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Mid-November is arguably a bit early to start putting up holiday decorations. But it’s not at all too soon to make thoughtful plans to safely connect with relatives, particularly those who are more isolated this year, and spread some joy. “Start having those conversations now,” Marjorie Moore, executive director of the nonprofit organization VOYCE, tells St. Louis on the Air. She and Vanessa Woods of Vitality Ballet talk through some ideas with host Sarah Fenske.

Been thinking lately about influences and first generation STL “bloggers”. Had a chance to sit down with Steve Patterson to get his thoughts on 16 years of writing at UrbanReviewSTL.

LynnMarie Alexander, the director/archivist of the Hill Neighborhood Center, has a new coffee table book about St. Louis' beloved Italian-American neighborhood. She explains the neighborhood's history and shares some highlights.

A St. Louis University professor and census expert is weighing-in on what to expect when the numbers from the 2020 headcount are released. There are questions about whether the data will be tainted by the pandemic and political fighting over how the census was conducted.

Amy Hilgemann remembers the job she had in the early 1980s as among the most fulfilling work she ever did. At the time, she directed Crisis Intervention Services, a collaboration with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Officers were empowered to hand off certain situations to a dedicated group of six social workers, including Hilgemann, whom they could call on seven days a week. The program got some rave reviews. But when the initial funding stream ran out, it ended.

Coronavirus diagnoses are soaring across the Midwest, and the St. Louis metro area has seen an average of 2,206 new COVID-19 cases per day over the last week. That's up 43% over the week prior. So far, to date, 2,036 people in the region have died. But leaders can’t get on the same page in their mitigation methods. And that could be dangerous, as St. Louis Public Radio reporter Sarah Fentem explains.

Filmed in Grand Center in October, “Songs for St. Louis: A Concert in the Commons” features three young operatic stars singing some of the most beloved songs of Broadway and opera. Patricia Racette of Opera Theatre of St. Louis explains the concert's origins.

State Rep.-elect Adam Schwadron is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where he talked with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum about his election to the Missouri House, and some of his priorities and expectations. Schwadron is a St. Charles County Republican who defeated Democrat Cindy Berne earlier this month to represent the 106th District. That includes a portion of St. Charles that is more politically competitive than other parts of the county.

Many parents and educators in the U.S. are worried about a lost school year because of the pandemic. But German parents, whose children returned to school full-time this fall, don’t have the same concerns.

A class-action lawsuit changing how Missouri handles parole hearings has meant new hope for 98 Missouri men sentenced to life without parole for crimes they committed as juveniles. Host Sarah Fenske talked to several men who have been released after decades behind bars.

Missouri is using federal stimulus money to help small meat processors increase capacity during unprecedented challenges brought by the coronavirus pandemic.

As legal challenges by the Trump campaign mount in the wake of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt is deploying his office in an attempt to stop some votes from counting in Pennsylvania. Host Sarah Fenske talks with Washington University's Ronald Levin about whether precedent is on Schmitt's side, and what might happen next.

St. Louis entrepreneur Akeem Shannon, 28, invented Flipstik — a device that allows users to stick their smartphone on any flat surface or use it as a kickstand. He pitched it on ABC's "Shark Tank" and secured a deal with investor Lori Greiner.

Beau Willimon joins St. Louis on the Air to talk about how his documentary "Lights of Baltimore" sheds lights on the development of policing in Baltimore, early redlining practices and the disinvestment in Black communities around the U.S. He also talks about the free screenwriting class he's offering as part of the St. Louis International Film Festival.

Data from the St. Louis Federal Reserve shows married women are leaving the workforce in huge numbers. It appears many are staying home to care for elderly relatives and children during the pandemic.

The Affton Democratic senator reflects on his party's dismal showing in this month's elections. Missouri Democrats got walloped in statewide contests, and also fell short in key congressional and state legislative races.

In the month leading up to Election Day, most public opinion polls showed former Vice President Joe Biden leading by a sizable margin, yet his margin was much closer than many pollsters predicted. As Vittert writes in a recent editorial, “How were all the pollsters so wrong, again, even after the soul searching and methodological recalibrating that followed 2016?”

In the 20th century, St. Louis was a hub for candy manufacturing. As 94-year-old candy magnate Menlo Smith puts it, “St. Louis was the best place in the country to manufacture confectionery if you were going to be distributing it nationwide.” Smith is the man behind favorites such as Pixy Stix, SweeTarts and Nerds.

Governor Mike Parson won handily in last week’s election and other Republicans swept the four state offices on the ballot. The party also maintained supermajorities in the House and Senate. The results give Republicans the ability to control the direction of state policy for years.

At Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Parish food pantry in Ferguson, volunteers have seen a 25% client increase in recent months, with Blessed Teresa serving about 1,300 people in October alone. That’s in keeping with what food banks and other partners are observing throughout the area, according to Operation Food Search’s director of strategic services, Lucinda Perry. She’s seen about a 40% increase in food insecurity amid COVID-19 upheaval. The St. Louis community is stepping up to help, including local farms such as EarthDance.