St. Louis on the Air

Last October, the Hazelwood School District closed Jana Elementary School in Florissant, Missouri, after a company called Boston Chemical Data Corporation issued a report that said there was radioactive contamination in the school and that it was dangerous. But, the scientific consensus shows that radioactive contamination isn’t present. We listen to STLPR education reporter Kate Grumke’s extended conversation with Roger Lewis, a professor emeritus at St. Louis University, who is critical of the report. In a follow-up conversation, Kate also shares how Boston Chemical is responding to the criticism and what parents are saying.

St. Louis’ intimate one-ring circus, Circus Flora, is back at the Big Top in Grand Center. Artistic and executive director (and lifelong circus performer) Jack Marsh says acts such as aerialist Laura Lippert, the Globe of Speed, and world class juggler Roberto Carlos will thrill audiences in the circus’ 37th season that runs until June 25.

Seven years ago, singer-songwriter Lizzie Weber was living on an island off the coast of Washington state when she was inspired to write her forthcoming album, “Fidalgo.” The pandemic brought her home to St. Louis, and she is now set to release it June 9. Weber calls the journey a “full-circle moment.”

There are some 600 million cats in the world. Not all of them are pets — between 50 and 100 million in the U.S. — but cats share a fascinating history with humans. Washington University evolutionary biologist Jonathan Losos dives into that history in the new book, “The Cat's Meow: How Cats Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa.” Losos joins guest host Alex Heuer to talk about all things cats.

Restorative justice programs like Freedom Community Centers are gaining attention as the criminal justice system continues to get criticized for racial and economic biases. Kayla Thompson and her colleagues in the Free Us Group Track Program within FCC facilitate an intensive 12-week program which involves community service and therapy.

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) became part of the official designation of May as Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in 2022. U.S. Census Bureau numbers from 2022 show less than 1% of folks who live in the Metro St. Louis area home identify as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Edwardsville educator, social worker, and writer Stephanie Malia Krauss, her mother Laurie Nalani Kilstein, and her two boys are among those "onlys." Krauss and Kilstein share what that's like, and talk about ways they maintain and build strong cultural ties to a vital part of their personal, family, and community identity.

You’ve heard “attendance is mandatory,” but, in Missouri schools, attendance is actually a matter of state law. During the 2021-22 school year, two single mothers in Missouri discovered just how powerful that law can be: They found themselves sentenced to jail when their children missed more than two weeks of school. The case is among several burning legal topics taken up by St. Louis on the Air’s Legal Roundtable of attorneys Nicole Gorovksy, Dave Roland and Kalila Jackson

International superstar Tina Turner died Wednesday at the age of 83. Turner moved to St. Louis when she was 16 years old and her ties to the area ran deep. Author Maureen Mahon discusses Turner's time in St. Louis and we hear listener reactions to her death.

The O’Fallon, Missouri, based winter drumline Modulation Z won their division in the Winter Guard International World Championships last month. The group achieved a score of 96.05. That score was two points ahead of the second-place finisher and the second highest score ever achieved in the division. Modulation Z director Ryan Treasure and senior Lukas McGill discuss what it took to become a champion.

Members of Gold Star Families, or families that have lost an immediate family member in active duty, hold Memorial Day in high regards as they honor their loved ones, even those whose true fate remains a mystery. Until recently, the Court of Honor at Soldiers Memorial only listed 214 names of St. Louisans who gave the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam War. That changes this weekend with a special observation of 254 newly-identified fallen soldiers.