planners already include data centers in their estimates of regional demand. But supporters of the legislation said their goal was to obtain more precise answers about Washington-specific electricity needs.

Georgia lawmakers this year passed a bill to halt the state’s data center tax break until data center power use could be analyzed. In the meantime, according to media reports, the state’s largest utility said it would use fossil fuels to make up an energy shortfall caused in part by data centers. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp then vetoed the tax break pause in May.

Lawmakers in Connecticut and South Carolina have also debated policies to tackle data center power usage in the past year.

“Maybe we want to entice more of them to come. I just want to make sure that we understand the pros and the cons of that before we do it,” South Carolina’s Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey said in May, according to the South Carolina Daily Gazette.

Countries such as Ireland, Singapore and the Netherlands have at times forced data centers to halt construction to limit strains on the power grid, according to a report by the nonprofit Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. The report’s recommendations for addressing data center power usage include encouraging the private sector to invest directly in renewables.

Sajjad Moazeni, a University of Washington professor who studies artificial intelligence and data center power consumption, said states should consider electricity impacts when formulating data center legislation. Moazeni’s recent research found that in just one day, ChatGPT, a popular artificial intelligence tool, used roughly as much power as 33,000 U.S. households use in a year.

“A policy can help both push companies to make these data centers more efficient and preserve a cleaner, better environment for us,” Moazeni said. “Policymakers need to consider a larger set of metrics on power usage and efficiency.”

Eli Sanders contributed research while a student with the Technology, Law and Public Policy Clinic at the University of Washington School of Law.

Sustainability is at the heart of California Forever’s ambitious plan for a new city — and its problems.

It would cost more than $1 trillion, but the savings from lower bills and cleaner air would be just as high.

They say St. Louis is a sports town. So it makes sense that one of the oldest and most storied stadiums in the US can be found here—Francis Field. Built in 1902 and named for David R. Francis, the president of the 1904 World’s Fair, Francis Field has been home to many historic sporting events, …

Continue reading "Francis Field’s Olympic History"

Scott Westmoreland of St. Charles, MO joined the Real Rock Army today

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In the heart of urban areas, local parks serve as more than just recreational spaces — they are vital community assets that foster cohesion, stimulate economic growth and enhance the overall quality of life. Recognizing these benefits, Town & Country Bank partnered with the Cherokee Street Community Improvement District to finance the redevelopment of Love Bank Park, located at the corner of Nebraska Avenue and Cherokee Street. This initiative underscores the bank's commitment to community development…

Business decision-making doesn’t hinge on one factor. Leaders weigh an array of conditions, components and aspects as they chart plans and strategies for growth, expansion and a successful future. In Greater Des Moines (DSM), Iowa, businesses benefit from three key factors (among others) that are a formula for growth and success. 1.Robust site options. DSM includes urban, suburban and rural communities, which affords a wide range of available sites for businesses seeking a space for an expansion…

For nearly 40 years, the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis (RACSTL) has been the most prominent public funder of arts and culture in St. Louis. Its long-term investment has sustained an arts and cultural sector that contributes significant economic value to the region and makes St. Louis a great place to live, work and visit. “The cultural tourism market in the United States was valued at $557 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow 3.8% annually from 2022 to 2030,” said Vanessa Cooksey,…

It’s common knowledge among the small business community that providing health benefits to employees is a great attraction and retention tool. What’s also all too common is the cost barrier of entry for many small employers. Businesses of all sizes should have the ability to provide valuable benefits. Delta Dental offers new benefits packages that make these highly desired benefits accessible to all. In addition, Delta Dental has enhanced their broker program to offer ease of implementation…

The Ferguson Corridor in Missouri stretches along West Florissant Avenue and its surrounding neighborhoods in Ferguson, Dellwood and nearby areas of North St. Louis County. This corridor gained national attention in 2014 following the tragic shooting of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African American man, by a police officer. The incident ignited widespread protests and highlighted long-standing issues of racial inequality and police brutality, thrusting Ferguson into the national spotlight on justice…