St. Louis on the Air

The New York Times recently featured St. Louis in its “Walks Around the World” series. That St. Louis walk starts at “Pillars of the Valley,” the art installation that memorializes the lost neighborhood of Mill Creek Valley, just outside CityPark. We listen back to a February conversation with artist Damon Davis and former Mill Creek Valley resident Vivian Gibson about “Pillars of the Valley.”

Starbucks workers at four unionized stores in the St. Louis region walked off the job Monday, joining a nationwide strike over reports that some Starbucks stores have not allowed LGBTQ+ Pride displays this year. St. Louis region barista Alex Barge shares why she joined the strike and what’s changed since her store joined Starbucks Workers United last year.

Dwayne Tiggs and Rikki Watts have shared the progress of their 420 square foot house since last year. Despite a few setbacks and a citywide plumber shortage, the house is taking shape with walls, a deck, and a roof in place. While building their own home, they are teaching others how to do the same all with reclaimed and recycled materials and a lot of help from neighbors and friends.

Supporting local artists sounds good in theory, but what does it look like in practice? Kranzberg Arts Foundation has put out a call for artist residencies for years, but this year they are expanding the reach in the ways to get involved. Director of artist residencies Larry Morris shares how supporting artists and creating sustainable communities around the arts benefit the region as a whole.

For 10 years, the the Southeastern Rodeo Association has proudly celebrated the contributions of Black cowboys, including St. Louis cowboy Reggie “Sauce Boss” Smith. St. Louis Public Radio photojournalist Brian Munoz interviewed Smith, and other participants, while experiencing the St. Louis Open Black Rodeo on June 25.

Graphic novel “The Atonement Bell” has a number of direct references to St. Louis. Co-creators Jim Ousley and Tyler B. Ruff took inspiration for both the plot and art of the horror story from their personal experiences in the region. The story has been nominated for an Eisner Award for Best New Series.

On June 6, Missouri’s State Board of Education suspended the teaching license of a Hazelwood preschool teacher. It’s an action that school districts are increasingly seeking: Under a 2016 law, districts are empowered to file for financial penalties as high as $10,000, and to suspend a teacher’s license, if a teacher decides to break their contract. Mark Jones, the communications director of the Missouri National Education Association, says this policy is bad for both teachers and school districts.

Dive into a good beach read this summer with recommendations from two St. Louis librarians, Tammy Albohaire and Maryann Brickey.

Registered nurses Marchelle Vernell and Hadas Becker are sounding the alarm on what they say is a lack of safe staffing levels at SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital. They say patients are waiting too long for care — and that patient frustration can pose a security risk to staff and other patients.

You’ve likely heard a St. Louisan say, “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity,” when jokingly — or apologetically — talking about the high temps in the region during summertime. However, climate change experts take both the heat and moisture very seriously. Freelance environmental reporter Kelly Smits shared her reporting on the constant rising temperatures and why St. Louis’ history of red-lining neighborhoods, inequity in greenspaces and urban design, and how ‘urban heat islands’ impact predominantly Black neighborhoods most.