The Gateway

Americans are losing their starry views to light pollution. But communities can make lighting decisions to help preserve night skies – while benefiting wildlife and human health.

Illinois is one of the bluest states in the country, so much so that more than two-dozen Texas House Democrats fled there to protest a proposed congressional map in their home state that could broaden Republican power in Washington. Governor J-B Pritzker is among the Democrats promising to fight – and some people think the fight might include a new map in Illinois.

Missouri lawmakers probably didn't think as the summer began that they'd likely return in the fall to redraw the state's eight congressional districts. The push from President Donald Trump could have huge consequences for Missouri politics.

Four members of the Missouri National Guard and twelve members of the Illinois National Guard are seeking voluntary separations from the military because they are transgender. This comes as the Trump administration set a deadline for trans military members to apply to leave on their own, or to be removed from service. One member shares her decision.

It's the time of year when our air conditioners run a lot … and power bills go up. That's caused many people to ask if utility monopolies are to blame. We'll learn about utilities and the challenges of keeping energy bills under control.

Like most of the nation, there seems to be a coffee shop on every corner in St. Louis. But what many may not know is that St. Louis was considered the largest inland coffee hub in the United States one hundred years ago.

Missouri voters back in November approved Proposition A, which included mandatory earned paid sick leave. Months later, the Republican-led state legislature repealed the paid sick leave policy, citing hardship for businesses. A proposed constitutional amendment could bring it back.

The St. Louis-area was experiencing a shortage of nearly 20,000 seats prior to the tornado, according to the Gateway Early Childhood Alliance. That number has grown since the May 16 tornado. 44 centers were in the path of the storm and 40 of them were damaged.

The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis starts its 10th season tomorrow night with “A Streetcar Named Desire” at the Grandel Theatre in Grand Center. The 11-day festival continues with special performances and other events throughout the weekend.

The Delmar divide can be seen from above - there are fewer trees in lower-income, majority-Black neighborhoods in St. Louis. In recent years, nonprofits have been working to even things out. The May 16 tornado changed that work overnight.

The St. Louis Art Place Initiative was founded in 2019 to help artists buy homes with affordable down payments and mortgages. Its goal is to build at least 20 such homes in the Gravois Park neighborhood. So far, two artists are living in Art Place homes and the nonprofit plans to complete six more houses by the end of the year.

Sumner is the first high school west of the Mississippi River to graduate Black students. This year is its 150th anniversary. At a recent celebration, alumni say Sumner is here to stay and will fight to keep it open.

The Connections to Success program is helping St. Louisans of various ages to find economic independence. That includes finding out what paperwork is needed to obtain an ID card, learning about relationship love languages or how to set and reach realistic goals.

The so-called Crown Act was signed by Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe on July 9. Missouri became the 28th state to pass legislation that makes it illegal to discriminate based on the texture or style of one's hair.

While most high school football fields sit quiet in the dog days of summer, one in the Metro East is bursting with music and motion. Dive inside the world of drum corps and its ties to the Metro East.

Retirees of Sheet Metal Workers Local 36 are bringing a replica of the famous SS Admiral steamboat back to life. And, a team from Rolla is world champions. But it's not an athletic team - it's a collection of more than 100 students at Missouri University of Science and Technology who designed and built a Mars rover.

A documentary is highlighting St. Louis's Black history through the eyes of a retired priest. Father Gerry Kleba is a white priest from south St. Louis who headed up two Catholic churches in Black neighborhoods for decades and has led tours of Black St. Louis' history for five years.

Missouri's Medicaid program is about to go through a major transformation with the advent of federally-imposed work requirements. And while critics of this idea believe they're aimed at kicking eligible people off of the health care program, Missouri's Medicaid director contends they could be implemented in an unobtrusive way.

Approximately 9% of Missourians say they have significant medical bills they can't pay. In the St. Louis region, physicians groups have filed hundreds of lawsuits to collect unpaid debt. New research in the open-access journal JAMA Network Open found groups sued those in zip codes with low-income and Black residents more.

Nashat Aljerwan and his family have lived at Za'atari Refugee Camp in Jordan for 12 years. But in 2023, a path to resettlement opened that would have allowed them to come to St. Louis. That path quickly closed. In the wake of President Trump's January executive order to suspend all refugee resettlement, the Aljerwan family became one amongn thousands already vetted, approved, and in limbo.

A group of Southern California teenagers formed the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band amid the folk revival of the mid-60's. The group became a pillar of country music radio for decades, scoring 17 straight top-ten singles. The Dirt Band plays Chesterfield Amphitheatre on Thursday as the group bids farewell to touring.

The Savannah Bananas are bringing their unique blend of baseball and entertainment to Busch Stadium tonight and tomorrow night. Bananas pitcher Noah Niznick grew up in St. Louis and pitched collegiately at Southeast Missouri State University. He speaks about coming home to pitch in the ballpark where he watched his baseball heroes growing up and how he describes “Banana Ball” to his friends and family.

Researchers at Harvard University have used participants from a decades-old study of baby teeth to link those who lived near Coldwater Creek in north St. Louis County to increased cancer risks. The study offers the latest evidence for what residents have insisted for decades: that exposure to certain sites has made people sick.

Missouri House members are trying to take a proactive approach to complex issues, like artificial intelligence regulation and disaster preparedness.

The host of NPR's All Things Considered will weave stories from his memoir into his cabaret show Saturday at City Winery.

Climatologists are working on how to account for climate change when we think about droughts. Today's normal climate might not be the same as yesterday's.

St. Louis Public Radio's Brian Munoz breaks down the six charges against St. Louis Sheriff Alfred Montgomery and updates where things are with Attorney General Andrew Bailey's effort to remove the sheriff from office.

St. Louis Public Radio's Brian Munoz breaks down the six charges against St. Louis Sheriff Alfred Montgomery and updates where things are with Attorney General Andrew Bailey's effort to remove the sheriff from office.

For more than 100 year, St. Louis audiences have attended musical theater productions each summer at The Muny in Forest Park. We go behind the scenes to see what is involved in putting on these intricate productions.

There are more than 40 species of fireflies in Missouri, but for the last few years people have been concerned about the populations diminishing.

St. Louis Shakespeare Festival will head to the St. Louis Zoo where actors will perform a kid-friendly adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” …with animal puppets.

The new Japanese owner of U.S Steel will invest 11 billion dollars in mills and mines across the United States. But it doesn't appear Granite City Works will see any of those dollars.

Cote Brilliante Presbyterian Church is one of several Black churches in north St. Louis destroyed or severely damaged by the May 16th tornado.

The wide-ranging budgetary package making its way through Congress curbs a key funding mechanism that Missouri uses to help pay for its Medicaid programs.

China is a major buyer of U-S agricultural specialty products. Some producers worry the on-and-off tariffs with the country could hurt America's reputation as a reliable seller.

“Abide in Love” is a group of 50 that help detainees with contacting their families and small acts of comfort and kindness as the jail has become part ICE holding facility.

Tuesday is the special election in the 8th ward and IN UNISON members reflect on how music is helping them post tornado.

Over the past decade, there's been more momentum behind the “land back” movement -- where native tribes try to regain ancestral lands.

A Stuckey's just outside of Rolla is trying to meet the needs of an increasing number of Muslim truck drivers and road trippers.

As tornado recovery efforts continue across St. Louis, one person is trying to provide alternative housing for victims while teaching trades to a new generation.

Housing insecurity and May's tornado are straining St. Louis city and county animal shelters.

A bill currently on Governor Mike Kehoe's desk would enable the Missouri Farm Bureau to offer its members a health plan. But the policies are not technically insurance and therefore aren't subject to federal Affordable Care Act regulations.

A bill currently on Governor Mike Kehoe's desk would enable the Missouri Farm Bureau to offer its members a health plan. But the policies are not technically insurance and therefore aren't subject to federal Affordable Care Act regulations.

Lawmakers have strengthened Illinois' nearly 50-year-old sexual abuse survivors law in an effort to make sure patients get critical care after sexual assault. The changes come after an investigation last year revealed that dozens of hospitals violated that law.

The Bullet Related Injury Clinic in St. Louis, known as The BRIC, is helping the community heal through acupuncture in the aftermath of the tornado that tore through St. Louis last month. The nonprofit is one of dozens of organizations that lost half of their federal funding just before the storm, but organizers say that isn't stopping them from getting resources to residents who need them.