StoryCorps is featuring the stories of Black residents of Alton, Illinois. "St. Louis on the Air" explores why StoryCorps is turning its attention to the river town and got a preview of one of the conversations that will be featured in a virtual event on Friday.

More than half of Illinois' 23 coal plants are closed, and five more will be shuttered this decade. Without clear rules for demolitions, activists say more environmental problems are likely to occur.

Missouri school students will sit down for state assessments soon. For some, it’ll be their first time in a classroom in more than a year. Teachers and parents say testing should be canceled, but education officials counter the data is critical.

St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones and Alderwoman Cara Spencer, D-20th Ward, were the top two vote-getters in Tuesday’s mayoral primary race.

Earlier this year, Brittany "Tru" Kellman’s efforts got a big boost: a $1 million grant to train hundreds of doulas in an effort to reduce Missouri's maternal mortality rates and racial disparities. Kellman and her Jamaa Birth Village team are partnering with local nonprofit Generate Health on the three-year project.

This Friday marks 75 years since Winston Churchill delivered the famous "Iron Curtain" speech. On "St. Louis on the Air," we talk about the significance of that speech and share details about Churchill's trip to Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri.