Granite City

Suburban Journals: Two Print Editions Fold, 20 Layoffs, "Just Really Sad," Says Former Writer

The Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis, the local newspapers owned by the same company as the Post-Dispatch and published online at stltoday.com are undergoing a major transition that involves shuttering two print editions and laying off twenty employees. The official announcement from parent ... More >>

Schnucks: After Massive Credit Card Security Breach, Company Faces Class-Action Lawsuit

Did Schnucks wait too long to inform millions of shoppers that they may have had their credit-card information compromised because of a large security breach? That's the question one attorney and Illinois shopper are raising through a recently filed class-action lawsuit, on view below. "The key ... More >>

Out Every Night: The Best Shows From December 17 to 23

Plenty of excellent shows this week; particularly as we enter the weekend -- local releases galore. We'll get into that in more detail on the weekend post though. Supposedly, the world is ending this weekend as well. I know what you are thinking, and I don't really buy it either, but then again the ... More >>

Lawsuit Settled Alleging Mouse in Mountain Dew

As bizarre lawsuits go, it was the case that kept on giving. In 2009, Ronald Ball of Granite City sued PepsiCo, claiming he'd gotten sick from drinking a can of Mountain Dew.It wasn't the soft drink, though, that caused him to vomit up the neon green beverage. It was the mouse he says he found insid ... More >>

Just How Hot is 108 Degrees?: Daily RFT Time-Travels Back to 1954 to Find Out

The National Weather Service predicts that the temperature will hit 108 degrees this afternoon. That's only a few degrees more than 105, which we've lived through plenty of times, but 108 seems more significant somehow, maybe because the last time it was ever this hot in St. Louis was back in July o ... More >>

A Comprehensive Guide to Record Store Day 2012

This just in: Vinyl is BACK! Now in its fifth year, Record Store Day has made its international mark, recognized by labels, bands, and collectors worldwide. Celebrating the cultural impact of the independent record store, RSD offers everything from live performances to special discounts to limited e ... More >>

Earl Scruggs, RIP: Bluegrass Pioneer and Banjo Legend

That high lonesome sound is resonating through the hollers today as Bluegrass music lovers and banjo enthusiasts alike are mourning the death of Earl Scruggs. A musical innovator in the truest sense of the word, Scruggs died from natural causes at a Nashville area hospital. He was 88. As a profe ... More >>

The Mega-Mansion of Indicted Town & Country Doctor Abid Nasir

​You may have heard last week about Abid Nisar, a local oncologist who pleaded guilty to selling off-brand chemotherapy drugs not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. But have you seen his outrageous Town & Country abode?According to a federal indictment, Nisar began purchasing unregu ... More >>

Police Not a Problem for OccupySTL; The Homeless on the Other Hand...

Albert Samaha​There is madness in Oakland, Chicago, Phoenix, Denver, Atlanta, New York. Flash-and-bang gas canisters... protesters flushed from public squares... mass arrests. But not here. At first, a cynic might think, "Of course! The last thing this city needs is a stone-throwing-police-wi ... More >>

Heroin Junkies Pass Out in Moving Car with 4-Year-Old Daughter in Back Seat

St. Louis Metropolitan Police DepartmentGeorge Stevenson was passed out in the back seat with the child, according to police. A mughot of Van Deusen was not available.​St. Louis prosecutors yesterday charged George Stevenson, 32, and Diane Van Deusen, 31, with possession of a controlled substance ... More >>

Yoko Cullen: Carjackers Burned Victim Alive in Trunk of Her Vehicle

Yoko Cullen: Grandmother was still alive when carjackers torched her car.​A horrific story grew infinitely more vulgar yesterday when a coroner's inquest revealed that 85-year-old Yoko Cullen was still alive this past May when carjackers in East St. Louis torched her vehicle. As the Alton Telegrap ... More >>

Serial Illinois Burglar Apprehended Following Joint-County Investigation

​A young man whose four-month burglary binge took him across four different counties in rural Illinois and netted him thousands of dollars worth of stolen property has been nabbed. Twenty-five-year-old Brett T. Chastain of Granite City, Illinois, was charged yesterday by the Madison County St ... More >>

Red, White & Blueprints: Rust Belt Documentary to Feature STL-Style

Courtesy of Jack Storey​It's a generational fear -- the idea that, after you're gone, future generations will not only fail to pick up where you left off, but actually let things slide. It'll be like all your good works never even existed. On a larger scale, it translates to regional unease, s ... More >>

Michael Stipe Talks St. Louis Punk and Playing Shows Here in Interview Magazine

wikimedia commons​The current issue of Interview Magazine has Christopher Bollen interviewing R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, and their conversation leads them to a couple interesting tidbits about St. Louis. Stipe, as you may be aware, graduated from high school in Collinsville. He tells Boll ... More >>

St. Louis Art Capsules

Jessica Baran encapsulates the St. Louis art scene

St. Louis Art Capsules

Jessica Baran encapsulates the St. Louis art scene

St. Louis Art Capsules

Jessica Baran encapsulates the St. Louis art scene

St. Louis Art Capsules

Jessica Baran encapsulates the St. Louis art scene

St. Louis Art Capsules

Jessica Baran encapsulates the St. Louis art scene

St. Louis Art Capsules

Jessica Baran encapsulates the St. Louis art scene

St. Louis Art Capsules

Jessica Baran encapsulates the St. Louis art scene

St. Louis Art Capsules

Jessica Baran encapsulates the St. Louis art scene

Illinois Man Who Lost Finger in Mechanical Bull Ready to Moo-ve On With His Life

​It's been nearly four years since Timothy Cavins of Granite City climbed atop a mechanical bull at a picnic and, well, it didn't end well. According to a lawsuit filed two years ago, Cavins injured his hand on the bull -- an injury that eventually led to surgery and the amputation of a finger. Ca ... More >>

Jessica Baran encapsulates St Louis art scene

Jessica Baran encapsulates the St. Louis art scene

Keith Recklein Sentenced to 50 Years for Drunk Dialing That Led to Brutal Rape

Recklein says he doesn't remember the rape, telling authorities he blacked out and arrived home with a swollen hand.​Keith Recklein was drinking with a friend at a bar in May 2008 when he dialed a woman's number programmed into his buddy's cell phone. Recklein told the 18-year-old woman on the oth ... More >>

RIP Ruben Mendoza: St. Louis Soccer Great Played for the U.S. National Team in the 1950s

Wikimedia CommonsRuben Mendoza performs his signature move, the bicycle kick​Ruben Mendoza, a legendary soccer player and coach from St. Louis, died Sunday at the age of 78. He was a three-time Olympian and a member of the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame.Mendoza was perhaps best known locally as the ... More >>

The Beertender: Extolling the Glories of Berliner Weisse While Stoked on Lou Reed

www.colnect.com​Lou Reed's 2007 concert film Berlin features the rocker performing in its entirety the 1973 album of the same name. More than 30 years later, the repertoire remains pure Reed: loss, hate, depravity, a sourness for this cold, cruel world that's most evident when he closes with an un ... More >>

Radioactive Waste: Some readers think Larry Burgan's lawsuit is frivolous

The Big Bloody: Police Arrest Two for Murder of Illinois Teen Shot While Buying Drugs

bnd.comNemsky​Law officers in Madison County, Illinois, charged two individuals earlier this week with the killing of 19-year-old Stephen C. Nemsky. Nemsky, of Granite City, was found near his vehicle around 10:30 p.m. last Thursday in the 4100 block of Division Street in his hometown. He had been ... More >>

Illinois Man Drops Suit Alleging He Found Mouse in Mountain Dew

​Ah, yes, Daily RFT readers. We know you've been waiting with bated breath to find out the outcome of the case of Ronald Ball vs. PepsiCo. Ball, as you'll recall, is the Granite City man who claims he found a mouse in the bottom of his can of Mountain Dew. Ball made the discovery, btw, after takin ... More >>

What Does the St. Louis Corps of Engineers Say to $250 Million Stimulus Check?

flickr.com/photos/cottergarageDam. As in "now we can finally finish that locks and dam renovation up there in Granite City." The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers here in St. Louis recently received nearly $250 million -- part of the $4.6 billion the Corps was appropriated under the Recovery Act.

George Clooney and 8 Great St. Louis Movie Clips

You might have heard by now that George Clooney is going to be working in St. Louis later next year (as in a few weeks from now), on a movie called Up in the Air. At least someone will be working in the city during what's projected to be a nasty first quarter. Want to be a part of the movie? Here's ... More >>

Homespun: Kentucky Knife Fight, The Wolf Crept, The Children Slept Video Shoot Slideshow

League of Nations: Immigrant soccer players from across the globe go balls out at a tiny park in north St. Louis

Starbucks Releases Full List of Store Closures: St. Louis Area Scores 16

What, a Dump?

Environmentalists decry the expansion of a gigantic Illinois landfill.

Crackdown in Belleville

Some bar owners worry that strict law enforcement could jeopardize their livelihoods

Running on Empty

Truck firms are so desperate for drivers that just about anybody can get behind the wheel

Week of October 26, 2005

Wind in Your Hair

Miles and miles of bike trails for your riding pleasure

Lardee's

Unreal kicks it with a 64-year-old college student, attends a Jell-O-shot-fueled party at the Tri-City Speedway and peruses a local mom's Blog o' the Week; plus, why eat a Thickburger when you can have Butter on a Stick?

Letters

Week of September 22, 2004

Mississippi Drifting

Twenty-eight straight days pushing freight up and down the Big Muddy -- and oh-so-slowly

Funky Town

Smokestacks, strip joints and a seriously solid tax base: Welcome to Sauget, Illinois

Letters

Week of November 15, 2000

Letters

Week of November 1, 2000

Best Ice Creamery

Bobby's Frozen Custard

SEX, DRUGS, VIDEOTAPE -- AND ONE DRUNKEN DOG

Some neighbors borrow tools and never return them. Ted Hoffman's neighbors gave his young daughters a crash sex-ed course.

Greasy Spoon River Anthology

Sampling the glories of diner cuisine

This Week