DOWNTOWN – A vote taken Friday leaves greater doubt whether the Loop Trolley will ever ride again. A motion in a combined meeting of two subcommittees of the Bi-State Development…
Author: Jim Merkel
southsidemerkel@gmail.com
Born and raised in St. Louis, Jim Merkel covered communities throughout the area from 1991 to 2013 for the old Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis. He is the author of four books about the Gateway City published by Reedy Press. He and his wife, Lorraine, live in the Bevo Mill neighborhood of south St. Louis. For more about Jim, visit www.jimmerkelthewriter.com.
New interactive kiosks provide extra information downtown, elsewhere
ST. LOUIS – At about eight feet tall, the new interactive digital kiosks downtown look like Paul Bunyan’s cellphone. In fact, some city officials hope they’ll make a giant improvement…
Mungenast museum honors motorcycles, autos, car dealer
BEVO MILL – Dave Mungenast started selling a gentleman’s motorcycle at a time when people thought of it as a machine for outlaws. He received awards in international motorcycling competitions…
Mayor orders $15 minimum wage for city civil service workers
CITY HALL – Starting in the middle of February, all civil service employees working for the city of St. Louis will make at least $15 an hour. The change will…
Reed pushes for breakthrough on freeholders board
CITY HALL – Board of Alderman President Lewis Reed plans to spend the week turning up the heat to get a resolution to the stalled effort to name nine city…
City officially grounds airport privatization effort
CITY HALL – The Board of Estimate and Apportionment met for less than three minutes on Wednesday, long enough to say a final “good riddance” to a much-criticized study on…
Resolution seeks to close city workhouse
CITY HALL – A resolution now before the Board of Aldermen outlines a plan to use pressure to force the city to close its much-criticized Medium Security Institution. The resolution…
Police chief, aldermen clash in committee meeting
CITY HALL – Questions about reorganizing the city police department brought sharp clashes Wednesday between police Chief John Hayden and members of a Board of Aldermen committee. Twenty-First Ward Alderman…
South Side track offered deadly path to racing glory
DUTCHTOWN – On the last day of August 1912, a local newspaper told of that night’s debut of an exciting new sport in St. Louis that was taking cities including…
Aldermen OK bill to ban employers from asking applicants about criminal history
CITY HALL – Backers of legislation just passed by the Board of Aldermen say it should help those who have spent time in prison to get jobs in the city.…
Bill to rework police divisions changes to put more officers on street
CITY HALL – To put more police officers on the streets, 21st Ward Alderman John Collins-Muhammad says he wants to reorganize the entire city police department. A bill sponsored by…
North-south MetroLink line should go further north, Muhammad says
CITY HALL – A discussion at a Board of Aldermen committee meeting about plans for a MetroLink line to connect north and south St. Louis brought questions about whether the…