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Sri Chellappa, co-founder and president of Engagedly, discusses the company's meteoric growth, move from a downtown incubator to Maplewood and the St. Louis area's startup scene, as well as his own new role as the owner of a recording studio

Acclaimed musician Kishi Bashi previews his multimedia performance of "Improvisations on EO9066" by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. It explores Japanese internment during WWII.

Local historian Mark Sundlov discusses the "Righting a Wrong: Japanese Americans and World War II" exhibit at Soldiers Memorial Military Museum.

St. Louis Public Radio statehouse reporter Sarah Kellogg makes her Politically Speaking debut by breaking down how Missouri has received a ton of money over the past year or so from the federal government. Some of which came from the CARES Act, which was passed in 2020 to combat COVID-19. Other funds are coming from the American Rescue Plan, which lawmakers approved earlier this year. State Budget director Dan Haug and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Dan Hegeman serve as guest for the podcast.

Agriculture researchers are examining ways to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint. That could involve changing the type of crushed rock farmers use to neutralize soil acidity.

Two years ago, Hogan Haake of Webster Groves decided to embark with his son on a quest: to unicycle in all 48 continental states before the teen graduated high school.

Jessica Bueler details what led her to found Welcome Neighbor STL in 2016, and how it continues to help. Syrian refugee Mawda Altayan joins the conversation.

In this week’s “Communities Forward” podcast, we have two guests who are the Co-founders of BlackTea. BlackTea is an audio and visual media organization founded in St. Louis, MO by two young Black women that aim to raise political, social, and cultural awareness while engaging communities in a conversational and entertaining way. The masterminds behind […]

The post Communities Forward Podcast Part 1 of 2- BlackTea: Alisha Sonnier and Jami Cox appeared first on Rise.

Fortunate to have a good group of neighbors interested in maintaining our little section of the world!  Special shout outs to North Newstead Assocation, SLACO and our own Patricia A. […]

Missouri’s 1st Congressional District was created with the help of Black Democrats and Republicans. That relationship will be put to the test next year because of population loss.

The silence was deafening in 2020. We all felt it and knew why, but, having boomeranged back to St. Louis after being gone for four years, moving back into the Lafayette Square neighborhood just didn't have the same vibe without the beloved Saturday night concerts in the park. Heading into the spring, the question of [...]

The post Concerts in the Park appeared first on Lafayette Square.

The silence was deafening in 2020. We all felt it and knew why, but, having boomeranged back to St. Louis after being gone for four years, moving back into the…

It's another sign of the times of pre-COVID life returning - the Tour de Lafayette returns on September 3, serving as the unofficial end of summer, the beginning of Labor Day weekend, and kicking off the annual Gateway Cup Bike Races. The Gateway Cup is a four-day race spanning four of St. Louis' historic neighborhoods, [...]

The post Gateway Cup Bike Races – Tour de Lafayette appeared first on Lafayette Square.

It’s another sign of the times of pre-COVID life returning – the Tour de Lafayette returns on September 3, serving as the unofficial end of summer, the beginning of Labor…

St. Louis has long thought of itself as a Black and white city. Now U.S. Census Bureau numbers show the region’s composition changing, with increases in Asian, Latino and multiracial residents.

More than 300 artifacts and artworks comprise the current exhibition at the Mercantile, which is the oldest extant library west of the Mississippi River.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on Tuesday, September 7th, 2021, 5:30 PM (on Tuesday due to the Labor Day holiday), the Soulard Community Improvement District (the “District”) will hold a public meeting to consider and act upon the matters on the following tentative agenda and such other matters as may be presented at the meeting and […]

Last week, we had two staff members attend the 2021 Missouri Workforce Housing Association (MOWHA) Annual Conference. We are grateful for this opportunity to build relationships within the affordable housing industry and learn from the outstanding panelists, especially as we begin to adjust to the “post-Covid” reality.

Here are our key takeaways:

The US housing market does not have enough homes to meet current demand — and is short by 3.8 million, according to a new report from mortgage giant Freddie Mac. The supply crunch increased 52% between 2018 and the end of 2020, helping to drive up the price of homes in the US, according to the report, which was released in April 2021.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition compiles data for each state on housing needs. Here are Missouri’s stats: 

• 27% or 215,751 renter households are extremely low income. 

• $25,750 is the maximum income for a 4-person extremely low-income family in MO.  

• Our state has a shortage of 122,075 rental homes affordable and available for extremely low income renters.  

• $34,662 is the annual household income needed to afford a two-bedroom rental home at HUD’s Fair Market Rent

• 65% of extremely low-income renter households have a severe housing cost burden.

In a Technical Update session, we heard about the DASH Act, The Decent, Affordable, Safe Housing for All Act, which includes proposals that would increase affordable housing production by 2 million affordable homes over the next decade.

Finally, affordable housing funders, developers, and insurance providers shared lessons learned over the past year, highlighting that

• insurance providers are now requiring higher limits

• a 25% increase in material costs is anticipated for 2022

• suggest developers include a cushion for both costs and the construction timetable

Despite rising costs and other complications caused by Covid, demand for affordable housing remains extremely high. We have to work together in order to produce the housing that our community needs. Use the link below to donate to TGNCDC and support our continued efforts to build, renovate, and manage affordable housing in our community.

Donate to TGNCDC

St. Louis aldermen have approved the extension of an order requiring masks in indoor spaces. Mayor Tishaura Jones requested the move. The order went into effect in late July and will now last at least until September 29.

Sharon Smith of the Missouri Historical Society joins us to discuss the bridge’s history. We also hear from Great Rivers Greenway about some big plans for the site going forward.