Articles by Michael Phillis, Jim Salter and Camille Fassett

For Shrinking Mississippi River Towns, Frequent Floods Worsen Fortunes

WEST ALTON, Mo. (AP) — Devastating flooding, driven in part by climate change, is taking an especially damaging toll on communities that once thrived along the banks of America’s most storied river. Flooding has pushed people out of their homes …

Mississippi River Flooding is Pushing People Out of Their Homes, Data Shows

WEST ALTON, Mo. (AP) — Commerce along the Mississippi River has evolved over the past century at the expense of many once-thriving river towns. But persistent and sometimes devastating flooding has added to the woes of some of those towns. …

Advocates Demand Investigation into Missouri Boarding School Abuse Allegations

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Advocates for victims of abuse at Missouri boarding schools on Monday urged the state’s attorney general to launch an investigation, work with local prosecutors and take other steps aimed at stemming the tide of abuse. Three …

Severe Storms Cause Damage in Middle U.S.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Strong storms caused damage in parts of the middle U.S. this week and spawned tornadoes in Kansas and Iowa, including one that left two people hurt. An EF-1 tornado touched down shortly after 6 a.m. Tuesday …

St. Louis Residents Seek Compensation for Illnesses Tied to Nuclear Contamination

Karen Nickel has been dealing with lupus and other illnesses for years, illnesses she blames on childhood exposure to a suburban St. Louis creek where Cold War-era nuclear waste was dumped decades ago. It’s time, she said Friday, for the …

Court Approves 3M Settlement Over ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Public Water Systems

Chemical manufacturer 3M will begin payments starting in the third quarter to many U.S. public drinking water systems as part of a multi-billion-dollar settlement over contamination with potentially harmful compounds used in firefighting foam and several consumer products, the company …

Storm Carrying Massive ‘Gorilla Hail’ Hits Parts of Kansas and Missouri

Massive chunks of hail pelted parts of Kansas and Missouri on Wednesday night, bringing traffic to a standstill along Interstate 70, as storms unleashed possible tornadoes and meteorologists urged residents to stay indoors. There were three unconfirmed reports of tornadoes …

St. Louis Suburb to Pay $4.5M Settlement Over ‘Debtors Prison’ Suit

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis suburb where Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer has agreed to pay $4.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that accused it of operating a so-called debtors’ prison. The legal …

Missouri City to Pay $2.9M Settlement Over Excessive Traffic Fines and Unfair Jailing

ST. LOUIS (AP) – A Missouri city will pay nearly $3 million to settle a lawsuit accusing it of violating the constitutional rights of residents by jailing them and forcing them to pay fines and fees amounting to millions of …

Missouri County Agrees to $1.2 Million Settlement Over Inmate Restraint Chair Death

Missouri`s second-largest county will pay a $1.2 million settlement to the parents of a 21-year-old man with mental health concerns who, according to a lawsuit, screamed “I can`t breathe” as he was subdued by jail staff before dying in a …