St. Louis on the Air

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Like watching storms roll in? Consider volunteer storm spotting with the NWS Jan 11, 2024

Show notes

Are you the sort of Midwesterner who goes outside when tornado sirens go off to watch Mother Nature get crazy? Then you might be exactly who the National Weather Service - St. Louis wants to train to be a storm spotter. Meteorologist Matt Beitcher shares details on upcoming classes and how storm spotters can help save lives by collecting and sharing real-time weather data.

A Missouri man vanished in 2013. A YouTuber tracked him to the bottom of a pond Jan 11, 2024

Show notes

On December 29, 2013, Donnie Erwin drove off from his home in Camden County, Missouri. It was the last time the 59-year-old Army veteran was seen alive. His fate became a mystery that persisted for the next decade — and ended last month, when police announced they had recovered Erwin’s vehicle and remains from the bottom of a pond within miles of his home. James Hinkle, a freelance videographer and operator of the Echo Divers YouTube channel, located Erwin’s car. Hinkle takes us behind the scenes of his search; and Erwin’s sister, Yvonne Erwin-Bowen, shares her reflections about her brother’s life.

Aid groups say immigrants need more resources and language assistance Jan 10, 2024

Show notes

The show explores the groups and people working to meet the needs of the foreign-born people who building new lives here in St. Louis. We examine first the stories of two asylum seekers, Karla Mera and Juan Carlos Lopez, who fled their home country of Belize. Next, we get to know three local groups working with these populations, and who share their hopes/concerns about a plan to bring migrants from Chicago to St. Louis. The panel includes Carlos Ruiz Martinez, Director of Client Support Services at the MICA Project, Sarah Caldera Wimmer, Director of Emotional and Physical Wellness at LifeWise STL, and Kris Walentik, an immigration attorney with St. Francis Community Services, a ministry of Catholic Charities.

Missouri Emancipation Day recalls efforts to free enslaved people during the Civil War Jan 09, 2024

Show notes

While the U.S. was on the brink of Civil War, a secret organization of Black men convened in St. Louis to plot an insurrection. We take a look at that clandestine plan and how an insubordinate war hero ticked off President Lincoln with his antics to free enslaved Missourians with Cicely Hunter of the Missouri Historical Society and Cathy Hart from the Friends of Father Dickson Cemetery.

How the Song Society empowers kids with life-altering medical conditions Jan 09, 2024

Show notes

Music therapy can reduce stress and anxiety, improve memory, elevate mood, and contribute to pain management and physical rehabilitation. For kids who live with life-altering medical conditions, and find themselves in and out of the hospital for procedures and treatments, music therapy might be one of the only places they can truly let loose to speak, or sing, their truth. The St. Louis nonprofit the Song Society facilitates songwriting sessions, as well as recording and performance opportunities, to offer outlet to such kids, teens and their families.

Sun, moon and planets, oh my! The history and culture of astrology Jan 08, 2024

Show notes

It seems that, nowadays, you can’t open a social media app without seeing zodiac content about specific sun signs or having folks worried about Mercury going into retrograde. But for millennia, the practice of astrology was more than pop culture fodder to consume. Astrologer Jade Moore tracks the cosmos personally and professionally at her store Sincerely, the Craft in Midtown. She joins the show to give a crash course on astrology’s history, culture and practice.

Ancient Roman imperial cult temple unearthed by SLU-led international team Jan 08, 2024

Show notes

A newly unearthed ancient temple in Italy complicates the history of paganism and Christianity in the Roman Empire. Douglas Boin, a history professor at Saint Louis University, talks about his team’s discovery of an imperial cult temple that dates back to the fourth century.

Missouri lawmakers open 2024 session hoping to avoid low election year expectations Jan 05, 2024

Show notes

Missouri lawmakers opened the 2024 session this week with GOP majority leaders of the House and Senate expressing optimism that they can accomplish major policy initiatives. That's despite election year pressures and a softening budgetary picture that may make it challenging to have a productive session. STLPR statehouse reporter Sarah Kellogg discusses what's ahead for this year's term in Jefferson City.

SLPS board paused its College Kids Savings Account partnership. What’s next for the program? Jan 05, 2024

Show notes

A recent vote by St. Louis Public Schools board members means fewer kids will have a St. Louis College Kids Savings account through the City of St. Louis’ College Kids program. Our guests dive into the origin of the program, and why it's drawn scrutiny from journalists and critics. They also explore how children’s savings accounts can help kids see higher education as an option, not just a possibility.

How politics and lawsuits could shape Missouri’s cannabis industry in 2024 Jan 04, 2024

Show notes

Since legal sales of medical marijuana started in Missouri in 2020 and adult recreational cannabis in 2023, business around all things marijuana has become a billion-dollar business. Missouri Independent journalist Rebecca Rivas talks about her recent coverage of Missouri’s cannabis industry, including a 60,000-product recall – and how lawsuits and politics could shape the industry in 2024.

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