Eric Schmid
Economic Development ReporterEric Schmid covers Economic Development for St. Louis Public Radio. He's primarily focused on examining policies and ideas to drive population and business growth throughout the St. Louis region.
He previously covered the Metro East writing about many topics in the Illinois counties adjacent to St. Louis, but regularly returns to stories about the environment, public policy, and the census and demographics.
Eric came to the station through Report for America in 2019 and was tasked to develop STLPR’s coverage east of the Mississippi. Before joining St. Louis Public Radio, Eric held internships at Fox News Channel, NPR-affiliate WSHU Public Radio and AccuWeather. He graduated from Stony Brook University in New York with a degree in Journalism in 2018.
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A pair of studies found that tens of thousands of construction workers in Missouri and Kansas are incorrectly classified as independent contractors. That means employers are avoiding withholding income tax and paying into programs like Social Security, unemployment insurance and Medicare.
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A new sensor would help scientists learn more about the mineral and elemental composition of the moon. There’s already some understanding of the elements and minerals that make up the surface of the moon but not on the far side or poles.
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Communities in the path of next month's total solar eclipse could see millions of dollars flow into their communities for a chance to witness a few minutes of darkness when the moon passes in front of the sun.
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Supporters of the legislation say it would help companies with the potential for high growth to more easily access early funding and help keep their innovations rooted in Missouri.
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The investment includes more space to store shelf-stable and perishable food as well as a new teaching kitchen and other programming for members of the regional community.
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St. Louis has roughly 20,000 vacant properties, most of which are in north city and have no buildings on them.
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“Economic justice is a team sport. Government cannot do this alone," said Mayor Tishaura Jones. "When done in collaboration with our philanthropic civic and private sector partners, we can make a lasting difference for generations to come."
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Mayor Tishaura Jones signed legislation Tuesday clearing the way for the city to force the sale of certain private properties near the NGA’s new headquarters that are unoccupied, vacant, condemned or otherwise a nuisance.
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A University of Missouri System-led research team developing new ways to detect salmonella in the chicken supply chain received a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to eventually make a commercially viable product.
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Regularly updated codes can also aid with disaster resilience. The Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates adopting current building codes can avoid hundreds of billions of dollars in damages.
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The airline offers a guaranteed look at the moon passing in front of the sun on a day when there’s a 50% chance of cloud cover in southern Illinois and Missouri.
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Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced a plan Tuesday to add 200 Missouri National Guard members and 22 state highway patrol troopers to the 250 guardsmen already deployed to southern border by next month.