St. LouiS AmericAn
Gabe Gore: ‘Lives have been saved’
By Rachel Lippmann
St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore says his office has cleared a backlog of nearly 7,000 cases that were awaiting charges.
“Really, the story of the last two years for this office is a story of the community coming together and collaborating to address a situation that had reached a crisis point,” Gore said Tuesday at a news conference marking two years in office.
Then-Gov. Mike Parson appointed Gore to the circuit attorney post in May 2023 after Kim Gardner resigned under pressure. He won a full four-year term in August.
When Gore took over, there were more than 6,700 cases awaiting charging decisions from the prosecutor. He said that thanks to hard work by his assistant circuit attorneys and outside help, that backlog has been eliminated.
Many of the cases were for violent crimes including murder, Gore said. In some instances, defendants were facing charges from multiple cases.
See GORE, A11
Deadly tornado magnifies Delmar Divide
By Ashley Winters
The St. Louis American
Following the devastating tornadoes that struck historically Black neighborhoods in St. Louis on May 16, 2025, communities north of Delmar are faced with the formidable task of rebuilding. This recovery effort will be massive and require considerable ongoing support. More city support is on the way
after a Tuesday vote by the Board of Aldermen approved expansion eligibility for the city’s Impacted Tenants Fund. Approved applicants will get a month of federal fair market rent to help cover up-front expenses like a security deposit or first month’s rent at a new building.
“People need housing now and amending the Impacted Tenants Fund is a critical first step in helping renters who lost their homes in last month’s tornado. We know the program’s cur-
rent balance isn’t enough and our next step is finding a way to expand the fund so more residents can secure housing,” said Board of Aldermen President Megan Green.
She noted that even though the bill has passed, the application process is not yet open.
“DHS is working to finalize criteria and the application process with
By Alvin A. Reid St. Louis American
Jack and Jill St. Louis raised $60,000 while celebrating a banner year of community support and youth leadership development, and its first as a “FiveStar Chapter of Excellence.”
The St. Louis chapter, which is in its 78th year, raised over $50,000 during a fundraiser featuring comedian Guy Torry in February.
“It’s more than a fundraiser; it’s a legacy of service and leadership in action,” said local Jack and Jill St. Louis President Angela Rhone.
“It’s an incredible milestone made possible by the dedication of our youth and members. What makes me most proud is knowing that our teamwork and commitment will directly impact thousands of students and families across our community.”
The funds were shared by ten local organizations as well as the national Jack and Jill Foundation.
The support went to Almost Home, $11,000; Boys and Girls Club - $1,500; Teens also built a new literacy room stacked with hundreds of new African American books; Gentlemen of Vision, $1,500; Haven of Grace, $1,000; JJOA Foundation, $17,500; Little Bit
By Sylvester Brown, Jr. St. Louis American
In the November 2024 General election, one sentiment was made abundantly clear: women – young and older, conservative and liberal – voted overwhelmingly to protect their reproductive rights and that included access to safe abortions.
A record-breaking ten states had initiatives or measures on the ballot that allowed voters to have a direct say in the future of abortion access in their states. They all passed. In Missouri, Amendment 3 (the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative) was passed in seven of the state’s 114 counties. St. Louis City, St. Louis County and St. Charles County accounted for 554,372 of the “yes” votes in the state, about 36% of the total. St. Louis County accounted for 338,486 votes, St. Charles County See TORNADO, A6
The American Red Cross and two food trucks served those with with badly-damaged homes who had no where to go in the city’s Penrose neighborhood near Natural Bridge and N. Newstead Wednesday, June 4.
During his annual update, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore said Tuesday at the Mel Carnahan Courthouse that his office has cleared nearly 7,000 cases that “removed dangerous individuals from the street.”
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
Photo by Rachel Lippmann
Brian McKnight’s son Niko dies following cancer battle
Niko McKnight, the estranged son of singer Brian McKnight, died on Thursday after a battle with cancer. He was 32.
Niko’s mother, Julie McKnight confirmed the tragic news in a statement on social media.
“Nikolas was a cherished husband, son, brother, grand son, uncle, and nephew whose warmth, laughter, and love touched the lives of all who knew him,” Julie posted.
Brian McKnight has yet to break his silence on Niko’s death, though the pair had reportedly been estranged for a number of years. The rift began when Brian McKnight publicly referred to his oldest kids – Niko and older brother Brian Jr. – as “products of sin” on social media.
Last year, Niko took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his feelings about the relationship.
“When I was about to die in the hospital from complications from my cancer, I just wanted to bury the hatchet and hear him say he loves me,” Niko tweeted in April of 2024. “He told me he couldn’t arbitrarily tell me he loves me. Still cuts so deep.” In a separate tweet, Niko said he had “given up all hope” on a reconciliation.
Mary J. Blige served in $5M lawsuit
Last month, celebrity stylist
Misa Hylton filed a $5 million civil lawsuit against her former best friend and biggest client Mary J. Blige. Hylton accused Blige of poaching her artist Vado. According to Allhiphop.com, Blige has officially been served.
The Grammy-winning singer confirmed she was served on Friday, May
The hip hop news and urban celebrity gossip site says both sides have agreed on how to proceed in court and that Blige and her legal team have not waived any defenses. The court has given Blige until July 28, 2025, to respond.
Offset requests alimony from Cardi B
Last year, rapper Cardi B filed for divorce from her husband, rapper Offset, after eight years of marriage and three children together. Offset is now requesting spousal support.
TMZ.com was first to report that the rapper filed an amended divorce response earlier this month in which he is asking that Cardi pay him spousal support. He does not request a specific amount in the documents.
Offset is still asking for joint custody of their children – and he wants Cardi’s home to serve as the primary residence for the kids.
Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence are officially in-laws
In an appearance on “The Jennifer
Hudson Show,” comedy icon Eddie Murphy revealed that his son Eric Murphy and Martin Lawrence’s daughter Jasmin Lawrence were married last month in a private ceremony. “They went off—everybody was making their big wedding plans,” Murphy told Jennifer Hudson on an episode of the show that aired May 29. “And then they decided they wanted to do something quiet with just the two of them.”
Murphy also joked that Lawrence doesn’t have to “pay for the wedding now.”
The couple’s low-key ceremony follows their candlelit proposal in November 2024. For that special occasion, Eric, 35, got down on one knee in front of Jasmin, 29, in a room decorated with candles, white roses and a giant red heart.
The eldest of Lawrence’s three children shared the engagement news in a Nov. 30 Instagram post. “God truly blessed us with a love that feels like destiny. We couldn’t be more excited for this next chapter,” Jasmin wrote. “Special thank you to everyone who made this moment so magical.”
Sources: Allhiphop.com, Billboard. com, X.com, TMZ.com
Mary J. Blige
Offset
“As we face the uncertainty and anxiety being created in Washington, I’m running to be a fighter for Georgia.”
- Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announcing she is running for governor in Georgia
St. Jude opens annual Dream Home Giveaway
A leader in sickle cell treatment
By Alvin A. Reid St. Louis American
Darryl Jones II, managing director of American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities, is proud to a be a native St. Louisan who works with the fundraising arm St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.
“Being born and raised here, I always tip my cap to the great medial facilities we have in St. Louis, said Jones.
“We are the medical hub of the Midwest.”
St. Jude’s was founded by the late entertainer and philanthropist Danny Thomas in 1962 in Memphis. While a struggling actor, Thomas prayed to St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless causes. He vowed: “Show me my way in life, and I will build you a shrine.”
Thomas would later say, “A dream is one thing. A realization is something entirely separate.”
Today, St. Jude’s research and treatments in helping children with cancer and other medical issues are available throughout the nation and world.
According to St. Jude’s website, the research hospital has helped push the overall survival rate for childhood cancer from 20% to 80%.
Not all children are required to travel to Memphis; some can be helped in their hometowns through St. Jude protocols.
However, the cost for care can be expensive, sometimes reaching over $1 million for a child.
This is where Jones and the work of ALSAC step up.
“It’s great to have support from St. Jude for those that don’t have the resources. We can provide that extra assistance,”
Jones said.
Residents of the St. Louis area have their annual chance to support the work of St. Jude beginning on June 5, 2025, with tickets going on sale for the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway.
The home giveaway is one of the largest single-event fundraisers for St. Jude nationwide. Each ticket reserved helps ensure that families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.
This year’s home, which was constructed by Fischer Homes, is located at 325 Kingsbarns Court in Dardenne Prairie, Mo.
Tickets are available for $100 each and can be reserved by visiting dreamhome.org or calling (800) 667-3394.
“This is a chance to win a beautiful new home and make a difference in the lives of children battling cancer and other life-threatening diseases,” according to Jones.
Sickle Cell treatment
St. Jude, which was the first integrated children’s hospital in the South, is a leader in the treatment of sickle cell disease, which strikes African Americans at a higher rate than other nationalities.
The first research grant received by the hospital was for the study of sickle cell disease.
Since that time, St. Jude has been involved in many research studies that have had a major impact on the treatment of the disease.
In 1983, a St. Jude patient was the first person in the world to be cured of sickle cell disease
Linda Robinson stands outside the house to be given away in the Dream Home Giveaway. It is one of the largest single-event fundraisers for St. Jude nationwide. Each ticket reserved helps ensure that families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.
through a stem cell (bone marrow) transplant.
Since then, people throughout the world have gone through this therapy and no longer suffer with sickle cell disease. A transplant is a potential cure, but patients can experience many complications after a transplant, and St. Jude continues to research cures for sickle cell disease.
St. Jude has also led several clinical trials studying the use of hydroxyurea in children with sickle cell disease. Hydroxyurea boosts the level of fetal hemoglobin in the body. It helps red blood cells stay round and flexible, so they can travel more easily through the
tiny blood vessels. It may also prevent or slow down damage to the spleen, kidneys, lungs, and brain. Studies have shown that patients with higher levels of fetal hemoglobin tend to have fewer symptoms of sickle cell disease.
St. Jude sickle cell patients ages 12 to 18 take part in an education program that helps them move to adult care when they turn 18. The hospital has also collaborated with the Center for Sickle Cell Disease at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), the Diggs-Kraus Sickle Cell Center at Regional One Health, and the Methodist Comprehen-
sive Sickle Cell Center to create the St. Jude-Methodist-Regional One Sickle Cell Disease Transition Clinic.
The clinic helps patients make the leap from childhood care to adult care. The clinic is aimed at improving the poor transition rates among teens and young adults, as well as reducing longterm disease complications and deaths.
St. Louis’ St. Jude annual walk will be held on Saturday, September 13, 2025 at Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. To register for the walk, go to stjude.org/walkStLouis.
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Our award-winning care in your neighborhood doesn’t stop there. We’ve expanded services, upgraded technology, and added providers to better support your health. Learn more: christianhospital.org/discover
Photo by Wiley Price/St. Louis American
Guest Editorial Commentary
A new chapter in health equity Remembering the trailblazer Charlie Rangel
“For too long, Black and brown families across our county have faced systemic barriers to quality, affordable health care.”
By Dr. Kanika Cunningham
May 29, 2025, marked a turning point in how we care for our communities.
That was the day the St. Louis County Department of Public Health was officially designated a Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike (FQHC). While that may sound like bureaucratic jargon, I want our community, our most vulnerable, to understand what this means: it’s a win for health equity.
For too long, Black and brown families across our county have faced systemic barriers to quality, affordable health care. Barriers built by a legacy of disinvestment, racism, and neglect. Today, we are working to tear those barriers down, and this new status is a critical tool in that fight.
FQHC Look-Alike designation means our health department now meets rigorous federal standards to provide access to comprehensive, patient-centered care. With this designation, our health clinics will receive better reimbursement rates for those with Medicaid and Medicare, access to discounted prescription drugs, and we will be able to expand services and improve our sliding fee scale for the uninsured.
department’s commitment to do better.
To listen, learn, and lead with equity.
With this new status, our department will be able to expand services that matter most: preventive care, chronic disease management, mental health, maternal health, and substance use support. We’re working to ensure that our care isn’t just available, but accessible, affordable, and affirming.
Guest Columnist Dr. Kanika Cunningham
But this designation is about more than programs and payments. It’s about building trust. It’s about meeting people where they are. It’s about bringing high quality care into neighborhoods that have been left out of the health care system for far too long.
As a Black physician and public health leader, I know firsthand how deeply health inequities run. I’ve seen patients denied compassion, denied access, and denied the benefit of the doubt. This FQHC Look-Alike designation is our
And just as important, we’ll be able to invest in a workforce that reflects the communities we serve. By leveraging federal loan forgiveness programs, we can recruit more doctors, nurses, medical assistants, and counselors. People who understand the lived experiences of our residents because they share them. I know firsthand about this because I was a physician who used this same loan forgiveness program to serve my community. This isn’t just a health department milestone. It’s a community achievement. It’s a result of years of advocacy, organizing, and pushing to center equity in everything we do. And I thank St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and St. Louis County Public Health Department CEO Derrick Melton for their leadership and work to achieve this designation.
To our residents in Saint Louis County: this moment is for you. This designation is one more step toward justice, one more tool to dismantle the structural racism that shows up in our health outcomes. It’s a new chapter in how we serve, with dignity, compassion, and the unshakable belief that your health matters.
Dr. Kanika Cunningham is Saint Louis County Department of Public Health director
Commentary
A national scourge
By Ben Jealous
“Our neighbors are living in fear. And that’s what the administration wants. They want people to be scared. So, we’re combating that by bringing the neighborhood together and saying, ‘You’re not going to frighten us into complicity; you’re not going to frighten us into hiding; we’re one neighborhood, regardless of anyone’s immigration status, and we’re going to stay one neighborhood.’”
That is how Gabe Gonzalez, an organizer in Chicago’s Rogers Park, described how his neighborhood has responded to Trump’s immigration crackdown — both during his first administration and throughout the first months of his current one.
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year, I gave the keynote at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s annual MLK Day breakfast. It was Inauguration Day. The contrast between the hope in that room and the fear outside — especially among Chicago’s immigrant communities — was sharp.
groups like Gabe Gonzalez’s have set up rapid response teams, legal observers, and know-your-rights trainings. In some cases, their efforts have stopped ICE in its tracks.
The cruelty of these raids is matched only by their chaos. ICE has arrested green card holders. Detained U.S. citizens. Deported people who know the U.S. as their only real home to countries they barely remember — or had fled for safety. All of this is meant to send a message: No one is safe.
The message is loud. And so is the silence that often follows it.
It also could be about to get even more dangerous. The Republican budget bill moving through Congress would supercharge ICE with $80 billion in new funding. More agents. Fewer guardrails. And a leadership culture that seems more interested in punishment than justice.
Guest Columnist
Reports had already confirmed that Donald Trump’s new administration would make Chicago ground zero for an intense national sweep by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Raids were imminent.
Ben Jealous
The mass day-one sweep did not materialize quite as advertised by Trump’s border czar Tom Homan. But thousands of people were still swept up across the country that first week of the current Trump administration. The fear these actions are still creating is very real. And for good reason.
Since then, the Trump administration’s deportation campaign has spread. What started in Chicago has become a national scourge. Families are being separated from Denver to Worcester. Parents arrested in front of their children. Kids coming home from school to find their homes ransacked and caregivers gone.
When armed agents grab someone without a warrant, haul them away from their family, and disappear without explanation — that is not just cruel. It is lawless. That is why community
By Marc Morial
Charlie Rangel wasn’t just a congressman — he was a statesman in every sense of the word. His impact stretched far beyond Harlem, far beyond New York — into the very heart of American politics.
— Rev. Michael Faulkner
As then-U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel waited to receive an award at a National Urban League Legislative Policy Conference, a staff member introduced herself as one of his constituents.
“Why, then, you’re the most important person in the world!” Rangel responded. It was no exaggeration. Throughout his astounding 46 years in the House of Representatives, Rangel advocated fiercely for the diverse communities in his New York City district, including the National Urban League’s new headquarters in Harlem.
The Federal Empowerment Zone project he spearheaded was instrumental in revitalizing urban neighborhoods across the nation. The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit legislation he authored financed the majority of affordable housing built over a decade. He also championed the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which created employment opportunities for thousands of young people, veterans, and ex-offenders.
were included on then-President Richard Nixon’s infamous master list of political enemies.
Within 10 years, membership had more than doubled to 26. Today, there are 62 members, including the highest-ranking Democrat House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.”
Rangel’s astounding political career sprang from unlikely beginnings. He described himself as “a fatherless high school dropout,” seldom speaking of the abuse he witnessed as a child. “It’s a very painful period,” he once said. “It is too unpleasant to me to open the door to it myself.” His enlistment in the Army at the age of 18 changed the course of his life. He downplayed his heroism during the Korean War, where he earned A Bronze Star and Purple Heart for leading 40 soldiers from behind enemy lines, despite being wounded.
A founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, he blazed a trail as the first Black chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.
Such was his commitment to his constituents that he risked reelection to defy his own party when he felt their interests were at risk.
Known as “the Lion of Lenox” — after Harlem’s main thoroughfare — Rangel was the last surviving member of the “elder statesmen” of Harlem known as the Gang of Four, along with David N. Dinkins, the first Black New York City mayor; Manhattan Borough President Percy E. Sutton; and New York State Senator and Secretary of State Basil A. Paterson.
When Rangel helped found the Congressional Black Caucus in 1971, there were just 12 members, including such icons as John Conyers. All of them
Availing himself of the G.I. Bill, Rangel graduated from New York University in 1957, earning a full scholarship to St. John’s University School of Law in 1960. He quickly became involved in civil rights activism and was appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York by U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy in 1961.
At the National Urban League’s Centennial Conference in 2010, Rangel described his experience marching in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery protests with his signature self-mocking humor:
“I didn’t go down there to march,” he said. “I went down there to get my picture took. But I got caught up in it. I thought I’d go a couple of miles and get a cab. I’d never been to Selma before, and I didn’t know. And so it became impossible for me to use my ticket home. And so for five days and 54 miles, I cursed every step of the way until it was over. And I realized that those people that I was marching with did not know it, nor did I, but at that time they were making history.” He continued to make history for the next 60 years, inspiring a generation of activists and advocates who carry his legacy forward.
Marc Morial is National Urban League president and CEO
STAFF
And the strategy is broader than immigration. This is a movement that spreads fear, then exploits that fear to divide us — Black from brown, citizen from immigrant, neighbor from neighbor.
This fight is about more than policy. It is about who we are. It is about remembering that every person — no matter where they were born — deserves dignity. Deserves due process. Deserves safety.
The poem engraved on the base of the Statue of Liberty reads “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” It makes no mention of any race, religion, or country of origin.
It speaks to immigration making our country what it is. Making us what Frederick Douglass called the most “perfect national illustration of the unity and dignity of the human family that the world has ever seen.”
All of us must respond as if it were happening to us — because one day, it could be.
It means calling this what it is — immoral, unjust, and defiantly at odds with the real American way.
Ben Jealous is the executive director of the Sierra Club and a professor of practice at the University of Pennsylvania.
The fifth class of the Red Tail Cadet Program was its first all-female cohort, and the young ladies were officially inducted on June 5, 2025.
Historic Red Tail Cadets cohort inducted on June 5
St. Louis American
Six young women from the Ferguson-Florissant School District took a historic flight on Thursday June 5, 2025, when they were inducted into the fifth class of the Red Tail Cadet Program (RTCP).
This year’s cohort marks a historic milestone as the first all-female class, and its members completed the program’s six-week aviation and leadership training experience.
The respective 10th and 11th grade students were selected through a competitive application process that assessed their academic excellence, leadership promise, and commitment to personal growth.
The all-girls cohort carries forward the legacy of pioneering women in aviation—from Bessie Coleman to the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP.)
The cadets will take flight as the next genera-
tion of innovators and leaders. Through immersive flight simulator sessions, in-aircraft training, financial literacy workshops, and leadership development, the RTCP offers students more than aviation skills—it provides a launchpad for lifelong achievement and influence.
The Red Tail Cadet Program honors the heroic legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen by providing underrepresented youth with access to aviation education and career development. With a mission to empower students and foster community impact, RTCP equips cadets with the confidence, discipline, and leadership skills needed to soar—in the skies and in life
The program is made possible by the continued support of The Crossing, a non-denominational church with four St. Louis area campuses, Elite Aviation, Boeing, The Mann Family Foundation, Spirit Jets, Holland Law Firm, and the FergusonFlorissant School District.
Advice for young graduates
By Marian Wright Edelman
I hope many of today’s high school and university graduates will wander off the beaten career path and help redefine success in our culture, asking not “How much can I get?” but “How much can I do without and share?” Asking not “How can I find myself?” but “How can I lose myself in service to others and leave our nation and world better than I found it?”
I’m sharing some lessons for life I offered my own children and many of the extraordinary young graduates I’ve had the privilege of meeting over the years. The pace of change in the world young people are inheriting continues to accelerate exponentially, but there are some enduring values and advice older people can share.
I agree with Archibald MacLeish that “there is only one thing more powerful than learning from experience and that is not learning from experience.”
Here are a few of those lessons:
• Don’t feel entitled to anything you don’t sweat and struggle for. Take the initiative in creating your own opportunity, and don’t wait for other people to discover you or do you a favor. Don’t ever stop learning and improving your mind.
• Set thoughtful goals and work quietly and systematically toward them. Resist quick fixes, simplistic answers, and easy gains. They often disappear just as quickly as they come.
• Assign yourself. My daddy used to ask us whether the teacher gave us any homework. If we said no, he’d say, “Well, assign yourself.” Don’t wait around for your boss or your friends or spouse to direct you to do what you are able to figure out and do for yourself.
• Never work just for money. Money alone won’t save your soul or build a decent family or help you sleep at night. Don’t confuse wealth or fame with character. Don’t tolerate or condone moral corruption, whether it’s found in high or low places, whatever its color or class.
• Don’t be afraid of taking risks or of being criticized. If you don’t want to be criticized, don’t say anything, do anything, or be anything. Don’t be afraid of failing.
• Always listen for the genuine within yourself. “Small,” Einstein said, “is the number of them that see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.” Try to be one of them. And a final lesson: Never think life is not worth living or that you cannot make a difference. Never give up — no matter how hard it gets, and it will get hard sometimes. An old proverb says that when you get to your wit’s end, that’s where God lives.
Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” said when you get into a “tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and the time that the tide will turn.”
The tide will turn — if you dream it, if you believe in it, if you have faith in it, struggle for it, and never give up.
Marian Wright Edelman is founder and president emerita of the Children’s Defense Fund.
Photo courtesy of Ferguson-Florissant School District
Marian Wright Edelman
Continued from A1
Employment Connection. Once the application is ready, it will be presented to the Housing, Urban Development, and Zoning Committee for review.”
Mayor Cara Spencer announced at a Monday press conference that $5 million from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act fund will be used to help stabilize homes.
As neighborhoods have been surveyed the number of damaged homes and buildings has topped 10,000.
“We know we’ve got to get these funds out as quickly as possible to really help ensure that residents can stabilize buildings that are badly compromised,” Spencer said. “We want to make sure that in deploying these funds, we’re able to protect those buildings for the duration of time it’s going to take to really get them rehabilitated.”
Meanwhile, community members, dedicated volunteers, and advocates are pooling their resources and sharing crucial insights to address the disaster relief efforts. A particularly pressing need that has emerged is housing and rental assistance for those affected. Residents are shuffling quickly to support these individuals and families as they work to rebuild their lives.
John Bowman, president of St. Louis County NAACP, says the deadly tornado held up a mirror to the region’s “face,” highlighting just how disenfranchised Black neighborhoods are in the city. He believes that during segregation, Black communities demonstrated considerable strength and progress by establishing their own educational institutions, cultivating professionals and leaders, and developing successful community businesses.
“However, the econom-
ic prosperity and resources within these communities seemingly became targets for white America, potentially leading to their assimilation for financial gain,” Bowman said, pointing out the destruction of decades of disinvestment in Black neighborhoods. “The infrastructure and self-sufficiency of Black communities began to decline, and the perceived necessity for harmony diminished, contributing to the creation of St. Louis’s Delmar Divide.” The Delmar Divide has caused continuous disinvestment and resulted in ongoing economic neglect and significant disparities
in predominantly Black neighborhoods. Executive Director of Metropolitan Congregations United, Demarco Davidson, pointed out that the tornado gave people a better understanding of the divide. He feels that one of the big issues is that many of the vacant homes in these areas have absentee owners.
“These properties have become blighted and the structures have become unstable,” said Davidson. “The condition of the roofs and tuck pointing of the walls was already in horrible condition. The intentional divestment or
the sabotage of investment in the North Side amplified the devastation of the community.”
To help address the emerging housing and rental crisis the tornado has caused, Bowman suggests that FEMA collaborate with federal, state, and local agencies throughout the entire disaster management process. He urges cooperation between all three entities to mitigate the impacts of climate change, air, water, and soil quality.
“FEMA must take seriously its responsibility to uphold civil rights protections for Black communities during disaster response and recovery,” he said. Historical data indicate that disaster recovery efforts have often exacerbated existing racial economic dispari-
ties. People of color tend to experience greater losses from natural disasters, receive less support, suffer more significant wealth declines, and face longer recovery times.
Harvard Kennedy School Review shows that in counties where significant disasters have occurred, Black disaster survivors experience a decrease in wealth, while White survivors experience an increase. Specifically, Black survivors see an average decrease of $27,000 in wealth, while White survivors see an average increase of $126,000.
This disparity highlights how disaster aid and recovery efforts may not be equitably distributed, contributing to existing racial wealth gaps. Davidson says this
is where the city, state, and federal government can restore people’s hope and the relevancy of government itself by showing compassion and some form of compensation for restoration.
However, through the destruction and devastation, Bowman and Davidson have not lost hope. Grassroots organizations such as Actions St. Louis and For The Culture St. Louis, dedicated volunteers have shown St. Louis’ humanity for others. “The empathy and service to others I have witnessed are invaluable,” Bowman proudly said. Davidson said, “Seeing everyday working class people who are usually focusing on one area of the city or one demographic in the city, is an incredible and beautiful sight.”
Cote Brilliante Presbyterian Church on Labadie Avenue suffered catastrophic damage after an EF3 tornado ripped through parts of North St. Louis Friday, May 16, 2025. Most of its roof is gone and people can see into the sanctuary after a two-story window was blown out. The church is considering demolishing the structure and rebuilding.
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
June Programs at the Missouri History Museum
By the Missouri Historical Society
Throughout the month of June, the Missouri History Museum will host a wide variety of programs for all ages, with a special focus on Black joy and freedom.
The Collective STL will present “Just Breathe,” an intergenerational summer wellness experience, every Wednesday evening in June from 6pm to 8pm. Participate in an all-levels yoga class and enjoy music, light food, and time with community on the Margaret and Edward Imo Family Plaza.
On Wednesday and Friday mornings, the Summer Family Fun Series offers a variety of family activities, including crafts, performances, and scavenger hunts on Wednesdays. Return on Fridays for Storytelling in the Museum and Cuentos en el Museo programs at 10:30am, followed by a drop-in craft workshop. The Summer Family Fun Series runs through July and is geared toward children ages 2–12.
Themes for June include “Soul Food Summer” (June 6), “Transportation: Things That Go!” (June 11), “Caribbean American Heritage Month” (June 13), “Black Freedom Celebration” (June 18), “Juneteenth” (June 20),
“Joyful
“History Clubhouse’s 10th Birthday” (June 25), and “LGBTQ Pride Month” (June 27). Visit mohistory. org/events for more information.
“Black Freedom Celebration” on June 18 (10am–1pm) will be an especially festive day of culture, history, and joy. Featured activities and presentations include a special large-scale interactive Step into the Story program, an African headwrap wellness experience, Juneteenth-inspired face painting and airbrush tattoos, an interactive Afrofusion performance by Beyond Measure Dance Theater and AfroKuumba,
a kid-friendly dance party, and more.
On Sunday, June 8, enjoy a live concert by the Legend Singers as they close out their 84th season. Celebrate Black Music Month and honor Black musicians, journeying through time from the 18th century to the present day with a spotlight on music performed by duos and trios. This all-ages concert takes place from 2pm to 4pm in the Lee Auditorium.
A daytime program on June 17 features the Art and Empowerment Mural At 11am, join the Museum and Better Family Life Inc. for a discussion about the
THE FUTURE OF ST. LOUIS STA R TS WITH SLDC.
is
largest Black history mural in Missouri, conceived by DeBorah and Malik Ahmed.
The highlight of the month will take place on Thursday, June 19: “Joyful Juneteenth: An Evening of Performances” (5–8pm). Have a joyful Juneteenth celebration on the Edward and Margaret Imo Family Plaza with an evening of performances highlighting the beauty of Black American culture. Enjoy spoken word by InnerGy, live music by a Georgia Mae Ensemble, a vocal performance by artist Aida Ade, and an exciting step performance by Gentlemen of Vision. The evening will start with a happy hour at 5pm filled with traditional African American games including spades, dominoes, and Uno. Food and drink will be available for purchase, and local community and Blackcentered organizations will host resource tables.
Juneteenth is also opening day for a new exhibit at Soldiers Memorial Military Museum in downtown St. Louis, Tuskegee Airmen: America’s Freedom Flyers. Over 100 panels and artifacts tell the enduring, inspirational story of Tuskegee Airmen from around the world who fought for the right to defend freedom.
SLDC is the independent economic development agency serving the City of St. Louis, Missouri. It is an action-oriented organization that exists to empower, develop and transform St. Louis through a vibrant, just and growing economy where all people can thrive.
The exhibit explores the stories of men and women who were fighting for a double victory—one against hate and discrimination in the US, one against the Axis powers of World War II. Stories of heroes like Wendell Pruitt, Benjamin O. Davis, Hugh White, Charles Hall, Margaret F. Barbour, and many others will inspire and motivate visitors of all ages. Additionally, in the “Hometown Heroes” section of the exhibition, visitors will discover the heroic and inspirational stories of some of the 92 St. Louisans who bravely served in this historic unit, including James L. McCullin Jr., George H. Carper II, and Lewis J. Lynch, among others.
On June 19, meet at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park to hop on a free shuttle to Soldiers Memorial for an exclusive first look at the exhibit. Shuttles are available at 2:30pm, 3:30pm, and 4:30pm. The last shuttle will return to the Museum in time to enjoy the concert, which begins at 6:30pm. Register at mohistory.org/events/ tuskegee-airmen-shuttle. Running through November 2, 2025, Tuskegee Airmen: America’s Freedom Flyers is an exhibition of Nolaworld, LLC, in collaboration with the Hugh J. White Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen Inc. Visit mohistory.org/ events for more information about these programs and more.
Juneteenth: An Evening of Performances”
part of the Thursday Nights at the Museum series, presented by WashU.
Jack and Jill
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Foundation, $8,000; Loyola Academy, $11,000; March of Dimes, St. Louis$2,500; Sibling Support Network, $2,000; St. Louis Food Bank, $1,500; Ujima STL, $1,500; and seed money for the 2026 Hearts in Harmony fundraiser, $1,000.
Jack and Jill of America, Inc., is a membership organization of mothers with children ages 2 –19, dedicated to nurturing future African American leaders by strengthening children through leadership development, volunteer service, philanthropic giving, and civic duty.
“Instilling leadership is at the heart of the St. Louis Chapter of Jack and Jill. Our programming includes
Rights
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had about 120,000, the city accounted for almost 98,000 and Jefferson County represented about 60,000 “yes” votes.
Yet, in less than six months after the passage of Amendment 3, the Missouri House gave firstround approval to putting abortion rights back on the ballot. House Joint Resolution 73 (HJR 73), which passed the House in mid-April, is a measure that seeks to undo protections for reproductive rights.
“It protects women,” said Rep. Brian Seitz, a Republican from Branson. “What Amendment 3 took away from them, this legislation seeks to restore.”
Opponents of placing the initiative on the November 2026 general election ballot say it will give voters the right to amend the state constitution and put a near-total
monthly leadership and financial literacy activities, which are planned by our dedicated members,” said Rhone.
“These sessions are more than events, they’re leadership labs where our children develop essential skills like public speaking, budget creation and management, and community service. We’re not just preparing them for the future, we’re raising confident, capable leaders ready to shape it.”
Rhone said she joined the chapter in 2011 and “and the evolution has been remarkable.”
“This year, we reached a new milestone by raising the most funds in our chapter’s history. What hasn’t changed is our commitment to excellence, but what has grown is our impact,” she said.
The St. Louis chapter added15 new members ini-
ban on most abortions.
The resolution, which passed with a 94-50 vote, aims to eliminate access to abortion in all pregnancies except in cases of rape, incest, medical emergencies, or fetal anomalies.
Rep. Raychel Proudie, a Democrat from Ferguson who challenged the notion that voters were uninformed said so in contentious debates on the House floor:
“I don’t know who we think we are to assume that the people did not know what they were voting for on the same day they voted for us,” Proudie argued.
“You wanna overturn the will of the people because you didn’t like the result?” Rep. Michael Burton, a Democrat from Lakeshire, asked GOP legislators.
Bridgette Dunlap, in a commentary for the Missouri Independent, phrased it more personally:
“The implication is that I, like all women, need to be protected from my
tiated last year, and it won the organization’s coveted award of recognition as a “Five-Star Chapter of Excellence”.
“Earning the “Five-Star Chapter of Excellence” status for the first time in our chapter’s 78-year history is a milestone we’re incredibly proud of, and it was truly a team effort,” said Rhone.
“This honor reflects our collective commitment to excellence across five key areas: Programming, Membership, Financials, Chapter Operations, and Fundraising/Community Support. Each member played a role in ensuring we not only met but exceeded expectations. For our chapter, this recognition affirms the strength of our foundation today and sets the standard for continued impact and leadership development in the future.”
choices about my family, life and health care. I also need to be protected from the vote that I cast in November to take away the state’s authority to make those decisions for me,” Dunlap wrote. “This is because I, like the majority of Missouri voters, lack the intelligence to have understood what I was voting for on a widely and fiercely debated issue.”
Tori Schafer, the director of policy and campaigns at the ACLU of Missouri defined HJR 73 as another misleading way to reinstate a total abortion ban.
“This deceptive amendment is a Trojan horse to reinstate Missouri’s total abortion ban and all the medically unnecessary restrictions that made access to abortion unattainable prior to the passage of the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative last November,” Schafer said, adding: “Missourians want honesty, respect, and access to
abortion but HJR 73 is the antithesis to all of these values.”
Meanwhile, while GOP legislators work to curtail reproductive rights next year, the Missouri Supreme Court just issued an order that basically results in a de facto abortion ban today.
Last week, the Court ordered a Jackson County judge to vacate her previous rulings that have allowed abortions to resume in the state. The order directed Jackson County Circuit Judge Jerri Zhang to “reevaluate” two of her rulings (in December and February respectively) that effectively allowed abortions to resume in the state.
Leaders of the state’s Planned Parenthood chapters said the order “puts our state back under a de facto abortion ban.”
A trial had been set for January 2026, but Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, asked the Missouri Supreme Court for an
order forcing Zhang to vacate her orders. On May 27, the Supreme Court ruled in the state’s favor.
The court’s decision, Bailey said in a press statement, was a “win for women and children.”
Proponents of abortion rights, however, say the court’s ruling also follows efforts in the Republican-controlled Legislature to repeal Amendment 3 at the ballot box.
Mallory Schwarz, director of Abortion Action Missouri, an abortion-rights group, said in a statement that Bailey and anti-abortion politicians have “weaponized our political system against Missourians.”
“Our coalition has dealt with setbacks like this before, and we know how to support people accessing care despite a hostile political environment,” Schwarz said. “This is not over,” she said, “and I’m confident that ultimately abortion
care will continue in Missouri.”
Schwarz isn’t the only reproductive rights advocate who sees an upside to recent legislative prolife activities. Yes, there may be another abortion ban on the ballot next year but there also might be a mid-term payback for right-leaning legislators who have defied the will of the people.
Sen. Tracy McCreery, D-St. Louis, speaking with the Missouri Independent, said, “If this was going to happen, attempting to undo the will of the voters relating to reproductive health care, I’m glad it’s happening now,” she said.
“It will allow grassroots people to hit the doors, educate people, that kind of thing. So, there definitely will be a campaign like no one has ever seen.”
Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.
Jack and Jill St. Louis presents one of several checks to St. Louis organizations serving the community on May 6, 2025. Left to Right: Jack and Jill St. Louis President Angela Rhone, Community Outreach Chair Keisha Ross Morrow, Teen President Nayla Johnson, Teen Foundation Chair Amelia Drake, Foundation Chair Creshuna Cade and Almost Home Executive Director Huvona Watkins.
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
Jasmine Crockett seeks powerful Democratic post
Wants to lead Oversight Committee
By Lauren Burke NNPA News Service
Texas Congresswoman
Jasmine Crockett, a native of the St. Louis region, is not blaming people who work for FEMA for the slow response to the May 16 tornado that swept through the St. Louis area.
She called FEMA workers “special people,” in an Instagram post this week, adding that FEMA isn’t showing up “not because people aren’t willing to show up,” but because the Trump Administration “fails to recognize what it is that they need to priori-
tize, which is the people.” Crockett also announced that she will attempt to be the Democratic leader of the House Oversight Committee, following the death of Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly died on May 21, after a battle with esophageal cancer.
The House Democratic Caucus would have back her, and Crockett says she understands the task with Republicans controlling the House and Senate. “I know that we’re behind — the first thing that you have to do is accept it. I get it. I get
it,” Crockett said on the Black Virginia News podcast from a Congressional Black Caucus session at
the U.S. Capitol. The discussion centered around the party’s messaging strategy and general failure to break through.
What has also been made clear at town halls is that constituents want their elected representatives to act with urgency in a fight with a presidential administration that has mandated unprecedented job cuts, caused economic uncertainty, and cuts to the federal workforce.
“Our country is in an existential crisis driven by an out-of-control Executive with a flagrant disregard for our Constitution, our way of governance, and our very way of life as citizens of a democratic republic.
The Administration has refused to respect congressional authority, abide by lawful judicial orders, or respond to public outrage,” Crockett wrote in wrote
UNITED WAY
in her letter to colleagues announcing her run to lead Oversight.
“The magnitude of these unprecedented times warrants resistance and tactics never before seen. We must pull back the curtain on the unmitigated chaos under Trump 2.0 and translate our findings to the American people in a way they can digest.”
Though President Trump’s approval numbers are nothing for The White House to celebrate — the Democrats are polling at a historic low with an NBC News poll revealing that the party has only a 27% positive view among registered voters.
The number was the lowest since 1990 since the poll was first conducted. Crockett was sworn in during January 2023. However, in her time in the office, she applied the party’s messaging in a
STRENGTHENS
Jasmine Crockett will seek the powerful post of leader of the Democratic House members on the Oversight Committee.
Photo courtesy of Jasmine Crockett’s Facebook page
way that fits contemporary technology.
Many political observers believe she represents the future as the party is criticized for being too quiet during a time of unprecedented action by the chief executive in The White House.
The congresswoman also mentioned her fundraising prowess among the Democratic Party, noting that she attended more than 100 events for Democrats during the 2024 election cycle and raised more than $4 million for the Democratic Campaign Congressional Committee.
“I was the 7th highest fundraising House Democrat for the first quarter of this year,” she wrote. “I am not only ready to meet the moment, but I am prepared to bring home wins for our Caucus, this great country, and the world.”
Crockett ran and won the long-held seat of Congressional Black Caucus veteran Eddie Bernice Johnson to represent Texas’s 30th congressional district. Johnson passed away in December 2023. The 44-year-old lawmaker and civil rights attorney served in the Texas legislature before coming to Congress.
Throughout 16 counties in Missouri and Illinois, we equip
nonprofits
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“By prioritizing those cases and by prosecuting those cases aggressively, we removed dangerous individuals from the street, and I know that work not only improved public safety but saved lives,” Gore said. Performance in the Gore
office has improved in many other ways, Gore said. It now takes an average of seven months for a case to move through the criminal justice system from charging to sentencing, down from 15 months during Gardner’s final year in office. Prosecutors now issue charges on most cases within 24 hours. The office has also restarted a diversion pro-
gram, which gives people facing low-level felonies the chance to avoid a criminal record. Although Gardner had championed a commitment to diversion, the program was “basically nonexistent,” Gore said.
Participation in treatment courts, which help address crimes driven by substance use disorder and other mental health issues, has also increased,
Gore said. And his office has started a drop-in center where individuals can take care of outstanding warrants.
“Rather than have that warrant hanging over their head, we give them the opportunity to come in and work with our office to resolve those warrants and address them in an appropriate way in court,” Gore said.
The center has served
more than 200 people since it opened in February.
But prosecutors in the office are still dealing with high caseloads. Members of the violent crime unit, for example, are handling about 80 cases, double the recommended number. Other units are also seeing elevated workloads, though not to that extent.
When Gore took
office, there were barely 20 trial attorneys. That number is now up to 48, and Gore said he expects it to be at 55 by the fall.
“We do believe that when we get to the level where we’re fully staffed at 60 attorneys, we will be functioning at a sustainable level,” he said. “It’s a concern, and it’s something that we’re working hard to address.”
‘Taking Care of You’
Low vaccination numbers lead to path for measles
Contraction rate is low – for now
Dr. Alex Garza, who vaccinated staff members at SSM St. Mary’s Hospital on Christmas Eve in 2020, now leads a reconvened task force educating the public about measles. He recommends full vaccination, including the Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccine.
By Ashley Winters
The St. Louis American
The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force has reconvened as a proactive measure as measles cases are growing nationwide, and include a few reported cases in Missouri.
While the Task Force is educating and informing the public about the measles virus, its symptoms, preventive measures, and how to manage suspected exposure, Dr. Alex Garza says the infectious disease potential is extremely low - for now.
“We have not seen any secondary cases from this initial case, meaning it does not appear that everyone is susceptible to the virus,” said Garza.
He suggests that individuals who are not immunized, and were exposed to measles, contracted the virus.
Although the city of St. Louis has a low rate of cases, “we are not neces-
sarily out of the woods.”
Immunization rates are below 95% in our region. This rate accompanied with the highly infectious nature of measles virus puts the St. Louis community at risk.
n Immunization rates are below 95% in our region. The highly infectious nature of the measles virus has put the St. Louis community at risk.
On Tuesday, Johns Hopkins University researchers released a county-level report that revealed a national decline in the Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccination rate among U.S. children since the start of the COVID19 pandemic. Out of 2,066 counties studies, 1,614
counties, or 78%, reported drops in vaccinations. The average county-level vaccination rate fell from 93.92% pre-pandemic to 91.26% post-pandemic—an average decline of 2.67%, moving further away from the 95% herd immunity threshold to predict or limit the spread of measles.
Only four of the 33 states studied— California, Connecticut, Maine, and New York—reported an increase in the median county-level vaccination rate.
Nationally, 92.9% of non-Hispanic African Americans ages 13 to 17 have received the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccination, which is compared to 92.8% of white Americans, according to the U.S. Office of Minority Health.
The rate falls to 88.8% for Black children under six years old, while the rate of MMR vaccination for white
See MEASLES, A13
Black-led community solutions must emerge
By Erica R. Williams
Food insecurity is widely considered a national crisis in the United States, with the latest numbers from the USDA suggesting that more than 44 million Americans, including 13 million children, live in food-insecure households.
Food insecurity is linked to chronic diseases, mental health issues, and poor childhood development and academic performance—and communities of color are among the hardest hit.
n Food insecurity is linked to chronic diseases, mental health issues, and poor childhood development and academic performance.
As founder and executive director of A Red Circle, a nonprofit based in North St. Louis County, I work with the organization to address racial and economic disparities in historically underserved communities, with a mission centered on food access, education, community wellness, and the arts. With SNAP cuts looming and grocery prices surging, I am advocating for community-centric policies that address the nation’s food insecurity crisis at the local level. The House-passed Republican reconciliation plan would cut nearly $300 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through 2034, based on Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates — by far the largest cut to SNAP in history. The bill, which is now being debated by the U.S. Senate, reduces the federal contribution to states’ SNAP programs, cutting federal funding for food benefits in a state by as much as 25%, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. It would cut the federal share of
See WILLIAMS, A13
COVID is still a risk for Black community
By Jennifer Porter Gore Word in Black
The data doesn’t lie.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Black people made up around 18% of all cases — and two out of every 10 deaths — despite being just 13% of the U.S. population. Black children who became infected were twice as likely as white kids to require hospitalization, and were more than five times as likely to be admitted to intensive care for treatment. Meanwhile, Black women are nearly three times more likely to die during childbirth than white women, one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world.
Yet Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced last week that he would end
Especially among pregnant women
the government’s recommendation that children and healthy pregnant women get vaccinated for COVID19 — despite clear evidence of the harm it would do to millions, especially the Black community.
In a video posted on social media, Kennedy said he removed COVID-19 shots from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations for those groups.
The announcement, which Kennedy said will appear in the CDC’s recommended vaccine schedule, comes one week after health officials from the Food and Drug Administration announced a decrease in the number of people who will have access to this year’s updated COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Amanda Williams
The agency plans to limit the vaccine eligibility to adults 65 and older and individuals who have health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, cancer, and several others.
The Trump administration officials argue that data show these are “high-risk” groups.
But pregnancy and infancy are also considered risk factors for severe COVID19, which led doctors and healthcare advocates to condemn these decisions. They expressed concern that this apparently arbitrary decision will cause undue harm.
“COVID-19’s impact on pregnancy is deeply personal to me,” Dr. Amanda Williams, interim chief medical officer with the nonprofit March of Dimes, said in a statement.
“During the height of the pandemic, I cared for a healthy patient who was 32 weeks pregnant and tragically died from COVID-19 despite state-of-the-art medical care.”
Williams added further detail to the story.
“One of her last words was that she wished she had taken the vaccine,” she said.
“As a Black woman and physician, I deeply understand the mistrust many feel toward the health system. But the science is clear and has not changed. Pregnant people are at higher risk for severe illness and complications from COVID-19, and vaccination significantly reduces these risks. This underscores the importance of combining compassionate and patient-centered care with evidence-based recommendations to protect both moms and babies.”
Erica R. Williams
Photo courtesy of SSM Health
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children is 92.2%.
Experts say the vulnerable populations, such as the young and immunocompromised, are at a heightened risk.
Garza added that the city population has a relatively low vaccination rate for measles. With more cases occurring around the country, there is a potential that the St. Louis region will see more cases in the metro area in the future.
According to Garza, the measles virus is considered one of, if not the most infectious, virus in the world. It has an infection rate of more than 90%, meaning that if one infected person enters a room with 10 unvaccinated people, nine out of 10 will contract measles.
“You can see why it is so important to identify cases, and the people exposed,” he said.
Garza recommends being fully vaccinated. The measles vaccine has been used for decades and is extremely safe and effective–and a single dose of the MMR vaccine gives someone 93% protection against the measles, and the recommended two-shot series gives you 97% protection.
The Task Force consists of area hospital systems and public health department leaders. Health care systems work together with public health departments and coordinate with elected leaders and state and federal agencies when needed for the public health and safety of the region.
Garza said regional healthcare providers “Have
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Black people infected with COVID-19 have worse health outcomes than whites, and are significantly less likely to have access to the vaccine — access that will be even more restricted if the vaccine is no longer recommended to pregnant
Williams
Continued from A12 states’ administrative costs in half, and shift those costs to state budgets.
“When a state doesn’t have sufficient revenues to backfill for these large federal cuts totaling billions nationally, it will have to shift funds from other vital public services, choose how to cut SNAP benefits and restrict the number of people getting help, or opt out of having a SNAP program entirely,” the CBPP said in a release.
Access to fresh, healthy food is not a privilege—it’s a right. When national systems fall short, local communities must lead.
Red Circle has implemented impactful policies in Ferguson, Missouri, that can be adapted for other local communities around the country, including:
Good Food Fridays – Weekly produce distribution with nutrition education, bridging gaps left by SNAP cuts and school meal rollbacks.
People’s Harvest – A Black-led grocery and food production kitchen in development, designed to
been working together with our partners in public health through the old Pandemic Task Force structure to make sure that everyone understands what to look for, who to contact, what testing needs to take place, protocols for handling patients, as well as public messaging.”
Garza believes getting this information out is imperative for the health
women and Black children. As of 2022, the most recent data available, only 40.5% of Black children aged 5 to 11 and 63.2% of Black adolescents aged 12–17 had received a COVID-19 vaccine.
The situation was worse for adults: only 8% of Black adults had received the updated COVID-19 vaccine, compared to 15% of white adults, according to CDC data from
of the city. The nature of how measles spread is what makes it so threatening.
According to Garza, the virus has an incubation period, meaning from the time someone is exposed until they start having symptoms, of around six to 21 days.
The initial cold-like symptoms typically appear between five and seven days after initial exposure
November 2023. The infection rate was three times higher and death rates six times higher in predominantly Black U.S counties compared to predominantly white counties.
Dr. Steven J. Fleischman, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said in a May 27 statement that “the science has not
to the measles virus, but it can sometimes take 21 days for symptoms to appear. He says that within three to four days of those first symptoms, patients will develop the characteristic measles rash, which usually starts at the head before moving downward to the extremities.
“The rash has a distinctive pattern of flat red spots with some raised
changed. It is very clear that COVID-19 infection during pregnancy can be catastrophic and lead to major disability, and it can cause devastating consequences for families.”
Moreover, Kennedy’s move “could strip families of choice,” Dr. Sean T. O’Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases, said in
bumps, something called a maculopapular rash if you hear that word,” Garza said. Some cases have shown individuals developing small spots inside their mouth before the appearance of a rash. People with measles are typically contagious four days before the rash appears until approximately four days after the rash has gone away. “If you think you have measles or have been exposed to measles and are not immune (not vaccinated). Go to urgent care or the emergency department first so they know you are coming and can take the appropriate precautions to protect other people who may be susceptible, like those immunocompromised patients.”
a statement. “Those who want to vaccinate may no longer be able to, as the implications for insurance coverage and access remain unclear.”
What’s clear, he said, “is that pregnant women, infants and young children are at higher risk of hospitalization from COVID, and the safety of the COVID vaccine has been widely demonstrated.”
The AAP’s analysis of
bring affordable produce to food deserts while supporting Black food entrepreneurs. Red Circle Farmhouse – A food justice hub, teaching farm, and agritourism site offering
workshops, youth internships, and farm-totable education. I was a recent co-author of “Food Pricing and Consumer Choice: Recommendations for Improving Affordability
for Fresh Produce in Missouri,” a peer-reviewed policy brief published in April in the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. It details these five
food policy recommendations:
HHS data found that more than 11,000 children were admitted to the hospital with COVID during the current respiratory virus season. More than 7,700 of those children were younger than 5 years old. Between October 2022 and April 2024, 41% of children ages 6 months to 17 years hospitalized with COVID did not have a known underlying condition.
1. Expand BroadBased Categorical Eligibility (BBCE) for SNAP – Allow more lowincome families to qualify, easing administrative burden and reducing churn.
2. Fund and expand Double Up Food Bucks –Match every SNAP dollar spent on produce, driving access and demand.
3. Provide grants for local food infrastructure –Support urban farms, cold storage, and cooperative grocery facilities.
4. Support nutrition education – Teach cooking and healthy shopping through community-based programs.
5. Ensure fair compensation for farmers – Create equity-based pricing to help small and minority farmers thrive.
It’s not just about the food—the physical food—that people are able to enjoy for their bodies, but it’s about knowing that they belong in that type of environment. One thing we try to stress is that everyone belongs in the good food system. Everyone belongs.
Erica R. Williams is the founder and executive director of A Red Circle, a nonprofit that works for community betterment in North St. Louis County. Williams holds a BA in Paralegal Studies and an MBA, both from Maryville University.
Work requirements could push thousands of Missourians off Medicaid
By Clara Bates Missouri Independent
Over 90,000 Missourians could lose their Medicaid coverage under a proposal by Congressional Republicans to implement work requirements, according to a pair of recent studies of the plan.
A Republican reconciliation bill still being negotiated in the U.S. House contains various proposed changes to Medicaid — among them work reporting requirements — to pay for an extension of President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts. A preliminary Congressional Budget Office estimate found over 8 million people nationally could lose coverage under the House legislation.
The work requirements would apply to adults on Medicaid between ages 19 and 64, requiring them to report at least 80 hours of work per month or qualify for an exception. The exemptions include people with disabilities, caregivers and pregnant participants.
A report from the Urban Institute and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation published last month found between 84,000 and 96,000 Missourians ages 19 to 64 could lose coverage under the plan. Another report, from the left-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities published last week, estimated a reduction of 91,000 Missourians.
The CBPP analysis found that although 28% of Missouri Medicaid participants in the adult-expansion group could lose coverage, only 8% didn’t work in the last year and don’t qualify for an exemption — meaning thousands of eligible participants would lose coverage.
Work requirements in
the current version of the legislation would go into effect in 2029, though there are reports Republicans are considering moving up the timeline. States would be required to monitor compliance and ensure those with exceptions don’t get kicked off. Participants would need to navigate red tape to prove they’re working or exempt.
New bureaucratic hurdles could prove especially prob-
lematic in Missouri, which has historically fared poorly with administration of its public assistance programs. Missouri’s social services agency has struggled to meet federal standards for processing Medicaid applications and is being sued for its administration of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Administrative issues — such as long call center wait times, application delays and paper-
The Medicaid work requirement being pushed by many Republicans in the House and Senate could mean that up to 96,000 Missourians ages 19 to 64 could lose coverage.
Photo courtesy of TheArc.org
adults on Medicaid are already working or would qualify for an exception, but work reporting requirements would cause many to fall through the cracks, experts say, including lowwage workers with unpredictable hours. Opponents of work requirements also say Medicaid is a crucial safety net for workers who are laid-off or fired for reasons beyond their control and lose employer-sponsored health care.
U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley has been a vocal opponent of Medicaid cuts but has said he is supportive of work requirements.
“Listen, if you want to do work requirements, I’m all for that,” he told CNN last week. “I bet every Republican, and I bet most Americans would agree with that.”
Arkansas was the first state to adopt Medicaid work requirements in 2018. Until a court halted the program in 2019, over 18,000 people lost coverage, many of whom didn’t know about exemptions or couldn’t navigate the red tape. Studies found Arkansas’ policy didn’t result in increased employment.
work issues — routinely cause Missourians who are eligible for benefits to be incorrectly booted from benefit programs.
At a legislative hearing for a proposed work requirement in Missouri earlier this year, opponents said work requirements on Medicaid would only exacerbate the social service agency’s call center wait times and staffing issues.
One in five Missourians is enrolled on Medicaid. Most
Georgia’s Medicaid work requirement program has been mired in technical issues, ProPublica has reported, and the increased requirements for state employees to verify work status have proven onerous and expensive.
Other proposed Medicaid changes in the U.S. House budget include more frequent eligibility checks, out-of-pocket copays for some enrollees and freezing the tax states levy on providers to help fund the program.
The federal budget bill is expected to continue being negotiated in the coming weeks.
‘I
think this is the time to stay’
Realtor volunteers in tornado recovery to help his neighbors
Hibbler, president of Flip, U.S.A. LLC (center), advises tornado victims to be patient, wait for recovery assistance and try to remain in their homes.
By Chris King Special to the American
Derrick Hibbler, president of Flip, U.S.A. LLC, is uniquely qualified to comment on tornado recovery in North St. Louis from the perspective of real estate. He grew up hanging out in what is now a disaster zone so he has deep personal connections to the people and places that were impacted. Now he owns a company that invests in improving buildings in these neighborhoods to foster homeownership and to provide decent rental opportunities.
Seven buildings he owns were severely damaged by the tornado, three of them demolished, though none was inhabited.
“I buy, renovate, sell, and lease homes in the North City area, and I’ve been doing it for 20 years now,” Hibbler said. “I kind of have a heart for it.” He has a bias toward wanting to stabilize the impacted areas and see them rebound – to the benefit of the people who lived in these neighborhoods before the storm hit and who are suffering now. Further, he and his workers have been volunteering to aid in recovery efforts, working side by side with the residents they support. Hibbler has advice that may be hard to hear by people who are living in disaster conditions: stay where you are.
“If you can save your house, do whatever you can to stay there, because there’s going to be an opportunity in
the next year or two to take advantage of some new development,” Hibbler said. “That’s gonna come around. Educate yourself on a lot of the programs that are going to come down to assist. I tell people to not jump the gun and don’t think that the help isn›t coming.”
He speaks from 20 years of experience in the real estate business, mostly in the side of the industry that buys to renovate and resell – to flip – the property, hence his company name, Flip, U.S.A.
Hibbler encourages homeowners with insurance not to take the bait when insurers offer early rushed pay-outs, as he said is starting to happen. The first offer, he advised, is seldom the best offer.
See TORNADO, B2
Black economic non-profits under DEI fire
By Leah Mallory New York Amsterdam News
President Donald Trump has targeted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs, signing several executive orders to ban DEI initiatives at federal agencies and businesses, and has even threatened to withdraw federal funding from schools that do not remove their DEI programs.
At the local level, nonprofit organizations that engage in DEI or racial justice programming are concerned that the administration will come for them next.
“I don’t want to really think about the adverse impact that could happen, but sadly, if we lost all of our funding, obviously, we would have to close our doors,” said Lisa Ranglin, founder of RIBBA, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating the wealth gap in Rhode Island through workforce development, job training, increasing access to capital and other resources.
To maintain their tax-exempt status, nonprofits require federal approval from the IRS. Some organizations even receive government funding to carry out their programming.
RIBBA receives federal funding
Some face closure
and is tax-exempt, so they frequently communicate with federal agencies.
Langlin said that in December, they stopped hearing from their points of contact at the Small Business Administration (SBA)
“E-mails that we’ve sent have gone unanswered because those people that we were interacting with initially are no longer employed,” she said. “So it is
Lisa Ranglin, founder of the Rhode Island Black Business Association, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating the wealth gap in Rhode Island, says a major funding cut could force them to shut its doors. It is essential that they keep their tax-exempt status.
very unsettling because it’s an unknown,” particularly in light of the mass layoffs of federal government employees.
Ranglin said that they have made small changes to prevent being targeted by the administration, but maintain their mission of mending economic disparity.
“Instead of saying the Rhode
See DEI, B2
Orvin Kimbrough releases his new book
Orvin (Orv) Kimbrough, an entrepreneur and advocate for underserved communities, has released his memoir, Twice Over a Man: A Fierce Memoir of an Orphan Boy Who Doggedly Determined a Finer Life.
Orvin Kimbrough
Kimbrough shares his journey from a childhood marked by foster care, abuse, and poverty to becoming a transformative leader in both the non-profit and corporate sectors.
The book is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold in hardcover, paperback, and audio exclusively on Audible.
Fadeyi a speaker at Wash U COO graduation
Oladipupo Fadeyi, who will attend Washington University in the fall after graduating from Hazelwood East, was a student speaker during Oladipupo Fadeyi
the Wash U College Prep Program graduation ceremony in Emerson Auditorium on May 4. “Engaging in open dialogue allowed me to broaden my understanding of the world and appreciate our collective diversity,” said Fadeyi, who wants to learn to design high-performance cars at the McKelvey School of Engineering. “I am truly grateful for the opportunity to learn from and with you.”
Quan Brown honored at JTC Academies
Quan Brown has been honored as “Educator and Teacher of the Year” at JTC Academies. Brown has served as a teacher, dean of students, and school principal, and is a co-founder of the Brown Book Collection, an initiative dedicated to enriching students’ lives through literature.
JTC is in Cahokia, Ill., and serves students in Illinois and Missouri who have IEPs and require intensive support for mental health and behavioral challenges.
Lincoln U names Adrian Petrescu SSI director
Adrian Petrescu
Lincoln University of Missouri has selected Adrian S. Petrescu, Ph.D., as the inaugural director of its new Security Sciences Institute. He brings more than four decades of experience in academia, government, and international affairs to Lincoln. The institute is accepting applications for its emergency medical technician (EMT), cybersecurity, geospatial information systems (GIS), and mental health for first responders certificate programs, with new cohorts beginning in the fall.
Petrescu will oversee the Lincoln University certificate programs and related activities, adding faculty as well as recruiting and advising students in the certificate programs.
Promotion, board appointment, new hire, award... please submit your People on the Move item (including photo) to areid@stlamerican.com.
Derrick
Photo by Justin Myleke Perkins
Photo courtesy of RIBBA
Quan Brown
Tornado
Continued from B1
“Some people are accepting checks, and they don’t know how to read the jargon, but it’s a huge dollar amount coming at them and they’re just taking it, because it’s a huge dollar amount,” Hibbler said. “But they’re not going to be able to finish their property with it.”
He speaks from his experience of renovating these same structures under circumstances much less traumatic than a tornado.
“You’re not repairing a roof that s been going bad for like 10 or 15 years. This is something that was ripped off,” Hibbler said. “So, there’s many layers to what’s going on with this – the brick that’s ripped off, there are many layers to what’s going on with the internal before you can even get out to the external.”
He sees the same
DEI
Continued from B1
Island Black Business Association, we’re just going by our acronym RIBBA,” she said. “But we are not moving away from our core work. The work that we do is in great demand. The work that we do for the people that are walking through our doors every day, they’re counting on us.”
Other organizations like the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey (AACCNJ) are advising constituents to get their assets in order.
“Business is a very serious engagement, and if you are on the margins,
dynamic with the people impacted just as with their buildings. People must reckon with external damage to their homes as well as internal psychological trauma that is likely to impact their decision making – and not for the better.
“It s sad, what s going on, but it’s gonna be a long road to recovery, and it’s gonna be more mental than financial. You’re gonna have people telling you to leave. The money is gonna tell you to leave. You’re going to have to
you can be hit with a tsunami and be wiped out. This is not the time to go at this alone,” said Dr. John E. Harmon, Sr., founder, president, and CEO of AACCNJ.
“So if you’re in business, this is not the time to say I don’t do politics, because if you don’t do politics, they’re gonna do you. So your relationships with government agencies, with legislators –– you need to shore that up.”
Attorneys like McGregor Smyth who is now the executive director of the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI), a community lawyering organization, suggest that nonprofits do internal assessments.
be mentally strong enough to stay and bear it out,” Hibbler said.
“You re gonna have to not listen to the talk. You’re gonna have to do whatever it takes to survive. You re gonna have to rebuild your life with what you have until the help comes. The mentally strong people are gonna win. Everybody else is going to take the easy dollar and get bought out.”
Though Hibbler now operates a small minority business enterprise, he speaks from the
“What you want to do right now as a nonprofit is to look at your internal policies and practices and make sure that they’re consistent with the current law,” he said. “Mostly around the anti-discrimination statute, because that’s the best way to protect your organization and to also engage in [your] mission when it’s justice and equity related.”
Ritu Mahajan Estes, the directing attorney of Public Counsel’s Community Development Project, which provides technical and legal assistance to nonprofits, said that despite the changes, civil rights law remains the same. So, for organizations struggling to reconcile the executive orders
perspective of having learned the industry from Clayton-based groups who competed with him and for a time recruited him to work for them.
“They took me under their wing,” he said. “It taught me a lot, and I met a lot of influential people.”
Hibbler’s work helping with the tornado recovery effort is just an intensification of what he already had been trying to do with Flip, U.S.A. There is added emotion as a result of the devastation of places dear to him.
with changes to their mission, she said they may find some legal protection in the equal opportunity laws.
“We still have the civil rights laws that we’ve had for decades that ensure that entities are not engaging in discrimination,” she said.
“A lot of our clients who are engaging in racial justice programming, they’re not doing anything unlawful. They’re not violating any laws. They’re not discriminating by having a mission that centers Black and Brown people, or talks about discrimination, or talks about how important it is to provide equal opportunity and avenues for people to succeed.”
But she emphasized that
Derrick Hibbler, president of Flip, U.S.A. LLC, has been renovating, selling, and leasing homes on the city’s northside for 20 years.
many efforts to provide food for people. Asked how a small business owner balances time spent volunteering with making money, Hibbler shrugged off the suggestion of a conflict.
“It’s kind of touching,” he said. “We hung out there as kids. I have friends that stay in the area. It’s a lot of their parents’ homes that we used to hang out in that were destroyed.”
Hibbler pitched in with two full crews, helping with the groundwork, helping people clear their streets and sidewalks. He brought equipment to help people clear garages that had been destroyed and to dump their damaged belongings. He also partnered in one of the
the programs need to be inclusive.
“You want to make sure that you are not making decisions about who to include in your classes based on protected categories, such as race or gender,” she said.
“You can do outreach in certain communities, but it’s important for you to make sure that people from different communities participate in your classes. You want to make sure that you’re not setting up programs where it’s only limited to certain groups.”
Ranglin said she is unconcerned about the legal risks, stating that RIBBA doesn’t exclude anyone from their programming.
“Right now, I just see the bigger need,” he said. “I’d rather see people in better conditions because I have done a little that I can and I have time to lend. And then a lot of my guys, my contractors, have big hearts as well. So, when I started helping, they started seeing me and started getting out there and doing stuff as well.”
Above all, Hibbler is working to keep people in their homes and neighborhoods.
“I m gonna keep on working down there to try to keep some people in their houses,” Hibbler said. “A lot of people are going to run to the county areas and get out. But I think that this is not the time to do that. I think this is the time to stay.”
“We’re open to the public, we don’t exclude anyone. All of our programs are open to the general public,” she said. “Anyone can sign up for a program, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation… So no, we’re not worried about anything as it relates to legal ramifications.” They are actively meeting with constituents to ensure they’re up to date with changes in the administration.
This story is part of the Digital Equity Local Voices Fellowship lab The lab initiative is made possible with support from Comcast NBCUniversal. This post appeared first in the New York Amsterdam News
Photo by Justin Myleke Perkins
n “You just asked me if I believe that he’s the right guy?
Yes. Come on.”
– New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson on coach Tom Thibodeau on Friday. Thibodeau was fired three days later.
InSIdE SportS
With Earl Austin Jr.
St. Louis area track teams triumph at state meet
It was a tremendous weekend for St. Louis area track and field teams at the large school Missouri state championships in Jefferson City. There were three area schools that brought home state team championships. Ladue’s girls won the Class 5 state championship while Festus won the girls’ Class 4 state title. In the boys’ Class 4 race, St. Louis teams swept the top three spots as Webster Groves won the state title, followed by Parkway Central and Parkway North.
Ladue won the Class 5 state championship in convincing fashion as they scored 81 points, which was 20 points ahead of their nearest competitor. The Rams were led by sprinters Delaney Brinker and Laila Murray in the sprints. Brinker won the 200- and 400-meter dashes while finishing second in the 100. She posted winning times of 23.72 in the 200 and 53.73 in the 400. Murray also finished second to Brinker in the 200 and 400 as the Rams racked up big points in those events. Ladue also won state titles in the 4x100- and 4x200-meter relays. In the field events, Zoey Brinker finished second in the high jump and sixth in the long jump.
The Festus girls continued the excellent tradition of track and field in the Jefferson County area by winning the Class 4 state title in a tight com-
petition with second-place MICDS. The Tigers scored 61 points while MiCDS finished with 56 points. Festus had one individual state champion in Rylie Moore in the javelin and the rest of the scoring came through several excellent finishes. Sprinter Jameishia Patterson finished fifth in the 100 and fourth in the 200. Jessica Hawkins finished fifth in the 100-meter high hurdles and third in the 300-meter low hurdles. Alexandra Yates was second in the pole vault while the Tigers were third in the 4x100, fifth in the 4x200 and third in the 4x400.
MICDS was led by sophomore standout Justyce Sanders, who won the 200 and finished second in the 400. She also anchored the Rams to a state title in the 4x400 in a winning time of 3 minutes 48.64 seconds. Nicole Green finished second in the triple jump and sixth in the long jump while Blaike Borders was fifth in the 400.
Webster Groves won its Class 5 state championship behind its outstanding work in the middle distance and distance events. The Statesmen placed three runners in the 800meter run with Colton Richardson finishing first, Joe Wetzel-Meehan in fourth and Henry Roland in fifth. Not surprisingly, the Statesmen also won the 4x800-meter relay. Corbin Cole won the 3,200 and finished second in the 1,600.
Cardinal Ritter junior Joquez
a winning time of 1:26.97. Osage
lane 1 (far right) Kearney was 7th at
More State Champions
Senior Kyndall Spain of Cardinal Ritter finished a stellar career by winning the 100-meter high hurdles and 300meter low hurdles. She posted winning times of 13.37 and 40.08. She is headed to South Carolina next season.
Henry Rohan of MICDS won the Class 4 state title in the 100. Omar Hussein of Summit won the Class 5 state title in the shot put. Tomas Forman of Francis Howell won the Class 5 state title in 300-meter intermediate hurdles while teammate
East St. Louis finishes second at IHSA State Meet
The East St. Louis Flyers were state runners-up at last weekend’s IHSA Class AA state championships in Charleston. The Flyers’ lone individual state champion was Shamond McClain in the triple jump. They also swept all three of the sprint relays as they won state titles in the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400. Darius Ivy also earned AllState medals by finishing fifth in the 400 and third in
SportS EyE
With Alvin A. Reid
the 800.
Earl’s World
I will be returning to the radio airwaves this weekend as the host of a new Saturday morning show, “The EA Experience” which will be on the new KLIS (Lou Information Station) on 590 from 9-11 a.m. We will be talking about a lot of sports at all levels with plenty of guests and banter from the fans. It should be a lot of fun. You can also catch the show On-Demand at LouInfo. com and on our YouTube page on Social Media. I want to send a Shout
Out to fellow McCluer North alum Eugene Peebles, who is an accomplished saxophone player. Last week, Eugene performed the national anthem before Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals game between the Pacers and Knicks in Indianapolis. Eugene and his “Talking Sax” also performed at an Indiana Fever game a few nights later. I can remember Eugene bringing the house down with his sax at our high school basketball games in the early 1980’s. He’s always been an amazing saxophone player, so it’s fun to see him still putting in his work.
Battlehawks are UFL’s brightest story as playoffs begin
While not reaching attendance levels of 2024, the St. Louis Battlehawks continue to be the shining star of the United Football League.
If you’ve attended a game at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, two things standout. Fans are having fun and there is a bevy of tailgaters and the merriment pregame.
The Battlehawks led the UFL with 29,867 fans per game, while the DC Defenders finished a distant second with just over 13,000 fans per game.
St. Louis and D.C. face off in the XFL Division championship game at 5 p.m. Sunday in St. Louis.
St. Louis enters the title game on a six-game winning streak and with a UFL-best 8-2 record. The streak includes a road win last week against the Defenders, in which both coaches rested several starters. If the Battlehawks top the Defenders, who beat them in the Dome earlier this season, they won’t leave St. Louis for the title game. The Michigan Panthers will play the host
Birmingham Stallions at 2 p.m. Sunday in the USFL Division title game. The division title winners will meet in the UFL Championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday June 14 in St. Louis. It was announced at midseason that St. Louis would host the title game, in part because 27,000 people showed up for last year’s title game even though the Battlehawks lost the previous week.
Four respective teams from the XFL and USFL merged into the current UFL, which played its first season last year.
“We’re incredibly grateful to be in this position, and we’re excited for [the XFL title] game in St. Louis,” head coach Anthony Becht said.
Not only are coaches, players, and fans happy –so are area sports bars.
I was picking up a carry out order last week in west St. Louis County and overheard managers planning to add staff for the Sunday XFL title game.
I inquired and was told “we have to prepare for Battlehawks’ games. We get a crowd.”
I doubt those words are being shared in the seven other UFL home cities. While St. Louis has soared in popularity, Memphis drew just over 1,400 fans per game.
In addition, TV ratings have not blossomed during the UFL’s second season. The question of league sustainability is still in the air, and the Memphis franchise is rumored to be in search of a new location.
But that should not take away from the Battlehawks’ accomplish-
ments and the fact that they have found a true home in St. Louis.
Heading into Sunday’s game, it should be noted that St Louis and DC tied for the most All-UFL selections this season with seven apiece.
Making the team from the Battlehawks are running back Jacob Saylors, UFL sacks leader Pita Taumoepenu, and kicker Rodrigo Blankenship, who missed just one field goal in 2025.
Joining them are guard
St. Louis Battlehawks running back Jacob Saylors rushed for 461 yards and five touchdowns during the 2025 season and was named to the All-UFL team.
Steven Gonzalez, center
Mike Panasiuk, linebacker Willie Harvey, and long snapper Alexander Matheson.
DC landed four defensive players on the team, tackle Joe Wallace, edge rusher Derick Roberson, linebacker Anthony Hines and cornerback Deandre Baker.
Joining them is wide receiver Chris Rowland, who is also the team’s return specialist, and offensive tackle Yasir Durant.
The Reid Roundup
I wondered last week if St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker could avoid demotion to Triple A Memphis. He responded with the best 10 games of the season. He hit .305 with 10 hits, a home run and nine RBIs… Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans is now embroiled in a lawsuit that alleges some sordid activity with a former girlfriend. He denies all charges and is countersuing. I’m still all in on bringing the Pelicans to St. Louis. Let the new owners decide what to do with him…Jason Kidd, head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, and Houston head coach Ime Udoka are the favorites to land the New York Knicks job. The dysfunctional franchise fired Tom Thibodeau after he guided New York to four playoff appearances in five years and won four series…The Indiana Pacers are bigtime underdogs against Oklahoma City in the NBA Finals. The Shaq and Kobe L.A. Lakers against Philadelphia in 2001 was the last time the odds were this long.
Earl Austin Jr.
Alvin A. Reid
Beck (4048) finishes first in the boys Class 4, 4x200-meter relay with
was second at 1:27.25,
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
Cameron Cason won the triple jump.
Photo courtesy of the UFL
SLPS serving tornado victims with resource center
Partners with SLPS, Lil Bit Foundations
St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS), The Little Bit Foundation (Little Bit), and SLPS Foundation have opened a temporary resource center for district families impacted by the May 16, 2025, tornado.
The center located at Metro Academic and Classical High School, 4015 McPherson, will serve as a centralized hub for families to receive essential items and work with case managers to address their current needs.
The center is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Donation items can be dropped off at the center during open hours or at The Little Bit Foundation headquarters, 2446 Schuetz Rd., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Thursday, or Fridays until 2:30 PM. Organizations with additional services and/ or resources to offer may contact The Little Bit Foundation at (314) 669-0040 or email info@ thelittlebitfoundation.org Volunteers are also being
recruited.
“We have 12 schools damaged and a significant number of families in the district who were directly impacted by the devastating tornado. Many of them have been displaced from their homes and some will not be able to return,” said Dr. Millicent Borishade, SLPS superintendent.
“SLPS has and always will work to be a cornerstone of the community – not only a place of learning but a beacon of support for families and neighborhoods we serve. We know our families are hurting right now, dealing with loss and uncertainty, and needing long-term solutions. This will be a coordinated, in-depth effort to help them get back on their feet before the start of the next school year.”
Saint Louis Public Schools Foundation CEO, Haliday Douglas said the support is for student scholars, their families and SLPS educators who’ve experienced loss.
SLPS and partners have opened a resource center at Metro High School to serve students, parents and educators who had their lives upended by the May 16 tornado.
“Many of them were at the schools at the time the tornado hit, ensuring our students’ safety, communicating with families, and providing calmness during chaos,” said Douglas.
Resource center families can meet with SLPS and Little Bit case managers, who will complete needs assessments, procure and connect them with resources, and
continue to follow up until the family is stabilized. They can also access essentials from Little Bit, such as clothing, shoes, and toiletries, food items provided by Operation
are needed.
and
Kwame partners with STLCC on Wildwood Tech Center building
Kwame Building Group, founded and chaired by CEO Tony Thompson, served as construction manager for the new Health Sciences and Technology Center at STLCC-Wildwood, which celebrated its ribbon cutting on May 29, 2025.
The $84.5 million,
132,900-square-foot center will increase student capacity for the nursing program and bring several new degree and certificate programs to the campus, including physical therapist assistant diagnostic medical sonography and magnetic resonance imaging
The center will also house STEM classes and labs, a new enrollment center, student services and STLCC’s new remote aircraft pilot certificate. To support this program, an outdoor classroom with a large, netted enclosure for safe drone piloting practice
was built alongside the new facility.
The Health Sciences and Technology Center will be a welcome addition to West St. Louis County, which has a growing need for health care professionals. “Students in the surrounding areas now
have direct access to the cutting-edge training and hands-on learning experiences they need to pursue these vital careers,” said Rodney Gee, chair, St. Louis Community College Board of Trustees. “For many, this proximity will make all the difference in turning their goals into reality.” In addition to the Health Sciences and Technology Center, the Advanced Manufacturing Center and the Nursing and Health Sciences Center opened on the Florissant Valley campus earlier this year.
Photo courtesy of KSDK.com
Living It
If these walls could sing
‘This
House’ impresses as 45th OTSL world premiere
By Kenya Vaughn
The St. Louis American
As the drama unfolded, “This House” felt divinely ordered to be on the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis stage at this very moment.
With a libretto by mother-daughter writing team Ruby Aiyo Gerber and two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage set to music by composer Ricky Ian Gordon, the production became the organization’s 45th world premiere on Saturday. “This House” is a defining moment for OTSL’s 50th anniversary season.
The opening took place two weeks after a tornado decimated historically Black areas in St. Louis. Homes that had been cornerstones for families for generations were left in shambles. Through “This House” the Walker family demon-
strates the magnitude of those losses by illustrating the choices and sacrifices they were willing to make in order to hold on to a Harlem brownstone. Their most prized heirloom, the house has been in
n “This House” gives a love story laced with the ultimate heartbreak – one that is beyond the character’s control.
their possession since 1919. Not even death could diminish the connection to 336 Convent Avenue established when Minus Walker worked his fingers to the bone to purchase the home to establish generational wealth and legacy.
A century later, Minus’ great-grand-
daughter Zoe is forced to confront those choices, and other long-held secrets, as she wrestles with the decision of keeping the home in the family.
The opera opened on the eve of Black music month, with a stage full of African Americans singers. They belted along to Gordon’s composition that is a reflection of how Black America has influenced every genre – including classical music.
“This House” also opened on the eve of Pride Month. The most touching amongst the featured love stories is the one between Zoe’s twin brother Lindon and his partner Glenn.
The opera begins with an opening scene with a high degree of difficulty. It is an overture of sorts that sets up the storyline for the multi-generational span
See OTSL, C3
Black Rep extends ‘Radio Golf’ run
Production of August Wilson’s final play continues through June 8
By Kenya Vaughn The St. Louis American
After they took their final bows, Ron Himes and Ronald L. Conner were recognized for a special achievement at the June 1 performance of The St. Louis Black Repertory Company’s presentation of “Radio Golf.”
“We are thrilled to congratulate Ron Himes and Ronald L. Conner on completing the August Wilson Century Cycle,” their co-star Velma Austin said before presenting them with plaques.
The cycle is a collection of plays that depict Black life throughout the 1900s. It was Conner’s first go-round – and a second rotation for Himes.
Sunday’s moment was supposed to be the culmination of Season 48, and the final performance of “Radio Golf.” But it was announced after they were presented
“I built a friendship first. I haven’t been this happy in a very, very long time.”
- Cardi B on her relationship with NFL receiver Stefon Diggs
‘My heart is full’
Pacia Anderson sworn in as St. Louis City’s 4th Poet Laureate
By Zaria Mac The St.
Louis American
Growing up in the foster care system, Pacia Elaine Anderson did not understand herself or feel understood by those entrusted with her care. She escaped into literature and found happiness in books, magazines, and comics. She even hid away in the library during her lunch periods at school – also in part to avoid the taunts of the kids who made fun of her. Anderson didn’t know it, but she was honing her future craft and creative response to the world around her. During her time spent in the library, she discovered the works of Black voices – like those from Third World Press and those she described as “titans and legends” in the Black arts movement. Nikki Giovanni and Sonia Sanchez were among them. Anderson has transcended her experience in the library to become a poet, teaching artist, creative consultant, arts administrator and community caregiver.
n “I look forward to continuing the work of our poetic and cultural forbearers.”
Image courtesy of The Black Rep
‘Radio Golf’ co-stars Kelvin Roston Jr., Ronald L. Conner, Velma Austin, Ron Himes and Reginald Wilson after Conner and Himes were presented with plaques in recognition of their completion of August Wilson’s Century Cycle of plays on Sunday, June 1.
with their plaques that the show would continue through June 8 at Washington University’s Edison Theatre.
The Black Rep had to postpone the opening weekend of “Radio Golf” because of the devastating tornado that touched down in the St. Louis region
on Friday, May 16. The extension gives Himes, Conner and the entire company an opportunity to bask in their storied history with the late playwright’s iconic body of work.
See Black Rep, C3
- Pacia Elaine Anderson
On Monday, she was installed as the 4th Poet Laureate of St. Louis City during a program hosted by MK Sadiq, chair of the 2025 Poet Laureate Task Force.
“I am overwhelmed and honored,” Anderson said during her remarks, which included a suite of poems in lieu of a speech. “My heart is full.” Her predecessor, Jane Ibur, reached in a bag and handed her actual horse reins before Anderson was sworn in by Dr. Amber Boykin Simms.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as the Poet Laureate for the city of St. Louis these past 29 years,” Ibur joked. Her tenure lasted longer than anyone expected, in part due to COVID-19. “Pacia, I wish you no pandemics.”
The widow of inaugural St. Louis Poet Laureate Dr. Michael Castro offered reflections about Anderson.
Adelia Parker-Castro remembered the first time she heard Anderson read poetry at the Eugene B. Redmond Writers Club in East St. Louis..
“It was back when Carl Officer was mayor,” Parker-Castro said. “I leaned over to Michael [Castro] and said, ‘Oh, she’s good.’ And he said, ‘I know.’ A seed was planted that fully bloomed on June 2 in City Hall.
“Your job is not over,” Parker-Castro
Photos by Taylor Marrie/St. Louis American
Pacia Elaine Anderson was sworn in as the 4th Poet Laureate for the City of St. Louis on Monday, June 2 at City Hall.
Photos by Eric Woolsey/Courtesy of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
The talented ensemble of ‘This House’ brought the story by the mother-daughter libretto writing team of Ruby
Aiyo Gerber and Lynn Nottage to life. The 45th world-premiere by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, composed by Ricky Ian Gordon and directed by James Robinson, opened at the Loretto-Hilton Saturday night.
CONCERTS
Thur., Jun. 5, 8 p.m. Akeem
Ali, The Old Rock House, 1200 S 7th Street, St. Louis, MO 63104. For more information, visit https://do314.com.
Sat., Jun. 7, 7:30 p.m., The Four Tops and The Temptations, The Fabulous Fox. For more information, www.fabulousfox.com.
Wed., Jun. 18, 7:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. doors), Taj Mahal with special guest Kyshona. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar For more information, visit www.thepageant.com.
Thurs., Jun. 19, 8 p.m. (7 p.m. doors), Saba, Delmar Hall. For more information, visit www. thepageant.com.
Thurs., Jun. 19, 7:30 p.m., Ledisi: Love You Too Tour featuring Marsha Ambrosius, Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market. For more information, visit www. stifeltheatre.com.
Sun., Jun. 22, 8 p.m. (7 p.m. doors) Kountry Kousins tour starring Smino with special guests Samara Cyn and Mamii, St. Louis Music Park. For more information, visit www.ticketmaster.com.
Mon., Jun. 23, Stanley Clarke, City Foundry, 3730 Foundry Way, St. Louis, MO 63110. Wednesday only For more information visit www.cityfoundrystl. com.
Fri., Jun 27, 8 p.m. The Mixtape Unplugged Tour with Ja Rule, Chaifetz Arena, 1 S Compton Ave. St. Louis, MO 63103. For more information, visit https://www.ticketmaster. com/.
STL Sites & Sounds
SPECIAL EVENTS
Fri., Jun 6, 6 p.m. First Friday: Faeded, featuring performances by performances by DJ Rico Steez, Drum Warriors Ensemble, KV the Writer, Terri the Harp Lady, and Maxi Glamour Experience. Contemporary Art Museum, 3750 Washington Blvd, St. Louis, Mo 63108. https://camstl. org.
Sat., Jun 7, 7 p.m. Trap Karaoke, The Hawthorn, 2231 Washington Ave, St. Louis, MO 63103. For more information, visit https://www.universe.com.
Through Oct. 1, 9:30 a.m. North City Farmers’ Market, 2700 N. 13th St, St. Louis, MO 63106. Find more information at https://www.onsl.org/market.
COMEDY
Thurs., Jun. 5, 7:30 p.m.
Zainab Johnson With Bri Munnich, Hosted By Marvin Davis, City Winery St. Louis, 3730 Foundry Way, St. Louis, MO 63110. For more information visit https://citywinery.com
Fri., Jun. 6 - 8, 7 p.m. Special Event: Adele Givens, Helium Comedy Club, 1151 St. Louis Galleria St, St. Louis, MO 63117. For more information, visit https://st-louis.heliumcomedy.com.
Fri., Jun. 13, 7 p.m. Special Event: Michael Blackson, Helium Comedy Club, 1151 St. Louis Galleria St, St. Louis, MO 63117. For more information, visit https://st-louis.heliumcomedy.com.
ST. LOUIS MUSIC SPOTLIGHT
Celebrate Pride month with Faeded, a high-fantasy art and musical spectacular and costume party presented by Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. Faeded will feature performances by DJ Rico Steez, Drum Warriors Ensemble, KV the Writer,
Wed., Jun. 4, Malena Smith presented by Townsendx3.Live, City Winery St. Louis, 3730 Foundry Way, St. Louis MO 63110. For more information, visit citywinery.com.
Fri., Jun. 6, Josh Royal City Winery St. Louis, 3730 Foundry Way, St. Louis MO 63110. For more information, visit citywinery.com.
Fri., Jun. 13, 8 p.m. Valencia
Rush feat. Miistro Freeyo, The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Sq, St. Louis, MO 63103. For more information, visit https://kranzbergartsfoundation.org.
Fri., Jun. 13, 7:30 p.m. The Bosman Twins, The Blue Strawberry, 364 N. Boyle Ave, St. Louis, MO 63108. For more information, https://bluestrawberrystl.com.
Through Jun. 25, 5:30 p.m. Live Art Market, City Foundry,
3730 Foundry Way, St. Louis, MO 63110. Wednesday only For more information visit www. cityfoundrystl.com.
THEATRE
Through Sun., Jun. 8, The Black Rep presents August Wilson’s Radio Golf, Washington University Edison Theatre, 6465 Forsyth. Visit www.theblackrep.org or call 314.534.3807.
Through Jun. 21, 8 p.m. Rent, The Marcelle Theater, 3310 Samuel Shepard Dr. Saint Louis, MO 63103. For more information, visit https://kranzbergartsfoundation.org.
Through Jun. 29, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis presents This House, Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Rd. Webster Groves, MO 63119. For more information, visit https://operastl.org.
ART
Through Jul. 27, Roaring: Art, Fashion and the Automobile in France, 1918–1939, Saint Louis Art Museum, 1 Fine Arts Dr, St. Louis, MO 63110. For more information, visit www.slam.org.
Through Jul. 27, Veronica Ryan: Unruly Objects, Pulitzer Arts Foundation, 3716 Washington Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63108. For more information, visit https://pulitzerarts.org. Through Aug. 10, Like Water, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, 3750 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63108. For more information https://camstl. org/.
of “This House.” Nearly every character shares the stage at the same time –and displays their mark on the timeline of the home’s storied history. Director James Robinson exhibits his talent from the start by providing each of the characters with full agency, without impeding on their individual moments in the spotlight.
There is much to be told in a short time for “This House,” so Gerber and Nottage use the opening scenes to inform the audience as the story sets course. Because of this, the first few selections feel a bit crowded. But the move will ultimately be appreciated by the end of the production.
Having St. Louis native Adrienne Danrich to usher the story along as Ida also lends to the sense of fatefulness of “This House.” Her dynamic performance among a strong, talented cast was one her city can be proud of.
Each of the ten artists charged with telling the story of “This House” are an asset, but there are a few key standouts. Danrich portrayed Ida with the intention of showcasing the capacity of gifts our region has with respect to homegrown talent. The rousing standing ovation she received was an indicator that her mission was accomplished. Justin Austin, who starred in the opera adaptation of Nottage’s award-winning play “Intimate Apparel,” delivered yet another stunning performance for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis with “This House.” His portrayal of Lindon is hauntingly beautiful. The character is a devoted artist who is racing against time. He fights through to offer his own cultural contribution to the setting of a renaissance – which was more of an artistic revo-
Black Rep
Continued from C1
“With the exception of a production of ‘Fences,’ every one of them has taken place at The Black Rep,” Himes said of the many roles he’s performed in Wilson’s plays. “It’s crazy when you think about it,” said Himes, who is also The Black Rep’s founder and Producing Director. “We’ve been doing August’s plays since the 80s.” The year was 1989 to be exact. “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” was the company’s first staging. In the thirty five years since that production, The Black Rep has become a leading authority when it comes to
Hunter as Zoe and Sankara Harouna as Milton in the world-premiere of ‘This House’ at Opera
lution – that showcased the creative ingenuity of Blackness in the 1920s and beyond.
Austin is so dialed in to Lindon that he sat through the entire 25-minute intermission putting the finishing touches on his character’s painting. Through Austin’s Lindon and Brad Bickhardt’s portrayal of Glenn, “This House” gives a love story laced with the ultimate heartbreak –one that is beyond either character’s control. The chemistry and connection between them dig deep within the viewer. The genuine adoration and intimacy will force everyone who sees “This House” to immediately admonish the hatred and inhumanity forced upon individuals based on who they choose to love.
Along with the performances, the production quality of “This House” perfectly serves the story – particularly costume designer Montana Levi Blanco and set designer Allen Moyer. Conductor
producing Wilson’s work.
It was through The Black Rep that Conner started his quest to complete the cycle when he was among the ensemble for “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” 21 years ago. Himes embodied the title character for that same production.
“As soon as I found out there were ten, I knew I wanted to do all of them,” Conner said.
When Conner completed the assignment he gave himself, it was all the more special that he was able to start and finish on The Black Rep stage. It is the place that introduced him to the playwright –and where he developed his craft as an actor.
“Grateful is what comes to mind when I think
Daniela Candillari deserves a nod for directing the musicians through the array of musical elements that reinforce the notion of “This House” taking place over several decades.
The strongest link of “This House” is found within the language offered by Gerber and Nottage. Reading the subtitle tiles of the lyrics being sung, feels more like one is experiencing the musical embodiment of a poetry collection. And the words would sing, even if they weren’t set to music.
The world-premiere of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’ presentation of “This House” by Ruby Aiyo Gerber, Lynn Nottage and composer Ricky Ian Gordon continues through June 29th as part of their 50th anniversary season. For a full schedule of showtimes, as well as the full line up of productions, visit www.opera-stl.org or call 314.961-0171.
about it,” Conner said as he was gearing up to take the stage as Roosevelt, an ambitious businessman willing to succeed at the community’s expense.
“Having him start and finish here is at the core of our mission,” Himes said. “And that includes creating a platform for Black playwrights, like Wilson and so many others – and providing a place for Black actors to perform their work.”
The Black Rep’s presentation of “Radio Golf” continues through June 8st at Washington University’s Edison Theatre, 6465 Forsyth Blvd, 63105. For tickets or additional information, visit www. theblackrep.org or call 314.534.3807.
Poet
Continued from C1
said. “It is just beginning.”
In a full circle moment, Dr. Redmond read an original Haiku he had written for the occasion that came with a poetry lesson on the 17 syllable Japanese poetic form.
“She, a woman of the world, Pacia Elaine Anderson, Poet Laureate, Redmond said. “Great things have come from her and great things are coming.”
Another full circle moment came when Lyah Beth LeFlore offered words and poetry on behalf of her mother, Shirley Price LeFlore.
Shirley LeFlore was the 2nd Poet Laureate and a beloved mentor for Anderson – who was among the select poets to honor Shirley LeFlore at her funeral in 2019.
Lyah LeFlore offered both encouragement and a call to action. She charged Anderson to continue to lead through the arts, especially pressing as the region recovers from the devastating storms that took place May 16.
“This is St. Louis’ moment,” Lyah LeFlore said. “It is going to take a lot of dreams in North City, but imagination does not die.”
Anderson is no stranger to the power of art and imagination.
“Words have given my life meaning,” she said in the first poems she recited
as Poet Laureate during the program. Her journey to becoming Poet Laureate began while growing up in a C.O.G.I.C. church in Springfield, Illinois, where she recited speeches for Christmas and Easter.
“Anyone who grew up C.O.G.I.C. knows that once they discover that you’re good at something or you like to do something, they will have you do it all the time,” Anderson joked.
She participated in a talent show at her church where she won for her recitation of “I Am There,” a standard poem within the Black faith community.
It was this experience of winning the talent show that sparked her interest in poetry.
“There wasn’t this moment where I was like ‘oh I’m a poet’ until adulthood,” said Anderson. “It started by just being in our community – because churches, regardless of their doctrine, are a place of community and development.”
Anderson expressed immense gratitude for her mentor Carolyn Blackwell. While in middle school, Blackwell gifted Anderson with a full collection of Maya Angelou poems. The collection became a prized possession that introduced Anderson to Angelou’s less popular works like “Gathered Together In My Name,” “Singing’ and Swinging’ and “Getting’ Merry Like Christmas.”’
There was also Ms. Juanita Higgins, who held
talent shows and constantly invited the emerging poet to recite.
Anderson has paid that gift forward as Missouri Regional Coordinator for the NEA-sponsored Poetry Out Loud youth recitation competition. A graduate of the Community Arts Training (CAT) Institute and current Program Lead, Anderson is also an Urban Bush Women SLI and a New Leaders CouncilSt. Louis alumnus. She is a founding member of the youth-based art camp Cherokee Street Reach. In 2020, Pacia was named Community Impact Artist by the Saint Louis Visionary Awards.
According to Anderson, the overall job of the Poet Laureate is “to promote poetry and get people active in the writing, reading, and performance of poetry, while also curating gatherings to celebrate poetry and poets.” As St. Louis’s 4th Poet Laureate there are many things Anderson hopes to accomplish, however for the two-year term she has narrowed it down to three: documentation and history, skill sharing and convening.
“I look forward to continuing the work of our poetic and cultural forbearers,” Anderson said. “While amplifying new ideas and ways of engaging with the artform, and using poetry as a method of gathering us together in the spirit of collectivism that provides the loving connection that moves humanity forward.”
Photo by Eric Woolsey/ Courtesy of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Briana
Theatre of Saint Louis.
RF ENGINEER II
CITY ADMINISTRATOR
St. Louis Sewer District 2350 Market Street
St. Louis, MO 63103
Information may also be emailed to: CSCommissioner@stlmsd.com
SITE COORDINATOR –BEYOND SCHOOL PROGRAM
Mission: St. Louis is hiring a full-time Site Coordinator to lead its Beyond School Program for middle/high school students. This role includes managing a team and volunteers, overseeing daily programming, maintaining relationships with families and school partners, and ensuring compliance with grants/outcomes and budgets.
Ideal candidates have a bachelor’s degree (preferably in Education or Social Work), 3+ years of experience in youth programming, and strong leadership, communication, and organizational skills. Must be passionate about supporting students’ success in school and future college, career, or vocational paths. Mon–Fri, approx. 10:00 AM–6:45 PM. (includes 45 minute lunch break). In-person only. To apply or learn more, send a resume to erin@missionstl.org
Telecom Technology Services, Inc.; St Louis, MO: Design, devel & integrate radio frequency systs, code solutions, traffic planning & Business Support Systems (BSS) planning based on cell integration & project specs for wireless networks. Conduct frequency tests & experiments to ens the functionality, performance, & reliability of RF systems. Create & validate frequency plans for large area network clusters. Edu Req: Bachelor’s (or frgn equivt) in Electrical/Electronic or Communications Engng, Network Engineering, Telecomm, or closely rel engng degree + 24 mos of progressive exp in the wireless telecom industry or in the alternate a Master’s in Electrical/Electronic or Communications Engng, Network Engineering, Telecommunication, or closely rel engng degree; Skills Req: Must have exp working on 3G/4G/ LTE/5G or UMTS Wireless Networks, incl. Mobile & Digital Communication. Travel Req: Will req trav &/or relo to client locations throughout the U.S. Apply at https://jobs. amdocs.com/careers/ job/563431002871009 ATTN: REQ ID: 199491.
City of Normandy seeks City Administrator to run the City’s daily operations e.g. budget, public works, public safety, community development. Must have at least 5 years of relevant experience and a Bachelor’s degree. To apply go to www.cityofnormandy.gov
ASST. PROF. INT’L
Asst. Prof. Int’l Bus. St. Louis Univ. PhD Int’l Bus. or Bus. Admin. (can be foreign eq.); knowl. int’l bus. strategy; solid research int’l bus.; teaching excellence. Full descr. & apply slu.wd5.myworkdayjobs. com/Careers.
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Executive Assistant needs
excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, good communication skills ability to work independently on projects, accurate data entry, time management skills, meets weekly deadlines, proficient in Google Workspace or Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) & Adobe Acrobat, handles confidential matters with discretion Please email Resume to Jerickson@stlamerican.com
HIRING DIGITAL INSTRUCTORS
Teach essential tech and digital skills to local residents in a supportive, community-focused setting. Full-time and flexible part-time positions available. Help bridge the digital divide in St. Louis. Learn more and apply at: https://moveworth.com/jobs/
Bids for Replace HVAC and Exterior Repairs, Project No. T2406-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 6/24/25. Project information available at: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities
SEALED BIDS
LETTING NO. 8789
C
&
D CONCOURSE REACTIVATION – PACKAGE A ST. LOUIS LAMBERT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Electronic bids submitted through the Bid Express Online Portal will be received by the Board of Public Service until 1:45 PM, CT, on JUNE 24, 2025, then publicly opened and read. Proposals must be submitted electronically using the “Bid Express Online Portal” at https://www.bidexpress.com/businesses/20618/ home.
The bidder must pay $50 to submit a bid through the Bid Express service. Monthly subscriptions are available.
Plans, Specifications, and the Agreement may be examined online through Bid Express at https://www.bidexpress.com/businesses/20618/ home?
agency=true and may be downloaded for free.
An optional pre-bid conference for all contractors bidding on this project will be held in the Ozark Conference Room at the Airport Office Building (AOB) located at 11495 Navaid Road – 4th Floor, Bridgeton, MO 63044 on June 3, 2025, at 10:00 AM. All bidders are strongly encouraged to attend the pre-bid meeting.
Bidders shall comply with all applicable City, State, and Federal laws (including DBE policies).
All bidders must regard Federal Executive Order 11246, “Notice of Requirement for Affirmative Action to Ensure Equal Employment Opportunity”, the “Equal Opportunity Clause”, and the “Standard Federal Equal Employment Specifications” set forth within and referenced at www.stl-bps.org (Announcements).
PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE/ NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
East-West Gateway Council of Governments (EWG) is drafting a Regional Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan and is hosting a public open house to review draft strategies and launch the next phase of action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Details about the plan are available at https://www.ewgateway. org/ community-planning/sustainabilityplanning/pollution-reduction/. This project is funded wholly or in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under assistance agreement #96704501 to East-West Gateway Council of Governments. The contents of the document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the EPA, nor does the EPA endorse trade names or recommend the use of commercial products mentioned in this document.
A public open house will be held on Thursday, June 12, 2025 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Beyond Housing Multi-Purpose Room, 6506 Wright Way, St. Louis, MO 63121 and include presentations at 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. The open house will contain information on how the public can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save money. Free dinner and childcare will be provided.
EWG fully complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. For more information, or to obtain a Title VI Nondiscrimination Complaint Form, see www.ewgateway.org/titlevi or call (314) 421-4220 or (618) 274-2750. EWG is committed to ensuring that all meetings are both ADA and LEP accessible. To request a reasonable accommodation for this meeting please contact EWG’s Title VI Coordinator at least 48 business hours prior to the meeting at (314) 421-4220 or titlevi@ewgateway.org
PUBLIC NOTICE
Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District Requests for Quotes, Bids and Proposals are posted online for public download. Please navigate to www.msdprojectclear.org > Doing Business With Us > View Bid Opportunities
Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
NOTICE OF SERVICE BY PUBLICATION
Mecklenburg County, NC
– Case No. 23
CV034229-590
To: Ezechiel Esther Botewa
Laura R. Chimene Kodjo filed for Absolute Divorce on 05/12/2025. You must respond within 40 days of this notice or the court may grant the request.
SEALED BIDS
Bids for Upgrade HVAC at Ozark Correctional Center, Project No. C232401, will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, June 26, 2025. Project information available at: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities
SEALED BIDS
Bids for Replace Generator, Program Center, Project No. M232801will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, June 26, 2025. Project information available at: http:// oa.mo.gov/ facilities
INVITATION TO BID: FOOD SERVICE
The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis Head Start/Early Head Start is seeking food service management companies to provide breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snacks for approximately 590 children (ages 0–5) and about 145 adults. Meals must follow USDA CACFP meal patterns. The contract runs from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. Submission Details: Deadline: June 12, 2025, by 2:00 p.m.
Location: Urban League North Springs Head Start Center, 911 N. Springs, St. Louis, MO 63108.
Instructions: Submit sealed bids marked “Food Service BID.” Bids received early will remain sealed until the bid opening.
Bid Opening: Date & Time: June 18, 2025
Location: 911 N. Springs Head Start Center (in the presence of all bidders) Bid Forms and Specifications: Call Erin Weekes at 314.295.2353.
ST. LOUIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP LEGAL NOTICE
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS
The St. Louis Economic Development Partnership (the “Partnership”) will accept bids from qualified firms for the Helix Center Renovation Project (the “Project”), located at 1100 Corporate Square Drive, Creve Coeur, MO 63132. The Project is funded in part by a federal grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration. Interested firms or joint ventures should submit one (1) original and two (2) copies of their fully completed and signed Bid Proposal, along with all required documentation, in a sealed envelope marked “CONFIDENTIAL: Proposal for Helix Center Renovation Project” to the offices of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, 120 S. Central Ave., Suite 200, St. Louis, MO 63105, Attn: Jim Byrne, by JUNE 27, 2025, at 1:00 (CST) at which time the bids will be opened and read aloud. There will be one (1) mandatory pre-bid meeting and site visit, scheduled for 10:00 AM on June 11, 2025, at the Project site. The Project Request for Proposals may be obtained from the Partnership’s web site at www.stlpartnership.com/rfp-rfq/. Copies of all documents may be viewed or purchased at County Blue Reprographics (http://www.countyblue.com), 811 Hanley Industrial Ct., St. Louis, MO 63144; Cross Rhodes Print & Technologies (http:// www.x-rhodes.com), 2731 S. Jefferson, St. Louis, MO 63118; or SLDC Online Plan Room (https://www.sldcplanroom.com), 1520 Market Street, Suite 2000, St. Louis, MO 63103. All questions shall be submitted via email simultaneously to Jim Byrne at byrne@cobaltc3. com and Mark Vanden Akker at markva@taolee.com, no later than June 16, 2025 at 5:00 PM. The Partnership actively encourages submission of proposals from disadvantaged business enterprises and companies owned by minorities, women, immigrants and veterans. The Partnership does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, national origin, disability or veteran status in consideration of this award. Equal Opportunity Employer.
REQUEST FOR QUOTATIONS
COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY OF ST. LOUIS COUNTY, INC. (CAASTLC)
LOW INCOME WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM (LIWAP)
CAASTLC is accepting sealed bids to provide labor and materials for Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and mechanical services for its residential weatherization program. LIWAP (made available through CAASTLC) is federally funded and administered by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
This weatherization grant is funded through the DOE and is subject to all of its provisions. Bid packages will be available to be picked up at CAASTLC starting Monday, 6/9/2025, at 9:00 a.m. and will be available for downloading on CAASTLC’s homepage at https://www.caastlc.org
CAASTLC will have a Pre-bid Conference, via online Zoom Conference, on Tuesday, 6/24/2025, at 9:00 a.m. for questions, etc. The meeting link for this Conference will be available on CAASTLC’s homepage (https://www.caastlc.org/) the day of the Conference and the login attendee ID and password for this Conference will be in the bid packages.
Bids must be sealed, marked “LIWAP – DNR Sealed Bid” and delivered to CAASTLC, Inc., 2709 Woodson Road, St. Louis, MO 63114, no later than 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, 6/25/2025.
Bids will be opened and read publicly, via online Zoom Conference, at 2:00 p.m., Friday, 6/27/2025 at CAASTLC’s main office. The meeting link for this Conference will be available on CAASTLC’s homepage (https://www.caastlc.org/) the day of the bid opening and the login attendee ID and password for this Conference will be in the bid packages.
SOLICITING SEALED BIDS
Great Rivers Greenway is soliciting sealed bids for: Centennial Greenway: Signage Betterment in Saint Louis County, Missouri. Go to https:// greatriversgreenway. org/careers/ and submit by July 17, 2025.
PUBLIC HEARING
Notice is hereby given that a public hearing has been called and will be held for the City of Berkeley, MO on Monday the 16th of June 2025 to begin at 7:00pm, in the City Hall Council Chambers, 8425 Airport Rd. The purpose of this hearing is to consider Case PZ25-05: Shall a request for a Special Use Permit be granted to Jazmin Rodriguez for Jaxel’s Café a Mexican-American Restaurant to include liquor sales at 9650 Natural Bridge?
By Order of the Berkeley Planning Commission
ROANOKE CONSTRUCTION SEEKS BIDS FOR SITE DEMOLITION IN ST. LOUIS, MO
Roanoke Construction has been selected as the General Contractor for the ClintonPeabody Redevelopment.
Roanoke Construction is currently seeking bids from qualified subcontractors for the environmental remediation, soil remediation, site demolition, building demolition, site grading, and site improvements for Phase 1 of the Clinton-Peabody Redevelopment. This Site Demolition Package will consist of all site demolition, existing buildings demolition, hazardous materials abatement, soil remediation, site rough grading, utilities, and site improvements in accordance with and as indicated in the Bid Documents. All work must be included by Subcontractor and will be awarded as a single contract.
Site Demolition is anticipated to begin in July 2025.
Bids will be accepted through June 19, 2025. Bids can be submitted via email to bids@roanoke-construction.com
Requests for access to the Bid Documents and any questions should be submitted via email to Greg Everett at greg.everett@ roanoke-construction.com.
A new Centennial Christian Church will rise
Fountain Park still home
By Ashley Winters
The St. Louis American
Rev. Dr. Dietra Wise Baker
doesn’t know how much it will cost to rebuild Centennial Christian Church, which suffered severe damage during the EF-3 tornado on May 16, 2025.
But she knows its resurrection won’t be quick or easy.
Wise Baker explained that insurance will cover some of the rebuilding expenses, but the church must raise most of the funds needed for the extensive demolition and reconstruction project that is expected to take at least four years.
Tragically, church volunteer Patricia Ann Penelton was killed when the church collapsed during the tornado. Three others were injured.
Still, Centennial Christian Church plans to stay in the Fountain Park neighborhood.
Wise Baker’s vision for a new multi-purpose church located at 4950 Fountain Ave. includes a co-working space, a space that can be rented out for events, and a medical and affordable housing unit. Partnerships with private donors and other organizations, she believes, can help make this vision a reality.
A goal of the rebuilding will be to address those who no longer have a place to live.
“Affordable housing is going to be a major need now more than ever,” Wise Baker said.
For over a century, the Fountain Park church has been a cornerstone in the community. The church has served the area by providing essential resources, including housing for seniors, healthcare assistance, and a preschool program.
Centennial is partnering with three regional and national organizations to help fund the rebuild. Disciples of Christ Pension Fund, National
Benevolent Association, and the National Convocation of the Christian Church will each donate $10,000 to the church’s recovery fund.
In addition to these contributions, Metropolitan Congregations United (MCU) is donating $100,000 to support both the church and the residents of Fountain Park.
MCU activates congregation members to work on community concerns, and they identify and work on issues beginning in their neighborhoods, then expanding efforts to the larger community.
Since the storm, Centennial has held its services at North County Christian Church. Congregation leaders have been engaging with partners to ensure the services and programs they offer at the Fountain Park location can still be provided for residents in that neighborhood.
Centennial launched a GoFundMe campaign that has raised over $20,000. But money isn’t the only resource that’s needed – a helping hand goes a long way, too.
10th Ward Alderwoman Shameen Hubbard-Clark has helped provide that.
On that tragic day, the emergency call lines were so busy operators couldn’t answer all the incoming calls.
“911 in the city was not picking up the calls, kept getting switched to the county,” said Wise Baker. She remembers how her calls kept getting switched around only to end up with a busy signal on the other end of the phone. However, Hubbard-Clark was able to alert the fire department about the church to get help over there as soon as possible.
“The two survivors owe her their lives,” Wise Baker said. She said Hubbard-Clark is a “connector” who has been get-
ting resources to the 10th Ward.
Blackarc, a local Black-owned design firm, recently presented a visual model to the community of what the new and improved Centennial Church could look like.
“We don’t want people in Fountain Park to think that we are leaving them,” Wise Baker said when speaking of her beloved community.
She has seen how devastation has caused some churches to pack up and leave.
“We are going to continue to do our ministries while we are rebuilding,” she said.
“We are definitely not closing.”
Dollar General is next ‘Target’
During a CNN OutFront interview on May 28, Rev. Jamal Bryant told host Erin Burnett that the “boycott against Target is the most successful boycott by Black people in 70 years, since the Montgomery bus boycott.”
“They’ve lost $1 billion in valuation. Their stock tumbled from $145 a share to $93 a share. The CEO’s salary was cut by 43%,” Bryant said, noting that it’s an example “of what happens when our community mobilizes and stays focused.”
Along with canceling Target, Bryant says Black America must now take on the Dollar General.
“Like other corporations, Dollar General has bowed to pressure from the Trump administration and rolled back their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives,” Bryant told USA
They’re fine with you being stable. They’ll support you becoming successful — up to a point. But when you start pushing beyond expectations, things change.
Surviving vs. Thriving
When I was in the foster care system, the goal was stabilization. The system wasn’t designed to help us thrive — it was designed to help us survive until adulthood.
Looking back, I see it: Most people will help you get to stable ground, but few will walk with you when you decide to climb higher. That’s because stability is comfortable. Success — especially wild success — is disruptive.
A Defining Moment: What They Wrote About Me
Within a year of graduating college, I petitioned the State of Missouri for my case records. What they said shook me: I was “below average” and “overreaching” in my ambition. Imagine being told that your drive was unrealistic.
That’s what happens when you push beyond survival. The world has a way of telling you: This is how far you can go. Don’t ask for more. Don’t stretch. This is your cap.
The Difference Between Help and Growth
There are different types of people in your life:
• Enablers help you survive the struggle.
• Helpmates walk with you through the process.
• Growth partners challenge you as you break barriers.
When you push past “good enough” into wild success, some of the people who once supported you will pull back. Not because you did anything wrong, but because your ambition forces them to confront their own limitations, their own caps.
The Joseph Effect: When Success Becomes a Problem Look at Joseph. (Genesis 37:5-11). His
Today.
“Dollar General also must be held accountable for failing to invest in the very Black and low-income communities that make up the backbone of their customer base. This isn’t just a corporate retreat — it’s a betrayal of the people they profit from.”
Unlike the Target campaign, which encouraged consumers to stop shopping at the retailer, the Dollar General action is an electronic-based call-in and email campaign.
“Dollar General is a contributor to food deserts, not just in absence of food, but absence of fairness,” he said.
-Dorothy Boulware, Word in Black
against him.
That’s what happens when you elevate. The same people who encouraged you might struggle to embrace the you that refuses to be limited.
The Process of Becoming Wildly Successful
Success — especially wild success — requires trials, endurance, and faith.
Many people will help you through the trial, but not all will celebrate you on the other side. They can’t quite relate to you anymore.
I’ve seen it in my life. Early on, I received handouts. Then, I got hand-ups. But when I aimed beyond success — toward impact — I had to shift:
• I started thinking and investing differently.
• I sought people who could see me differently.
• Most importantly, I rooted my source in God.
Because when your source is God, your success isn’t dependent on people.
Reinforcing Your Source Maybe you’ve reached a level of success that’s “acceptable,” and you’re wondering — should I go further? Maybe you’re sensing resistance. The discomfort when you talk about bigger goals. The doubt creeping in, whispering that you’re asking for too much.
Keep going. God didn’t give you a small vision. He gave you a wild one.
To be wildly successful, accept these truths:
1. Not everyone is meant to come with you. Some people are only in your life for a season.
2. You must push past what’s “acceptable.” Stability is a fine place to pass through, but it’s not your final destination.
3. Your foundation must be bigger than approval. If your growth is tied to others’ opinions, you’ll always be limited by their comfort zones. The real challenge isn’t just success. It’s daring to succeed wildly — even when it makes others uncomfortable. Will you rise to it?
People love an underdog. They’ll root for you when you’re struggling.
brothers had no issue with him when he was just another son. But when he spoke about his dreams — about a higher calling — they turned
ORVIN T. KIMBROUGH Chairman and CEO, Midwest BankCentre
The Next MOVE
Photo courtesy of Centennial Christian Church
Centennial Christian Church suffered severe damage during the EF-3 tornado on May 16, 2025.
Making your home safer and more comfortable as you age
By Evette Baker, Community Home Loan Originator, Commerce Bank
Many adults over 50 say they’d rather stay in their homes than move. But as we age, we may need to update our homes to keep them safe and comfortable. With the right changes, you can keep living in your home for years to come.
Why preparing your home now makes sense
Aging in place means staying in the home you love, near friends and family. It can also be more cost-effective than moving into an assisted living facility. Even if you don’t need these customizations today, making updates now can help you maintain independence. If you start having trouble getting around, you’ll already be prepared.
Simple changes for a safer, more accessible
home
Home updates can help prevent falls and make movement throughout your home easier. Some are quick and affordable, while others may require a contractor. At right, are a few changes you may want to consider.
How to pay for home modifications
You have several ways to pay for home updates. You can use your savings or take out a personal loan. Another option is borrowing against your home’s value through a home equity loan, home equity line of credit (HELOC), or cash-out refinance. Loans tied to your home often come with lower interest rates and flexible repayment terms.
If you’d like to explore financing options for home improvements, we’re here to help. Contact a Commerce Bank Mortgage professional to learn more about home equity loans, HELOCs and renovation loans.
Kitchen improvements
Bathroom safety upgrades
Evette Baker
A DIY guide for first-time homeowners
(StatePoint) Becoming a first-time homeowner is a remarkable achievement, but the journey doesn’t end at closing. With today’s market challenges, making your new house feel like home can seem daunting. The good news: with thoughtful planning and proven DIY tips, you can create a space that’s beautiful, functional and uniquely yours, without stretching your budget.
Budgeting and Planning
One of the biggest reasons to DIY? You can save serious dollars. In fact, a 2024 report by NerdWallet showed that on average, DIY projects cost less than half of professional projects.
Before beginning any DIY endeavor, establish your budget and assess what your house needs, prioritizing the most cost-effective yet impactful updates.
Know your budget, know your home
Take a trip to a local home improvement retailer or do an online search to gauge costs.
“While it’s tempting to cut corners on costs, investing in high-quality products up-front can save you significantly in the long run. Quality materials offer durability and better performance, minimizing the need for frequent replacements or repairs. Think of it as buying peace of mind – a well-chosen faucet, sturdy cabinetry or durable flooring can elevate your home for years to come,” said Danielle DeBoe Harper, senior creative style manager, Moen.
Once you have a map of projects in place, plot when you want to tackle each one on the calendar.
Defining Your Home’s Aesthetic
Before diving in, ensure you’re invest-
ing in an aesthetic that resonates with you versus what is trending online.
“As you embark on the exciting process of styling your first home, it is essential to determine your personal taste so that it truly reflects who you are,” said DeBoe Harper. “Whether your style leans modern, traditional, industrial, farmhouse, glam, or a combination of a few, understanding your preferences will help you establish the overall atmosphere of your home.”
Luckily, there are many places to find inspiration. Try browsing the aisles of a home décor store—what lamps or pillows are you just dying to put in your cart? When visiting a friend’s home, mentally note what you love and what you’d leave. At the grocery store? Pick up a few home décor magazines on your way out. And, of course, your phone or computer holds a treasure trove of style inspiration, from
renovation tutorials on social media to style and décor trends on your favorite brand’s website.
Diving In
Before getting to work, ensure you have versatile supplies for various projects. The essentials include: a hammer, flathead, Phillips screwdrivers, painter’s tape, and a power drill.
Now it’s time to DIY. Not sure how to approach a project? Lean on inspiration from friends and family, use YouTube tutorials to walk you through it, or get instructions from an expert at your local hardware store. Of course, make sure whatever you choose is something that’s safe to DIY.
“One of the first projects I recommend
DIY Guide
Continued from D3
is painting, since it’s a relatively affordable update that can completely transform the way a room comes together—and even how it makes you feel,” said DeBoe Harper. “You can paint an entire room or update a piece of furniture or cabinetry with a new color. Other high-impact projects that can be done at a lower cost include swapping hardware, like cabinet knobs or pulls, installing a new showerhead, building bookcases, changing the kitchen faucet or hanging peel-and-stick wallpaper, all of which can enhance your look almost instantly while boosting DIY confidence.”
For even more DIY renovation tips and inspiration, visit Moen.com.
And remember, successful DIY renovation is built on planning, preparation and a willingness to learn. With these tips for first-time homeowners, you can shape a stylish, comfortable space tailored to your needs.
“As you embark on the exciting process of styling your first home, it is essential to determine your personal taste so that it truly reflects who you are,” said DeBoe Harper. “Whether your style leans modern, traditional, industrial, farmhouse, glam, or a combination of a few, understanding your preferences will help you establish the overall atmosphere of your home.”
Residents clear an alley behind their homes in the 4400 block of Margaretta Ave. in the city’s Penrose neighborhood on Saturday, May 24, 2025. The city is warning home property owners to be wary of scams and fraudulent offers to help them.
Watch for housing
‘predators’ in wake of tornado
By Alvin A. Reid
St. Louis American
Home owners and residents in dwellings impacted by the May 16, 2025 tornado are being warned to watch for fraudulent attempts to buy their properties or offers to “save” their home from forced sale or foreclosure.
Collector of Revenue Gregory F.X.
Tax relief helping homeowners
Daly and Mayor Cara Spencer’s office have said that no properties are being taken from owners in the wake of the devastating tornado which ripped through segments of the city’s north side.
However, Daly said people immediately began engaging in “predatory practices to take advantage of shocked and bewildered residents.
According to Daly’s office, residents
should watch for anyone claiming to represent the city who:
• Demand immediate payment or threaten immediate property seizure
• Ask for upfront fees or payments
• Pressure you to sign documents without proper review
• Claim they can “save” your property for a fee
Tax debt put on hold
The city’s Board of Aldermen has approved emergency property tax relief for homeowners, and a bill to assist renters was scheduled for a vote on Tuesday June 4.
Board Bill 24 adopts Missouri’s
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
Tornado
Continued from D6
“Occupancy Law” to provide pro-rata property tax reductions for residential properties destroyed or severely damaged by natural disasters.
The bill was introduced by Alderwoman Pamela Boyd, whose ward was ripped by the tornado.
The bill allows the city assessor to reduce or eliminate property taxes for destroyed homes based on how long they remain uninhabitable during the tax year.
Property owners must apply for the reduction, and full assessments would be restored if properties become occupied again after reconstruction.
The city has also paused its process to sell tax-delinquent properties to ensure residents have time to recover from the May 16 tornado Daly said the next three real estate tax sales have been postponed and will be consolidated into a single sale in October. The release also said personal property tax suits will be postponed until August.
Real estate tax sales are events during which the City auctions off properties when the owner has not paid real estate taxes. The properties are auctioned off with the bidding starting at the amount of taxes owed on the property. The press release said the postponement will affect about 1,250 properties.
“Our community has faced an unprecedented natural disaster,” Daly said in the press release.
“By postponing these tax sales, we are providing breathing room for families who are dealing with the immediate aftermath of this tragedy.”
Homeowners facing tax sale this year could be eligible for assistance through the St. Louis Real Estate Tax Assistance Fund. The requirements to qualify are as follows:
• Must be a City of St. Louis homeowner facing imminent tax foreclosure
• Property must be the applicant’s sole residence
• Household income must not exceed 100% of the Area Median Income (AMI) for St. Louis
• Tax foreclosure sale must be scheduled for the same calendar year
For more information about the St. Louis Real Estate Tax Assistance Fund, call (314) 535-5311 ext. 2006.
Safe clean up
The city is offering these safety tips as the cleanup efforts continue in thousands of homes in the region, not St. Louis. When cleaning up debris, remember to:
• Wear proper PPE: gloves, eye protection, N95 (or better) masks, closed-toe shoes, long sleeves and pants
• Check utilities: if you spot leaks, exposed wires, or smell gas, stop work and call Ameren Missouri (800-552-7583) or St. Louis Water (314-771-4880) immediately
• Guard against tetanus: wash any cuts right away, cover wounds, and get a booster within 48 hours if you’re unsure of your vaccine status
• Watch for mold: ventilate before entering, use a bleach solution (10:1 water to bleach), never mix bleach with ammonia, and avoid letting kids help with mold cleanup Teams are working across St. Louis
to clear debris. If you cannot reach the debris dropoff sites, you may do the following:
• Place debris in large piles on the curb or public right of way, but not in the street.
• When possible, separate piles into bricks, house debris, and green waste (yard waste).
• Small piles of yard waste can go in yard waste dumpsters.
• Green waste drop-off locations will be announced soon.
If you need help cleaning up damage from the May 2025 Missouri Tornado, call (314) 230-8070 to ask for help. Crisiscleanup.org [crisiscleanup.org] will connect you with volunteers from local relief organizations, community groups and faith communities who may be able to assist with:
• Tree Removal
• Muck out
• Tarping
• Debris Cleanup
All services are free, but service is not guaranteed due to the overwhelming need.
Crisis Cleanup will be offering services/assistance until June 6, 2025.
The essential benefits of homeownership
Owning a home offers a wide range of benefits, some obvious, others more subtle. While many people are familiar with the idea of building equity, homeownership also brings lesser-known financial perks, such as potential tax advantages1. Beyond finances, owning a home can provide long-term stability for families and help build generational wealth. At Stifel Bank & Trust, we’re here to help you explore how these benefits can shape your homebuying decisions.
Building Equity and Long-Term Value
One of the most powerful financial benefits of homeownership is the ability to build equity over time. As you pay down your mortgage, your ownership stake in the property increases. This equity can be leveraged for future investments, used to secure loans, or realized as profit when you sell.
Unlike stocks or other volatile investments, home equity tends to grow
steadily—especially when the property is well-maintained. Setting aside savings for upkeep and repairs not only protects your investment but can also enhance your home’s value over time.
Tax Advantages
Homeowners may also benefit from tax deductions. While there are limits, mortgage interest and property tax payments can often be deducted from your taxable income. Additionally, when selling a primary residence, individuals may be able to exclude up to $250,000 (or $500,000 for married couples) of capital gains from their taxable income1 another potential financial advantage.
Stability and Control
Renters often face unpredictable rent hikes or changes in property ownership that can force sudden moves. Homeownership offers more control. With a fixed-rate mortgage, your monthly payments remain stable, and you’re no
longer subject to a landlord’s decisions. You call the shots—whether it’s remodeling the kitchen or planting a garden.
Generational Wealth
A home is more than a place to live, it’s an asset that can be passed down to future generations. Whether your heirs choose to live in the home, sell it, or use it as an investment, the value you’ve built can provide a strong financial foundation. Think of it like a snowball rolling downhill, each generation has the opportunity to build on the momentum of the last.
Community and Belonging
Perhaps the most meaningful benefit of homeownership is the sense of community and stability it brings. For families with children, staying in one place allows kids to form lasting friendships and grow up in a familiar environment. Homeowners are also more likely to engage with their neighbors, fostering deeper connections and a stronger sense of belonging.
To learn more about the homebuying process, visit https://stifelbank.banzai. org/wellness for educational resources or contact Stefanie Mitchell at mitchellst@ stifelbank.com or (314) 317-1235. Get started here: www.StifelMortgage. com or call (314) 317-6900 for additional information. Stifel Bank & Trust, NLMS #375103
Please contact your Stifel Bank & Trust Lender for loan program details. This information is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to extend consumer credit as defined by section 1026.2 of Regulation “Z.” Interest rate, program terms, and conditions are subject to change without notice.
1 Neither Stifel Bank & Trust nor affiliated companies provide legal or tax advice.
