St. Louis on the Air

Almost two months have passed since St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson declared the coronavirus pandemic a public health emergency. Following the declaration, Krewson ordered many venues, bars, and restaurants to close. Now Krewson says the city will ease public health restrictions starting May 18. In this interview, host Sarah Fenske talks to Krewson on about what reopening St. Louis will look like, the city’s decision to clear an encampment of homeless people downtown, and a digital program the city’s Department of Health is using to conduct COVID-19 contact tracing.

In March, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit against Branson-based televangelist Jim Bakker, alleging Bakker had touted a product called “Silver Solution” as a treatment for the coronavirus. Consumers, Schmitt suggested, could be victimized by the false information. Former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon argues that the lawsuit violates Bakker’s First Amendment rights. Nixon explains to host Sarah Fenske why he thinks the televangelist is getting shafted by the state’s attorney general.

Transgender and non-binary individuals have it hard. And it’s gotten worse since the coronavirus pandemic hit the St. Louis area. Some don’t have access to cars and some are homeless. Sayer Johnson, co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit Metro Trans Umbrella Group talks to host Sarah Fenske about the challenges trans and non-binary people face before and during the coronavirus pandemic. Ashe Valentine, who is non-binary, also joins the conversation to discuss the challenges they’re facing through this time.

Photographer Nate Burrell has captured musicians for more than a decade, shooting album art for St. Louis’ rising stars in the scene, including Pokey LaFarge and Kevin Bowers. But when the coronavirus shut down bars and music venues, Burrell turned his eye to a different series of images: Capturing the new normal that the coronavirus brought upon the city. Host Sarah Fenske talks to Burrell to discuss his two-week project, “Covid Days” and what he has observed in his journey throughout St. Louis.

Geoffrey Soyiantet, a Kenyan immigrant, founded Vitendo4Africa 10 years ago to support African immigrants in St. Louis. He joins host Sarah Fenske to discuss the organization's work, as well as its unique partnership with the St. Louis Zoo. Mike Fitzgerald, a veteran journalist who recently wrote a cover story for the RFT about the group, joins Fenske and Soyiantet to explain what native-born residents can learn from the African immigrants in this pandemic.

The story that Alana Woodson has devoted so much of her time over the past few years to telling is far from a simple one. After all, it’s about Kinloch, Missouri — a once-thriving suburb that has nearly disappeared. Her father’s childhood home there is no more. And what was once a community of 6,500 black St. Louisans has dwindled to less than 200 residents today. But Woodson, who goes by Alana Marie professionally, has stayed the course, interviewing dozens of people and gathering countless hours of footage for her ongoing documentary project “The Kinloch Doc.” A short version of the film was screened at festivals in 2018 and 2019, and is available to view online. The feature-length iteration is currently in its rough-cut stage, and Woodson has been crowdfunding to help cover post-production expenses. She and her team launched a Kickstarter campaign April 10, and with just a handful of days left to raise funds, they’ve now surpassed their goal of $20,000, drawing support from several hundred backers.

Host Sarah Fenske discusses the political and cultural significance of Afro-Latin music here in the Midwest with Pablo Sanhueza and Carmen Guynn. Sanhueza is known as the region’s premier salsa and Latin jazz percussionist and Guynn is a salsa instructor and the artistic director and owner of Almas Del Ritmo Dance Company. Ten years ago, she founded the St. Louis International Salsa Bachata Congress.

Host Sarah Fenske talks with Marcus Harrison to learn about how morticians are organizing funerals and treating people who have died during the pandemic. Harrison is the general manager and embalmer at Austin Layne in north St. Louis County and said the center has seen COVID-19 victims daily.

The St. Louis’ homeless population is no longer residing at the tent encampment near Market Street following an order from St. Louis Health Director Fredrick Echols. Echols ordered the camp to be cleared on April 29. In response, the nonprofit civil rights law firm ArchCity Defenders filed a federal lawsuit on May 1 that included a temporary restraining order against the city, but a federal judge rejected it. Another hearing, in that case, is scheduled for May 12. Host Sarah Fenske talks to Alex Cohen of grassroots collective #TentMissionSTL and with ArchCity about the City of St. Louis' attempt to clear the tent encampments downtown. We’ll also get the perspective of a homeless person who was a resident of the camp.

St. Charles County is open for business. Host Sarah Fenske talked with County Executive Steve Ehlmann about the decision that’s in line with Gov. Mike Parson’s plan for the state. STLPR reporter Jason Rosenbaum also joined the discussion to talk about how local governments are proceeding and the political ramifications of it all.