St. Louis on the Air

The Nolan family faced many hurdles since an EF3 tornado tore through their neighborhood on May 16, 2025. The storm ripped the roof off their family duplex, displacing their family as well as their tenants next door. Today, they are looking forward to moving into their new home and welcoming their tenants back to the neighborhood. Gloria and Kevin Nolan share an update on how reconstruction has progressed for themselves and their community — and their hopes for the neighborhood they call home.

Veteran astronaut Tom Akers was born in St. Louis, grew up in Eminance, Missouri, and attended Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla. Then, he went to space — an experience he calls “an honor of a lifetime.” This weekend, Akers will be inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. He joins STLPR’s Jonathan Ahl ahead of the ceremony to talk about his upbringing, his love of teaching, and making the leap from small-town Missouri to floating in orbit above the planet.

On a rainy day in 1947, a scrappy alley cat walked into the Hamilton Hotel in St. Louis. Two days later, he made national news for beating his pedigreed peers to win prizes at the Greater St. Louis Cat Club Show. The cat’s story is the subject of a new classical composition that will be performed this weekend by the Metropolitan Orchestra of St. Louis alongside a concurrent reading of the children’s book, “How Mr. Silver Stole the Show.” Author Kate Klise, composer and Mizzou professor Stefan Freund, and Metropolitan Orchestra of St. Louis principal conductor Roger Kaza, talk with us about Mr. Silver’s story and the art it inspired. The performance takes place at 3 p.m. on May 17 at Washington University’s E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall.

It’s been nearly a year since an EF-3 tornado tore through the St. Louis region, with north St. Louis bearing the brunt of the destruction. In this episode, we begin the STLPR series: “Torn, the struggle to recover from the tornado, the flailing government response and the fight for north St. Louis.” We hear from St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer, who defends the city's work on the recovery while acknowledging some of the shortcomings and the challenges that lie ahead. We also hear from STLPR reporters whose investigation found that inexperience and key decisions within the Spencer administration slowed recovery efforts.

Touted as an effective way to keep people out of the prison system, mental health courts have expanded across the country over the past two decades. But in southern Illinois, around two million residents don’t have access to them. The Illinois Answers Project and MindSite News spent months reaching out to every court in the state for data and updates on their mental health courts. The investigation found "a promising model with limited funds supporting small oases in an otherwise barren desert." Illinois Answers Project reporter Grace Hauck and Tony Ohlhausen, director of research and policy at NAMI Illinois, share their insights into the state of Illinois’ mental health court system, including the programs in the Metro East in Madison and St. Clair counties.

Lafayette High School Graduate Nathaniel Mahone has always found joy in bringing laughter to others. Now, after several summers as a Muny Kid and Teen and graduating college, Mahone is touring the country with the musical comedy “Monty Python’s Spamalot”. Mahone shared his journey from small plays to big stages, and what it means to be coming home to St. Louis on his first national tour.

Since 2022, Transform 314's founder Kelly McGowan has worked to inform Black St. Louisans about the inner workings of local government. As communities continue to rebuild since last year's May 16 tornado, she has focused on helping citizens understand the policies and identify the accountable officials. On May 13, McGowan will be premiering her first film, “Transforming Our Legacy: A St. Louis Story.” The documentary highlights personal stories of Black St. Louisans from the 1930s to the present day. It explores the ways that generations of policies, including segregation and disinvestment, have shaped the city's predominately Black neighborhoods.

“Gifted: The Docuseries” poses the ultimate question: If you could save the lives of eight strangers, would you? The project looks at the humanity behind organ donation, featuring stories from St. Louis and beyond. Its creator, critical care registered nurse and St. Louis native, Robert Horsey, discusses the story behind the series alongside Kim Cupp, who honors her daughter Maissa Abdallah’s life-saving legacy in the series.

In 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, along with 31 other men, set out on the Corps of Discovery expedition from a site just north of St. Louis, at the mouth of the Missouri River. A new book by historian Craig Fehrman, “This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark,” draws on newly surfaced documents and oral histories to offer a more layered portrait of the expedition and the people involved.

Music has the power to conjure memory and emotion. In her new book, “Transported: The Everyday Magic of Musical Daydreams,” St. Louis native and professor Elizabeth Margulis investigates the source and implications of music’s impact on human cognition. The director of Princeton University’s Music Cognition Lab shares insights from her research, including the way that emotion and memory can trigger a person to “find yourself transported to some memory from your past, often quite vividly, or some fictional scene that you've never really experienced.”

Artist and educator Carmon Colangelo retired at the end of April after 20 years as founding dean of Washington University’s Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. Blending traditional and digital printmaking techniques, his work is currently on view at the Bruno David Gallery in Clayton. STLPR arts and culture senior reporter Jeremy D. Goodwin talks with Colangelo about his career, the role of artificial intelligence in art and more.

Scott Sifton left the Missouri legislature in 2021. But even though he’s been out of politics, he’s still making his mark in the legal profession. The former Democratic lawmaker joins “The Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis the Air” to talk about his involvement in Monsanto v. Durnell, a high-stakes case the U.S. Supreme Court heard this week about how the herbicide Roundup is labeled.

A plan to build a data center near the Armory in Midtown provoked passionate opposition – and some passionate support – within St. Louis. Alderwoman Anne Schweitzer talks about why the topic is stoking so many strong emotions and why she has concerns about how this plan came together.

Missouri lawmakers placed Gov. Mike Kehoe’s ambitious tax plan on the ballot last month. It gives lawmakers five years to expand sales and use taxes as a way to phase out the state’s income tax. The proposal has sparked bipartisan opposition – and raised the ire of some powerful groups who may spend money to defeat it. Economist Aaron Hedlund, a supporter of the plan, joins “The Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air” to explain why it could help the state in the long term.

Earlier this month in STLPR’s Community Room, St. Louis-area residents came together for an open mic event to reflect on how last year’s May 16 tornado changed their lives. On the latest episode of our podcast “Meet Me,” we share highlights from an evening of powerful, personal stories about loss, recovery and resilience.

Missouri is teeming with scenic hiking trails and unique ecological features, but it can be intimidating to explore the outdoors alone. Jessie Donovan and Mike Roth founded ShowMe Hikes to connect people with Missouri’s natural environment firsthand, and bring beginner, intermediate and experienced hikers together. They share what has shaped their own personal relationships with the outdoors and what hikers can look forward to on ShowMe Hikes’ guided treks.

On Wednesday, friends and family gathered in Creve Coeur to say goodbye to Ray Hartmann. The longtime St. Louis journalist, who founded the Riverfront Times and helped launch Nine PBS’ “Donnybrook,” died suddenly last Thursday in a car crash at 73. In this episode, we revisit a 2024 conversation with Hartmann and hear from St. Louis journalists Jeannette Cooperman and Sarah Fenske about his legacy.

Nearly six years have passed since Troy Doyle sued the St. Louis County Police Department over what he alleges was a broken promise to promote him to police chief. After multiple delays, the case has cost the county more than $900,000. Attorneys Dave Roland, Arindam Kar and Jenny Woulfe discuss the employment discrimination case in this month’s Legal Roundtable alongside other notable, ongoing lawsuits against the City of St. Louis’ police department and school system. They also react to news of the lawsuit filed by the influencer “The Woke Ginger,” who alleges his employer violated an obscure Missouri law that prohibits employers from terminating people for their political beliefs.

At Parkway West High School, students play Monopoly and research current issues to learn about the effects of economic systems here in the U.S. and abroad. History and economics teacher Rachel Money — yes, that’s her real name! — joins Parkway West senior Lily Overmann to share how such methods not only equip students for AP exams, but build their skills in media literacy, strategic thinking and problem solving.

James Beard Award winner Gerard Craft is open about his experiences with anxiety, pressure and seeking help — and why mental health is a critical issue in the hospitality industry. Craft, the executive chef and CEO of Niche Food Group, is among several acclaimed St. Louis chefs coming together for a May 4 luncheon, “Hands for Mental Health Luncheon.” Some of the proceeds will benefit NAMI St. Louis.