St. Louis on the Air

Earlier this year, Steve's Hot Dogs announced it was calling it quits after an 11-year run. But the outpouring that followed its closure announcement led directly to a new day for the eatery. As Ewing explains in this episode of St. Louis on the Air, the massive crowds in what he’d intended as the restaurant’s final week gave him a change of heart, and investment from Ewing’s longtime friend Danni Eickenhorst turned his idea to a reality. Steve’s Hot Dogs now plans to reopen. It’s not the only local business to experience a remarkable reversal of fortune. And in Belleville, after Memorial Hospital announced it would close Belleville Health and Sports Center, members formed a not-for-profit organization to take over the fitness center and keep it open. Host Sarah Fenske talks with guests from each of these businesses.

St. Louis County’s jail population has dropped significantly over the past couple years, from an over-capacity total of 1,242 in the summer of 2018 to 930 inmates as of last week. The sustained decrease has been touted as one positive outcome among the justice reform efforts that followed protests in Ferguson. Much work remains — and thanks to five years of research led by University of Missouri-St. Louis Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice Beth Huebner and funded by the John and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, collaboration continues between the researchers and the county, its circuit court and service providers. During this year’s Pierre Laclede Society Community Confluence donor event at UMSL Feb. 20, St. Louis on the Air host Sarah Fenske talks about ongoing efforts in the county, and addressed lingering challenges. She is joined by Huebner, St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page and Julia Fogelberg, director of diversion and special programs for the St. Louis County Prosecutor's Office.

Today’s teachers and school administrators are under increasing pressure on many fronts. There’s the increased focus on standardized testing, large class sizes and funding issues, not to mention the outside-the-classroom challenges complicating their students’ ability to learn. In the midst of all of this comes a refreshing focus — and a new graduate-level course — from two UMSL-connected leaders: Mindy Bier, co-director of the university’s Center for Character and Citizenship, and Tom Hoerr, assistant teaching professor and scholar in residence in the College of Education and former head of the New City School. During this year’s Pierre Laclede Society Community Confluence donor event that took place at UMSL Feb. 20, Bier and Hoerr talk with St. Louis on the Air host Sarah Fenske.

The town of Alton was a major stop for escaped slaves making their way from St. Louis to Canada. In this interview, Sarah Fenske talks with J. Eric Robinson, assistant professor of history at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy and proprietor of J. E. Robinson tours, about the historic places and people involved in the Underground Railroad in St. Louis and in Illinois. Robinson will begin guided tours of Alton’s Underground Railroad history starting Feb. 29.

For three decades, Diane Rehm hosted a conversation with America. The Diane Rehm Show grew from a local show at NPR affiliate WAMU to a national juggernaut, with 2.8 million listeners every week. And even after her December 2016 retirement, Rehm has continued the conversation. She hosts a podcast; she also recently published her fourth book, “When My Time Comes.” In partnership with "St. Louis on the Air," Rehm discussed her career at a dinner hosted by the Mannie Jackson Center for the Humanities Foundation at the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Here are the highlights from that conversation, including the secrets of her success and her reasons for becoming a passionate advocate for the “death with dignity” movement.

St. Louis’ Municipal Court is hosting a warrant amnesty program Feb. 24-27. It’s an opportunity for people with outstanding bench warrants — excluding DUIs, leaving the scene of an accident and prostitution — to be able to pay their original fines and costs without penalty. In this interview, Emily Woodbury talks with Judge Newton McCoy about the program. Newton is an administrative judge in St. Louis City Municipal Court.

Last week, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced the 12 sites in the state which were added to the National Register of Historic Places during 2019. That’s the official federal list of properties that merit special attention and preservation. Every Illinois county has at least one property or historic district listed in the National Register. Guest host Emily Woodbury learns more about the sites in Illinois that made it to the 2019 National Register of Historic Places, and what it took to get them on the list. Joining the discussion is Amy Hathaway, National Register and Survey Specialist for Illinois State Historic Preservation Office.

Often referred to as the most dangerous eight seconds in sports, bull riding is not for the faint of heart. In fact, the medical director for the international organization Professional Bull Riders estimates that about one in 15 rides results in injury. Yet, the sport is gaining popularity. Since PBR was founded in 1992, the sport has grown into a global phenomenon. Over the course of a weeklong competition, riders can earn up to six figures in prize money. This weekend, PBR is hosting a competition at the Enterprise Center. Riders and their bulls will be coming to St. Louis with several events already under their belt, and competition this year has been tough. One of the riders competing is Brady Sims. The Missouri native is currently ranked as the 27th rider in the world.

Big news out of Cape Girardeau: A federal jury there returned its verdict against agricultural companies Monsanto and BASF. The case involved some Cape Girardeau peach farmers who said they’d been damaged by the weed killer dicamba. And that verdict was staggering. It totaled $15 million in damages — and $250 million in punitive damages. That’s even more than attorneys had asked for. St. Louis Public Radio reporter Corinne Ruff was in Cape Girardeau when jurors returned their verdict. She’s joins host Sarah Fenske to talk about it.

For the occasional traveler, the term “TSA” likely conjures images of opening laptop bags, taking off shoes, lifting arms overhead and hoping against hope that there’s no spare change hiding in a pocket. But for Transportation Security Administration manager Robert Davis, that scene has about as much to do with customer service as it does airport security — and earlier this month he was honored in a big way for his efforts. St. Louis Lambert International Airport named Davis its Ambassador of the Year at the airport’s annual employee celebration. The kudos came as part of the airport’s Catch Us Giving program, after Davis helped an international traveler avoid what could have otherwise turned into a travel nightmare. Davis — who first began working for the TSA when it was created in 2002, and always at Lambert throughout the 18 years since — joins host Sarah Fenske to talk about it. Also joining the conversation is Davis’ supervisor Shayne Danielson, who oversees airport security at Lambert.