The Gateway

The price of earthquake insurance in Missouri’s bootheel has skyrocketed over the last 25 years. There are some possible government solutions to the problem, but the will to implement them is lacking.

This month the Opera Theatre of St. Louis is producing a new opera by one of the world’s most-celebrated living playwrights. Lynn Nottage — the only woman so far to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice — wrote the libretto for “This House” with her daughter, Ruby Aiyo Gerber. The opera looks at African American history through the intersecting powers of memory and place.

A bankruptcy judge approved the sale of community radio station KDHX for $8.75 million to Christian broadcast network Gateway Creative Broadcasting. We sort through the judge’s decision, and what happens next.

The decade-long criminal pursuit of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan finally comes down to this. On Friday, a man once regarded as the state’s most powerful politician will be sentenced for multiple corruption convictions. If Madigan gets a long prison term, could his next step be to seek relief from President Trump?

Centennial Christian Church sits in the heart of Fountain Park. It’s the lifeline of the north St. Louis neighborhood. But last month, an EF-3 tornado destroyed the 121-year-old church. Three people were trapped inside buried beneath the rubble for nearly two hours. One of them did not make it out alive. Repeated calls from a victim inside Centennial to the city’s 911 emergency line went unanswered.

Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley called for swift federal help for victims of the May 16th tornado in St. Louis. But President Donald Trump hasn’t signed Gov. Mike Kehoe’s major disaster declaration request, which would unlock direct aid to St. Louis and St. Louis County residents.

You might remember the alt-rock band The All-American Rejects and lead singer Tyson Ritter from their handful of turn of the century hits such as “Dirty Little Secret.” As University of Missouri seniors graduated this spring, the band played the latest in a series of pop-up shows it’s been doing at people’s houses. We hear what the band, concertgoers and even the police think about this diversion from the current era of arena concerts.

One of the many bills that didn’t cross the finish line this past Missouri legislative session was one backed by agricultural giant Bayer. The bill would have shielded Bayer from liability in some lawsuits where its herbicide Roundup has been accused of causing cancer. With the end of the regular legislative session, the bill is dead for now. But as St. Louis Public Radio’s Evy Lewis reports, it’s likely not the last Missouri will hear of the issue.

William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” is the story of a Danish prince who can’t decide how to respond to his father’s murder. St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s production of the play in Forest Park this month is inspired by the fashion and jazz of mid-20th-Century Manhattan. As St. Louis Public Radio’s Jeremy Goodwin reports, the production shows that one of the most famous plays ever written can inspire new sounds and surprises.

Missouri lawmakers are back in Jefferson City for a special legislative session. Gov. Mike Kehoe called for the session last week and specified three things he wanted done. That includes legislation that allows the state to help fund new stadiums for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals.