St. Louis on the Air

Thousands took to the streets in downtown St. Louis on Saturday for the "No Kings" protest against the actions of President Trump. People came from throughout the region to call attention to Trump’s immigration policies, cuts to the federal workforce and federal grants, and his expanded domestic military use. STLPR reporter Hiba Ahmad takes us on the scene.

InvestSTL’s Dara Eskridge and 4TheVille’s Aaron Williams helped lead the 4TheVille Emergency Hub, which provided aid to thousands of north St. Louis residents after the May 16 tornado. Now they’re raising money for cash assistance. In this episode, STLPR correspondent Jason Rosenbaum speaks with them about next steps and how they plan to advise the city on how to rebuild.

Experienced tradesman Erion “Prop-Man” Johnson has spent 30 days teaching St. Louis youth key skills with his 100 Tiny Homes project: an effort prompted by the desire to assist residents of north St. Louis was devastated by the May 16 EF3 tornado. Johnson speaks to the project's alignment with his larger vision for teaching Black youth and supporting the community; we also hear teen participants in the project share why they value what they're learning from -- and with -- Johnson.

President Donald Trump’s high-profile immigration raids have sparked protests across the country and even prompted some Republicans to question whether the strategy is misguided. But Missouri U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt says Trump is carrying out a campaign promise to deport people who are in the country without legal status. He also said that critics of the president are being inconsistent, pointing to how Democratic presidents like Barack Obama deported millions of people when he was in office. Schmitt also downplayed Trump’s rift with Elon Musk.

During the just-concluded special session, a bipartisan contingent of Missouri lawmakers were able to get the stadium package across the finish line while also aiding victims of the May 16 tornado. State Sen. Steven Roberts, D-St. Louis, and House Speaker Jon Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, discuss the legislative action. STLPR statehouse and politics reporter Sarah Kellogg also joins the discussion.

Five Missourians are recipients of the Missouri Foundation for Health’s inaugural Spark Prize — a $200,000 grant to individuals for their vision, commitment and promise to improve health and well-being in the state. One recipient is Ciearra “CJ” Walker, the St. Louis-based founder and CEO of the Community Health Worker Coalition. Walker talks about how her organization aims to have trained community health workers that help others navigate systems and reinforce that health outcomes aren’t just about hospital visits or clinic outcomes.

St. Louis’ Bosnian community is observing the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica. A local coalition is leading efforts to commemorate the massacre and its 8,000-plus victims with a series of events and a July 12 walk in downtown St. Louis. The genocide changed the lives of many Bonsians, including Elvir Ahmetovic, who lived through the Srebrenica massacre as a child and is now a St. Louis teacher. Ahmetovic, attorney Adna Nedim Ramic, and Center for Bosnian Studies Director Adna Karamehic-Oates share their stories and insight into the terrible events of the genocide, alongside accounts from other survivors.

In Misty Copeland’s 10 years as the American Ballet Theater’s first Black woman principal dancer, she has inspired others to see themselves in ballet shoes and on stages across the world — and St. Louis is no exception. Erica Hill, founder of the Florissant-based dance company Pointe of Surrender, speaks to Copeland's influence — on herself and the Black dancers who come to her studio. Hill also describes Healing Humanity Through Arts, her dance company’s nonprofit arm, and its work to make dance accessible to youth through school-based programming and scholarships.

On May 6, Missouri's Endangered Wolf Center sent six tiny wolf pups to New Mexico on a rare journey. From that point on, the 10-day-old wolves will grow up wild. The center has raised 289 Mexican wolves since it was founded about 50 years ago by former St. Louis Zoo director — and host of “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” — Marlin Perkins. Sarah Holaday, the center's director of animal care and conservation, and Susan Schmoker, the center’s curator, share their insights into the crucial role Missouri plays in restoring these apex predators in their natural environments.

Dive into a good beach read this summer with fiction, nonfiction and locally-focused book recommendations from Jennifer Alexander of St. Louis County Library and Ted Reidy of St. Louis Public Library.