September 3rd, 2026 edition

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Sharp brothers give De Smet Spartans an early spark.

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St. Louis American The

SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2026

Serving, empowering and advocating for equity in St. Louis since 1928

stlamerican.com

Vol. 98 No. 21 COMPLIMENTARY

Katherine’s kitchen

Andy’s Seasoning celebrates journey from kitchen to $35 million business

By Kenya Vaughn St. Louis American Katherine Anderson believed when Andy’s Seasoning was struggling under millions of dollars in debt. She believed when the family business faced foreclosure. And she believed when others might have looked at the numbers and decided the company had reached its end.

Her son, President and CEO Pastor Larry W. Lee, remembers it clearly.

“Now here I am a man of faith, and I’m

Erika Smith, left, serves Bettie Rooks during Andy’s Seasoning’s 45th anniversary celebration Monday at the company’s St. Louis headquarters.

a pastor, and there were times when Mom said that things were going to be alright,” Lee said Monday during a celebration of Andy’s 45th anniversary. “She was steadfast. She never wavered one time.

She would say, ‘I prayed about it and God let me know that it’s gonna be alright.’

Sometimes she was the only person who believed it — but guess what, she was right.”

Monday’s celebration at Andy’s corpo-

See Andy’s, A10

Photo by Lawrence Bryant / St. Louis American

NAACP report calls for major changes at city jail At least 22 people have died while in custody at the City Justice Center since 2020

Photo by Lawrence Bryant / St. Louis American

Dr. Paula Knight, center, will receive the Stellar Performance Award during the St. Louis American Foundation’s 39th annual Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship & Awards Gala.

A calling, not a contract

Dr. Paula Knight is honored for an unwavering commitment to students

By Na’Porsha Williams St. Louis American

When floodwaters damaged a Jennings School District building and a cyberattack targeted the district’s network, Superintendent Dr. Paula Knight had one message for her team: “I got it. We’re OK.” That steady leadership through backto-back crises is one reason Knight will receive the Stellar Performance Award during the St. Louis American Foundation’s 39th annual Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship & Awards Gala. The event will be held Oct. 17 at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel.

Jennings Board of Education President Miranda Walker Jones said Knight rallied her staff through

Photo by Lawrence Bryant / St. Louis American

Jennings Superintendent Dr. Paula Knight

See Knight, A10

By Sylvester Brown Jr. St. Louis American The St. Louis City Justice Center is housing more detainees than it was designed to accommodate under normal conditions while struggling with deaths, staffing shortages and medical-care concerns that a new NAACP report says require long-term changes in how the Of the 22 city operates its jail. deaths, at The 43-page report, least 11 released Tuesday by followed the St. Louis City branch of the NAACP, medical for more correcemergencies calls tions officers, stronger or involved oversight of medical health concare, monthly public ditions. Four reporting of deaths and overdoses and a fivewere ruled year plan for repairing suicides and or replacing parts of four were the 24-year-old jail.

But the report does ruled accinot place the probdental drug lems solely on current overdoses. city leaders. It credits Corrections, Public Safety and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department with changes already underway and says the agencies have worked with the NAACP in “good faith.”

“If all we do is point fingers at each other, nothing will get done,” St. Louis City NAACP President Adolphus M. Pruitt II said.

At least 22 people have died while in custody at the City Justice Center since 2020, according to St. Louis Public Radio’s review of Public Safety, police and Medical Examiner records. The

See Jail, A10 BUSINESS

LIVING IT

St. Louis advances new rules for data centers

Lionel Richie powers through for a high-energy performance at The Muny

St. Louis has moved closer to adopting its first comprehensive regulations for data centers, setting standards for electricity and water use, noise and effects on surrounding neighborhoods.

Music legend Lionel Richie faced a health challenge during his “Sing A Song All Night Long” tour. But through sheer determination — and several sips of electrolytes — Richie not only powered through, but he gave fans a night to remember.

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Editorial / Commentary

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ST. LOUIS AMERICAN • SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2026

Editorial

African American studies offers roadmap to resistence

“A people without the knowledge of their history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots.”

— Marcus Garvey

The restrictions have been so significant that simply mentioning the words “black,” “women,” “disabled,” or “incluWhen I graduated from high school sion” can risk financial ruin. in New Orleans, America was a differAfrican American studies teaches colent place. Black Americans were all lege students, the young people preparing but locked out of economic opportunity to lead us into the future, why our counbecause of the color of our skin and the try operates the way it does today and racial caste system that saw us as no provides a blueprint for how to leverage more than servants to White Americans, our democracy and constitutional many of whom benefited finanrights to drive change. cially and socially from our African American history is enslavement for centuries. not only about the challenges ​Growing up in a city rife with that Black Americans have faced segregation, I channeled my frussince we arrived in the 13 colonies trations into my studies. When in bondage; it shows the power I enrolled at the University of of protesting, the endurance of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League community, and the meaning of institution that was built in part community. by enslaved people, my people, I Columnist It’s a field of research that knew the best way to reengineer Marc Morial challenges harmful narratives, the system was by understanding as Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois did in how it worked and its connection his 1935 book Black Reconstruction in to the conditions of Black Americans in America, overturning the prevailing racist this country. My double major was in Dunning School narrative, proving that economics and African American studpost-Civil War democratic experiments ies. failed not because of Black incompe​Today, we find ourselves once again tence, but because white elites deliberatesuccumbing to infighting about the same ly fractured multiracial labor solidarity to struggles we could have extinguished re-establish control. generations earlier by tackling ​It was also the focus of systemic racism and its impact Heritage Foundation President on our economy, our standing ​Today, we Kevin Roberts’s Ph.D. disserin the world, and our collective tation. The irony of studying find ourunderstanding of one another. slave communities, kinship netWe have an administration selves once works and survival strategies in that entered a zero-sum game again sucLouisiana during the 18th and targeting diversity initiatives cumbing to 19th centuries, while authorwith executive orders that so ing Project 2025, a document infighting thinly veil their racism it’s designed to strip Americans of laughable. The result of those about the our constitutional rights, cannot orders has been a massive spike same strugbe overlooked. in unemployment, creating a gles we There’s power in these proripple effect through our entire grams and understanding Black could have economic system.

It’s been cuts to university extinguished history. There is also power to be gained by blocking an budgets and to schools that are generations increasingly frustrated popsimply trying to uphold our earlier. ulation’s access to historical nation’s values of ensuring that practices, thereby demanding all Americans have access to more from our leadership and the American dream regardless government. of race, gender, sexual orientation, or Philosopher George Santayana once faith. Those cuts have stifled essential said that “Those who cannot remember medical breakthroughs, cancer research, clean energy development, and the devel- the past are condemned to repeat it.”

We are at a critical juncture in our hisopment of equitable, ethical artificial tory, inching toward repeating the worst intelligence. parts of our past and recreating a system The next victim in the cutting spree is that serves only a few. And the only way African American studies.

The University of Texas at Austin, the we will survive it is by standing together. And we can only stand together by University of Iowa, and the University of understanding and accepting the flaws of Kansas are just a few institutions that are our past to build a better future. shuttering or consolidating their African We cannot allow a field as precious as American studies programs in this cliAfrican American Studies to die because mate. Some are citing low enrollment of political pressure. Not now, not ever. as a reason for their reductions. But it is If we do, it will be at our own peril. impossible to ignore the threats of budMarc Morial is president and CEO of get cuts and the evaporation of essential the National Urban League. federal dollars from an administration circling diversity programs like a hawk.

By Marc Morial

St. Louis American stlamerican.com

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The St. Louis American 2315 Pine St. St. Louis, MO 63103 314-533-8000

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Commentary

One Black governor is not enough ference. But several Black governors working together can lead the national conversation on many critical issues When Maryland Gov. Wes Moore impacting African Americans. was recently named chair of the National We came remarkably close to that Governors Association, he made history reality in 2018. Andrew Gillum in as the first African American to lead the Florida, Ben Jealous in Maryland and bipartisan organization representing the Stacey Abrams in Georgia inspired milnation’s governors. It was a milestone lions of voters and built historic worth celebrating, not only coalitions. But each fell short on because it broke another barrier, Election Day. but because it reminded us how Their defeats meant that anothrare Black governors have been er opportunity to build a meaningin American history. ful cohort of African American Too often, when America governors slipped away. This elects an African American govelection offers another chance. ernor, that leader serves alone.

Democrats have the opportuniWhen Virginians elected Douglas ty to reelect Moore in Maryland Columnist Wilder in 1989, he became the while electing Keisha Lance first African American ever Kevin Harris Bottoms in Georgia, David elected governor in the United Crowley in Wisconsin, Stacey States. It was a watershed Plaskett in the U.S. Virgin Islands, moment that many hoped would usher in Jermaine Johnson in South Carolina and a new era of Black executive leadership.

Aaron Ford in Nevada.

Instead, Wilder remained an exception Republican Rep. Byron Donalds is for years. also well positioned to become More than a decade later, Florida’s first Black governor.

Massachusetts elected Deval In Minnesota, Republican Lisa Patrick, making him only the One Black Demuth is her party’s nominee second African American governor for governor, as is Republican elected governor since John James in Michigan. can make a Reconstruction. Once again, Together, those victories history was made, but once difference. would represent more than again, he largely stood alone.

But several individual political successes.

Today, Moore is only the Black gover- They would create something third African American since nors working America has never experienced Reconstruction ever elected with multiple Black governors governor, and now the first to together simultaneously. chair the National Governors can lead the serving Douglas Wilder opened the Association. Currently, Moore national con- door. Deval Patrick proved the is America’s only Black govversation on first Black governor was not the ernor.

Governors are among the many critical last. Moore is demonstrating what Black executive leadership most powerful elected officials issues can achieve on the national in America. They shape edustage even as Black excellence cation policy, oversee crimis under attack as DEI. inal justice systems, expand And 2026 provides another opportunior restrict access to healthcare, drive ty to move beyond celebrating one histoeconomic development, appoint judges, ry-making governor at a time by electing and sign or veto legislation that directly a generation of Black leaders whose colaffects millions of lives. lective influence can shape public policy For African American communities, for decades to come. gubernatorial leadership can influence Kevin Harris is a Democratic strateeverything from voting access to public gist who has advised over 100 campaigns school funding, environmental justice, and ballot measures, including the past housing and entrepreneurship. five presidential elections.

One Black governor can make a difBy Kevin Harris

Commentary

When winning is not victory to comply.

That summer, the Alabama legislature passed a map that diluted Black voting Since 2021, a case bearing my family name has been winding through our feder- strength even more than the one we’d originally challenged. The state kept payal court system. ing private attorneys to defend its right to Allen v. Milligan asked whether ignore a direct order from the Supreme Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act could Court. still be used to challenge racial bias in The hardest moment came in August how voting districts get drawn. I joined 2023, on the top floor of the this lawsuit expecting to lose. Yet, Hugo L. Black United States my co-plaintiffs and I are undeCourthouse. Three federal judges feated. Five times the courts have asked Solicitor General Edmund reviewed our case — a federal LaCour to account for the state’s panel and the U.S. Supreme Court defiance. LaCour told them his — and five times we have won. team was confident the Court Earlier this year, the Supreme would revise its reasoning if Court ruled in Louisiana v. allowed to review the case again.

Callais. Just a few summer Columnist The Alabama Solicitor months before our country’s General was telling federal judg250th birthday, the Voting Rights Evan es that his state would simply Act lost, badly. Justice Kagan, Milligan keep appealing until the Court’s in dissent, wrote that the ruling reasoning changed. Instead, the renders Section 2 “all but a dead judges appointed a special map master letter.” who helped all parties negotiate a redeThe 1965 Voting Rights Act was sign of Alabama’s 2nd Congressional already a shadow of the bill President District, ultimately won by Rep. Shomari Johnson signed into law.

In 2013, the Supreme Court dismantled Figures.

We are undefeated. We complied with preclearance, the VRA’s most powerful every court order. Against all tool for preventing racial disodds, we have prevailed. My crimination before it happened. personal savings are in the red, What was left was Section 2 — my high school has closed, a way for ordinary Americans In June my college has closed, but my like us to challenge discrimi2023, the neighbors cheer me on. natory voting systems after the Supreme Attorney General Steve fact. Callais has all but closed that window too.

Court agreed Marshall is now running for the U.S. Senate. Former Solicitor And then there is our pecuwith us too.

General Edmund LaCour is now liar case.

The state a federal judge, appointed by Each Milligan plaintiff still refused President Trump to a lifetime took a different path into the position on the very Northern litigation. Mine was grief and to comply.

District of Alabama court where the appeal of storytelling on a I watched him say that the state grander stage. So many close was above obeying. loved ones and local leaders had Our beloved Voting Rights Act lies in died during the pandemic that litigation ashes. So what is our reward? felt like a way to keep their stories in the What can we do? historical record.

We can invest in local acts until we In February 2022, three federal judgachieve something far closer to permaes — two appointed by President Trump, nent protection of American voting rights. one by President Reagan — unanimously We are undefeated, and here we are, held that Alabama had violated federall the same. Regardless of outcome, your al law, ordering the state to redraw our willingness to stand is itself a victory. congressional map to include two majorEvan Milligan is co-director of The ity-African-American voting districts or Sanctuary at the Jubilee Community something close to it.

Center in Montgomery, Ala. He is the The state refused to comply. It spent named plaintiff in the Allen v. Milligan millions in tax dollars appealing to the (2023) U.S. Supreme Court case that Supreme Court. forced Alabama to add a second majoriIn June 2023, the Supreme Court ty-Black district to its congressional map. agreed with us too. The state still refused

By Evan Milligan

“This guy’s scrapbooking his murder, for God’s sake.”

— Prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo, pointing to a scrapbook of Tupac Shakur articles kept by Duane “Keffe D” Davis, who was convicted of Shakur’s 1996 murder.

News

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SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2026

SLPS acknowledges audit failures, points to reforms

By Lawrence Bryant St. Louis American Saint Louis Public Schools is pushing back against suggestions that problems identified in a recent state audit reflect how the district operates today, saying current leaders should be judged by their efforts to correct failures they inherited.

In a detailed response to Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick’s report, the district acknowledged serious failures in governance, financial oversight, operational controls and accountability but said many occurred under previous district and board leadership.

“SLPS does not seek to excuse those failures because they were inherited,” the response says.

“New leadership has been working to correct them because they were inherited.”

Fitzpatrick released the second part of his audit last week, giving SLPS a “poor” rating.

The audit concluded that the Board of Education had not functioned as an effective governing body and cited failures involving oversight, communication, ethical leadership and accountability.

“The bottom line is simple,” Fitzpatrick said when the audit was

released. “This is a district that’s in the midst of massive operational distress.”

The district does not dispute many of the findings. Instead, its response focuses on when the problems occurred and whether current leadership should be held responsible for them.

“The question is not whether those past deficiencies occurred,” the district said. “The audit establishes that they did.”

SLPS said the board has engaged the Missouri School Boards’ Association to help strengthen governance, implement audit recommendations and ensure board policies are followed.

Superintendent Myra M. Berry said the district began making changes before the final audit was released.

“When the district received the initial findings, we did not wait for the report to begin taking action,” Berry said.

The audit found board members spent about $75,000 attending nine conferences over 13 months, with five conferences lacking required approval. The district acknowledged that required policies should have been followed but said the expenditures should not be presented as evidence of current prac-

St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer, center, and SLPS Superintendent Myra M. Berry, right, listen to Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick’s report listing serious failures in governance, financial oversight, operational controls and accountability.

Photos by Lawrence Bryant / St. Louis American

tices.

The audit also criticized SLPS for failing to pursue a potential recovery of about $3.1 million under a performance bond involving former transportation provider Missouri Central School Bus. “I just cannot understand why the district wouldn’t take steps to try to make a recovery on that bond,” Fitzpatrick said.

Berry previously said the bond issue was new to her. In its response, SLPS said the issue involved the former transportation provider and previous district leadership and that the current administration

is investigating what happened and whether recovery remains possible.

The district emphasized that it has replaced the transportation system criticized by auditors. St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer, an SLPS parent, said she was “very pleased” with the current transportation contract and that it was serving students and her family well.

Other audit findings included problems involving attendance controls, safety drills, cash handling, contracts and Sunshine Law compliance.

SLPS said it has adopted a new student informa-

tion system and provided staff training. It also disputed the implication that schools failed to meet state safety requirements, saying district requirements exceed those of the state and all schools met state standards for drills. New safety forms, monthly reviews and site-based training also have been implemented, the district said.

The district highlighted a portion of the audit examining allegations involving enrollment, graduation rates, comprehensive-school qualifications, timekeeping and federal grant oversight in

which auditors reported “no significant deficiencies in internal controls, policies, or procedures.”

Fitzpatrick has urged the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and lawmakers to consider whether a different governance model could provide greater stability for SLPS. The district pushed back on that suggestion, arguing current leadership should have an opportunity to demonstrate whether its reforms are working before the governance structure is fundamentally changed.

“Has current leadership been given a reasonable opportunity to demonstrate whether the reforms already underway are working?” the district asks.

The response concludes that SLPS should be judged by the same standard Fitzpatrick recently applied to the Francis Howell School District, which also received a “poor” audit rating before the auditor subsequently praised its progress implementing recommendations.

“Current leadership should not be held accountable for what it inherited, but how it responded, what it has corrected, what remains to be done and the results it ultimately produces,” the district said.

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ST. LOUIS AMERICAN • SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2026

News Briefs

Rejected Ferguson data center incentives revived

St. Louis County Councilman Nick Kasoff has proposed legislation to revive tax incentives for a $1.8 billion technology hub and data center development at the former Emerson campus in Ferguson, months after a divided council rejected the proposal.

In May, the council deadlocked 3-3, with one abstention, leaving a $1.5 billion tax abatement package without enough votes for approval. The proposal faced opposition from Ferguson residents, the St. Louis County NAACP, the FergusonFlorissant School District and others over

environmental protections, community benefits and the size of the incentives.

Kasoff’s legislation would reconsider incentives for developer Jim Onder to redevelop the 217-acre campus as a technology, energy, manufacturing and research center.

In a Facebook post Tuesday, Kasoff said the development would generate significant revenue for Ferguson and that the developer has agreed to provide an additional $7.5 million for neighborhood improvements over 10 years.

Voting rights restored for 41,000 Missourians More than 41,000 Missourians convicted of felonies regained the right to vote under a law that took effect Aug. 28.

House Bill 1871 allows most people to register and vote after leaving prison, without completing probation or parole.

Exceptions include certain murder, assault and sex-related convictions, as

well as offenses involving elections.

Those convicted of voting-related crimes remain permanently barred.

More than 10,000 people on probation or parole remain ineligible under the exceptions, according to The Sentencing Project. Eligible voters must register where they live before casting a ballot.

Six Flags St. Louis renamed Mid-America Adventure Six Flags St. Louis has been renamed Mid-America Adventure following the Eureka amusement park’s acquisition by Florida-based Enchanted Parks.

The change marks the first time since the park opened in 1971 that it will operate without the Six Flags name. The new name references its original identity, Six

Flags Over Mid-America.

Enchanted Parks acquired the park as part of a $342 million deal involving multiple properties. The company announced the new name and logo last week. The park’s 2027 season passes are now on sale.

Sewer district warns businesses of service shutoffs The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District has begun warning some commercial customers that their sewer service could be disconnected for chronic nonpayment as unpaid bills exceed $100 million.

MSD sent notices Tuesday giving an initial group of businesses 30 days to pay their balances or establish payment plans.

The utility said it is the first time in its 70-year history that it has moved toward disconnecting sewer service.

The effort will begin with large commercial accounts, though residential customers could eventually face disconnection. MSD also offers payment plans and discounted rates for qualifying residents.

Commentary

Black America will feel national debt pain

workers and commuters also endured weeks of construction, street closures and transportation changes. President The national debt has passed $40 trillion — that is $40,000,000,000,000, Donald Trump rode around the track in the presidential limousine and waved a number with more zeroes than most the green flag; the public will get part of us can comfortably count. The of the bill.

Congressional Budget Office projects When Washington embraces austera federal deficit of $1.9 trillion this ity, Black people feel the sharp edge year. We will spend more than $1 first. We are more likely to work in trillion simply paying interest on the the public sector, where cuts mean debt. layoffs and frozen wages. We The numbers are soberare more likely to depend on ing. But whenever politicians public schools, public hospistart hyperventilating about tals, public transportation and debt, Black folks had better Medicaid. We are less likely hold on to our wallets. to have inherited wealth to The CBO estimates that cushion a job loss, medical the 2025 reconciliation law emergency, or rent increase. and related debt-service costs According to the Federal will add about $4.1 trillion Reserve, only 38% of Black to projected deficits over adults had enough emergency a decade. Yet some of the savings to cover three months lawmakers who supported of expenses in 2025. The Julianne it now say “tough choices” comparable figure for White Malveaux must be made. Their tough adults was 61%. That gap is choices almost always not the result of Black people being require sacrifice from somebody else. less disciplined with money. It reflects The government borrows by sellenslavement, exclusion, discrimination, ing Treasury bills, notes and bonds to redlining, unequal pay and the systemindividuals, banks, pension funds, the Federal Reserve and domestic and for- atic denial of opportunities to accumulate and transfer wealth. eign investors. The danger is not that When government withdraws, somebody suddenly presents America households fill the hole. A cut in colwith a $40 trillion bill, but that refilege assistance becomes a student loan. nancing the debt becomes increasingReduced health coverage becomes ly expensive and interest payments a credit-card balance. A shortage of crowd out other priorities. affordable housing becomes punishing Borrowing is not automatically rent or an unaffordable mortgage. bad.

Public austerity becomes private But borrowing to finance tax givedebt. aways is another matter. Borrowing And private debt does not land evenwhile refusing to collect taxes already ly. Black borrowers are more likely to owed is another matter. Borrowing pay higher interest rates, face higher because politically connected corfees and have fewer favorable credit porations treat the Treasury like options. their private ATM is another matter.

The national debt is measured in Borrowing for this President’s vanity trillions, but Black families experience projects is something else again.

Last week’s Freedom 250 Indy Car its consequences in smaller, more brutal numbers: the minimum credit-card race did not create our $40 trillion payment, student-loan balance, late fee, debt, but it illustrates the hypocrisy overdraft charge, rent increase and preof people who preach austerity while scription that must wait until payday. spending public money on spectacle.

America should not balance the Corporate sponsors reportedly budget on the backs of people who covered most of the racing bill, but received the fewest benefits. taxpayers will absorb undisclosed Julianne Malveaux is a Washington, costs for policing, emergency serDC-based economist and author. vices and traffic control. Downtown

By Julianne Malveaux

Business SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2026

St. Louis advances new rules for data centers

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PEOPLE On The Move

Tishaura Jones joins Redemption Bank board Former St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones has joined the board of directors of Redemption Bank, a Black-owned bank based in Utah that offers digital banking services nationally.

Jones previously worked with Redemption to develop and launch Tishaura its Bank King Card, Jones a debit card program that generates donations to nonprofits providing cash assistance to single mothers in government-subsidized housing.

University City schools add two administrators

Photo by Lawrence Bryant / St. Louis American

Developers plan to build a large data center in the former Famous-Barr warehouse near the Armory. The project has drawn opposition over its potential electricity and water use, environmental effects and community benefits.

St. Louis American staff St. Louis has moved closer to adopting its first comprehensive regulations for data centers, with a plan that would restrict where the facilities can operate while setting standards for electricity and water use, noise and effects on surrounding neighborhoods.

The Board of Aldermen on Friday advanced Board Bill 49 on a 13-0 vote, with one abstention, after months of debate over how the city should regulate an industry that can bring major investment but also place enormous demands on electricity and other infrastructure.

The bill is not yet final. It returns to the city Planning Commission on Sept. 9 for review of changes made by aldermen before an anticipat-

contentious topic head-on,” ed final vote Sept. 11.

Mayor Cara Spencer said.

The regulations would The St. Louis NAACP replace a system that has has pushed for stronger treated data centers as safeguards, offices or raising conwarehouses cerns about because the the effect city’s zoning The regulations of large code has no would replace a data centers separate classystem that has on utility sification for treated data cencosts, the them. The bill ters as offices environment says the faciland Black ities can affect or warehouses communities surrounding because the city’s while also areas through noise, heat and zoning code has no calling for separate classifica- residents to air pollution share in the and strain tion for them. economic infrastructure because opportuniof their ties created by artificial large power intelligence and other techdemands. nology.

“This bill is the result of “AI is inevitable. Equity a year-long intensive effort in AI is not,” St. Louis to tackle this complex and

NAACP President Adolphus M. Pruitt II told aldermen in July.

Much of the debate has unfolded as developers pursue the $3 billion Armory Innovation District in Midtown, which includes a large data center planned for the former Famous-Barr warehouse near the Armory. The project has drawn opposition over its potential electricity and water use, environmental effects and community benefits.

At one point, Alderwomen Alisha Sonnier and Anne Schweitzer sought to ban mega-scale data centers in the city. The Planning Commission rejected that approach and instead moved forward with tighter regulations.

See Data Centers, A6

Women’s leadership group launches St. Louis chapter

By Na’Porsha Williams St. Louis American A new network of women leaders is taking shape in St. Louis, bringing together 40 women from some of the region’s most prominent companies, universities and nonprofit organizations.

The group is the first chapter outside Wisconsin for TEMPO, a Milwaukeebased professional organization for women executives and emerging leaders.

For Shantia Coley, associate general counsel at Edward Jones, the appeal is

the chance to build connections with women whose paths might not otherwise cross hers.

“I am Shantia Coley definitely an advocate for advancing women’s leadership. Period. Full stop there,” Coley said.

She said TEMPO offers women in different industries an opportunity to con-

nect around something they have in common: leadership.

TEMPO announced Tuesday that its 40 Gisele Marcus founding St. Louis members come from 31 organizations and work in financial services, technology, health care, higher education, law and nonprofits.

Other members are

Gisele Marcus, vice dean at Washington University’s Olin Business School; Stephanie Meyer, director of Workforce AI-Microsoft at World Wide Technology; Priyal Patel, chief financial officer at Bayer North America; and Sharon Fenoglio, chief advancement officer at Rung for Women.

The founding group also includes women from Commerce Bank, Husch Blackwell, Maryville University and U.S. Bank.

TEMPO was founded more than 50 years ago and has See Leadership, A6

Arnez Newton has been named assistant principal at Brittany Woods Middle School, and Jennifer Pryor is serving as PreK-5 English language arts, reading and social studies curriculum coordinator for the School District of University City.

Newton spent the past 12 years at Grand Center Arts Academy as a teacher, dean of students and Middle Arnez Newton School Academy principal. He previously taught middle school in Memphis and Chicago and was a Teach For America corps member.

Pryor, an English language arts and reading instructional coach, was Jennifer named the district’s Pryor Elementary Teacher of the Year in 2024.

She also has led districtwide professional learning in curriculum implementation, literacy and data-informed instruction.

Ryan Young promoted to detective sergeant Ryan Young of the Berkeley Police Department has been promoted to detective sergeant following eight years of service.

Young is leading the department’s investigation into the 2008 disappearance of Shemika Cosey, who was 16 when she vanished while staying at her cousin’s Berkeley Ryan Young home. Earlier this year, Young and other investigators followed a new lead that prompted a search of a Berkeley property, but material recovered there was determined to be animal remains.

Talbott wins national STEM research award Sarah Talbott, a May graduate of Harris-Stowe State University, won first place in the neuroscience poster presentation at the 2026 Emerging Researchers National Conference in STEM. Talbott’s research examined the potential effects of artificial light at night and light polSarah Talbott lution on maternal and fetal health. She also presented the research at Harris-Stowe’s Spring 2026 Research Symposium.

Talbott, who majored in biology at Harris-Stowe, is now a graduate student at North Carolina A&T State University.

Please submit your People on the Move item (including photo) to areid@stlamerican.com.

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Data Centers Continued from A5 The resulting bill divides data centers into three categories — micro, standard and major — based on size and electricity use, with requirements increasing with the scale of the facility.

Major data centers would be allowed only in the city’s unrestricted zoning district and would need special city approval.

They also would have to be at least 600 feet from residential and other protected properties, including schools, public parks and major transit facilities. The distance would be 300 feet for standard facilities and 150 feet for micro data centers.

Standard and major data centers would have to show that at least 25% of their electricity would come from renewable sources when they begin operating, increasing to 50% by the end of their fifth year and 100% by the end of their 10th year. The bill provides some flexibility if enough renewable energy is not available.

For the largest projects, the electric company also would have to tell the city whether serving a data center could affect other

Leadership Continued from A5 built a network of more than 500 executive women and nearly 300 emerging women leaders. It offers mentoring, networking and professional development.

One of the St. Louis chapter’s first initiatives will be a research partner-

ST. LOUIS AMERICAN • SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2026

Webster grant targets STEM retention, graduation

customers’ rates or power-grid reliability.

Data centers could not use cooling systems that rely solely on water-intensive evaporative cooling.

Standard and major facilities also would have to reach agreements with the St. Louis Water Division and pay applicable costs resulting from their demands on the system.

The largest projects would face additional requirements, including a community meeting before developers apply and notification of nearby neighborhood organizations, residents and property owners.

Developers also would have to provide independent reports detailing expected environmental effects, tax revenue and construction and permanent jobs.

Major data centers would have to sign a binding agreement with the city addressing noise, air quality, electricity and water use, wastewater and public infrastructure. The city could revoke approval if a data center violated the agreement.

Some of those requirements address NAACP concerns about disclosure of data centers’ environmental and economic effects and protections for surrounding communities.

Supporters of data-center development have warned that overly restrictive regulations could cost St. Louis investment and jobs.

“Keeping St. Louis nationally competitive

through updating our tech-based economy allows the city to attract development and jobs to strengthen the tax base,” Stephen Westbrooks, president and CEO of the St. Louis Development Corp.,

said in the mayor’s news release.

The rules also address the growing use of artificial intelligence. The bill includes data centers used for AI training and processing, and larger

facilities would have to disclose whether they would be used for artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency mining, surveillance, large-language-model training or other purposes.

ship with Olin Business School examining the experiences of women in the workplace.

Marcus, who also is faculty director of Olin’s Women in Leadership Program, said the goal is to generate St. Louisspecific data that employers, educators, policymakers and community leaders can use to strengthen leadership pathways for

women.

“Olin’s partnership with TEMPO gives us an opportunity to ask a different question: What is happening to women right here in St. Louis?” Marcus said. “Once we understand that, we can move from anecdotes to evidence — and from evidence to action.”

St. Louis was selected as TEMPO’s first expan-

sion market after the organization researched several cities and talked with business and community leaders here. TEMPO said those conversations pointed to an appetite for more connections among women working in different industries.

“St. Louis has an incredible community of accomplished women leaders, but what we heard

repeatedly was a desire for more opportunities to connect across companies and industries in an authentic and meaningful way,” TEMPO President and CEO Jennifer Dirks said.

The St. Louis chapter will develop its own programming, while local members also will have access to TEMPO’s larger network. Some programs and events will bring

together members from St. Louis and Milwaukee.

Coley said she also sees the chapter helping cultivate the region’s next generation of women leaders.

“One of the huge components will be strengthening existing women leaders in St. Louis and inspiring the next generation of women leaders to come after us,” she said.

By Alvin A. Reid St. Louis American Webster University has received a $400,000 National Science Foundation grant to test whether paid fellowships, mentoring and leadership training can help more undergraduate students remain in STEM programs and graduate.

The three-year project comes as national data show significant racial differences in the percentage of students who enter college in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields and complete a STEM credential or degree.

Among students who started college in a STEM major, 40% of Black students completed a STEM credential or degree, compared with 55% of students overall, according to the National Science Foundation’s 2026 Science and Engineering Indicators. The figures are based on a national study that tracked students through 2021. White students completed STEM credentials or degrees at a 62% rate and Asian students at 70%.

Webster’s program will create 40 paid undergraduate fellowships. Students will receive training in leadership, communication and peer mentoring, although the university has not specified how much the fellows will be paid.

HealthMatters your

‘Taking Care of You’ SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2026

A7

Mothers urged to know their bodies Olympic gold medalist Dawn Harper-Nelson, who survived a severe postpartum emergency, shared her experience during a recent maternal health discussion at Urban League headquarters in St. Louis.

Medicaid changes raise fears of coverage losses St. Louis American staff

Photo by Lawrence Bryant / St. Louis American

Maternal health advocates stress self-advocacy during pregnancy

By Na’Porsha Williams St. Louis American For Olympic gold medalist Dawn Harper-Nelson, knowing her body was essential to becoming one of the best hurdlers in the world. Years later, during pregnancy and childbirth, she realized the stakes were much higher.

“When you want to win the Olympics, you have to know your body,” Harper-Nelson said. “I dedicated 24 years at the time to chasing Olympic gold. And so when I won, it was because I knew my body inside and out.

“That was a blessing for me

Dawn Harper-Nelson, a mother of two, endured 49 hours of labor and survived a severe postpartum emergency. because again, a gold medal was on the line — this one is a life, my child’s or mine.”

Harper-Nelson, a mother of two who endured 49 hours of labor and survived a severe postpartum emergency, shared her experience during

a recent maternal health discussion at Urban League headquarters in St. Louis.

Hosted by Save Our Sisters during the Urban League Expo, the event brought together mothers, expectant mothers, health care professionals and maternal care advocates to discuss pregnancy, childbirth and what happens after mothers bring their babies home.

Much of the discussion centered on a message that Harper-Nelson said her years as an elite athlete had already taught her: Women need to know their See Pregnancy, A9

More than 300,000 Missourians who receive health coverage through Medicaid expansion could face new requirements beginning in January, including more frequent eligibility checks and, for some, requirements involving work, school or community service.

The changes come as Missouri has struggled with Medicaid coverage losses tied to paperwork. More than 333,000 Missourians lost Medicaid coverage from January 2025 through February 2026, and nearly 92% of those cases were procedural termiMore than nations — meaning 333,000 the state could not Missourians determine whether lost Medicaid recipients remained eligible because coverage from January of missing forms, infor2025 through incomplete mation or other February administrative issues.

2026.

That history is adding to concerns in St. Louis as Missouri prepares to implement requirements created by the federal budget law known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Paraquad, a St. Louis organization that serves people with disabilities, is particularly concerned about how the changes could affect people who qualify for exemptions.

“People with disabilities already navigate systems that can be complicated and difficult to access,” said Colleen Burdiss, an independent living specialist and advocate at Paraquad. “Adding more frequent reviews, verification requirements, and another process to demonstrate an exemption creates real concern.”

Beginning Jan. 1, adults ages 19 to 64 covered through Missouri’s Medicaid expansion program, known as the Adult Expansion Group, will have See Medicaid, A9

Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

St. Louis-area first responders get access to free screenings St. Louis American staff Police officers, firefighters and emergency medical workers from across the St. Louis region will be offered free prostate cancer screenings Sept. 19 as part of a health fair aimed at making preventive care easier for first responders.

The “Give Me 10!”

First Responders Health Fair and Prostate Cancer Screening Event will be held at Central Middle School, 9800 Patricia Barkalow Drive, Moline Acres. The event is organized by The Empowerment Network, a North St. Louis-based

The “Give Me 10!”

First Responders Health Fair and Prostate Cancer Screening Event will be held at Central Middle School, 9800 Patricia Barkalow Drive, Moline Acres.

prostate cancer advocacy organization.

The health fair is being held during Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

and is believed to be the first in the region to offer prostate cancer screenings specifically for first responders, organizers say.

The screenings will use a prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, blood test. The event also will offer metabolic testing, health education and other wellness resources for first responders and their families.

“Access is everything in preventive care,” said Dr. Kendra Holmes, president and CEO of Affinia Healthcare. “When we bring free screenings directly to the people who need them, we catch See Prostate, A9

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Police officers, firefighters and emergency medical workers from across the St. Louis region will be offered free prostate cancer screenings Sept. 19.

A8

ST. LOUIS AMERICAN • SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2026

Gladys Knight is stepping away from the stage R&B and soul legend Gladys Knight took to social media to announce that she is stepping away from performing.

She announced in a statement on Instagram on Thursday that she will be “easing into fewer performances” to be more present in her personal life.

“After much soul searching, I’ve decided that I will be easing into fewer performances while focusing on transitioning into the next stage of my career and life moving forward,” Knight wrote. “I’ll be spending more time on projects with my husband and visiting with my grandbabies and am looking forward to this new era.”

Knight’s announcement comes amid ongoing concerns about her health – and immediately following a clip released by TMZ showing her to be Gladys Knight incoherent while on stage.

After sharing her statement on Thursday, Knight’s husband and manager, William McDowell, told TMZ that she has good and bad days, and that he is aware of her declining health. “No one is ever gonna make me say, ‘My wife is well,’ but all she wants to do is sing,” he told the outlet.

Viola Davis unleashes on Target for offensive Halloween costume Film and television star Viola Davis did not accept the apology of retail giant Target for selling a racist Halloween costume.

Target issued a public apology for the offensive children’s costume on Monday, saying that they were ‘deeply sorry’ for the oversight and had removed the item.

Despite the apology, Davis, 61, slammed Target in a fiery post on the social media app Threads.

“Target, I do not accept your apology, and I do not believe that you understand the impact... the pain... the dehumanization,” Davis wrote. “These images laid the foundation and the ideology for every atrocity that has been committed against my people, We MATTER! You have shown us that you are not on OUR side.”

Viola Davis

‘Menace II Society’ actor Samuel Monroe Jr. dies at 52

Actor Samuel Monroe Jr. – best known for his role in “Menace II Society” – is dead after a battle with meningitis. He was 52.

Monroe’s mother, Joyce Patton, told TMZ that the actor died last Wednesday. She also announced his death on Facebook, saying “today God called him home” and asking everyone to pray for his family, especially his 3 kids.

He was hospitalized in April with a severe case of meningitis and MRSA pneumonia -- a serious lung infection -- as well as other medical issues.

Sam kicked off his acting career in 1993 with his biggest film, ‘Menace II Society.” He was also famous for his roles in 4 other movies ... “Tales From The Hood,” “Set It Off,” “Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood,” and “The Player’s Club.”

Monroe was recently at the center of a legal fight between his mother and Shawna Stewart, his alleged wife. Patton filed a petition to place Sam in a conservatorship while also questioning whether Stewart was ever legally married to her son.

Tina Campbell claims her finances are in the red Mary Mary’s Trecina “Tina” Campbell claims she’s bringing in less than goes out the door every month as she fights her estranged husband, Glendon “Teddy” Campbell, in divorce court. In court documents obtained by TMZ, the gospel singer said she works around 20 hours per week and pulls in around $4,976 each month.

The 52-year-old singer said her ex pulls in around $7,500 per month as a drummer.

Trecina ‘Tina’ The entertainer lists her monthly expenses Campbell as $4,100 per month in rent, $266 in health care costs, $1,800 on groceries, $2,200 on utilities, $208 on his cell phone, $100 on laundry and cleaning, $150 on education, $1,308 on auto expenses, $400 on charity and other bills for a grand total of $11,933.

Glendon filed for divorce in Aprile after more than 25 years of marriage.

Tina fired back in the divorce, asking the court to terminate her ex’s right to collect spousal support and seeking legal and physical custody of their two kids.

The singer listed the date of separation as August 2024. The exes wed in August 2000.

Hot Sheet Sources:

Instagram.com, People.com, Threads.com, TMZ.com

HealthMatters your

‘Taking Care of You’

ST. LOUIS AMERICAN • SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2026

Medicaid Continued from A7 their eligibility reviewed every six months instead of once a year.

Some also will have to meet what the state calls “community engagement requirements.” Those can be satisfied through paid or unpaid work, community service, an approved work program, education or a combination of activities.

For people renewing coverage, the requirement can be met by completing at least 80 hours of qualifying activities during one month of the six-month review period. Income also can be used to meet the requirement.

The Missouri Department of Social Services says it will first use information it already has to determine whether recipients meet the requirements or qualify for an exemption. If the state cannot verify the information, recipients may be asked to provide pay stubs, school or training records, volunteer records or other documentation.

The additional requirements are drawing scrutiny because of Missouri’s

Pregnancy Continued from A7 bodies, speak up when something does not feel right and expect their concerns to be taken seriously.

“I think it’s so important that you advocate for yourself within understanding that when you speak, it’s valid,” HarperNelson said. “It makes sense. It’s not ridiculous.

We just don’t know that we have a choice.”

For Unique Lumsdon, a Chicago native preparing for the birth of her first child, finding people to help her navigate motherhood has been particularly important.

“Being a first-time mom, I don’t really have a large village in St. Louis,” Lumsdon said. “So I’m glad that I was able to find so many different events with communities that can help me get prepared. It has been a huge help for me.”

The discussion, moderated by Jade Harrell, included Dr. Candice Woolfolk of Washington University’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Monique Gill of Washington University’s Department of Psychiatry; Ebony HooperBoateng of Birthing You Doula Services; and Ronke Faleti, founder of Korede House.

Prostate Continued from A7 disease earlier and save lives.”

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among U.S. men other than skin cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates about 333,830 men will be diagnosed with the disease nationwide in 2026 and about 36,320 will die from it.

About 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed during his lifetime.

The burden is particularly high among Black men. The American Cancer Society reports that Black men have a prostate cancer incidence rate 67% higher than White men and are more than twice as likely to die from the disease.

The focus on first responders also comes

A9

record of procedural terminations.

Joel Ferber, director of advocacy at St. Louisbased Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, told the Missouri Independent that paperwork isn’t always missing when coverage is terminated.

“We have all these clients that send in all their paperwork, and it doesn’t get processed, but the system closes the case,” Ferber said.

Tim McBride, a Washington University public health professor who previously served on Missouri’s Medicaid oversight board, said notices sent to recipients also can be difficult to understand.

“I’ve seen the letters, and they’re really complicated,” McBride told the Independent. “They’re kind of abstruse, to be honest with you.”

The Department of Social Services says procedural terminations generally occur when information is missing or recipients don’t complete a required step, such as returning a renewal form or providing requested verification. The department has been working to automate more of the process and reduce the amount of information

workers must handle manually.

Not everyone covered through Medicaid expansion will have to meet the new community engagement requirement.

Exemptions include people who are pregnant or recently had a pregnancy, some veterans with disabilities, people considered medically frail, people participating in drug or alcohol treatment programs

and people caring for a child 13 or younger or a person with a disability.

People with physical, intellectual or developmental disabilities that significantly limit their daily activities also may be considered medically frail and exempt.

Paraquad is concerned that people who qualify for an exemption could still encounter difficulties demonstrating that they

qualify. The state says it will first try to verify exemptions using information it already has. If it cannot, recipients will have to provide additional information through the renewal process.

Paraquad President and CEO Latosha R. Fowlkes said repeatedly reviewing people with documented disabilities that do not change could waste time and state resources while

Panelists discussed the roles different maternal health professionals can play during pregnancy and after childbirth. HooperBoateng explained that midwives can serve as primary medical providers, while doulas provide emotional and physical support to mothers.

Panelists also discussed access to doula care through MO HealthNet, Missouri’s Medicaid program. A new state law that took effect Aug. 28 requires coverage of doula services for eligible participants, including support sessions before and after childbirth, attendance at a birth, lactation support and help connecting families with community resources.

But several speakers stressed that the need for support does not end with delivery.

“While birth is a big event, it is during the postpartum period that women suffer in silence,” Faleti said. “It takes a village to raise a child, but who is holding the mother?”

Faleti said every mother deserves “100 days of postpartum care.” Her organization helps mothers navigate the transition through specialists, peer support groups, in-home assistance and clinical support.

Mental health can be an important part of that transition. Gill said one in five women experiences

perinatal depression or anxiety and said symptoms may not always be recognized as a mental health problem.

“In Black women, perinatal mood disorders often manifest as physiological symptoms — headaches, stomach aches, exhaustion,” Gill said. “You do not have to suffer in silence; treatment is proven to work and recovery is possible.”

Jasmyn Alexander knows how easily those symptoms can go unrecognized.

Alexander, a mother of six who is expecting her seventh child, works with patients as a perinatal peer support specialist for WashU Medicine. She said becoming a specialist helped her understand experiences from her own pregnancies that she had not recognized at the time.

“Becoming a specialist, already being a mother, I learned so much,” Alexander said. “Like, I didn’t know that I was going through postpartum until I became a counselor.”

Speakers also pushed back against expectations that women should quickly return to their pre-pregnancy bodies and routines.

“The bounce back culture is toxic. Your body takes time to heal,” Hooper-Boateng said.

“You are not chasing getting back to who you were; you are moving forward into a new piece of your identity.”

Harper-Nelson also spoke about the importance of having Black health care providers who understand the experiences and concerns of their patients.

“I don’t think there’s enough of us in the position to help us — OB/

GYNs, doctors. I need to see more of me,” HarperNelson said. “I feel safe with us. I feel more heard.”

That was part of her reason for seeking out a Black OB/GYN, she said.

“I just knew that there would be some things that I will say that she will understand, that I didn’t have to explain or feel like I need to con-

amid research into occupational cancer risks, particularly among firefighters.

Federal researchers have found that firefighters can be exposed to cancer-causing chemicals through smoke and other hazardous substances encountered on the job. A large federal study of nearly 30,000 career firefighters found higher-than-expected rates of several cancers, including prostate cancer among firefighters younger than 65.

“Every day our first responders answer the call to protect others,” Moline Acres Police Chief Ja-Maal Davis said. “This health fair is our opportunity to answer the call for them by promoting wellness, early detection and healthy careers.”

The Empowerment Network was founded

by Mellve Shahid Sr., a prostate cancer survivor who has worked for years

to increase awareness of the disease and access to screening in the St. Louis area.

“Moline Acres is proud to host the kickoff for Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and welcome police officers, firefighters and EMS professionals from across our entire region,” Moline Acres Mayor Michele DeShay said.

“We encourage every first responder in the St. Louis area to give us 10 minutes of their time.”

The Sept. 19 health fair is being held in partnership with Home State Health, the American Cancer Society, Affinia Healthcare, the Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities, Siteman Cancer Center, WashU Medicine and BJC HealthCare. First responders can register by calling The Empowerment Network at 314-385-0998.

Exemptions include people who are pregnant or recently had a pregnancy, some veterans with disabilities, people considered medically frail, people participating in drug or alcohol treatment programs and people caring for a child 13 or younger or a person with a disability.

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increasing the risk of interrupted coverage.

The state is sending informational notices to more than 300,000 MO HealthNet participants who may be affected.

Receiving a notice does not mean someone’s coverage is ending, and recipients do not need to provide work, community service or exemption information now.

Once the requirements take effect, however, recipients subject to them could lose coverage if the state cannot verify compliance or an exemption and they do not provide requested information. The state must give recipients notice and time to respond before ending coverage.

Paraquad is urging recipients to make sure the state has their current contact information and to read notices from MO HealthNet or the Family Support Division carefully.

“We do not have to wait for people to lose coverage before raising concerns about what these changes could mean,” Fowlkes said. “Now is the time to prepare, ask hard questions, and make sure our disability community is at the table.”

vince her to say that this concern I have is valid.”

For Alexander, discussions like this one can help women recognize problems and find help before they reach a crisis.

“These things are really helping the community — for them to come out and listen to,” Alexander said. “And they should have them more often, honestly, to help women.”

A10

Jail Continued from A1 NAACP report cites 21 deaths, a count that predates the Jan. 31 death of Dametria McDile, 32.

Of the 22 deaths, at least 11 followed medical emergencies or involved health conditions. Four were ruled suicides and four were ruled accidental drug overdoses. Another detainee died from a gunshot wound suffered before entering the jail.

McDile was found unresponsive while alone in her cell and died later at a hospital. The police department said its Force Investigation Unit was investigating, as it does with deaths in custody.

The report also cites the death of Samuel Hayes Jr., 31, who died in July 2025 after being placed in a restraint chair following an altercation.

A wrongful-death lawsuit filed by his mother alleges that Hayes convulsed and cried out for about 20 minutes without receiving help. The allegations have

Knight Continued from A1 both emergencies, ensuring students lost no instructional time while the district rebuilt and recovered.

“She’s had to continuously rise to the occasion and rally her team to make sure that our kids didn’t lose any time away from their academics — while rebuilding a building and managing a cyberattack at the same time,” Walker Jones said.

Knight said moments of adversity reveal the true measure of a leader.

“No good sailor was ever formed on calm seas,” Knight told The St. Louis American. “If the seas are always calm, how do you know you’re a good sailor until those waters get really, really rough and choppy?”

Since taking over the district in 2021, Knight has expanded its pre-K program to include 3-yearolds and pushed opportunities for students to earn college credits and travel internationally.

“In our great state of Missouri, the state has not quite embraced universal pre-K. But I have,” Knight said. “I am not gonna let these barriers be the reason why children who look like us can’t come to school.”

The emphasis on early education follows Knight throughout a career that

Andy’s Continued from A1 rate headquarters brought together longtime employees, family members, dignitaries and supporters to honor the company’s past while looking toward its future.

But again and again, the story returned to Katherine Anderson.

Reuben Anderson was recognized as the founder of Andy’s Seasoning.

His wife, Katherine, was remembered as the natural business leader who carried the company forward after his death.

“When Mrs. Anderson assumed leadership with the untimely passing of her husband in 1996, the company was two million dollars in debt,” board member Charles Stout said.

The financial problems had roots in the company’s earlier expansion.

By the late 1980s, Andy’s had acquired its current space on Chouteau, along with the enormous expenses that came with

ST. LOUIS AMERICAN • SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2026 not been decided in court.

The jail also is operating above its normal capacity. It held 804 people Sunday.

The City Justice Center has 860 beds but a rated capacity of 732 detainees, according to Bretton DeLaria, public information officer for the Department of Public Safety. That means the jail was above its normal operating capacity but below the maximum number it can hold.

Staffing remains a problem. Commissioner Nate Hayward told The Marshall Project last year that the CJC was short about 50 corrections officers. The NAACP report says Corrections sought funding for 130 officers for fiscal 2026 but received funding for 120, compared with what it describes as a fully staffed target of 190.

The report also details changes made during the past year. Equipment used to detect drugs entering the jail through legal mail has sharply reduced overdoses. Medical examination rooms are

began in a second-grade classroom and included 27 years with St. Louis Public Schools.

Knight grew up in St. Louis. Her father, Dr. James Knight, was a cardiovascular surgeon, while her mother, Donna Knight, served as a finance manager for former Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan. But Knight credits her grandfather with first encouraging her interest in education.

“He got me a chalkboard, and I would play school,” Knight recalled.

“And I would line up the dolls, line up my stuffed animals, put them on the floor, you know, put them in the rows. And I would just play school.”

Knight graduated from Parkway Central High School and Saint Louis University before earning advanced degrees from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

She began her career as a second-grade teacher at Hamilton Elementary School in SLPS. Gloria Shelton, a former SLPS administrator who mentored Knight, recalled recognizing her potential early in her career.

“I used to tell her she was the youngest, oldest person I knew — full of wisdom,” Shelton said.

Knight eventually became chief academic officer and deputy superintendent and spent almost a decade working closely with former Superintendent Dr. Kelvin Adams.

growing the business.

The company was eventually on the verge of foreclosure. But Katherine Anderson refused to see the situation as the end.

“She said, ‘I’ve prayed about this situation. As long as we continue to do what we said we would do, we will be fine,’” Stout said.

Decades later, the results of that conviction are visible in the company she helped preserve.

Last year, Andy’s reported $35 million in annual revenue. The St. Louis company also recently completed a $4.5 million, 17,000-squarefoot expansion.

“It is a company that has continued to grow here, manufacture here, invest here and build its future here,” said Stephen Westbrooks, president and CEO of the St. Louis Development Corporation. “That matters a great deal to the economic development of the city of St. Louis.”

It began in Katherine Anderson’s kitchen.

“My stepfather had this idea of developing a prod-

employees and the broadbeing added on individual er community,” the statefloors, medical informament said. tion now follows detainPrisoner Processing ees sent to hospitals more consistently and programwas designed for short stays but can become ming inside the jail has backed up when the jail expanded. temporarily stops acceptSLMPD pointed to ing detainees. another change SLMPD told in Prisoner the NAACP Processing, the that happened first-floor unit about 40 times it operates for through Aug. people who have 27. Corrections been arrested but said its records not yet admitted showed substanto the jail. tially fewer clo“Public safety sures. The agenis a shared partcies have agreed nership, and we Adolphus M. to compare their are grateful to Pruitt II records. the NAACP for Public Safety and the its engagement, advocaDivision of Corrections cy and commitment to said in a joint statement strengthening the safety that they “look forward to and well-being of our reviewing (the report’s) community,” the departfindings and recommenment said in a statement. dations.”

Police said they are “We recognize that working to install a improving conditions at body scanner in Prisoner the City Justice Center Processing. requires sustained effort “We will continue and collaboration, and we working in good faith remain fully focused on with the NAACP, the building upon the progDivision of Corrections ress already underway.” and other partners to idenMayor Cara Spencer’s tify practical solutions office referred questhat protect detainees,

tions about the report to Public Safety. Holly Roberts, Spencer’s communications director, said the mayor’s office and NAACP had a “collaborative” relationship during preparation of the report.

Medical oversight remains one area of disagreement. The jail’s medical contractor told the NAACP that it conducts a written review after every death.

Police investigators and Corrections leaders, however, told the organization they do not receive those reports.

The NAACP wants the medical contract changed so the reviews are provided to Corrections leaders, Public Safety, police investigators and civilian oversight officials.

The organization also says city leaders need to decide what to do with the City Justice Center itself. The NAACP is not explicitly calling for another jail but says the city should determine whether to expand the existing facility, replace it or commit to long-term renovation and mainte-

Photo by Lawrence Bryant / St. Louis American

Jennings Superintendent Dr. Paula Knight celebrates with students and staff at Northview Elementary School. ment from 1,100 to 2,200 students.

The work comes as Jennings continues to struggle academically.

Missouri’s 2025 Annual Performance Report rated the district “Approaching” in English language arts achievement and “Emerging” in math. The district fared better in several measures of student growth and met the state’s target for its four-year graduation rate.

Knight also has sought to broaden students’ opportunities beyond the

classroom.

Jennings junior Zion Hite transferred from a private school after learning he could graduate with an associate degree through the district’s dual-enrollment program.

“I decided to move to Jennings because they had a dual-enrollment program, and I had the ability to graduate high school with an associate’s degree before I’m even 18,” Zion said. “That was an outstanding opportunity that I wasn’t offered at my private school.”

uct that he could sell,” Lee After tasting her fish, said of Reuben Anderson he asked a question that in a short film produced would change the family’s for the anniversary celefuture. bration.

“He said, ‘Kathy, what Reuben had do you put in a meat rub that your fish? It’s became a seareally good. soning salt. He “My mother’s Have you also created a recipe for frying ever thought barbecue sauce fish — what about selling that was once it?’” she used every sold throughShe hadn’t.

Friday night out the St. German Louis region. took the rec— that is now But ipe back to our yellow fish Katherine’s Dallas and recipe for fried breading. It reformulated started off as fish would it so it could ultimately be produced something we become one of did at home.” in larger the company’s quantities. signature prod- – Andy’s President “That ucts. began the and CEO Pastor “My mothhistory of the Larry W. Lee er’s recipe for yellow fish frying fish — breading — what she used which is sold every Friday all across the night — that is now our country,” Lee said. yellow fish breading,” The business that Lee said. “It started off began with a famias something we did at ly recipe now has 13 home.” products packaged five The recipe might have different ways. Andy’s remained a family tradialso produces breading tion if not for Katherine’s for Tyson Foods using brother-in-law, food chem- a formula developed for ist German Anderson.

McDonald’s.

The scale of the operation would have been difficult to imagine 45 years ago, when Andy’s was being mixed and packaged by hand.

“Everything was manual,” Lee said. “Andy’s started in the kitchen and moved to the basement.

That was 45 years ago.

They actually mixed, stirred and packaged and gave us our start.”

Among those early employees were Lee’s cousins Millicent Jameson and Lawrence Lee, along with his deceased brother.

They were the company’s first three employees.

Today, the family business is preparing for its third generation of leadership.

Kendall Neal, who works in receiving and logistics, has been with Andy’s for 31 years. He has watched the company grow under three CEOs, including his aunt.

“I’m a little biased because she was my aunt, but she was an extraordinary person,” Neal said.

“If common sense had a Ph.D., she would be a doctor.”

“Dr. Knight was someone who cared deeply about kids and wanted to see what was best for them,” Adams said. “She cut to the chase and wanted to know how we could best support kids. She had high standards and did not tolerate people around her who were not focused on excellence.”

Knight was appointed to the Missouri Coordinating Board for Early Childhood in 2013.

While overseeing early childhood education at SLPS, she doubled enroll-

nance.

The Justice Department also is reviewing concerns about conditions at the jail. Its Civil Rights Division notified the NAACP in April that the organization’s complaint had been referred for a review of whether detainees’ civil rights are being protected.

The referral does not mean federal officials have found constitutional violations or opened a formal investigation.

Other recommendations include expanding mental-health and substance-use treatment outside the jail, strengthening the Detention Facilities Oversight Board and requiring monthly reports on deaths, hospital transfers, overdoses, restraintchair use and medical response times.

“The city cannot criticize-its-way out of this crisis, and neither can the NAACP,” the report says.

“We are interested in a fixed system.”

Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.

The district has 28 students enrolled in the program. Students who complete it also have the opportunity to travel abroad. Previous trips have included London and Paris, with South Africa next on the itinerary.

“Yes, we are in Jennings, and our tax base may be different, but it doesn’t preclude our kids from seeing the world,” Knight said. “When you go into education, it can’t be a job. It has to be a calling over a contract.”

Zion said Knight’s influence goes beyond the programs she has created.

“She is extremely personal and very in touch with the community and with the kids,” Zion said.

“A lot of superintendents, people don’t really see them. But she’s in the school. She’s making sure she’s connected with the students.”

That commitment to service extends beyond the school district. In spring 2022, Knight pledged the Gamma Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., a decision she said came at exactly the right time in her life.

For Knight, however, the thread running through her career remains the classroom where it began.

“I’m always going to be a teacher at heart,” Knight said. “You don’t have to chase the work, the work will find you. The positions will find you. People will find you.”

The anniversary celebration also recognized longtime employees, board members and contributors. St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis President and CEO Michael McMillan and 11th Ward Alderwoman Laura Keys were among those offering congratulations.

But the most meaningful recognition came from those who knew Katherine personally — and watched her keep believing when the future was uncertain.

“It seems like every step in her life brought us to this point,” Neal said.

Forty-five years after Andy’s began in a family kitchen, that point is a growing St. Louis manufacturing company with a third generation preparing to carry the family business forward.

And at the center of that story remains a woman who, when the company was nearly lost, simply believed it would survive.

She was right.

Living It

“Believe in your ability to make it anywhere. You belong in every boardroom, every mountaintop, every C-suite.”

-Hoda Kotb

SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2026

Lionel Richie Music legend legend powers powers through through Music for aa high-energy high-energy night night at at The The Muny Muny for

By Kenya Vaughn St. Louis American It’s no secret that music legend Lionel Richie faced a health challenge during his “Sing A Song All Night Long” tour. Richie pointed it out himself during his essentially sold-out concert at The Muny Saturday night that closed out their 2026 season.

“Some things have been happening on this tour that kind of shook me up a little bit, because I couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on,” Richie said. “I went back to the doctor, and he said, ‘You are suffering from dehydration.’”

But through sheer determination — and several sips of electrolytes — Richie not only powered through, but he gave fans a night to remember.

“I’m telling you, this stuff is nasty

Fans stay on their feet as Lionel Richie delivers a high-energy performance to cap The Muny’s 2026 season.

See Lionel, B4 Photos by Lawrence Bryant / St. Louis American

‘One More Time’ Miss Robbie shines in cabaret set at Blue Strawberry

By Kenya Vaughn St. Louis American Miss Robbie Montgomery’s name is so synonymous with her former restaurant brand Sweetie Pie’s that it can be easy to forget that music is where it all began for her.

She issued a reminder with her sold-out “Miss Robbie One More Time” set at The Blue Strawberry Friday night. The hour-plus performance — complete with an intermission — was a perfect fit for the cabaret venue.

Montgomery offered stories and humor alongside the music, which included R&B classics, a jazz standard or two, and even a disco favorite before she closed the show with some down-home blues.

The octogenarian proved age is nothing but a number with a spunky set that had the venue rocking from start to finish.

Six decades after her beginnings on the road with Ike and Tina Turner, Montgomery delivered a show full of charisma, charm and stage presence. She became a household name through her soul food staple and the reality show it inspired. But before she founded Sweetie Pie’s, Robbie Montgomery was an Ikette. It was on the road with Ike and Tina Turner that she discovered her talent for cooking.

The group often played segregated venues and relied on hot plates and electric skillets to feed themselves when they weren’t welcome See Miss Robbie, B3

Miss Robbie Montgomery returns to her musical roots with a sold-out performance at The Blue Strawberry on Friday, August 28.

Photo by Kenya Vaughn / St. Louis American

Counterpublic returns with Coyote Time

Activations include work by Glenn Ligon and work celebrating The Ville

By St. Louis American staff Counterpublic’s 2026 triennial will return next week with Coyote Time — a citywide exhibition placing nearly 50 artists across St. Louis in projects shaped by the region’s neighborhoods, histories and civic realities. Running Sept. 12–Dec. 13, the triennial will introduce new commissions and reinterpretations that examine education, climate, technology and immigration, with major elements along the Mississippi Riverfront and in The Ville.

“At the end of the day, we want to commission art that responds specifically to St. Louis as well as the pressing issues facing the region to connect art and social change,” said James McAnally, Counterpublic’s Executive and Artistic Director.

Founded in 2019 through grassroots activations in barbershops, bakeries and parks, Counterpublic continues to build longterm impact across neighborhoods and institutions.

Coyote Time extends that Coyote Time unfolds model by pairing artists across five sites, with sites that reflect St. Louis’ most presseach chosen for ing questions — from its connection to immigration and cliSt. Louis’ past and mate to education and present. civic belonging.

A climate impact report will be released at the close of the exhibition, outlining greenhouse gas data and lessons from lowcarbon production practices.

This year’s triennial leans heavily into a major new commission by internationally acclaimed artist Glenn Ligon along the Mississippi Riverfront, and a series of projects in The Ville that center rebuilding, memory and community collaboration following the neighborhood’s 2025 tornado.

Coyote Time unfolds across five sites, each chosen for its connection to St. Louis’ past and present. The title comes from Alice Bucknell’s triennial commission — a video game set inside City Museum — and refers to the brief moment See Coyote time, B3

B2

ST. LOUIS AMERICAN • SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2026

St. Louis American Calendar

CONCERTS Thurs., Sept. 3, 7:30 p.m., Myles Smith: My Mess, My Life Tour, Saint Louis Music Park.

For more information, visit livenation.com Sat., Sept. 5, 7:30 p.m., City Winery welcomes Christopher Williams, City Winery, 3730 Foundry Way, St. Louis, MO. For more information, visit www. citywinery.com.

Sun., Sept. 6, 8 p.m., Isaiah Rhashad: Lil Sunny’s Awful Road Trip, The Pageant, 6161 Delmar. For more information, visit livenation. com.

Sat., Sept. 12, 1:30 p.m., Tacos and Tequila Festival St. Louis starring Murphy Lee, Rick Ross, Paul Wall, Yung Joc, Fat Joe, Ginuwine, Xzibit, Bubba Sparxxx and DJ Ashton Martin, Car Shield Field. For more information, visit tacosandtequilafestival. com.

Sun., Sept. 13, 7:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. doors), Jensen McRae, Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar. For more information, visit www.thepageant.com.

Wed., Sept. 16, 8 p.m., Shaboozey Outlaws Never Die Tour, The Factory at The District.

For more information, visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Sat., Sept. 18, 8 p.m., Pitbull with special guest Lil Jon, Hollywood Casino Amphitheater. For more information, visit

www.livenation.com.

Enjoy Illinois 300 returns to World Wide Technology Raceway next weekend. The full weekend of programming will include a performance by hip hop veteran Busta Rhymes.

See SPECIAL EVENTS for details.

Sat., Sept. 18, 8 p.m., Dax, Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar. For more information, visit www.thepageant.com.

Wed., Sept. 23, 8 p.m., Teddy Swims: The Ugly Tour. Enterprise Center.

For more information, visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Sat., Sept. 26, 8 p.m., Begging for Sax starring Chris Mitchell, The Pageant, 6161 Delmar. For more information, visit thepageant.com.

SPECIAL EVENTS Through Sept. 13, UniverSoul Circus, Galleria Mall. For more information, visit www. ticketmaster.com.

Sept. 11 – Sept. 13, Enjoy IL 300 weekend, featuring performances by the Ying Yang Twins and Busta Rhymes, World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison IL. For more information, visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Fri., Sept. 25, 7 p.m., Disney On Ice, Chaifetz Arena. For tickets, visit www.ticketmaster.com Sat., October 17, St. Louis American Foundation’s 39th Annual Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship and Awards Gala, Cardinal Ritter President Tamiko Armstead will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, Jennings School District Superintendent Dr. Paula Knight will receive the Stellar Performer

Fridays presents Two Gentlemen of Verona with the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Saint Louis Art Museum.

For more information, visit slam.org.

Wed., Sept. 9 – Sept. 27, The Black Rep opens their 50th Anniversary Season with The Color Purple, Washington University’s Edison Theatre. For more information, visit www. theblackrep.org.

Wed., Sept. 9 – September 27, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Little Women, The LorettoHilton, 130 Edgar Rd, Webster Groves, MO 63119. For more information, visit www.repstl. org.

ART

Award and Richard “Rich” McClure will receive the Champion in Education Award . St. Louis Union Station Hotel.

For more information, call 314.533.8000 or visit www.stlamerican.com.

Sept. 25 – Sept. 27, Tommy Davidson, Helium Comedy Club, 1151 St Louis Galleria Street, St Louis MO 63117. For more information, visit https://st-louis. heliumcomedy.com/

COMEDY

Sat., Sept. 26, 8 p.m.

Martin Lawrence’s Y’all Still Know What It Is Tour, Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market. For tickets or more information, visit www.stifeltheatre.com.

Thurs., Sept. 10, 7:30 p.m., A Special Night with T.K. Kirkland, City Winery, 3730 Foundry Way, St. Louis, MO. For more information, visit www.citywinery.com.

Sept. 18 – Sept. 23, Marcus D. Wiley, Helium Comedy Club, 1151 St Louis Galleria Street, St Louis MO 63117. For more information, visit https://st-louis.heliumcomedy.com/

ST. LOUIS MUSIC SPOTLIGHT Fri., Sept. 4, 7:30 p.m., Tim Cunningham, Blue Strawberry, 364 N. Boyle Ave., St. Louis, MO 63108. For more information, visit bluestrawberrystl.com.

Sun., Sept. 6, 3 p.m., The Best of The Temptations, The Drifters and The Stylistics with Nostalgia & The Black & White Band, Blue Strawberry, 364 N. Boyle Ave., St. Louis, MO 63108. For more information, visit bluestrawberrystl.com.

Wed., Sept. 9, 7:30 p.m., TGBTG: A Reggie Son Live Experience presented by TownsendX3 Live, City Winery, 3730 Foundry Way, St. Louis, MO. For more information, visit www.citywinery.com.

THEATRE Fri., Sept. 4, 6:30 p.m., Saint Louis Art Museum’s Free

Sept. 4 – Sept. 6, Paint Louis 2026, at the historic flood wall located at 1000 S. Wharf St. in St. Louis, Missouri.

For full schedule of related programming and activations, visit paintlouis. com.

Sept. 10 – Dec. 12, Counterpublic 2026: Coyote Time, various locations. For more information, visit counterpublic.org.

Through November 8, A Hum Beneath the Surface by Lillian Stephen, on display through November 8. The Kranzberg Gallery, 501 N. Grand Blvd. For more information, visit kranzbergartsfoundation.org

ST. LOUIS AMERICAN • SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2026

Coyote Time Continued from B1 in gameplay when a player must decide whether to leap forward or retreat.

Curators Jordan Carter, Raphael Fonseca, Stefanie Hessler, Nora N. Khan and Wanda Nanibush frame that moment as a space for experimentation and possibility.

“Artists and collectives are drawn equally from the exhibition’s immediate neighborhoods and the Global South,” McAnally said. “Across nearly fifty commissions, Coyote Time takes a speculative and socially oriented approach to the moment.”

Glenn Ligon’s commission will serve as one of the triennial’s most visible landmarks.

Ligon, whose work examines race, language and American history through textbased paintings, neon and installation, has longstanding ties to St. Louis.

His 2017 exhibition at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation — Glenn Ligon: Blue Black, curated by Ligon himself — explored the cultural and emotional resonance of the colors blue and black through works by artists ranging from Kerry James Marshall to Louise Bourgeois. The show remains one of the Pulitzer’s most widely discussed exhibitions of the past decade and deepened Ligon’s relationship with the city’s arts community. His return for Counterpublic continues that dialogue, this time engaging the Mississippi Riverfront’s layered histo-

ries and its role in shaping movement, identity and belonging in St. Louis.

“I’m glad to be the one that makes that space for people to enjoy themselves in,” Ligon said. “But also makes a space for people to contemplate, to think about what St. Louis could be, what it is, and think about what their children, or their children’s children, will make of it.”

Stretching along the

In North St. Louis, The Ville will serve as a major site for Coyote Time. The triennial will center projects that respond to the neighborhood’s recovery and future following the 2025 tornado.

edge of downtown, the Riverfront will host more than a dozen siteresponsive works. Ligon’s project will be joined by a commission from Rebecca Belmore and an activation of the former public aquarium by Max Hooper Schneider. Emerging technology will also be present through projects by LI YiFan, Alice Bucknell, Cooper Jacoby and others.

In North St. Louis, The Ville will serve as a major site for Coyote Time. The triennial will center projects that respond to the neighborhood’s recovery and future following the 2025 tornado.

Sumner High School

— whose alumni include Tina Turner, Arthur Ashe, Dick Gregory and Grace Bumbry — remains a focal point of The Ville.

Counterpublic has continued working with students and educators to shape new commissions, including a series by Timmy Simonds that commemorates the school’s history as a teacher’s college.

Across nearby lots, churches and community centers, artists will propose approaches to history and resilient futures. St. Louis artists Dail Chambers and the People’s Art and Recreation Center (PARC) will introduce alternative infrastructures rooted in community needs. Public works by Tony Cokes, Margaret Honda and others will expand the conversation around civic space, memory and neighborhood agency.

Counterpublic will also partner with institutions including the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, Kemper Art Museum, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Saint Louis Art Museum, Kranzberg Arts Foundation and The Luminary to present collaborative commissions and concurrent exhibitions.

Counterpublic’s 2026 triennial runs Sept. 12– Dec. 13 across five sites in St. Louis, including major activations along the Mississippi Riverfront and in The Ville. Visit counterpublic.org for full artist lists, site details, maps and program updates. Email info@counterpublic.org for additional exhibition information.

Before she founded Sweetie Pie’s, Robbie Montgomery was an Ikette. It was on the road with Ike and Tina Turner that she discovered her talent for cooking.

Photo by Kenya Vaughn / St. Louis American

Miss Robbie Continued from B1 in restaurants because of the color of their skin.

“Singing is my first love, chicken is my second,” Montgomery told KSDK.com ahead of Friday’s show.

In addition to being an Ikette, Montgomery provided background vocals for some of the biggest names in music. The culinary skills she acquired on the road served her well when lung issues brought her singing career to a halt. She built a brand through her Sweetie Pie’s restaurant franchise, which spawned the hit reality show Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s. After a 25-year run as a restaurateur, she closed her final restaurant in 2022. She is currently working to open Sweetie Pie’s 2nd Act on Martin Luther King Drive.

Friday night, the songbird was center stage.

Since stepping back from the food industry, Montgomery has returned to music with the release of a couple of singles and select performances. Friday night’s “Miss Robbie One More Time” was the latest.

The show opened with her take on Al Green’s

“Let’s Stay Together.”

She was backed by The Black and White Band and singers Leon Lester and Delilah.

The Staples Singers’ classic “Respect Yourself” followed. Montgomery surprised the audience with a nod to Tina Turner through a rendition of “River Deep – Mountain High.”

She moved closer to present day with a cover of Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey,” then jumped back to the good old days with Etta James’ “At Last.”

During the song, she made it her own with a speaking interlude.

“When I realized that you were the one, it made my dreams come true,” Montgomery said softly as the band played. Moments later, Miss Robbie the comedian emerged.

“Now don’t y’all believe this [expletive] ‘cause I ain’t got nobody,” she told the crowd. “I’m just acting.”

The audience erupted in laughter. And when she returned to singing, she was as soft and sweet as she had been before her confession.

“I found a dream that I could speak to — a dream that I can call my own,” Montgomery sang, selling the song even though the

B3

audience knew the truth. “I found a thrill to press my cheek to… a thrill that I have never known.”

Another St. Louis tribute came by way of “I Can’t Stand the Rain,”

by Ann Peebles — a song Tina Turner also covered.

Montgomery returned to the stage after a wardrobe change into a golden tassel dress and delivered a second batch of covers that connected with the audience with equal weight of the first.

“For the Love of You”

by The Isley Brothers opened the second half of the show, followed by “Misty Blue,” the provocative “Cowboy Style,” and the disco favorite “Young Hearts Run Free.”

She closed the night with a high-impact performance of Koko Taylor’s blues staple “Wang Dang Doodle.” Montgomery gave the song a New Orleans blues treatment.

Guests twirled napkins like they were in a second line as she sang her way through the crowd — not looking, moving or sounding any bit of her 86 years.

She had to fight for space to do so due to the capacity crowd.

“Y’all coming out like this makes tonight even more special,” Montgomery said.

Photo by Tyler Small / Courtesy of Counterpublic

Artist Glenn Ligon will debut a major new commission along the Mississippi Riverfront as part of Counterpublic’s 2026 triennial, Coyote Time, which runs September 12-Desember 13.

B4

ST. LOUIS AMERICAN • SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2026

Photos by Lawrence Bryant / St. Louis American Get well Lye-o-nell. 2026, girl, you better quit playing with me! You got my Mayor Reggie and my dear sweet Dolly. Leave Lionel Richie alone! You couldn’t have paid me to believe that he would be perched up in a St. Louis ICU after giving us that cute and nostalgic show Saturday night at The Muny. Now before I do another thing, let me tell y’all that TMZ and ‘nem had the people thinking that he was performing “All Night Long” on stage in a hospital bed wearing an oxygen mask with an IV drip. It was not that. Now he copped a squat for that last song. Other than that – and the times was at the piano – he was up the whole show. Now he was throwing back the electrolytes, but he made it through. He wasn’t at 100 percent, but I just charged it to the game of him being almost 80 and on the mend – which he talked about himself. I enjoyed the show – and you know as a natural born hater I would tell you if it was any different. My only note was gonna be to his wardrobe team, telling them that leather outfits might not be the move at a summer outdoor concert for somebody bouncing back from dehydration. No shade, I’m just sayin.’ But I want to wish Lye-o-nell (which is how he says people in the Midwest pronounce his name) a speedy recovery. Last I heard (Wednesday, Sept. 2) he was still admitted here in the STL. I’m sad because, I was all ready for this post to completely be about how he gave us a cute set despite being on the sick and shut in list just a month and some change ago – which he did. I still want to give a shout out to The Muny for giving us yet another great season finale show.

Vincent, Jami, Carol and Patrick were part of the crowd that filled The Muny for its 2026 season finale with Lionel Richie.

Tick tock on the Education Salute clock. Speaking of a month and some change, this is your weekly reminder that the St. Louis American Foundation’s 39th Annual Salute to Excellence in Education will be here before you know it. Saturday, October 17 is six weeks and two days away. I might be in a bedazzled moo moo thanks to the diet setbacks I experienced at Foodies Eat First Fest two weeks ago and those Festival of Nation vendors last week. When I tell you I was cheating all over the world worse that Ludacris and Bobby Valentino! I’m going hard from here on until I make my grand entrance in the St. Louis Union Station Hotel on October 17. I’m telling you to get your tickets, if for nothing else but to see how snatched I can get between now and then! Visit www.stlamerican.com or call 314.533.8000 before it’s too late.

Miss Robbie rocked the house. Friday night I made my to Blue Strawberry to watch a St. Louis treasure take the stage. Miss Robbie Montgomery got it all the way in! Backed up by the Black and White Band, Miss Robbie, Delilah and Leon Lester sang that cabaret stage down to the studs! She sounded good…and looked even better. My soul won’t let me co-sign the Miss Laura wig (remember her from “Comic View?”) But from face-to-toe, Miss Robbie had me gagged. Ma’am, who did your makeup? Because the forecast on the stage was extra muggy! I got my whole entire life. She showed love to fellow ladies with STL roots with a taste of Tina Turner and Ann Peebles. All that was missing was a sip of Shirley Brown, but I won’t be greedy. She had the cutest set list that hit on Al Green, the Isley Brothers, Gladys Knight – who is also in my prayers – and more. And then she had the nerve to “Wang Dang Doodle” us out the door! There was also life more abundantly in the audience of bedazzled aunties of a certain age too. When I tell you they had their good clothes on. And just when I

Taunia, Andrea and Karen take in Scooter Brown’s preshow set ahead of The Muny’s 2026 season finale starring Lionel Richie.

Johnny Hatchett, Miss Robbie and Jan gather for a photo during her soldout Friday night show at The Blue Strawberry.

thought my heart couldn’t get any fuller, I set my eyes upon the great Johnny Hatchett a.k.a. the original dancing machine. At first, I didn’t think it was him.

But then he hit a kick, split and shimmy combo with a James Brown scoot as he made his way back to his seat. Now Johnny Hatchett is before my time, but he had the moves – and made his way to national television because of them.

And he is as charming as all my aunties and big cousins said. He even got Miss Robbie’s attention on her way to a wardrobe change and a wig fluff. My only note for her show is that I wish she would have sang “Boss Lady.” That song is a bop! I had a ball and I want to thank the folks at Blue Strawberry for making a girl feel right at home.

Lionel Continued from B1 — but it works,” Richie said while drinking. He even worked the scare into his act. He said an elderly fan instructed him to use castor oil as a remedy. He also said that his fellow “American Idol” judge Luke Bryan jokingly suggested he take to alcohol for hydration.

Both stories landed well with the crowd — as did his entire set, backed by a stellar band. Without an intermission, Richie remained on his feet until his “All Night Long” finale. And for nearly the whole show — a compilation of his five decades of hits — fans were up with him.

It didn’t take any convincing, but Richie urged them anyway.

The audience was already warmed up thanks to multi-instrumentalist Lamar Harris, who also DJs under the moniker DJ Nune. His set — which included occasional trombone solos — was a masterclass in the power of a well-curated Black family cookout playlist.

With some of the biggest hits of the ’70s and ’80s, the vibe was already set when Richie hit the stage with his classic ballad “Hello.”

He quickly picked up the pace with “Running With the Night.”

“I could not stand the idea of me being on this stage sweating to death, and you all sitting in the seats — dry as a bone,” Richie told the crowd. “I just had to make you sweat just a little bit.”

And so began the ebb and flow of the night.

Richie’s show was a well-curated reflection of his catalog — a balanced mix of up-tempo dance tracks and mid-tempo easy listening.

He also compelled fans

Photos by Lawrence Bryant / St. Louis American

Through sheer determination, Lionel Richie gave fans a night to remember at The Muny.

Vito Bracy, Larry Thomas, Adrian Bracy, Gail Holmes, Michelle Tucker, Laura and Michael Ellenhorn, Maxine Clark, Kennard Tucker and Michael Holmes attend Lionel Richie’s performance at The Muny.

Photos by Lawrence Bryant / St. Louis American

to sing along.

“Most of you came to hear me sing tonight,” Richie said. “That’s not gonna happen. What you are going to hear tonight is the person you are sitting close to. They are going to be singing their hearts out, telling all of their business — and I’m up here on stage sweating to death.”

He offered positive reinforcement to keep the

audience chorus energized.

“Have y’all been rehearsing — what the hell is going on here?” he asked after directing them to join him for “Stuck on You.” They continued through “Sail On” and “You Are.” They combined the singing with dancing during “Dancing on the Ceiling,” with Richie adding more energy by mashing a por-

tion of the song with Van Halen’s “Jump.”

“Three Times a Lady” offered a bit of reprieve before he jumped into a medley of hits from his days as the lead singer of The Commodores — or as Richie put it, “back when all I had to do was say ‘owwww.’”

He performed “Fancy Dancer” and “Brick House,” with a taste of

The Ohio Players’ “Fire” mixed in — a moment that paired well with his use of pyrotechnics.

Richie grew emotional during his “Lady” duet with Kenny Rogers, aided by video technology. He said the Muny audience was the first to ever see the moment.

“That’s probably one of the hardest songs I’ve had to sing in my life, know-

ing how much I miss that crazy man,” Richie said.

He also became political.

“Looking at this audience, it’s kind of unbelievable that the world we live in right now is happening,” Richie said before performing “We Are the World.” “It’s unbelievable that people say we can’t live together, and tonight this is the greatest family reunion I’ve ever seen before in my entire life.”

He called his evening at The Muny “one of those special nights,” though it does not reflect the current social and political climate.

“We are sitting in a time where we have to stand up as people and recognize our dignity and teach that to our children,” Richie said, telling the audience that the world needs to practice the child-rearing principles of “time (patience), understanding and example” used by his late mother, an elementary school teacher.

“We are not giving our children the example that they need to go forward as solid human beings.”

The audience sang along — with the flashlights of their cell phones aglow — as Richie performed a verse of the song he wrote with Michael Jackson that became a 1980s pop culture phenomenon.

He then sent the audience dancing out the door — even though he had to take a seat — with his “All Night Long” finale.

“Watching you dancing is a pleasure beyond compare,” Richie said earlier in the night. “Watching you out of control is a pleasure beyond compare.”

Update: After Saturday’s performance, Lionel Richie checked into the ICU at an undisclosed St. Louis hospital for observation. He remained hospitalized as of press time.

“It’s, in my opinion, the number one job in the sport.”

– Kara Lawson, the head coach of the USA Women’s basketball team, which will compete in the FIBA World Cup in Germany in September

Sports

B5

SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2026

Inside Sports With Earl Austin Jr.

Sharp brothers give the De Smet Spartans an early spark Conference rival CBC. The De Smet Spartans have been one of the MICDS freshman state’s top football proshines in varsity debut grams in recent years.

Last season was a battle Freshman standout for the Spartans, as they Amari Roberts of MICDS were a very young team gave a glimpse of the in a rebuilding year. The future with an outstandresult was a 6-5 record. ing debut performance in The Spartans got the 2026 season off to an impressive the Rams’ 38-24 loss at Ladue last Friday night. start with a 20-0 victory Roberts amassed over Lift for Life 227 all-purpose last Friday night. yards while playing The Spartans multiple positions showed their on offense. Roberts strength in all played running back, three phases of the quarterback and game. The defense wide receiver while was tenacious, also returning recording eight Earl punts and kickquarterback sacks offs. He scored a to earn the shutout. Austin Jr. touchdown on an Braylon Hollomon, 87-yard kickoff return. He Tyson Senseney and Ty also scored on a diving Veltrop each had two five-yard reception in the sacks. second half. In the fourth Junior running back Cam Sharp is back to carry quarter, he engineered a late touchdown drive. the load on offense. Sharp rushed for 124 yards and Some impressive scored two touchdowns, performances from including a 50-yard run last weekend that gave the Spartans a 17-0 lead in the third Derrion Brown quarter. Cam’s younger (Kirkwood): The junior brother, Caden “Rocky” running back rushed for Sharp, provided the fire115 yards on seven carries works on special teams and scored two touchwith a 72-yard punt return downs in the Pioneers’ in the third quarter to set 66-22 victory over up Cam’s first touchdown Ritenour. of the evening. Caden has tremendous speed and bigAeron Collins play ability. Sophomore (Pattonville): The junior kicker Mark Lally added running back rushed for two field goals for the 232 yards on 11 carries Spartans. and scored two touchThe schedule does downs in the Pirates’ not get any easier for the 33-13 victory over Fort Spartans. They will take Zumwalt North. on Class 5 state contender Cardinal Ritter on Friday King Mitchell night; then comes an (Webster Groves): The early-season showdown junior running back rushed against Metro Catholic

Photo by Lawrence Bryant / St. Louis American

Cameron Sharp breaks into the open field during DeSmet’s 20 to 0 season opening victory over Lift for Life on Friday. The junior running back scored twice, including a 50 yard touchdown run in the second half. for 115 yards and scored two touchdowns in the Statesmen’s 22-8 victory over Francis Howell North.

Dominic Bolden (University City): The senior defensive back grabbed two interceptions in the Lions’ 65-0 victory over Lutheran-St. Charles.

Tyson Greiner (St. Dominic): The senior defensive lineman had four quarterback sacks in the

Crusaders’ 31-28 victory over North Point.

Robert Eatherton (Vianney): The senior running back rushed for 272 yards on 27 carries and scored five touchdowns in the Golden Griffins’ 35-23 victory over Lindbergh.

Raymond Brown (McCluer North): The junior quarterback completed 13 of 18 passes for 175 yards and three touchdowns in the Stars’ 43-6

victory over St. Charles.

Top Games of the Week

Damarion Williams (Normandy): The senior running back scored four rushing touchdowns in the Vikings’ 49-0 victory over Confluence Prep Academy.

Hazelwood West at Pattonville, Thurs., 6 p.m.

Ladue at Vianney, Thursday, 7 p.m.

De Smet at Cardinal Ritter, Friday, 7 p.m.

Blair Oaks at Lutheran North, Friday, 6 p.m.

SLUH at CBC, Friday, 6 p.m.

McCluer at McCluer North, Saturday, 11 a.m.

Gainesville (Georgia) at East St. Louis, Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Curtis Manley (Riverview Gardens): The junior running back rushed for 228 yards on 15 carries and three touchdowns in the Rams’ 66-28 victory over Principia.

Sports Eye With Alvin A. Reid

Fantasy team is full of ‘Christian’ faith

My NFL Fantasy Brown will bring ‘D for League fortunes come Determined’ to the D down to one player.

Team. After a tumultuous I would not have draftrun in Philadelphia, Brown ed this guy unless he fell is now a New England all the way to the No. 10 Patriot. pick in the first round — If he soars there, so will my first selection.

I. If he acts crazy on his My fellow owners QB Drake Maye as he did didn’t trust him and neion Jalen Hurts, my season ther did I — until he was will be suspect. there for the taking.

I have a dilemWelcome to the ma at quarterback.

D Team, Christian Brock Purdy was McCaffrey. my choice in the In 2025, the San sixth round, but Francisco 49ers Kyler Murray running back led was unexpectedly all players in snaps, still there in the routes, touches, eighth. Purdy is Alvin A. targets, receptions, steady, plus he and Reid receiving yards, McCaffrey on my receiving touchteam could pay off downs and — MOST big time.

IMPORTANTLY — fanBut Murray and wide tasy points. But he turned receiver Justin Jefferson the bewitching age of 30 in Minnesota could pair in June, and he hasn’t up to be a dynamic duo. practiced much in preseaCurrently, Murray is preson. dicted to score more fanHe says that was part tasy points in Week 1 than of the plan, and he will Purdy. be good to go when the This decision will come 49ers face newly unretired down to an hour before the Aaron Donald and the 49ers game. I’m leaning L.A. Rams on Sept. 10 in toward Purdy, at least to Australia. start the season.

If he has a disastrous Here are the other D season, so will my team.

Team starters: In Round 2, I got a Travis Etienne (progreat — but sometimes nounced A-Chain), RB, troubled — wide receiver.

New Orleans Saints; Alvin Hopefully, A.J. Kamara is injured so my

position. Put up or get benched, buddy.

Defense/Special Teams, New England Patriots; Hey, can we get All-Pro cornerback Christian Gonzalez signed to a contract extension already?

Jeez.

Jake Bates, Kicker, Detroit: The Lions will likely score a lot of points.

This works in his favor.

After three straight playoff appearances, I didn’t qualify last year.

I’m confident that it will change this year.

The Reid Roundup

Photo courtesy of msn.com

The D Team will be a disaster if Christian McCaffrey crumbles. guy will get plenty of carries.

Ladd McConkey, WR, L.A. Chargers; If his QB Justin Herbert is rolling, so is my receiver.

Tyler Warren, TE,

Indianapolis Colts; He’s returning from a knee injury, but he could be my steal of the draft.

Michael Pittman Jr., WR, Pittsburgh Steelers; He will be in the flex

St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt had a bad week. Wetherholt is on the 10-day injured list with a wrist injury, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Sal Stewart is now favored to win NL Rookie of the Year honors, and CJ Abrams has agreed to play second base for the Washington Nationals.

Abrams automatically becomes MLB’s best second baseman if he continues there, slowing Wetherholt’s rise to the top…A couple of young African American MLB players are making news.

Tampa Bay continues

playing outstanding baseball and leads the American League East with the help of Chandler Simpson. He’s hitting .309 with 30 RBIs and 37 stolen bases…In Minnesota, rookie Kaelen Culpepper has energized his team and Twins fans. In 19 games (67 at-bats), he has 21 hits, three home runs, and is hitting .313…A shout-out to former KU quarterback Jalon Daniels. The undrafted free agent has been named the Tampa Bay Bucs’ backup QB behind Baker Mayfield…

In my opinion, drawing more Black youths to soccer is key to snapping the World Cup mediocrity run in which America is stuck.

Musonda Kapatamoyo, a co-founder of 314 Soccer Club with Charles Renken and Cristina Sanchez, says the club is “intentionally designed to reflect the diversity of the St. Louis region and the global nature of soccer.” Kapatamoyo, a native of Zambia, professor and former chair of the Department of Mass Communications at SIU Edwardsville, says the club has already grown in stature and recognition. Keep it going…

THE

Career Center

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B6

ST. LOUIS AMERICAN

ASSISTANT CONTROLLER The St. Louis Mental Health Board is seeking a full-time Assistant Controller to support all aspects of accounting and financial management of the organization. For the full job positing, visit www.stlmhb.org/ about-us/careers/.

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given that The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District Requests for Quotes, Bids, Proposals and Single Source Procurements are posted on-line for public download.

Please navigate to: > www.msdprojectclear.org > Doing Business With Us > View Bid Opportunities The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer

SEALED BIDS

SEALED BIDS

•

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS SEALED BIDS FOR: GALLERY 236 DOORS THE SAINT LOUIS ART MUESEUM PROJECT NO. 26.01018.00 Will be received by The Saint Louis Art Museum, Mark Macinski, at 1 Fine Arts Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63110 at 2:00 p.m. on October 2, 2026. Alternatively, bidders may submit bids electronically at mark.macinski@slam.org. The bids will be privately opened and read. Bids from certified M/WBE contractors are encouraged.

Electronic copies of the drawings, specifications and other related contract information will be available beginning September 2, 2026 and may be downloaded from Dodge Construction Network at the following website: https://apps.construction.com.

SEALED BIDS

Bids for Replace Steam Heating Units, Project No. E250801 will be received

by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 9/24/26.

Project information available at: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

Bids for Bids for Bids for Replace Fire Renovations REBID, Alarm System, to Exterior, Parking Lot Infrastructure, A mandatory pre-bid meeting will be MSHP, held on Monday, September 14, 2026 Repairs, Fulton Farmington at 9:30am at the West Loading Dock, Macon Treatment Correctional 1 Fine Arts Drive, St. Louis, Missouri Project No. Center, Project Center, Project 63110.

R2510-01 No. C2503-01 No. H2501-01 will be will be received will be received Questions regarding the scope of received work should be directed, in writing, to

by FMDC,

by FMDC,

by FMDC, State of MO, Rebecca Savage, AIA, HOK, Rebecca. savage@hok.com. Questions over the State of MO, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 UNTIL 1:30 UNTIL 1:30 PM, October phone will not be accepted. Deadline for questions is September 25, 2026.

PM, October PM, October 13, 2026.

1, 2026.

Project The Owner reserves the right to waive 8, 2026. Project Project informalities in bids and to reject any information information information and all bids. available at: available at: available at: http://oa.mo. http://oa.mo. http://oa.mo.

SEALED gov/facilities REQUEST FOR gov/facilities gov/facilities BIDS

PARKING AND REVENUE Bids for Replace CONTROL SYSTEM HVAC REQUEST FOR System, Crime Laboratory, PROPOSALS www.stltreasurer.org/ request-for-proposals/ stlouis-mo.gov/govern ment/procurement/

REQUEST FOR BIDS Great Rivers Greenway is requesting Construction Bids for two Brickline Greenway North Connector projects.

Phase 2 TAP9901(688), Spring Ave between Page Blvd and Washington Ave. Bids due September 24, 2026 at 2pm CDT. Go to www.greatriv ersgreenway.org/bids for details.

Phase 3 TAP5401(721), Spring Ave between Washington Ave and Lindell Blvd.

Bids due September 24, 2026 at 2pm CDT. Go to www.greatriv ersgreenway.org/bids for details.

PROPOSALS Bids for REBID RESIDENTIAL 2 – Change SEALED REDEVELOPMENT in Scope, BIDS OPPORTUNITY Renovate

Cabins 1-3, Bids for The Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority Sam A Baker Repairs to of the County of St. Louis State Park, Interior/ (“LCRA”) Patterson, Exterior, requests proposals to Missouri purchase and complete a Readiness Project No. redevelopment of the Project No. Center property located at X2319-01 will R2417-01 Building, 11816 Larimore Road, be received St. Louis, Missouri 63138. will be Project No.

by FMDC, Further information, received by T2502-01 will State of MO, including the FMDC, be received UNTIL 1:30 complete RFP and informational packet, is State of

by FMDC, PM, October available at https://stlpartner MO, UNTIL State of MO, 8, 2026. Project ship.com/rfp-rfq/. information 1:30 PM, UNTIL 1:30 available at: Proposals must be received 10/13/26.

PM, 10/1/26. http://oa.mo. no later than 3 PM CT on Project Project Friday, September 25, 2026. gov/facilities information information

available at: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

available at: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSIONER REPLACEMENT METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District’s Board of Trustees is accepting resumes for appointment to the District’s Civil Service Commission. Candidates must be a resident and registered voter in St. Louis City or County for three years prior to appointment and for the duration of their term on the Commission.

Ideal candidates must have daytime flexibility and some Human Resources experience.

Civil Service Commissioners convene several times a year for personnel administration and employee disciplinary hearings in accordance with MSD’s Civil Service Rules and Regulations. Each Commissioner is compensated $25 per meeting, with a maximum annual sum of $600.

Please submit cover letter and resume before 9/30/2026 to: Tracey R. Coleman, Director of Human Resources Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District 2350 Market Street St. Louis, MO 63103 Information may also be emailed to: CSCommissioner@stlmsd.com

St. Louis american THE

SEPTEMBER 3 - 8, 2026

SEALED BIDS

SEALED BIDS

THE

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS PARIC LLC is seeking proposals for the following project: ARCHVIEW APARTMENTS, located at 200/220 N. 4th Street, St. Louis, MO 63102.

This project includes the rehabilitation and conversion of approximately 398,164 SF in a 28-story affordable housing development with existing below-grade parking, landscaping amenities, and site improvements. The project will utilize state and historic tax credits. We are currently soliciting bids for the following scopes: demolition; abatement (to be contracted directly by the owner); elevators; and Fire Protection, Plumbing, HVAC, and Electrical. All remaining scopes of work will be bid at a later date. Access to documents is available through our Building Connected link. If you do not receive a bid invitation, please send your company information to tlalexander@paric.com.

A pre-bid meeting will be held on September 9, 2026 at the project site.

Questions and RFIs are due to PARIC by September 11, 2026.

Bids are due no later than September 24, 2026.

Send all questions to Jake McClain (jmcclain@paric.com).

This project will have prevailing wage requirements.

Current goals for Construction Business Enterprise participation: • 21% African American • 11% Women • .5% Asian American • .5% Native American • 2% Hispanic American Current goals for Workforce Field participation: • 25% Minority • 7% Women • 20% Apprentice • 23% City of St. Louis residents All bids should be delivered to PARIC via email (bids@paric.com) or fax at 636-561-9501.

PARIC CORPORATION IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS BEHAVIORAL HEALTH FIRMS East-West Gateway Council of Governments is seeking submittals from behavioral health firms to serve as Lead Behavioral Health Partners for the Save Lives Now Initiative in the City of St. Louis, MO. Submittals are due no later than 1:00 p.m. on September 18, 2026.

Submittal details and specifications can be obtained at www.ewgateway.org.

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Bids & Public Notices ST. LOUIS AMERICAN

PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING NOTICE MSD WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY NUTRIENT REMOVAL IMPROVEMENTS PHOSPHORUS PROJECT The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) is planning to construct improvements at the Bissell Point, Grand Glaize, Lemay, and Missouri River Wastewater Treatment Facilities to enhance phosphorus removal capabilities and support MSD’s objective to protect public health, safety and the environment by providing responsible, resilient wastewater and stormwater services. The project includes the upgrades to treatment processes, equipment, and supporting infrastructure within the existing treatment facility properties necessary to meet future regulatory requirements.

At the meeting, MSD and its project team will provide an overview of the project, discuss the planned improvements at the treatment facilities, and present the anticipated project schedule and estimated construction cost. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions and provide comments regarding the proposed improvements.

The meeting will take place on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, in Room 109 at the office of the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (2350 Market St., St. Louis, MO 63103) from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM. When arriving, please enter in the main entrance at the front of the building facing Market St. The public is encouraged to attend and learn more about the project.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING A public hearing will be held at 5:45 p.m., September 17, 2026, at the City of St. Louis Mental Health Board of Trustees, 701 Market Street, 15th Floor Conference Room, St. Louis, Missouri, 63101, and accessible via a virtual Zoom call https://stlmhb.zoom.us/ j/82678826523?pwd=E5gFU9x06Z6bkC86dZAOkTtDqRdcIV.1 Meeting ID: 826 7882 6523 / Passcode: 492612, at which time citizens may be heard on the property tax rates proposed to be fixed for the current year for the Community Mental Health Fund and the Community Children’s Services Fund by the City of St. Louis Mental Health Board of Trustees.

The tax rate shall be fixed to produce revenues which the budgets for each fund show to be required from the property tax for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026.

For the Community Mental Health Fund, a rate of $0.09 on each $100 assessed property value was authorized by the vote of the people on November 3, 1992. For the Community Children’s Services Fund a rate of $0.19 on each $100 assessed property value was authorized by the vote of the people on November 2, 2004. For the Community Children’s Services Fund an increase to a rate of $0.2443 on each $100 assessed property value was authorized by the vote of the people on November 3, 2020. The maximum tax rate permitted by Article X, Section 22 of the Missouri Constitution and Section 137.073 R.S.Mo for the Community Mental Health Fund is $0.0880, and for the Community Children’s Services Fund is $0.2403.

These amounts, plus any additional amount which may be approved by the Missouri State Auditor’s office as provided by Sec. 137.073.3(2)(a) and (b) R.S.Mo are proposed to be adopted, which will produce substantially the same revenues as required by the budget.

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CITY OF ST. LOUIS BOARD OF PUBLIC SERVICE REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS for PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR ON-CALL ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR MISCELLANEOUS ENGINEERING PROJECTS FOR THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS WATER DIVISION. Statements of Qualifications due by 5:00 PM CT, October 6, 2026 through the Bid Express online portal at https://www.bidexpress.com/ businesses/20618/home?agency=true. RFQ may be obtained from BPS website https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/ government/departments/ public-service/, under BPS R FQ and RFP Announcement, or email Board of Public Service at bryanth@stlouis-mo.gov.

CITY OF ST. LOUIS OFFICE OF VIOLENCE PREVENTION REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PROGRAMS TO REDUCE CRIME AMONG AT-RISK YOUTH (PROP S)

Prior Tax Year 2025 Real Estate $4,418,477,250

Send all inquiries to ovprfp@stlouis-mo.gov

Personal Property $1,298,207,088

Submission Deadline: October 2, 2026, at 5:00 PM CDT. Late proposals will not be accepted.

Real Estate $4,523,788,174 Personal Property $1,260,201,833

TOTAL $5,716,684,338 For the Community Mental Health Fund, the current year assessed values are projected to accrue property tax revenue of $5,019,249. For the Community Children’s Services Fund the current year assessed values are projected to accrue property tax revenue of $13,697,176. These amounts do not include any possible revenues dueto recoupment.

City of St. Louis Mental Health Board of Trustees – September 17, 2026

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SEPTEMBER 3 - 8, 2026

The Saint Louis Zoo seeks bids from qualified vendors. Bid documents are available as of 9/2/26 on the Saint Louis Zoo website: stlzoo.org/vendor.

TOTAL $5,783,990,007

Current Tax Year 2026

THE

EDUCATION AND EVENTS T-SHIRT VENDOR OF RECORD RFP 2026

The City of St. Louis Office of Violence Prevention, in partnership with the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, invites proposals from qualified nonprofits for youth programs to reduce crime among at-risk youth. The RFP may be found online at: https://tinyurl.com/ ovp-rfp.

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Religion

B8

SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2026

The woman behind Dr. King’s ‘Letter’ is getting her due Willie Pearl Mackey King assembled scraps smuggled from a Birmingham jail. Now, her story is finally being told.

By Rev. Dorothy S. Boulware Word In Black

The effort grew from the recent discovery of an early draft of the letter in the African American Episcopal Historical Collection at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria. A University of Maryland intern, Nick Gentry, discovered the document while cataloging the collection, the seminary said.

More than six decades after the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. composed his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” the then-young Black woman who helped transform scattered notes on smuggled scraps of paper into one of history’s greatest Preserving her legacy writings is finally receiving greater recognition.

“The main thing is to Willie Pearl Mackey preserve the legacy of King worked for the the work she has Southern Christian done,” Sweeting Leadership said. “We Conference from want to create 1962 to 1966, opportunities serving on King’s for people to executive staff and actually begin to working directly understand the for the Rev. Wyatt movement from Tee Walker, his the perspective chief of staff. In Willie Pearl of someone April 1963, she Mackey King whose name spent two nights may not be so and three days well known as Dr. King piecing together and and many of the others.” typing the fragments that The foundation is became King’s celebrated being incorporated defense of nonviolent in Maryland, and an resistance. application for federal Now, Maryland edunonprofit status is undercator and scholar Donna way. Its plans include a Sweeting is helping “freedom ride,” retracing establish a foundation to parts of Willie King’s preserve Willie King’s journey and recordings of legacy, document her civil her memories in her own rights work and create voice. scholarships for young Dr. King was arrestpeople.

Photo courtesy of Willie Pearl Mackey King

Willie Pearl Mackey King worked for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference from 1962 to 1966. serving on Dr. King’s executive staff. ed April 12, 1963, during demonstrations against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama.

From his jail cell, he began responding to eight White clergymen who had characterized the demonstrations as “unwise and untimely.”

Without a notepad, Dr. King began writing with a pencil stub on whatever paper he could find. Clarence Jones, his attorney, smuggled the handwritten fragments out of the jail.

“Dr. King would be writing on the edges

of the newspaper, toilet paper, greasy sandwich bags, greasy napkins,” Willie King recalled.

“Clarence Jones would put those pieces of paper under his suit jacket.”

‘We’ve got a tough one’ Jones delivered the fragments to the SCLC office, where Walker and Willie King waited.

“Miss Willie, we’ve got a tough one,” she remembered Walker telling her.

“The leader (Dr. King) would like this to get out as soon as possible.”

“Honestly, I thought it was just an ordinary letter,” she said.

The pieces were neither numbered nor arranged.

Willie King — working in a skirt, because women wearing pants were forbidden — knelt on the floor, assembling the scraps into order before typing them.

“I had to get down on my knees with Scotch tape and try to put those pieces of paper together because they were in no order,” she said. “It was terrible trying to read — looked like sometimes what he had drawn as opposed to had written.”

Walker helped her interpret Dr. King’s theological language. Willie King was not allowed to leave the office until the work was finished.

“I wanted to cry, but I was not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry,” she said. “But I went in that bathroom again. It was my favorite crying place.”

Demand soared after protests Once a draft was completed, Jones returned it to Dr. King for review and signature. Willie King and a local woman, Betty Hill, reproduced copies, addressed envelopes and

carried them to the post office.

Initially, demand for the letter was modest. That changed after Birmingham Public Safety Commissioner Bull Connor unleashed police dogs and high-pressure fire hoses on children demonstrating in Kelly Ingram Park.

“People started saying, ‘What is going on in Birmingham?’” Willie King said. “Everybody wanted a copy of the Birmingham jail letter. I could hardly make enough copies. Things just blew up all of a sudden.”

After leaving SCLC, Willie King joined the newly established Equal Employment Opportunity Commission where she worked for 32 years.

‘It was all God’ For Willie King, preserving the story is not about personal acclaim. It is about the “beloved community” Dr. King envisioned — one grounded in love, dignity and respect.

“It was all God,” she said. “I had no connections. I didn’t know anybody. I didn’t have anything. But I’m obedient. So I followed God’s leading.”