Sara
Diggins
Planting for a healthier future
From a half-acre farm in Florissant, Missouri, Tyrean “Heru” Lewis works to combat food insecurity in the community he grew up in- St. Louis.
Lewis is one of many Black St. Louisians working to bring nutrition into the community- he works with a network of markets, vendors and volunteers to make it happen.
The city experienced 270 homicides on the last year, 70% of which occurred in low-income census tracts without access to a grocery store within a half-mile.
Research, including that from the St. Louis Dept. of Health shows that food insecurity is tied to rates of physical and mental health issues, which, in turn can lead to higher rates of violence in these communities.
To Lewis, these areas are “Food Apartheids,” rather than the often-used term - food deserts. “I say ‘apartheid’ because a desert is natural,” says Lewis. “This was created on purpose.”
Turf Battle: the Thrall-Thorndale rivalry
Two tiny towns- each with just one stoplight- only 5.8 miles away from another, duke it out in their annual rivalry game. Straight out of Friday Night Lights.
Fast food workers advocate for raise in minimum wage
Fight for $15 Missouri, joined by members of the Democratic Socialists, the Service Employees International Union and others marched down Kingshighway Boulevard in South City to a McDonald’s to demand “$15 and a union” in solidarity and conjunction with walkouts, strikes and protests around the country on Wednesday, May 19, 2021.
Around 150 people gathered in front of the McDonald’s and briefly blocked traffic on a section of Kingshighway Boulevard before marching around the restaurant and backward through the drive-thru.
Missouri Botanical Garden bursts into bloom
Late March always brings the season’s first splash of color to the Missouri Botanical Garden as more than 150 cherry trees put on their pale-pink show. The peak bloom is fleeting, lasting only a week or so, but draws crowds. Visitors pose for photos and videos with the fragile flowers, or walk quietly by, enjoying the peace and beauty.
If you missed the bloom this year, don't worry: Spring is just getting started. The next couple of weeks will see crab apple blossoms, blooming acacias, peak tulip and daffodil blooms, and gorgeous buds on the aptly named red and white bud trees. If you want to visit, reserve a ticket a few days in advance, as they can sell out quickly.
Ballwin's annual egg hunt adapts for COVID-19, accessibility
The City of Ballwin hosted the annual Youth Egg Hunt on March 27, 2021 at the Ballwin Commons. Around 300 people gathered to celebrate the Easter holiday and search for colorful plastic eggs. Midtown Church sponsored the egg hunt, which included an earlier, non-competitive egg hunt for children with special needs for the first time this year. "We always speak that we want to include everybody," said Dan Eastham, Recreation Manager for the City of Ballwin. "We want everybody to be involved."
Jurassic Park? No, the St. Louis Zoo!
Dinosaur roars followed by laughs and screams echo from the St. Louis Zoo’s newest exhibit - The Emerson Dinoroarus. Zoo guests can watch the 16 types of life-like animatronic of dinosaurs move, spit water and even hatch from eggs as they walk through the exhibit, which opened to the public on April 17, 2021. The exhibit is free to zoo members with an overall reservation, and $5.95 per non-member guest ages 2 and up, with a reservation. Tickets are timed by entry, but once in, dinosaur explorers can stay as long as they like.