High-steppers, marching bands and elaborate floats are always crowd pleasers at the Annie Malone Children and Family Services Annie Malone May Day Parade.

But Sunday’s parade is not just entertainment; it is the agency’s largest fundraiser.

Though the parade route moved in 2005 from the historic Ville neighborhood to downtown St. Louis, Sara Lahman, CEO at Annie Malone, said the parade is what is keeping the agency alive.

Producer and director Michael Dalton-Smith’s early passion for volcanoes has followed him throughout his career. It’s led to his production of various natural history programs on them that have aired on the Smithsonian, National Geographic and Discovery channels.

His film “Volcanoes: The Fires of Creation” – now showing at the St. Louis Science Center through July 28 – takes viewers on an IMAX adventure to the boiling lava lakes of the world, grasslands and the depths of the oceans, all where volcanoes help shape vibrant ecosystems. 

On Friday’s St. Louis on the Air, producer Lara Hamdan talked with Dalton-Smith about his interest in volcanoes, the theory of how they developed billions of years ago and what it’s really like getting up close to a boiling lava lake.

Earlier this week, St. Charles-based Lindenwood University announced it would cease its daytime undergraduate academic programs at its Belleville campus following the 2019-2020 academic year.

On Friday’s St. Louis on the Air, Belleville Mayor Mark Eckert joined guest host Ruth Ezell to talk about what the consolidation means for the community. He said the university’s announcement to close parts of the campus and the termination of various positions leading up to the announcement came as a surprise.

A lot of money has gone missing at local colleges and universities lately. A former administrator at Washington University was indicted for allegedly embezzling $300,000. A former University of Missouri employee admitted to stealing $781,000, and just a few weeks ago an employee of St. Louis Community College was accused of embezzling $5.4 million.

Another recent case, involving a former academic administrator at Webster University, got the Riverfront Times’ Doyle Murphy asking a question that is at the heart of the justice system every day: What constitutes just punishment?

Murphy’s latest feature for RFT digs into this question and many more, juxtaposing Deborah Pierce’s sentence (to pay back the $375,000 she stole from Webster University and write a journal for 60 days) with the sentences handed down in other specific crime cases in the region.

The 2019 regular session of the Missouri General Assembly wraps up today in Jefferson City. Many legislative priorities for Gov. Mike Parson, including new abortion restrictions, bridge repair and the low-income housing tax-credit program remain on the to-do list.

Here’s how this is going to work: we’ll update from Jefferson City with the latest news and insights. The most recent news will be on top, meaning you can get a whole recap of the day starting at the bottom.

After a week that featured titanic battles over high-profile legislation, Missouri lawmakers are heading into the final day with a lot on their plate.

The unfinished business set for Friday includes final passage of abortion legislation that’s made national headlines, as well as a bill to overhaul the low-income housing tax-credit program.

Washington University in St. Louis will become the anchor of a regional effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stop climate change.

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced on Thursday the creation of the Midwest Collegiate Climate Summit at a press conference in downtown St. Louis. The summit, which would take place at Wash U in 2020, would involve universities, local governments, nonprofits and businesses.

When consumers hear the words, “Made in the USA,” Jon Lewis wants them to think, “Made in St. Louis.”

That’s the broader mission of the construction of a new $5 million garment-manufacturing facility in St. Louis’ Grand Center neighborhood, which was announced at a media event on Thursday.

Lewis is the CEO of Evolution St. Louis, which he co-founded with fellow fashion veteran John Elmuccio. The 32,000-square-foot facility will bring in more than 50 jobs over the next three years.

The Luminary Arts Center is in the midst of its ongoing show “Counterpublic,” a triennial exhibition scaled to a neighborhood “set to animate the everyday spaces of Cherokee Street” with expansive artist commissions, performances, processions and more through July 13.

While the exhibit itself is only around for a few months, participants including local artists José Guadalupe Garza and Miriam Ruiz have created a series of “art interventions” in El Chico Bakery, a family owned and operated Mexican bakery in south St. Louis.