Welcoming new voices to opera is the core mission of Opera Theatre of St. Louis’ New Works Collective. The initiative provides opportunities for creators and performers like librettist Alicia Reve Like, whose 20-minute opera “Black Coffee” gets its world premiere Feb. 6-8 at COCA. Like and the theatre’s managing director Nicole Freber, discuss the role community engagement has played in bringing new perspectives to the opera stage.

Urban development projects are typically marked by groundbreaking ceremonies, months of building and handshakes for a job well done. But it’s often the case that community members are left out of critical discussions of what could make new developments in their neighborhood work for them. Christopher Peoples, equity and economic impact director for Great Rivers Greenway discusses the organization’s commitment to keeping residents in the center of development plans and how gentrification, when done right, does not mean displacing people or erasing a community’s identity.

Due to a delay in federal funding for many of its services and programs, the International Institute of St. Louis announced a pause on preparations for this year’s Festival of Nations. The next day, it furloughed more than half of its staff. Despite uncertainties in federal funding, and anti-immigrant actions and rhetoric on a national level, both former and current staff at the institute believe that St. Louis remains a welcoming place for immigrants — and that the St. Louis community can come together to bolster the work of the institute, including its beloved, annual celebration.

St. Louis’ best theater performances of the year are being honored again. The St. Louis Theater Circle announced its nominations for 2024. The Muny is the top contender, with 30 nominations across its seven productions. Approximately 112 productions were considered. St. Louis Theater Circle members Chuck Lavazzi and CB Adams discuss some of this year’s nominations and the state of local theater.

A number of St. Louis-area restaurants closed their doors in January but a fair number opened too. Among the closures were Peacock Loop Diner in University City and Schlafly Bankside in St. Charles. New restaurants include dart-themed restaurant Flight Club in Clayton and SweetArt Too in City Foundry. STLPR digital editor Jessica Rogen and morning anchor and host of the Gateway podcast Abby Llorico discuss the latest openings and closings.

Late Friday afternoon, KDHX 88.1 FM announced that it was stopping live broadcasts and letting go of all of its volunteer DJs. The community radio station has experienced turmoil for several years. On this episode, STLPR arts and culture senior reporter Jeremy D. Goodwin and two former KDHX DJs, Caron House and River Reinsch, discuss this news. House hosted “Wax Lyrical” for nearly 11 years until she was let go in September 2023, and Reinsch hosted “Alternative Angle” from March 2024 up until his position was terminated on Friday.

Bobby Carter was part of a major shift for NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concerts. The St. Louis native (and Riverview Gardens High School alum) emphasized diversity in music genre and representation of race and gender for the viral video series which has gained nearly 11 million subscribers on NPR Music’s YouTube channel alone. On this episode of St. Louis on the Air, Carter, who serves as Tiny Desk’s host, producer and judge for their annual contest shared his music career journey and upbringing in St. Louis with host Elaine Cha.

Kre8 Place's Quintrel Brown and Dwayne Ferguson join producer Miya Norfleet and host Elaine Cha for a roundup of new music releases from St. Louis musicians. Brown and Ferguson also explain how Kre8 Place provides a space for artists to grow and gain the resources in the St. Louis area. They also share details about the Hiphop Takeover event occurring at the end of February at the Dark Room.

New and experienced beekeepers aiming to hone their honey-making skills will meet Feb. 8 in St. Louis for an annual workshop from the Eastern Missouri Beekeepers Association. We get to know Tom and Melissa Sostman, founders of VIA Honeybees, who went from newbie hobbyists to maintaining 150+ hives throughout Franklin and Jefferson County. They discuss their journey and the skills they picked up along the way. We also get a preview of the upcoming workshop, where attendees will learn new techniques in the world of beekeeping, honey-making and honey-judging.

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe is pushing for a state board to oversee the St. Louis police department because he says it will make the city safer in the long run. The GOP chief executive is brushing aside criticism that the idea is another example of Republican-controlled state government micromanaging the heavily Democratic St. Louis region. In a wide-ranging interview with STLPR the day after his first State of the State address, Kehoe discussed public safety and a host of other issues including taxes, education funding and diversity programs.