St. Louis Public Radio

Brian Munoz

Missouri senators debate bill barring discussion of gender identity, sexual orientation in schools

Sarah Kellogg

Another Senate committee heard testimony Tuesday on legislation that would prohibit anyone from changing their birth certificate.

A crumpled truck lies on the side of train tracks. Officers stand on the tracks in the distance

Cass County Sherriff's Office

FedEx driver dies after being hit by Amtrak train in Missouri, just months after deadly derailment

Savannah Hawley-Bates

The 2023 Tiny Desk Contest is open for entries from Feb. 7 through March 13.

NPR Music

Arts

Calling all St. Louis-area musicians: Now's the time to enter the 2023 NPR Tiny Desk Contest

Lara Hamdan

Derik Holtmann

Belleville News-Democrat

Economy & Business

Belleville Hofbräuhaus closes as legal fight over franchise trademarks continues

Lexi Cortes

Government, Politics & Issues

USDA strengthens rules and enforcement to make sure organic products are really organic

Elizabeth Rembert

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reinforced oversight on organic certification and enforcement to prevent mislabeled products, in what advocates are calling the biggest update in decades.
Arts

‘This Is Not My Home’ explores immigration through a child’s eyes

Miya Norfleet

The new children’s book “This Is Not My Home” was written by Washington University undergraduates and published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Health, Science, Environment

Vacancies, turnover leave thousands of jobs unfilled in Missouri state government

Rudi Keller

Missourians are seeing massive delays in receiving services, ranging from call center wait times to court-ordered mental treatment.
Nominations for 2022’s best local theater unveiled by St. Louis Theater Circle

Danny Wicentowski

Nominees for St. Louis’ best theater performances and productions of 2022 are out from the St. Louis Theater Circle. Winners will be unveiled in April.
Economy & Business

Regional business leaders look to replicate St. Charles’ historic downtown success

Eric Schmid

The goal is to see what’s working well and apply it across similar districts that dot the St. Louis region.
Education

St. Louis County Jail offers inmates college courses to help them earn a degree

Andrea Y. Henderson

The St. Louis County Department of Justice Services and St. Louis Community College are offering inmates college classes to help them earn an associate degree. Jail officials say the degree program can help get some inmates back on their feet once they are released.
GMO food labeling has been required in the U.S. for a year. Have consumers noticed?

Katie Peikes

Genetically modified foods have been on supermarket shelves since the 1990s, but they’ve only required a label for the last year. The USDA says implementation and compliance with the program have been “successful,” while experts suggest consumers aren’t noticing the labels.
Health, Science, Environment

Here’s why Missouri is seeing more mountain lions across the state

Britny Cordera

Missouri Department of Conservation believes that an increase in mountain lion sightings indicates a healthier environment.
Government, Politics & Issues

St. Louis County cities hope to reap sales tax from legalized marijuana

Jason Rosenbaum

The 2022 ballot item legalizing recreational marijuana allows local governments to levy a 3% tax on sales with voter approval.
Government, Politics & Issues

A suspected Chinese spy balloon has been spotted flying over Missouri. Here's what we know

The Associated Press

China’s foreign ministry described the balloon as “a civilian airship” for meteorological research that had blown far off course by winds. The Pentagon suspects it’s collecting sensitive information. On Friday, it was spotted flying over cities across Kansas and Missouri, including St. Louis.