Jessica Lussenhop

Father Gary Meier, St. Louis Catholic Priest, Announces He is Gay

In 2011, a slender book came out called Hidden Voices: Reflections of a Gay, Catholic Priest. The author was "Anonymous." "This book is for all of those who are being or have been driven away," reads the introduction. "And that's not just the gay population; it's all of those who have accepted a me ... More >>

Vinita Park Mayor James McGee's Secretly Recorded Race Comments (AUDIO)

Over the course of several months in 2011, eight police officers for the city of Vinita Park were fired, resigned or took jobs with other departments. This was an unprecedented amount of turnover in the small north-county town. More than half the department, including the chief, was suddenly gone. ... More >>

[VIDEO] Joe Hoffmann, Evil Royals Fan, Wins First Plate at Flying Saucer St. Louis

As Gut Check reported back in March, the opening of the Flying Saucer Draught Emporium (900 Spruce Street; 314-932-1456) was marred by an anti-Cardinals conspiracy launched by one Joe Hoffmann. The plot: Be the first to drink 200 beers and claim the location's first "Ring of Honor" plate in the na ... More >>

Street Musicians, ACLU Sue City of St. Louis Over Permit Law Requiring Fees, Auditions

When saxophonist Frederick Walker retired from his band "Mystic Voyage" after 21 years, he decided he didn't want to hang it up completely. He took his talents to the streets, specifically the 9th Street side of the Soulard Market, to try his hand at buskering. "I'm 70 years old and I thought it w ... More >>

Nude Portrait Vandalized Outside White Flag Projects Art Gallery

Someone out there in St. Louis is working really hard to cover our asses. White Flag Projects founder and director Matthew Strauss says he arrived at 10 a.m. yesterday morning to discover someone had vandalized a large print hanging outside the gallery (4568 Manchester Avenue, 314-531-3442). The im ... More >>

The "Ladue List": Office of Civil Rights and Ladue High School Reach Agreement

Ah, springtime -- flowers are blooming, birds are singing...vicious, slut-shaming lists are being written? It's been about a year since the last "Senior List" was passed around the halls of Ladue Horton Watkins High School. Next to the name of seven graduating senior girls was an insult -- some for ... More >>

"UPS KILLED MY DOG": Bizarre Sign Pops Up in North County

Sometimes, stories are difficult to unearth and require insider sources and knowledge. Other times, they present themselves in screaming red and yellow letters on somebody's front lawn. Daily RFT was taking a jaunt through north county when, just on the outskirts of University City, we happened upo ... More >>

Ryan "Irish Outlaw" Coyne Loses Fight in Las Vegas; Takes Home Nasty Cut [PHOTOS]

Sadly, Ryan "Irish Outlaw" Coyne's long-awaited fight in Las Vegas did not go the hometown boy's way. According to The Sweet Science, Coyne clashed with Kansas City's Marcus Oliveira for 11 rounds before going down once. Coyne managed to get back up and beat the countdown, but shortly thereafter fe ... More >>

Ryan "Irish Outlaw" Coyne Fights For Title Shot in Las Vegas Tonight

Tonight, under the lights in a boxing ring in Las Vegas, local boy Ryan Coyne will finally get the chance to fight. As we documented in our March 14 feature "Don King's Final Round," the St. Charles southpaw saw his promising career grind to a halt after his relationship with King went sour. None ... More >>

Fake Riverfront Times Food Critic Terrorizes Local Restaurant

Public service announcement, restaurateurs of the greater St. Louis area: Rumors are coming in that a fake Riverfront Times food critic is on the loose. She's out to wine, dine, opine -- but she ain't got no byline. Here's how an e-mail from our tipster began: "i was wondering if anyone has ever as ... More >>

Sandra Lupo, Former Hooter's Waitress, Sues Breastaurant Chain for Discrimination

Sandra Lupo knew something was seriously wrong when she suddenly felt a numb, tingling sensation running along the left side of her body down to her toes. After she was admitted to the emergency room, a series of tests revealed a mass in the right side of her brain that had burst and was bleeding in ... More >>

St. Louis Native Martyl Langsdorf, Designer of the Doomsday Clock, Dead at 96

Late last month, Martyl Langsdorf -- the famed painter, designer and native St. Louisan -- died at a hospital in the Chicago area. She was 96 years old and according to family fell ill with a lung infection. Her best-known creation was likely the Doomsday Clock, a symbolic representation of how clo ... More >>

Rep. Paul Fitzwater Likens Federal Health Care Coverage Expansion to Feeding "Zoo Animals"

Buried in a CBS St. Louis story on the local impact of the Federal Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, is a rather bizarre quote from Representative Paul Fitzwater (R-Potosi) which is coming under fire. Fitzwater was being interviewed about a study finding that says 525,000 Missourians will be eligi ... More >>

Participatory Budgeting-St. Louis Launches Pilot Project in 6th Ward

Usually when a candidate loses an election, her ideas die with the campaign. Not so in the 6th Ward. In the special election to fill Kacie Starr Triplett's seat, candidate Michelle Witthaus made something called "participatory budgeting" a cornerstone of her campaign. The concept, which has taken o ... More >>

Bud Light Straw-Ber-Rita vs. Bud Light Lime-A-Rita: The Gut Check Taste Test

Earlier this week Gut Check sallied forth to Randall's Wines and Spirits (1910 S. Jefferson Avenue; 314-865-0199) and got our hands on a case of Bud Light's new Straw-Ber-Rita and a case of Bud Light Lime-A-Rita. It was time for a taste test. Here at Gut Check International Headquarters, we're ... More >>

Spelling Bee Outs "Joe Sly," Alleged Undercover Cop Posing as Punk Fan

We here at RFT Music can barely breathe this is so awesome. St. Louis's own Spelling Bee has apparently outed an undercover police operation in Boston. The cops' goal: Breaking up DIY punk shows by posing as fans. "Basically I think the cops should have something better to do," says drummer and vo ... More >>

Bud Light Jumps on Equality Bandwagon, Homophobe Beer Drinkers Pissed

If you're on Facebook, you've likely seen the proliferation of red and pink equal signs in lieu of profile pictures, a gesture of support for gay-marriage equality as the United States Supreme Court considers two cases on the topic. Since then, lots of fans have started "remixing" the equal sign. T ... More >>

How Gut Check's Brain Processed News of Doritos Locos Tacos-Flavored Doritos Chips, A Flowchart

When Gut Check heard Frito-Lay was planning to create a new strain of Doritos tortilla chips to match the taste of Taco Bell's Doritos Locos Tacos in Cool Ranch and Nacho Cheese flavors, our mind all but caved in on itself from confusion. What's happening? There was only one way to make sense of t ... More >>

Video: Todd Akin's "Legitimate Rape" Remark Makes "Law & Order: SVU" Plotline

This summer will mark a full year since former Representative Todd Akin detonated the "legitimate rape" remark on his own campaign and became a legitimate laughing stock. The phrase took on a life of its own after that, so much so that now -- eight months later -- Detective Olivia Benson herself wi ... More >>

Very NSFW: Is This the Official KC Royals Mascot Getting a Lap Dance?

The guys over at Deadspin unearthed a little Twitter mystery over the weekend. A tipster tagged them on a photo that appears to show Sluggerrr -- the beloved mascot of the Kansas City Royals -- taking in the sights and sounds of a very adult house party. "Royals 2013 slogan: 'come to play,'" wrote ... More >>

Evan Spencer Ebel: Tom Clements Murder Suspect Dead, Possible White Supremacy Tie

The murder of Tom Clements, the former director of adult institutions for the Missouri Department of Corrections, has taken several bizarre and violent twists since Daily RFT wrote about it yesterday. Clements, who, after over 30 years with the MCD, took the top slot at the Colorado Department of C ... More >>

Rams Cornerback Trumaine Johnson Arrested for DUI in Montana [UPDATE]

Update, 3:30 p.m: Daily RFT has received more details on the arrest from the Missoula Police Department. The Rams Trumaine Johnson was picked up in Missoula, Montana, very early this morning for driving under the influence of alcohol. Details are scant at this point, but according to the Missoula ... More >>

William Lynn Gunter, Accused of Beating Wife to Death, Claims it Was an Accident

A 59-year-old county man is in jail two days after his wife was found mortally wounded at the foot of a staircase in their Town and Country home on Monday. William Lynn Gunter initially told police that his wife Suzanne had suffered a tragic accident. Emergency personnel found her just inside the f ... More >>

Veolia Water Contract: Media Blitz Marks Second Phase of Dispute

When the numbers began to roll in on the eve of March 5, it became clear that Mayor Francis Slay was on his way to his fourth, record-breaking term. With the hopes of his challenger, Aldermanic President Lewis Reed, went those of the members of Dump Veolia, who had effectively turned a pending city ... More >>

Missouri's Top Ten Most Common Porn Search Terms

Why did PornMD break down the ten most commonly searched porn terms for each U.S. state? We don't know. Does anybody need this information? Most people do not. Then again, here's one way to feel better about clicking through here -- think of it as anthropological data. This porn website did go to m ... More >>

Scott County Central School District Votes Unanimously to Repeal Same-Sex Prom Rule

The Southern Poverty Law Center has just issued a statement praising the Scott County Central School District in Sikeston for its decision to officially remove discriminatory language against same-sex couples from rules governing its high school prom. The decision was sparked by Stacy Dawson, a 17- ... More >>

The Cover of the March 14 Print Edition

Pope Francis I: Survivors Network of Those Abused By Priests Say He's Not One of "Dirty Dozen"

Yesterday afternoon, the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel in Rome billowed white smoke, and the new pope emerged on the balcony in white robes: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires. His papal name will be Francis I. David Clohessy, the executive director of Survivors Network of T ... More >>

Video: St. Louis Boxer Ryan Coyne On His Lawsuit With the Legendary Don King

This week's cover story follows the story of local boxer Ryan Coyne -- he fought on The Contender, he fought at the "Gateway to Greatness" event at the Scottrade Center, he fought at the "Show Me Something Great" event in St. Charles, and then...what happened? Coyne says he never went anywhere, but ... More >>

[VIDEO] Flying Saucer Opening Marred by Evil Royals Fan Plot; Kicks Off Most Important Drinking Contest of All Time

Gut Check has uncovered a dastardly scheme to ruin the new Flying Saucer Draught Emporium (900 Spruce Street, St. Louis; 314-932-1456) downtown and spit in the face of every Cardinals fan in town. Confronted with the results of our investigation, we asked the man at the center of this travesty -- o ... More >>

Walmart Missed Connections: Top Seven Missouri Craigslist Posts

Recently, Psychology Today put out an intriguing little infographic charting the most common places a Craigslist "missed connection" occurs by state. The most lovesick locale in Missouri? Walmart. Some people might call this the end of romance or a signal of the decline of Western society as a whol ... More >>

"Church at the Bar" Combines Booze and Good News in O'Fallon

Every Wednesday night in O'Fallon, a pastor walks into a bar. And for the next hour and 45 minutes or so, it becomes church. "I buy everyone at the bar a round of drinks on me just kind of as a hook to say, 'Hey, just wait and listen,'" " says Pastor David Rispoli. "Jesus drank." If that sounds li ... More >>

Anheuser-Busch Accused of Watering Down Beer; Deceiving Customers

A new class action lawsuit filed in courts around the country is accusing Anheuser-Busch of adding water to its beers in the final stages of bottling. "Because water is cheaper than alcohol, AB adds extra water to its finished products to produce malt beverages that consistently have significantly ... More >>

Abandoned Macy's Midwest Headquarters: An Eerie Photo Tour

What happens when a 1.2 million-square-foot shopping mecca goes dark?

Chilly Dog: Oscar Mayer Wienermobile Hit by St. Louis Blizzard

Yesterday's snow flurries became an absolute nightmare as the day wore on and the powder piled higher and higher in the roadways. Which is why Gut Check was startled to receive -- just as the Mayor of St. Louis was on live television imploring city residents to stay home and off the roads -- an an ... More >>

Veolia Water Contract Stays Alive; Destined for Board of Aldermen Hearing

Amid murmurs from the staff in Mayor Francis Slay's office that the Veolia Water contract "isn't even on the agenda," about 80 members of the activist coalition Dump Veolia poured into Room 200 yesterday afternoon. The goal -- as their signs read -- was that the Board of Estimates and Apportionment ... More >>

Veolia Water Contract: Lewis Reed's Office Pushes Total Re-Do of Contract Process

Challenges to a pending consulting contract between the City of St. Louis and a French multinational water service company called Veolia are still coming from all sides. Activists from the "Dump Veolia" coalition will descend on City Hall this afternoon for another show of opposition; at the same t ... More >>

Veolia Water Contract Officially "On Hold" Says Mayor Francis Slay

Ahead of a day of action at City Hall this afternoon, Mayor Francis Slay's office has just released a statement formally declaring the consulting contract with Veolia "on hold." The contract between Veolia, the largest water service provider in the world, and the city's water division was destined ... More >>

Missouri Leads the Nation in Meth Labs (Again), Jefferson County Second Highest In Country

Toward the start of every new year, the Drug Enforcement Agency adds up the number of "meth incidents" from the previous year and divvies them up by state. More than once, Missouri has come out the state with the highest number of meth lab busts. The latest figures show that 2012 was another banner ... More >>

Missouri High School Faces Lawsuit Over Policy Banning Same-Sex Prom Dates [UPDATE]

Update: Dawson received word today that he'll be able to bring his boyfriend to prom. The Southern Poverty Law Center is challenging a rural southeast Missouri high school for allegedly telling a student he can't bring a same-sex date to prom. Scott County Senior High School student Stacy Dawson s ... More >>

Video: A Test of "Nutshellz," the Saint Louis-Invented Groin Protector That Can Take a Bullet

Jeremiah Raber wasn't planning on making "pecker protection" his mission in life. But that was before he watched his favorite mixed martial arts fighter, Matt Hughes, take two direct kicks to the family jewels and lose a match in 2006. Raber believes that it was because Hughes kept dropping his ha ... More >>

Missouri State University Misspells Own Name On Book Bags

An embarrassing mistake by the Missouri State University Bookstore is going viral this afternoon, after the Springfield News-Leader noticed an interesting typo on a bag being distributed on campus. It appears the bags came free with the bookstore's "textbook reservation" service, which conveniently ... More >>

Castlewood Eating Disorder Clinic: Sue Gibson Denied Treatment Because of HIV Status

In a statement released late yesterday afternoon, the Department of Justice announced it reached a settlement with Castlewood Treatment Center for Eating Disorders over its refusal to treat an HIV-positive woman suffering from anorexia. Susan Gibson, a mid-Missouri resident, tried to gain acceptanc ... More >>

Representative Rory Ellinger Introducing Two Marijuana Related Bills Thursday

Representative Rory Ellinger (D-University City) is poised to make good on his promise to introduce two bills relating to the way law enforcement deals with marijuana. "Our justice system needs to be designed such that non-violent offenders are able to learn from their mistakes, rehabilitate themse ... More >>

Chelsea Welch, Fired Applebee's Waitress, Talks Unemployment; Applebee's PR Melts Down

After Pastor Alois Bell left the message "I give God 10% Why do you get 18" on a credit card slip for her waitress, another server named Chelsea Welch posted a picture of it on Reddit. Outraged internet sleuths managed to decipher Bell's name and outed her online. But by exposing Bell, web vigilant ... More >>

St. Louis Pastor Asks Why Server Deserves Bigger Tip Than God on Receipt

The message a local pastor left in lieu of tip has been setting the internet afire all week. Pastor Alois Bell went to Applebee's last Friday night with her congregation. She was apparently so full of the holy spirit that she shared some with their server after seeing the table had been automatical ... More >>

St. Louis Etsy Artist Will "Jazz Up Your Crap" for Twenty Dollars

Getting a crappy gift is a universal experience. Feeling too guilty to throw it out might be a particularly Midwestern affliction. That's why when Daily RFT read about an Etsy service called "Jazz Up Your Crap," we had this weird feeling that whoever was behind it had to be a St. Louisan. The artis ... More >>

Punk Princes of Jazz: The Bad plus is not a cover band

Fight Over Northside Community Garden Turns Political

The urban farming trend that's sweeping the nation has turned ugly in North St. Louis, where local politicians are squabbling over the fate of a community garden. That's not what she intended, insists 21st Ward Committeewoman Audrey Larkin, when she helped start Northside Community Garden 15 weeks ... More >>

Kishi Bashi is a Singular Performer, Despite What You Might Read on Owen Pallett's Message Boards

K. Ishibashi is no stranger to success -- he's a founding member of Jupiter One, and has toured with of Montreal and Regina Spektor. But his solo project, Kishi Bashi, has a very grassroots feel to it. For instance, Ishibashi funded his debut album 151a through a Kickstarter campaign which promised ... More >>