The Gateway

Missouri’s Department of Conservation has a new director. Jason Sumners, a former deputy director of the department, is taking the reins from Sara Parker Pauley who stepped down after 30 years. St. Louis Public Radio’s Sarah Kellogg spoke with Sumners about how conservation work has changed over the years and his goals for the department.

Staffing at the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department dropped by about a third since 2014. There’s a backlog of DNA samples linked to homicides, and the homicide squad grappled for resources as murders in the city spiked. Our investigation with APM Reports and The Marshall Project has found that one reason police failed to solve more than 1,000 homicides in the city over the last 10 years is a...

We’ve been reporting this week on the difficulty the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department had with solving homicides between 2014 and 2023. Reporting by St. Louis Public Radio, APM Reports and the Marshall Project found that the department kept detectives in the unit even after a supervisor claimed they repeatedly failed to perform basic investigative tasks. St. Louis Public Radio’s Rachel Lip...

This week, we’re taking a look at how the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department handles homicide investigations. An investigation by St. Louis Public Radio, APM Reports, and The Marshall Project found there were roughly 1,000 unsolved homicides involving Black victims over the last 10 years. Tom Scheck takes us to a stretch of road in north St. Louis where Black families rarely see justice.

There were more than 1,900 murders in St. Louis between 2014 and 2023, and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department has failed to solve more than 1,000 of them. That means thousands of family members and friends do not have answers from police about the violent death of their loved ones. Rachel Lippmann has the story, part of an investigation into the city’s homicide clearance rates by St. Lou...

Researchers at University of Missouri St. Louis are listening to cicadas with the help of area residents to better understand where the bugs that have emerged this summer are, and where they aren't.

So far, 2024 is one of Missouri’s most active tornado seasons on record. The St. Louis region has been especially stormy, which means meteorologists at the local National Weather Service are busy. St. Louis Public Radio’s Kate Grumke spoke with Ben Herzog, the Science and Operations Manager at the National Weather Service St. Louis. They talked about what goes into tornado warnings and how they ar...

Dr. Suzanne Saueressig was known for transforming veterinary medicine in the St. Louis region. She helped stabilize a struggling Humane Society of Missouri clinic in the 1950s and 60s despite resistance from her colleagues in a then heavily male dominated field. St. Louis Public Radio’s Marissanne Lewis-Thompson spoke with Andy Primm at the Missouri History Museum about Saueressig and how she beca...

Having a baby is expensive. But the growing cost of medical debt related to giving birth is becoming one of the largest part of those bills. KFF Health News has the story of one Illinois family and the medical bills that piled up after their daughter was born.

Organizers of a night of LGBTQ solidarity in Chesterfield on Saturday are touting it as a first-of-its kind event. The Gay-la will feature music, dancing, and many of St. Louis’s top drag performers. St. Louis Public Radio’s Jeremy Goodwin spoke with Greg Coleman, who will host as drag queen Karma T. Cassidy, about what drew him to drag, why nights like this matter, and how he hopes to get the aud...

A new study at Washington University is examining how yearly vaccines for COVID-19 affect someone’s ability to fight the virus. So far, the data suggest people who receive repeated COVID-19 vaccines don’t lose their ability to fight the virus. WashU infectious disease specialist Dr. Michael Diamond talked to St. Louis On The Air Host Elaine Cha about his research.

Researchers have spent the past two years on the Mississippi River between Hamilton, Illinois, and Keokuk, Iowa, studying whether underwater acoustic systems will deter invasive carp. Halfway through the study, the results are promising. Reporter Eleanor Lindenmayer spoke with the two lead scientists about how it works and why it matters.

It’s spring, and most of us have rolled out the lawn mower at least a few times by now. But in the United States, there’s an ongoing debate over the traditional turfgrass yard. Harvest Public Media contributor Teresa Homsi explains how lawns became the default in American communities - and how a push for more environmentally-conscious options could change the landscape of our neighborhoods.

While the Missouri House spent its final week of session working on and passing legislation, the Missouri Senate spent that same week in a record breaking filibuster that later dissolved into dysfunction. What legislation made it across the finish line - and what will have to wait until next year? St. Louis Public Radio’s Sarah Kellogg breaks down the end of the 2024 Missouri legislative session.

Almost 10 years after the police shooting of Michael Brown Jr., questions remain around police reform at the federal and local levels. Civil rights attorney Bakari Sellers says national police reform is dead, and people must vote to start over. St. Louis Public Radio's Andrea Henderson recently spoke with Sellers while he was in town promoting his new book on national politics about ways to implem...

Illinois’ state veterinarian says the latest strain of bird flu that’s shown up in some dairy cattle across the United States doesn’t appear to be a threat to the country’s milk supply. But, Mark Ernst says, it's important to "remain vigilant." We'll hear how veterinarians and agriculture leaders are working to keep H5N1 from spreading.

It’s been nearly three months since the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade. While the event itself has largely faded from the headlines, recovery remains a daily presence in the lives of the 24 people who were shot and survived. Several still carry the bullets from that day, and are grappling with their wounds, both physically and emotionally. Peggy Lowe reports that medical guid...

Six-time Grammy winner David Sanborn has died at the age of 78. He grew up in Kirkwood and built a career playing with giants of many different musical styles. St. Louis Public Radio’s Jeremy Goodwin spoke with Sanborn in February about the key to his eclectic output.

The Missouri Legislature is set to adjourn on Friday. While lawmakers passed the state budget last week, there are a few big issues that still could come up in the final days. St. Louis Public Radio’s Brian Moline spoke with Statehouse reporter Sarah Kellogg about what has to happen in the final week of the 2024 Missouri Legislative session.

When the pandemic hit in the spring of 2020, a lot of life was put on hold – even those once in a lifetime moments, like high school graduation. Four years later, many members of that year’s senior class are finally experiencing a traditional commencement ceremony, graduating college. St. Louis Public Radio’s Abby Llorico spoke with two St. Louis area students graduating this weekend about how the...

For years, boosters of St. Louis’ technology sector have argued the region needs to double the number of jobs here, but a new report shows fewer openings than in years past. It's prompting some to look to startups as a solution. STLPR's Eric Schmid digs into some of the barriers keeping more startups from flourishing in the St. Louis region.

Missouri is one of the big battleground states over reproductive rights, where abortion is almost entirely illegal. One group that has recently given a significant amount of money to keep it illegal here is Catholic bishops. The Catholic church is strongly opposed to all abortion, but a majority of the faithful in Missouri don’t see it that way. A recent study shows many parishioners don't agree w...

St. Louis Cardinals fans who watch the games on Comcast X-finity were thrown a curveball last week when the Bally Sports Midwest channel disappeared from their TV service. Comcast and Diamond Sports Group couldn’t come to an agreement to keep Bally Sports Midwest and eleven other regional sports channels on the cable tv provider by the May first deadline. St. Louis Public Radio’s Brian Moline spok...

Pitcher Adam Wainwright retired last year after an impressive 18-year career with the Cardinals. His final season had multiple milestones. Two weeks after securing his landmark 200th win, he performed three original songs after a game at Busch Stadium. It was a preview of his new country album, “Hey Y’all.” St. Louis Public Radio’s Jeremy Goodwin asked Wainwright what it was like to perform for Ca...

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey opened a tip line last year to get information about care of transgender people that could be considered abusive or illegal. St. Louis On The Air Producer Danny Wicentowski submitted a sunshine request for what was sent in during the first 48 hours it was open. He spoke with Elaine Cha about what he found: that most of the input was in favor of transgender c...