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The Rundown: Portraits Of Change In St. Louis' Diverse Communities

Steph James holds birdie as Jess Dugan works the camera and Vanessa Fabbre looks on.
Nancy Fowler | St. Louis Public Radio

We know that you listen to us on air and check our website for news and information about our region. We hope that you look at our website every day, but we know that's not always possible. So, once a week, on Friday, we will highlight some of the website's top stories of the week.

Portraits of change

St. Louisans’ Photo Project Brings Older Transgender People Out Of The Shadows

Jess Dugan andVanessa Fabbre began capturing the images and stories of older transgender subjects over a year ago when they lived in Chicago. Now they live in the Tower Grove South neighborhood. They believe that their book project, "To Survive on this Shore," is a way of bringing members of two marginalized communities — seniors and transgender people — into the public eye.

Transgender Woman Says Change Was Lifesaving, Despite Losing Job, Loved Ones

Until her late 50s, Steph James of Maryland Heights lived a life that looked like the American dream. But it wasn’t her dream. Raised as Steve, James always felt she was female. After a successful career, 30-year marriage and three children, she divorced and began living as a woman. James’ saga reveals a life of trying to conform, sinking into depression and, finally, making life-saving decisions. “It was the biggest gulp I ever took, the biggest gamble I ever made,” James said.

To be, or not to be, an NFL city?

Five Big Questions About Professional Football's Future In St. Louis

Since St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke announced a deal to build a stadium in Inglewood, Calif., the future of football in the Gateway City has been murky at best. So what exactly do we know right now? We've talked with experts, dug into statutes and bylaws, combed through news articles and listened to the new stadium's backers. Here are five questions (and answers) that offer a bit of insight into the future of the Rams and professional football in St. Louis.

District in distress

Credit Courtesy Normandy School District
Ty McNichols resigned as superintendent of Normandy.

Normandy School Superintendent Resigns

Sometimes it seems like the turmoil in Normandy never ends. On Thursday, Normandy school superintendent Ty McNichols resigned from his post after the state-appointed board that runs the district announced a search for someone to serve in his job. Charles Pearson, a retired educator who had been serving as chairman of the five-member Joint Executive Governing Board, will take over as interim superintendent.

Beyond Ferguson

Ferguson Commission Focuses On Economic, Racial Divides In The Classroom

The deep economic and racial divides in the St. Louis-area’s education system take a devastating toll on children and neighborhoods. But there are strategies that can help ensure all young people have an equal chance for success. At Tuesday night’s Ferguson Commission meeting on education inequality and child well-being, the superintendent of the Jennings school district Jennings talked about they have moved the academic needle in a low-income, majority African-American district.

MLK Day Clash At Harris-Stowe Leads To Conversation

After a heated exchange on Martin Luther King Day between protesters supporting “reclaimMLK” and Harris-Stowe State University students, the university and protesters are working to turn confrontation into conversation. On Tuesday student representatives and administrators met with a Ferguson activist to start a dialogue and “hopefully move forward as a community.”

Are immigrants welcome here?

Dancers perform at the Our Lady of Guadalupe celebration at Holy Trinity Parish on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2014.
Credit Camille Phillips | St.Louis Public Radio
Dancers perform at the Our Lady of Guadalupe celebration at Holy Trinity Parish.

Reputation And The Economy Explain Why Latinos In St. Louis Are Comparatively Few

More than 75,000 Hispanics live in the St. Louis metro area. That's not an insignificant number, but it represents less than 3 percent of the region’s 2.8 million people. Kansas City has twice as many Latinos — about 8 percent of the Kansas City metro area. Hispanics make up almost 17 percent of the national population. Why is the nation’s largest minority so under-represented in St. Louis?

St. Louis on the Air

Author Follows A Raindrop Down The Mississippi River

When author and photographer Gayle Harper learned that it takes 90 days for a raindrop to travel from the Mississippi River’s headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico, she knew she had a new project: Follow the path of that raindrop. Harper started at Lake Itasca in Minnesota and ended at the gulf.

Credit Gayle Harper

Susan Hegger comes to St. Louis Public Radio and the Beacon as the politics and issues editor, a position she has held at the Beacon since it started in 2008.