Kelsey Proud

St. Louis-based Wings of Hope describes itself as a "non-sectarian, non-racial, non-political" organization on its website. It is, however, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee for 2011.

Reporting from KRCU's Jacob McCleland was used for this report.

Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson says that she is considering a run for the U.S. Senate in 2012.

Emerson has been a member of Congress since 1996. Her rural district encompasses all of Southeast Missouri and includes the towns of Cape Girardeau, West Plains, Farmington, and Rolla.

Emerson says that she is not going to rush into a decision.

Missouri's newest members of the U.S. House have continued raising money.

Federal campaign finance reports show Republican Billy Long of Springfield raised roughly $15,000 from Nov. 23 to Dec. 31, 2010. Long reported starting 2011 with $29,000 in his campaign bank account.

If you're a little tired of this cold weather, you're in luck, as the iconic "Punxsutawney Phil" groundhog did not see his shadow this morning -- signaling Spring's early return. 

For those of you who looked for Groundhog Day-related fun a little closer to home today to no avail, that's because our new local "representative" is a little too groggy for the task this year.

NPR's Tamara Keith launches a year-long occasional series on unemployment, entitled "The Road Back to Work" tracking six St. Louis residents.

We'll update the links to each of the stories in the series here for you on stlpublicradio.org.