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St. Louis police increased its presence and focus on crime in an area of north city known as Hayden's Rectangle. Named for Chief John Hayden, the strategy focuses on some of the city's most violent neighborhoods. But, is the approach working 18 months after it was launched?

Sen. Karla May is the latest guest on the Politically Speaking podcast, where the St. Louis Democrat talked with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum about a bipartisan push to overhaul the criminal justice system. May represents parts of St. Louis and St. Louis County. She was elected to the Senate in 2018 after spending eight years in the House. Among the things May worked on during the 2019 session was an effort to pare down mandatory minimum sentences. She worked with Republican Sen. Ed Emery ADD on legislation that gives people convicted of certain crimes a chance to be paroled. It doesn’t affect major offenses, such as sexual assault.

Dr. Ken Haller regularly finds himself assuring parents that childhood vaccines are safe. He tries to do so with empathy, because along with having confidence in vaccinations, he also believes parents genuinely want what’s best for their kids. The Saint Louis University associate professor of pediatrics talks with St. Louis Public Radio’s Rachel Lippmann about how he navigates those vaccine worries.

Missouri Chief Justice Zel Fisher in January announced coming changes to the state’s pretrial rules, which govern bail, detention and other practices directly impacting citizens accused of a crime. The new rules, described by Fisher as “common-sense modifications” within a system that too often treats defendants according to their pocketbooks instead of the law, go into effect July 1. St. Louis Public Radio’s Rachel Lippmann discusses the implications with a Washington University law professor and a representative from ArchCity Defenders.

A commercial cabinet maker in St. James has a unique hiring strategy: bring on employees with prison convictions and past drug addiction problems. The entrepreneur has built his business while giving people second chances, and it’s paying off.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Rachel Lippmann delves into the Women’s World Cup and the state of women’s soccer with Lori Chalupny-Lawson: former U.S. Women’s National Team member, current Maryville University head coach and assistant club director of the newly formed all-girls soccer club Fire & Ice Soccer Academy. Olivia Silverman, assistant coach of the St. Louis Lions women’s team; was a goalkeeper for Saint Louis University and played on three U.S. National youth teams, also joined the conversation.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Rachel Lippmann discusses the contention surrounding police presence at this year's PrideFest, and the broader status of the transgender community in St. Louis with Jordan Braxton, the director of diversity and inclusion for Pride St. Louis, and Sayer Johnson, the executive director of the Metro Trans Umbrella Group.

This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of Pride St. Louis. Local photographer Scott Lokitz has captured nearly all four decades. His documentation ranges from a time when many were afraid to be seen at the event to the celebration becoming mainstream.

Left Bank Books is turning 50 this year. Co-owner Kris Kleindienst talks about the shop’s storied history with St. Louis Public Radio’s Rachel Lippmann. Located in St. Louis’ bustling Central West End neighborhood, the independent bookseller got its start in 1969 when a group of Washington University graduate students set out to create a place where one could find all kinds of literature. Left Bank will formally celebrate its 50-year milestone in October.

Earlier this month, four St. Louis-area children died as a result of guns over the course of just five days. St. Louis Public Radio’s Rachel Lippmann discusses the ongoing violence and related trauma that many children in the region face – as well as resources and ideas for a way forward. Joining the conversation are Erica Jones, who has lost both a 7-year-old godson and an adult daughter to guns in recent years; Dr. Brad W. Warner, the Jessie L. Ternberg MD PhD Distinguished Professor of Pediatric Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine and surgeon-in-chief at St. Louis Children's Hospital; and Dr. Nicole Wilson, pediatric surgery fellow at St. Louis Children's Hospital.

Missouri's population of alligator gar, a large prehistoric fish, is one of the lowest in the country. Conservationists have been working for more than a decade to raise the numbers, especially since the fish could help consume invasive Asian carp. However, state conservation officials have failed to pass regulations to help protect the species from overfishing.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Rachel Lippmann delves into what the Missouri Coalition for the Environment's Known & Grown project entails, as well as its broader implications for growers and consumers, with the MCE’s food and farm director Melissa Vatterott and local food coordinator Rae Miller.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Rachel Lippmann talks trade and tariffs as they pertain to Missouri with David Meyer, senior lecturer in management in the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, in light of Gov. Mike Parson’s recent return from a trade trip in Europe.

This year's flooding has brought barge traffic on the Mississippi River to a standstill. But it could be an opportunity for Cairo, Illinois. Many in the community without a grocery store or gas station say a proposed port could revitalize the area's economy.

Guest host Jim Kirchherr of the Nine Network goes behind the headlines with Brian Ellison, a host and contributor for NPR-member station KCUR in Kansas City, to discuss Kansas City's new mayor. Mayor-elect Quinton Lucas is a private attorney and alecturer at the University of Kansas School of Law, and he previously served on the city council.

Guest host Jim Kirchherr of the Nine Network goes behind the headlines with Rachel Lippmann to discuss multiple top news stories of the week, including the Missouri’s health department decision to not renew Planned Parenthood of St. Louis' abortion license, and the indictment of the former FBI agent who was hired to help with the investigation into former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens.

This year, Sugarfire Smoke House won three Sauce Magazine Readers’ Choice awards: Favorite Restaurant, Favorite Barbecue and Chef of the Year – which went to Matt Glickert, catering and events chef for Sugarfire 44 in Valley Park, Missouri. Glickert talks about his award, Sugarfire’s success, statistics on the thousands of pounds of meat the restaurant goes through each month and more. Sauce Magazine art director Meera Nagarajan also joins the conversation to talk about other notable winners from this year’s Readers’ Choice, and the magazine’s food tasting Saucy Soiree event at Union Station.

St. Louis’ biggest local music festival gets underway Friday evening and all day Saturday with a lineup that the Riverfront Times has billed as its best yet. Featuring more than 100 performances by St. Louis-based bands across 11 venues, ShowcaseSTL 2019 aims to match that quantity with quality, and organizers have taken a collaborative, input-heavy approach to planning. Guest host Jim Kirchherr of the Nine Network talks with RFT music editor Daniel Hill and with Joe Hess, who has spearheaded the curation of the lineup.

A program this month at the public library in Normandy involved hip-hop and architecture. The aim was to spark imaginations about how the combination could improve communities. Nearly 30 students, mostly teenagers, took part in the week-long camp.

Protesting in Ferguson after Michael Brown was killed thrust Brittany Ferrell into a national spotlight. Now, the former nurse is funneling her activism into a documentary called “You Lucky You Got a Mama,” about how racism is at the root of why more black women don’t survive childbirth.