St. Louis on the Air

After years of construction and planning, Friday marked the opening of the new National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency campus in St. Louis. STLPR economic development reporter Kavahn Mansouri was on the scene for the event, along with public officials including U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell and director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Mansouri shares his takeaways from the grand opening of the $1.7 billion facility, and what happens next as 3,100 federal employees, and the surrounding neighborhoods, adapt to the changes.

Powell Hall, the century-old home of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, has reopened after a two-year, $140 million expansion and renovation. STLPR arts and culture senior reporter Jeremy D. Goodwin talks about the hall’s transformation. Then, newly appointed composer-in-residence Kevin Puts, a St. Louis native and Pulitzer Prize- and Grammy Award-winning composer, discusses the world premiere of his song cycle "House of Tomorrow" and what he’s looking forward to with the orchestra’s opening concert of the 2025-26 season.

After 30 years of annual reports, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that it will no longer provide its Household Food Security Report, citing cost savings on “redundant, costly, politicized, and extraneous studies.” Without data from the annual report, organizations that fight food insecurity will be “flying blind” in their effort to provide resources to children, seniors and others who are vulnerable to hunger. That’s according to Kristen Wild, president and CEO of Operation Food Search, who shares her concerns and hopes in the wake of the USDA’s announcement.

St. Louis artist Henry Moyerman transforms small Lego sculptures into monumental works of art. His new exhibit, “Built Over Time,” features large-scale photographs that make his tiny creations appear much larger. Moyerman discusses how a childhood fascination with Lego bricks and photography grew into an art practice — and why scale and perspective are central to his work. The exhibit is on display through October 18 at the St. Louis Artists’ Guild.

Geocaching is a decades-old treasure hunting game that combines outdoor fun and environmental awareness. With over 3 million physical “caches” worldwide — including 10,000 in the state of Missouri, there is no shortage of places to explore. John Layman, vice president of the St. Louis Area Geocaching Association, and Nan Dabler, the group’s treasurer, discuss the importance of respecting the environment as a geocacher and how the game got its start.

After 30 years of annual reports, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that it will no longer provide its Household Food Security Report, citing cost savings on “redundant, costly, politicized, and extraneous studies.” Without data from the annual report, organizations that fight food insecurity will be “flying blind” in their effort to provide resources to children, seniors and others who are vulnerable to hunger. That’s according to Kristen Wild, president and CEO of Operation Food Search, who shares her concerns and hopes in the wake of the USDA’s announcement.

St. Louis County Library's Tap In Center seeks to provide a safe space for people who need assistance with resolving warrants, meeting with an attorney, learning about their case status or applying for a public defender. The center also works to address the underlying systemic challenges that keep people from court. In the five years since its launch, the center has helped more than 3,300 people achieve good standing with the courts. The center’s director and its co-founder share why the program works and how it’s expanded its reach in recent years.

Months after a 2024 protest on Washington University’s campus, St. Louis resident Kaitlyn Killgo was arrested, without a warrant, in Eureka. She’s now suing the university and the officers who arrested her. The case involves a controversial system called “wanteds,” which allows Missouri officers to arrest suspects without a warrant — even when those arresting officers have no details about the alleged crime. We talk about the state of Missouri’s “wanteds” system, and how it continues to be used by Missouri police, with Kaitlyn Killgo and Arch City Defenders attorney Maureen Hanlon.

The Trump administration has directed some National Park Service sites to remove or alter materials about slavery and Native Americans, following an executive order urging history to “focus on the greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people.” Gateway Arch National Park hasn’t seen visible changes so far. In this episode, we revisit a 2023 conversation on interpreting Black history with author Vivian Gibson and historians Cicely Hunter of the Missouri Historical Society and Pam Sanfilippo of Gateway Arch National Park. “St. Louis on the Air” executive producer Alex Heuer also shares what he discovered during a Monday visit to the Old Courthouse and museum under the Arch.

The historic Fairground Park was once a shining jewel that held fairs, an enormous pool, amphitheatre and art gallery. Throughout the decades, the park has been severely neglected and has become a ruin of its former self. The new nonprofit Fairground Park for All aims to revitalize the park and remind residents in the Fairground Park neighborhood of just how beautiful it can be.

St. Louis entertainer Chuck Flowers began his musical journey in an interfaith choir, singing alongside the influential gospel duo the O’Neal Twins and Monica R. Butler, who later founded the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. This month, Flowers is being honored as an inductee into the hall of fame. He and Butler reminisce about the 1980s gospel music scene in St. Louis and discuss how gospel music has influenced many other genres.

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival is wrapping up its 25th season with its annual "Shakespeare in the Streets" production. This year, the play “Power” explores East St. Louis — a city that carries the legacy of legendary artists and athletes, as well as the stigma of political corruption and the 1917 Race Massacre. Loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s Richard III, “Power” follows "Richard" on his attempted rise to East St. Louis mayor. We talk with actor RobWood, an East St. Louis Native who plays Richard, and the play's director, Kathi Bentley.

Illinois joins more than a dozen states that, in response to federal changes regarding the distribution guidelines of vaccines, is directing their public health departments to establish their own guidelines. Capitol News Illinois reporter Peter Hancock discusses those changes and how the state of Illinois aims to create a safe and clear path for those looking to get themselves and their families vaccinated.

For St. Charles County Executive Ehlmann, regional cooperation isn’t some far off pipe dream. He says a law enforcement training facility that the leaders of Jefferson, St. Charles, Franklin and St. Louis counties agreed to earlier this summer is a good example of how the region can work together on shared goals. He discusses how the facility got off the ground and his hopes for its use in the future. He also talks about recent efforts to build a massive data center in St. Charles.

The future of a newly-drawn congressional map is in limbo a week after a contentious and consequential special session. In this episode of the “Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air,” we talk about the efforts to combat the new lines in court and at the ballot box.

St. Louis artists are dishing out chill vibes for this month’s new music round up. Matthew Sawicki and Chris “Klevah” Shaw, co-hosts of Fresh Produce, STL’s monthly beat battle, join producer Miya Norfleet and host Elaine Cha to talk about their local favorites for the month. This month’s selections include alternative folk duo Brawsh as well as pop punk band and our first music show featured artist, Wes Hoffman. Check out our new music roundup playlist.

Dominique Eldraco Price is more than a working musician. Fresh off the release of his latest EP, he and his band FreeNation brought the house down at last weekend’s Music at the Intersection festival with a high-energy mix of soul, funk and glam. Price discusses his journey from incredibly shy preacher’s kid to boisterous on-stage powerhouse. He also breaks down how he made his way to being a working musician in the corporate music world with the event band the Luster Lights in order to fund his original creative work.

When the campus of St. Louis youth literacy nonprofit Urban Born was hit by a tornado on May 16, it also severely damaged the home of the organization’s founders La Tasha and Johnel Langerston, Sr. The married couple describe their up and down experiences with FEMA, and share how their College Hill neighborhood and faith communities have “covered” them as they rebuild.

In June 2022, a fight and carjacking started in a QuikTrip parking lot in Hazelwood. The incident ended with a red Mustang crashing into the city’s police department. But the carjacking victim, Phillip March, whom surveillance video shows being beaten and dragged by his own car, now faces trial for property damage. St. Louis on the Air producer Danny Wicentowski shares his investigation into the incident, the video footage, and Hazelwood’s pursuit of this case.

Ten years after the Ferguson Commission’s landmark Forward Through Ferguson report, which laid out 189 calls to action addressing racial equity in areas such as economic opportunity, education and law enforcement, Annissa McCaskill, executive director of Forward Through Ferguson, reflects on progress, ongoing challenges, and priorities amid funding and post-tornado recovery. STLPR reporter Chad Davis also shares insights on community-level change since the Ferguson Uprising.