Ashlynn Perez

St. Louis

Culture Reporter at Vox Magazine

latte drinker, short fiction reader, local news believer

Articles

Affton students, faculty partner with local professor for class on pirates

3 weeks ago | callnewspapers.com | Ashlynn Perez

This semester, pirates sailed onto the scene with Affton High School’s new course, “Sea Scoundrels: A Global History of Piracy.” Under the instruction of Lisa Lillie, a dual credit history coordinator at St. Louis University, a handful of Affton students had the chance to spend around 15 weeks studying piracy throughout history at a college level, thanks to the MyPath program and the students’ own dedication to make it happen.
Lutheran South High School takes home five awards for ‘Little Women’

3 weeks ago | callnewspapers.com | Ashlynn Perez

The troupe had hoped to be nominated in one categoryJune 5, 2025 Lutheran South High School’s production of “Little Women” won big at this year’s St. Louis High School Musical Theatre Awards. Of the eight categories they were nominated in, the Lutheran South troupe took home five: Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Ensemble, Outstanding Supporting Actor, Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Faculty Technical Execution.
Tim and Hannah Pauk bring goats to South County with Kids on Kerth

3 weeks ago | callnewspapers.com | Ashlynn Perez

Goats are living on Kerth Road. Tim and Hannah Pauk aren’t shy to share about their herd. In fact, Hannah regularly posts videos of their seven goats — funny clips of the animals getting into the house or dancing to music — to her 32,000 followers on Instagram and almost 44,000 on TikTok. Still, it sometimes surprises people to hear the couple keeps goats right here in South County.
Ground is broken on new Crestwood Community Center

3 weeks ago | callnewspapers.com | Ashlynn Perez

Dirt has been overturned in Whitecliff Park — one of the first tangible signs of the new Crestwood Community Center. On May 23, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at 9245 Whitecliff Park Lane, where community members and local leaders gathered to celebrate the official start of a new and improved multipurpose facility. The City of Crestwood expects construction — which should take between 18 and 24 months — to begin sometime in the following weeks.
Sunset Hills Board of Aldermen approves QuikTrip development

4 weeks ago | callnewspapers.com | Ashlynn Perez

Sunset Hills residents will see a QuikTrip in their neighborhood in the coming days, following the unanimous approval of the convenience store by the Sunset Hills Board of Aldermen on May 13. The 16-pump gas station will be located at 10200 Rahning Road along Highway 30, joining 138 QT locations in Missouri. The tract of land is a mostly forested area, directly west and downhill of the Sunset Pointe subdivision.
Cor Jesu Academy alumna shines on Broadway

1 month ago | callnewspapers.com | Ashlynn Perez

‘John Proctor Is the Villain’ has seven Tony nominationsMay 29, 2025 Eleven years ago, Maggie Kuntz stepped into Cor Jesu Academy. She was a freshman with a handful of voice and dance lessons under her belt, but she had yet to dazzle the fine arts department at her new high school. But she did so, and she did it quickly. “I remember watching her dance audition and thinking, ‘Holy cow,’” Kathleen Pottinger, dean of student life at Cor Jesu Academy, said.
St. Louis Shakespeare Festival celebrates 25 years

1 month ago | stlmag.com | Ashlynn Perez

On May 30, the sun will set over Forest Park, and a new world—that of Hamlet, reimagined—will take over Shakespeare Glen. “People are filing in. They’re eating, drinking, talking,” Tom Ridgely, the producing artistic director at St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, says. There’s a note of awe in his voice, even after seven years of producing Shakespeare in the Park. “Then the play begins, and the sun finally sets. It gets darker and cooler. People put on their sweaters and snuggle up under their blankets.
22-year-old charged in May 19 Concord Plaza stabbing

1 month ago | callnewspapers.com | Ashlynn Perez

May 21, 2025 Raeshaun Johnson, 22, of McCasland Avenue in East St. Louis, Illinois, has been charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. The charges are merely accusations. Johnson is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. St. Louis County police say the defendant, Johnson, was waiting for his girlfriend to give plasma at Concord Plaza in Sappington when a man approached him and took his girlfriendâ€™s phone from his lap.
Friendship Village Sunset Hills proposes memory care unit expansion

1 month ago | callnewspapers.com | Ashlynn Perez

Friendship Village Senior Living proposed a 28-bed expansion to its memory care unit during the Sunset Hills Board of Aldermen meeting on April 22. This two-story addition to the current facilities — located at 12563 Village Circle Drive near the intersection of Kennerly and Weber Hill roads — would be constructed on top of what is currently a parking lot. New parking would be added on the western side of the Friendship Village property.
Performing Arts | St. Louis Magazine

2 months ago | stlmag.com | Tobeya Ibitayo |Max Havey |Ashlynn Perez |Sarah Fenske

OTSL wants to build a new performing arts center on the 6.67 acres of the Clayton site it now has under contract. The ninth of playwright August Wilson’s 10-play American Century Cycle, the production examines Black life across the decades of the 20th century.