Alex King

The Department of Natural Resources is launching a statewide roundup of mercury in Missouri. There will be around 50 mercury drop-off sites in the state, including four in the St. Louis area.

The department is working with fire departments and county health offices to provide drop-off locations where citizens and non-profit agencies can leave instruments containing mercury like thermometers, blood pressure cuffs, thermostats or switches.

Anti-smoking advocates want more smoking bans

Groups against smoking are urging the St. Louis County Council to make changes to the smoking ban that went into effect last year.

Currently, businesses whose food sales result in 25 percent of gross sales including food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are eligible for an exemption from the smoking ban. There are 145 businesses that currently allow smoking in the county.

The St. Louis County prosecutor has issued arrest warrants for a man who pointed a gun at a MetroLink security officer.

The warrants are for 29-year-old Dominic L. Webb of North County for one count of unlawful use of a weapon and one count of unlawful possession of a concealable firearm. The bond was set at $20,000. 

A security officer saw a disturbance between Webb and another man at the Hanley MetroLink platform on Tuesday, Jan. 24 around 4 p.m. The security officer intervened and Webb pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the officer. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a new tool that allows the public to access information about pollutants that are released into local waterways.

The Discharge Monitoring Report Pollutant Loading Tool brings together millions of records and lets users search for and map water pollution.