Jacob Barker

St. Louis

Watchdog Reporter at St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Business, politics, etc. for @stltoday @postdispatchbiz. Proud Midwesterner. Lover of brick and old buildings.

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Articles

Tornado ripped roof off north St. Louis basketball gym. Quitting ‘not an option,’ owner says.

3 days ago | stltoday.com | Jacob Barker

ST. LOUIS — Johnel Langerston moved quickly to tarp the basketball court in the gymnasium of the old St. James United Church of Christ Campus, near the southeast edge of O’Fallon Park. Some warping of the floor was still obvious two weeks after the tornado that tore through north St. Louis ripped the roof off of the gym, exposing the court where . The roof’s remnants laid just over the fence, on the property next door, where the cloistered “Pink Sisters” stay at the Mount Grace Convent.
St. Louis to demolish nearly 200 LRA properties hit by tornado

4 days ago | stltoday.com | Jacob Barker

ST. LOUIS — The city will demolish nearly 200 tornado-damaged buildings owned by the Land Reutilization Authority and may revive a controversial building stabilization program that was ended just weeks ago by the mayor. Of the approximately 2,900 LRA properties in the path of the May 16 twister, 373 still had structures on them and 182 of those were severely damaged, said Otis Williams, interim director of the St. Louis Development Corp.
St. Louis has lost residents for decades. The tornado could nudge more to leave.

5 days ago | stltoday.com | Jacob Barker

ST. LOUIS — The sounds of nail guns and roofing hammers echoed through the neighborhood as Lisa Mannery surveyed the impassible pile of branches stacked in her backyard. An HVAC unit hung precariously from the roof of the still-closed Save A Lot on Natural Bridge Avenue behind her house. Her roof, like many others nearby, was covered by a blue tarp, though she’s able to stay in her home as she sorts through insurance and contractors.
Missouri to fund wages for St. Louis tornado cleanup work

1 week ago | stltoday.com | Jacob Barker

JEFFERSON CITY — The state is making a $750,000 pool of money available to pay people helping clean up the wreckage from the May 16 tornado. The Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development said the money will fund temporary wages for people helping with recovery efforts from the tornado that tore through St. Louis, damaging hundreds of buildings and killing five.
St. Louis man convicted for killing landlord in 2022

1 week ago | stltoday.com | Jacob Barker

ST. LOUIS — A city jury on Friday found a man guilty of second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the 2022 shooting death of his girlfriend's landlord but acquitted the woman of charges she participated in the crime. James Cody Jr., 30, on March 8, 2022, fatally shot landlord Michael Kelly, 72, in the 3900 block of North 25th Street in the city's Hyde Park neighborhood.
2 boys shot, 1 killed, on Saturday in St. Louis' Mark Twain neighborhood

1 week ago | stltoday.com | Jacob Barker

ST. LOUIS — A 9-year-old boy has died after a triple shooting Saturday evening that injured another boy as well as a 32-year-old man, police said Sunday. Police began investigating after the three victims arrived to an area hospital around 9:15 p.m. Saturday night. The 9-year-old later died from his injuries. The other boy, 10, is in critical but stable condition, and the man is stable, a police spokesman said Sunday.
Trump approves aid for Missouri's March storms

2 weeks ago | stltoday.com | Jacob Barker

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday approved a major disaster declaration for storms and tornadoes that hit the St. Louis area two months ago, assuaging concern that the White House might hold back on federal aid for the devastating tornado that hit St. Louis last week. The approval came more than two months after the storms hit a swath of Eastern and Southern Missouri on March 14 and 15, including St. Louis, Jefferson and Franklin counties. Missouri Gov.
Missouri begins accepting sports betting applications for Dec. 1 launch

3 weeks ago | stltoday.com | Jacob Barker

JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri regulators on Thursday began accepting applications for sports betting in the state as they race to write rules and launch the program before the Dec. 1 deadline set in a voter-approved law. The Missouri Gaming Commission this week voted to advance rules allowing wagering at casinos, near sports stadiums and online. State application forms went live Thursday. The commission plans to finalize rules by Aug. 30 and hit a Dec. 1 deadline to begin allowing sports bets.
Ameren Illinois gas hike request faces pushback

3 weeks ago | stltoday.com | Jacob Barker

COLLINSVILLE — A request from Ameren Illinois to hike gas bills is drawing strong opposition from consumer groups in the state, who argue the request from the regulated utility serving Metro East is far too high. Ameren Illinois, which serves about 816,000 natural gas customers in Metro East and downstate Illinois, filed a request with state regulators in January to increase rates by $134 million.
Missouri highway patrol to use 'stealth' vehicles

4 weeks ago | stltoday.com | Jacob Barker

JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri motorists may want to pump the brakes after the state's highway patrol said some of its cruisers are going incognito. The Missouri State Highway Patrol announced Friday that some of its patrol vehicles will begin using "ghost graphics," or low-visibility logo markings that make the fact that the vehicle is operated by law enforcement less obvious.