St. Louis on the Air

The Cardinals open the 2023 baseball season Thursday afternoon at Busch Stadium against the Toronto Blue Jays. St. Louis is hoping to bounce back after a disappointing first-round exit from the playoffs last season. STLPR's Wayne Pratt talks with Cardinals beat writer Rob Rains of STLSportsPage.com.

An estimated 6.7 million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer's disease, and over 11 million provide them with unpaid care. We explore what it means to live with Alzheimer's, to care for those who have it, and the need for early diagnosis.

Disney animations have been a part of the peoples’ childhoods for generations. Fairy tales, adventure and fictional princesses are brought to life by a team of artists and animators — and that also includes University City native Marlon West. West discusses his work on “Moana,” “Encanto,” and “The Princess and the Frog," and shares details on his latest project.

In Illinois, it’s considered neglect for parents to leave kids under the age of 14 alone. Its law is the strictest in the nation. A child psychology professor and a sociologist share how such laws are typically implemented, who they affect the most, and whether 14 years old is a fair age limit for being left alone.

Earlier this month, the failure of Silicon Valley Bank marked the second-largest bank failure in United States history. But amid worry over the risk of a larger banking crisis, smaller financial institutions, like the St. Louis Community Credit Union, are setting their sights on solving longstanding challenges in the industry. CEO Kirk Mills and VP Alex Fennoy explain.

More than $20 million in American Rescue Plan funds are being offered to St. Louis nonprofits through the city’s Community Development Administration. Executive Director Nahuel Fefer shares who is eligible for the money, the types of community-led projects they are looking to fund, and how they are aiming for a bottom-up approach to city development with the grants.

St. Louis County voters get a chance to decide on April 4 whether to impose a 3% sales tax on recreational marijuana purchases. Similar proposals are popping up across Missouri and not everyone agrees with the so-called “stacking” of taxes. STLPR politics correspondent Jason Rosenbaum explains.

Kristen Slaughter and Kiara Brown have an unconventional friendship. They’re 22 years apart in age and their relationship was only supposed to last one year. Matched through a Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri mentorship program, the two have now been friends for 20 years. Slaughter was recently named CEO of the nonprofit organization, and Brown now has her own career and is the mother of two children.

On June 30, 1914, St. Louis residents voted to adopt a city charter. It’s a sprawling document, a blueprint for the city's civic machinery. Now, 109 years later, city voters will decide on April 4 whether to approve Proposition C, which would create a new system for updating the charter every ten years. Discussing the issue are St. Louis Alderwoman Annie Rice and civic engagement advocate Wally Siewert.

Trans kids and their families are being targeted by dozens of proposed bills in the Missouri legislature. But deciding how, when, and why to transition is actually a conversation parents and kids have been having for years — without lawmakers. Three sets of parents, as well as their children, each trans boys between the ages of 9 and 11, discuss what it’s like to grow up trans in Missouri, from how they chose their own names, to their thoughts on why so many adults in the state legislature don’t accept them the way they are.