Marie-Christine Williams, a survivor of the 1994 Rwanda massacre, and Ron Klutho, refugee services coordinator for BIAS, talked with St. Louis Public Radio's Jonathan Ahl about the Triumph Over Darkness program commemorating the UN Day in Support of Victims of Torture on June 26.
A handful of leaders at St. Louis-area universities are each departing key roles this year. The most recent news of such shifts came last week as both Harris-Stowe State University President Dwaun Warmack and Washington University Provost Holden Thorp announced they are leaving their posts. In addition, Wash U Chancellor Mark Wrighton and University of Missouri-St. Louis Chancellor Tom George are retiring, while Lindenwood University President Michael Shonrock was let go earlier this year and McKendree University President James Dennis plans to retire after the 2019-2020 academic year. Joining St. Louis Public Radio’s Jonathan Ahl to help make sense of this trend and others within higher education are three guests who have been watching it all closely.
The Magic House has opened a new satellite location on Delmar Boulevard. The space features hands-on STEAM activities like video game design, 3D-printing, button-making, and pottery for children. One hope is that the location helps children learn how to become entrepreneurs by turning their creations into businesses.
Missouri Republican Party Executive Director Jean Evans is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where she talked with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum about the state of her party going into next year’s election cycle.
Evans served for one term in the Missouri House before resigning earlier this year to take on the executive director position in the state party. She’s in charge of the day-to-day operations of the Missouri GOP, including helping organize the process to select state delegates for next year’s Republican National Convention.
Palestinians are often portrayed in the media only when it comes to the Israel-Palestine conflict, but not much is discussed about the nuances of their culture, from the food they eat to the different identities that make up the culture. The Palestine Heritage Festival, organized by the Missouri chapter of American Muslims for Palestine, brings together all aspects of Palestinian life, such as music, dance and food to history and architecture.
On Tuesday a federal judge ruled that St. Louis jails cannot hold inmates simply because they cannot make bail. That decision came just one day before a press conference at City Hall, where Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, joined representatives of the Close the Workhouse campaign in urging city officials to shut down the Medium Security Institution, known as the workhouse. In this episode of "St. Louis on the Air," Cohen joins Inez Bordeaux, who spent about a month incarcerated in the workhouse in 2016, for a conversation with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jonathan Ahl. Ahl also talks with the city’s public safety director, Jimmie Edwards, who gives his perspective on the condition of the workhouse, the cash bail system and related topics.
City officials expect hundreds of thousands of people to come downtown for the St. Louis Blues' championship parade and rally. For diehard fans, Saturday's events will cap a season to remember.
Activist, educator and writer Brittany Packnett returns this week to her hometown of St. Louis – the place where she participated in protests after the police shooting of Michael Brown and was appointed to the Ferguson commission in 2014. Now based in Washington, where she is Teach for America’s vice president of National Community Alliances, Packnett has been described by former President Barack Obama as a leader whose voice “is going to be making a difference for years to come.”
Hours after the St. Louis Blues brought home the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history, St. Louis Public Radio's Jonathan Ahl talks with superfan Dennis Minner and STLPR reporters Rachel Lippmann and Wayne Pratt about what just happened.
State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where he talked with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum about his first few months in the statewide office.
Fitzpatrick is a Republican who served three full terms in the Missouri House, including two years as the chairman of the powerful House Budget Committee. Gov. Mike Parson appointed the Barry County Republican to be treasurer after Eric Schmitt was picked to be attorney general.
Fitzpatrick is a native of Shell Knob, a Barry County community that’s about 40 miles away from Branson.
He started a dock repair business while he was in high school, a company that grew dramatically while he was in college. After state Rep. David Sater termed out of the Missouri House, Fitzpatrick prevailed in a contested Republican primary for his seat – the real contest in the heavily Republican district. He became House Budget Chairman in 2017, which gave him a major say over how to craft Missouri’s spending priorities.
The St. Louis Blues have won their first-ever Stanley Cup. They knocked off the Bruins 4-1 in Game 7 last night in Boston. St. Louis Public Radio's Rachel Lippmann has more from a watch party that had all the atmosphere of a home game.
From the continuing drama surrounding abortion access in Missouri to the investigation of St. Louis Metropolitan Police officers whose racist Facebook posts have been in the spotlight, this month’s Legal Roundtable touches on a variety of the latest regional as well as national news stories that bring up questions related to sunshine law, the First Amendment and other legal matters.
Party control of the St. Louis County Council is up for grabs. Currently, Republicans hold a 3-2 advantage because of the departures of Democrats Sam Page and Hazel Erby. But on Aug. 9, voters will choose replacements who are nominated by their respective parties.
What does local food mean? And what do you need to know - and to prove - to grow capacity for local-food producers, and get their foods to an equitable range of eaters?
Missouri Coalition for the Environment is digging deep, strategically, into these questions, and raising a healthy crop of results! Two big ones are the launch of Known & Grown STL, a branding campaign to help progressive farmers working within 150 miles of St. Louis spread the word about their practices, their products and the sustainable principles grounding their work, and a Farm to Institution Feasibility Study.
Rae Miller (left), MCE's Local Food Coordinator, and Food & Farm Director Melissa Vatterott (right) lead a regional effort to better promote local foods and cultivate connections between farmers and consumers, at both individual and institutional scales. Developing data, partnerships and sound policy supporting Healthy Food Access is one of four areas of priority focus for the Coalition.
This Earthworms conversation is the first in a series that will celebrate MCE achievements and leadership during this 50th Anniversary year.
Music: Hunter's Permit, performed live at KDHX by Mister Sun
THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms green-savvy engineer
St. Louis Public Radio’s Jonathan Ahl delves into changes that new County Executive Sam Page has made since being sworn in with reporters Chad Davis and Jason Rosenbaum and politics editor Fred Ehrlich.
St. Louis Public Radio’s Jonathan Ahl discusses what the legalization of medical marijuana means for Missouri and the process of how physicians prescribe it as dispensaries start opening up.
The Mississippi River has crested in several area communities, including Alton, Illinois. But the water will remain high for a while. That means Alton will not return to normal for some time.
Sen. Jill Schupp returns to Politically Speaking to talk about the aftermath of the 2019 legislation session, which saw passage of a ban on abortion after eight weeks of pregnancy and other aspects of Gov. Mike Parson’s workforce development agenda.
The Creve Coeur Democrat is serving her second term in the Missouri Senate. The 24th Senatorial District includes St. Louis County cities like Creve Coeur, Town and Country, Maryland Heights, Olivette and Ladue.
During the 2019 session, Schupp alternated between handling pieces of legislation that got to Parson’s desk — and trying to either stop or force compromise on GOP priority legislation. For instance: Schupp ended up passing what’s known as Nathan’s Law, which restricts capacity at in-home daycares.
Schupp also was a key participant in debate over the abortion legislation, which also bars the procedure except for medical emergencies if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Senate Democrats chose not to filibuster the final legislation after hours of negotiations.
On Jan. 1, St. Louis resident Andy Magee embarked on an unusual adventure with a goal to visit all 418 National Park Service units around the U.S. within the course of a single year. He’s now five months into that journey – and back in St. Louis this week for a pit stop. He gives an update on his travels, which began during the federal government shutdown.
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