ICYMI: Here's my conversation last week with St. Louis on the Air about the Post-Dispatch's public pay database, and why these are such important records.
Today I returned to "St. Louis on the Air" as a guest to discuss the Post-Dispatch's Public Pay database!
If you missed it, you can listen to the discussion here:
https://kwmu-adswizz.streamguys1.com/stl_on_the_air/20250807163901-080725aweb_salarydata.mp3
And explore the database here:
https://stltoday.com/pay
A 2016 project to stabilize an old dam near a popular swimming spot on the Big River has created a "predictably dangerous place" where six people have drowned in nine years.
Sam Totoni did a great job talking to scientists, residents, and the many local, state and federal agencies involved, to untangle this mess.
Disaster averted 
DallasNews Corporation board formally rejects Alden affiliate offer as Hearst ups bid
The board also voted to implement a shareholder rights plan to hold off Alden.
Self-proclaimed explorer Tom Croat of the Missouri Botanical Garden is one of three local employees in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch public pay database who have been serving the public at their respective agencies since the 1960s.
Profile by Namratha Prasad.
Among local governments, St. Louis city is in a class by itself with its glacial handling of records requests.
For a third straight year, the city took more than 100 days to answer the Post-Dispatch's annual request for payroll data.
St. Louis County needed just 8.
20 years ago, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran this doubletruck listing the names of every employee -- including me.
If we were to do something like this today, we wouldn't need anywhere near that much space to list everybody.
And that's a serious problem for the future of our nation.
#PSA: Stand for local journalism, New York City edition: show up on Tuesday, July 14.
To learn more, listen to reporter Evan Simko-Bednarski explain the situation (link to Bluesky):
https://bsky.app/profile/simko-bednarski.bsky.social/post/3ltwgn25ygs2g
Extremism “is fundamentally a local problem, magnified nationwide," says Dana Coester, founder of nonprofit newsroom 100 Days in Appalachia. “There’s more risk at the local level. You are accessible, you are visible, you are part of the community that you’re covering, and you don’t leave.” Columbia Journalism Review interviewed her and journalists from @TexasObserver, InvestigateWest, and more, about the threats local journalists face from far-right extremists.
"Initially, I thought I would only do that one grave or maybe only do it for a few years. But now, after 51 years, I am still doing it."
Fantastic profile of Paul Kamphoefner, one of St. Louis's last gravediggers who dig by hand.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/stcharles/article_7386924d-f031-4bf7-9d11-72ab6ea7c641.html
Truehold, an out-of-state investor, has quickly become one of the largest owners of single-family homes in St. Louis.
It promotes a unique "sell and stay" purchase model that has faced strong scrutiny when used by other companies.
Local real estate agents and lawyers worry that this model preys on desperate, cash-crunched homeowners.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/business/article_320f036b-f2e0-4f7f-88f9-a4b72810a902.html
Truehold, an out-of-state investor, has quickly become one of the largest owners of single-family homes in St. Louis.
It promotes a unique "sell and stay" purchase model that has faced strong scrutiny when used by other companies.
Local real estate agents and lawyers worry that this model preys on desperate, cash-crunched homeowners.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/business/article_320f036b-f2e0-4f7f-88f9-a4b72810a902.html
My interactive map lets you take a closer look at the results of Saturday's
NWS damage surveys. Lots of "All walls collapsed" or "Most walls collapsed" along North Newstead Avenue.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_6817f8d5-61a3-42e8-ae00-da7b447faa77.html
Astonishing video by Allie Schallert of STLtoday with drone footage of tornado damage in Fountain Park, Academy, DeBaliviere Place, and the Central West End.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/multimedia/videos/video_9d33f27e-8327-587d-98ec-2b54be091e3f.html
Five people were killed and thousands of buildings were damaged by the EF-3 tornado that swept across St. Louis city and Clayton on Friday.
"This is a nightmare," said 71-year-old Verleen Najwa Taylor.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_4b9126ac-8219-4506-a897-667b5dcbabbd.html
BTW, if you're an STLtoday subscriber, you can always check power outages using our map:
As Missouri lawmakers consider studying the proliferation of billboards on I-70, I took a stab at mapping billboard density along all the state's highways.
My map is attached to Kurt Erickson's story:
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/government-politics/article_ab1c59c0-4fc9-400b-bdff-ef526e97c989.html
Farm groups in Missouri are again pushing a plan to limit public access to a state database that records the trillions of gallons of water used by more than 1,400 major users.
Will Ferrell, Reese Witherspoon hit red carpet for ‘You’re Cordially Invited’ premiere in London https://www.inbella.com/871288/will-ferrell-reese-witherspoon-hit-red-carpet-for-youre-cordially-invited-premiere-in-london/ #austin #FemaleCelebrities #journalism #LocalJournalism #News #Newspaper #ReeseWitherspoon #Texas #TexasNews
There's no doubt: St. Louis County police are reporting more uses of force than ever before.
But a closer look at the numbers and conversations with experts shows that this seemingly clear trend masks a far more complicated picture.
