Joplin

St. Louis Breakdown

For Sale: Bonnie and Clyde's Guns

Ever wanted to own a set of guns that belonged to two celebrated Depression-era outlaws? Well, now's your chance! A tommy gun and 12-gauge 1897 Winchester shotgun seized when police raided Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker's Joplin apartment in April of 1933 will be up for auction later this month in K ... More >>

Esquire's Luke Dittrich on How He Got the Chuck Berry Feature, in the January Issue

Just last week, Esquire published this thorough and fascinating Chuck Berry article. Berry is notoriously wary of the media, so author Luke Dittrich couldn't take a direct route to his subject. We spoke with Dittrich, a contributing editor at the magazine, last weekend about his super savvy journali ... More >>

Win Never Shout Never Tickets

​Joplin's Never Shout Never is playing the Pageant this Sunday. Things are a little different in the world of Christofer Drew these days -- he's working with a full band now and has spent the better part of the year raising money for his tornado devastated hometown of Joplin. All this vigor sh ... More >>

Rush Limbaugh and Ashton Kutcher have their defenders, the archdiocese does not

Tornado Victims Defrauded by Towing Company, AG Says

Albert SamahaAttorney General Chris Koster says a towing company's been taking advantage of the situation in Joplin.​Sometimes, natural disasters bring out the best in people. But Attorney General Chris Koster alleges just the opposite of a Parkville, Missouri, based towing company. Koster claims ... More >>

Documentary Will Feature Joplin Globe's Tornado Coverage

​OK, so we get that it's annoying when journalists stroke each other within their own little media bubble, but permit us one moment of congratulatory naval-gazing. Today's Post-Dispatch ran a guest editorial written by editors at The (Washington) Missourian, singing the praises of Joplin's l ... More >>

Watch Out: Here Comes the Missouri Militia

Jim Youchoff and the Missouri Milita want you to know that they're not a pack of crazy racist right-wing extremists.​Major Jim Youchoff is the commanding officer for the St. Louis Brigade of the Missouri Militia, and he looks exactly how you'd expect him to look, based on that title: 57 years ... More >>

Joplin Tornado Three Weeks Later: Looters, Do-Gooders and One Giant Mess

Albert SamahaThe mangled wreckage of a red car illustrates the tornado's merciless power. The vehicle's other half was found nearly fifty yards away.​ EDITOR'S NOTE: The Riverfront Times' Albert Samaha traveled to Joplin this weekend, three weeks after the southwestern Missouri city was struck ... More >>

Rare Fungal Disease the Latest Horrible Thing to Hit Joplin

image viaZygomycosis: the next horrible thing to hit Joplin.​Just when you thought things in Joplin couldn't get any more post-apocalyptic, the Huffington Post reports this morning that a rare and deadly fungus is now infecting tornado survivors. Zygomycosis happens when soil or vegetative m ... More >>

Cardinals, Royals Dedicate Interleague Play to Joplin Relief

Mike Mezeul​A Cardinals announcement yesterday has added literal meaning to the idea of playing for the home team. In the past couple weeks, RFT has detailed local efforts to raise funds for victims of the Joplin disaster through food and music -- and the city's best-loved pro team will soon ... More >>

Joplin Teachers Urge Nixon to Veto Facebook Bill

State Representative Jane Cunningham has no problem with child labor -- but boy is Facebook dangerous to Missouri's youngsters!​The Missouri Legislature passed a bill two weeks ago designed to protect children from predatory school teachers. But the bill has stirred up some surprising opposition - ... More >>

Joplin Cat Survives 16 Days Under Rubble

​A family's beloved pet is safe today after being pulled out of the debris of their tornado-damaged home yesterday in Joplin. The 14-year-old Calico named Lavern had been missing since the May 22 twister leveled the town. Homeowner Terrla Cruse tells the Joplin Globe that she returned one last tim ... More >>

Joplin Benefit Album Gets its Start on Twitter, Comes Out Tomorrow

Courtesy of Zach Becker​Zach Becker is what you'd call a big-picture person. The 29-year-old, currently somewhere between looking for jobs and considering a return to college, frequently comes up with big ideas, but there's some question about how often they come to fruition. Two days after Jo ... More >>

St. Louis Police Send 60 Officers to Joplin

Sixty St. Louis police officers are headed to Joplin today to assist the city following last week's devastating tornado. The officers will stay in Joplin for at least a week -- perhaps longer. Joplin officials contacted the police department on Monday requesting aid. The St. Louis officers will assi ... More >>

Bikers In Joplin Chase Off Religious Protester; But Was Man With Westboro Baptist Church?

A religious protester back pedals as hundred of counter-demonstrators give chase Sunday.​Have you seen the video yet of the bikers in Joplin chasing off the protester purported to be affiliated with the Westboro Baptist Church? The incident occurred Sunday when President Barack Obama was in Joplin ... More >>

Elephant Aids Joplin Tornado Cleanup (Video)

The Piccadilly Circus was scheduled to perform in Joplin over the Memorial Day weekend. But that was before the May 22nd tornado destroyed the town. Still, the circus arrived in Joplin over the weekend, not to perform -- but to help with the cleanup. In this clip below, an elephant from the circus p ... More >>

Eat at Houlihan's, Bristol Seafood Grill -- Help Joplin

Courtesy of http://www.bristolseafoodgrill.comHoulihan's and Bristol Seafood Grill will donate to the Joplin relief Memorial Day weekend.​As death toll from the tornado that struck Joplin on May 22 reached 132 people Friday, one restaurant chain announced plans to help. All five St. Louis Hou ... More >>

Tornado Alarms Got You Down? Move to Corvallis, Washington

The Ingalls would have been better off staying in Wisconsin. And why, oh why oh, did we ever leave Ohio?​With all the flooding downstate, and the tornadoes that destroyed one wing of Lambert and almost all of the city Joplin, and the golf-ball-sized hail that pummeled parts of St. Louis yesterday, ... More >>

Joplin Tornado Relief: Old Rock House Will Give a Dollar For Each Retweet

​Old Rock House wants to help the victims of the Joplin tornado by donating up to $2,000 to the Heart of Missouri United Way. The venue will give a dollar for the first 2,000 times this tweet is re-tweeted. So head out there and click your way to helping a town that could seriously use it: 122 ... More >>

Planned Parenthood Opens Joplin Center to Storm Victims

​In the wake of the devastating tornado that hit Joplin Monday, food and supply drives are underway across the state to help victims get their lives back together. Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri is on the case as well.The agency is opening its center in Joplin to ... More >>

Unbelievable Aerial Photos of Joplin Tornado Destruction

Image viaThis photo is actually MUCH bigger.​To get the most comprehensive sense of just how badly mother nature body-slammed Joplin the other day, we recommend scrolling around on this page that The Atlantic just set up. Yesterday, we posted some other photos (click here), and our sister paper Th ... More >>

Readers look forward to a return of civility in Webster Groves and far-reaching crime via MetroLink

Who is Ass Clown of the Week? April 2-9?

It's that time of the week again. Time for you to elect the most ignominious local newsmaker of the past seven days. And the candidates: ​1. Donna Myers: The employee of the St. Louis county morgue accused of stealing body bags that she'd then resell to local funeral homes. 2. Franchesta Brown: Th ... More >>

Skateboarders Attack Motorist, Man Hospitalized After Face Meets Grip Tape

Courtesy Joplin PoliceChristopher J. Hill, 17, of Joplin, was charged with second-degree assault after allegedly using his skateboard to attack a driver.​A southwest Missouri man found out what it feels like to be on the wrong end of a skateboard "trick" on Monday.As reported by the the Joplin Glo ... More >>

The Missouri High School Basketball Dunk of the Year

The 5A state finals for Missouri high school basketball were played over the weekend in Columbia. One St. Louis-area school, Incarnate Word Academy, brought home a championship in the 5A girl's division but that was not the story of the tournament.That distinction goes to Trey Starks of Springfield ... More >>

Ass Clown of the Week: Political Edition

This week's clowns show their stripes.​With a few exceptions, ordinary folks in and around St. Louis refrained from outrageous acts of jackassery this week. Congratulations.Wish we could say the same of our elected officials. When it comes to questionable behavior, Missouri and Illinois politicos ... More >>

Mo. State Senator Gary Nodler Doesn't Want Gay Troops to Offend Islamic Nations

Gary Nodler: Leader of a queer debate in Jeff City.​Updated 11:50 a.m.Gary Nodler just called Daily RFT to inform us that Post-Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger got the context of his argument wrong during yesterday's committee meeting debating whether or not gays should be allowed to openly serve ... More >>

Republican Senators Line Up Bills to Drug Test the Poor

All of you on drugs, please step aside.​A slate of Republican state senators have each introduced bills that would require certain welfare recipients in Missouri to be drug tested before receiving state aid. The senators, all from rural Missouri, include:Jack Goodman, Mt. VernonGary Nodler, Joplin ... More >>

"Despite the Liberal Media and Far Left's Agenda," State Rep Wishes You Merry Xmas

house.mo.govRep. Marilyn Ruestman of Joplin​According to a recent piece in Slate, the Christmas front of the culture wars has seen a cease-fire this year. But in Missouri, a couple of distant shots have crackled in the wintry night. The latest was this holiday address from Republican Rep. Marilyn ... More >>

All Hail the Miniature Cow! Bovine of the Past and Future

Unreal has observed that anything can be made exponentially cuter by shrinking it. Take the Hostess Donettes currently on our desk for instance. Or the miniature horse.At seventeen inches, St. Louis very own Thumbelina is the world's smallest horse.flickr.com/photos/96621012@N00Don't you just want t ... More >>

Say It Ain't So: Unreal Missed the Missouri Truck Driving Championships!

Slogging through a pile of stale press releases, Unreal this morning realized we completely missed last weekend's Missouri Truck Driving Championships! Missouri Motor Carriers AssociationOnly 8 out of 136 drivers scored in the jackknife parallel parking competition!!Having thoroughly dried our eyes ... More >>

Pot Hole: A southwest Missouri hamlet is leading the latest fight to legalize medical marijuana

Ozark Serenade: RFT readers share memories of the once wild punk-rock scene in Springfield and Joplin

Outtakes MP3s: "Anarchy in the Ozarks"

In this week's paper, there's a long story about punk and hardcore in the Ozarks, titled "Anarchy in the Ozarks." Below find an excerpt from Ben Westhoff's piece that didn't quite make it into the final draft. Check out more information and music at Gabe Harper's blog, Ozark Punk Rock. MP3: Initial ... More >>

Anarchy in the Ozarks: Who'd have guessed there used to be a hardcore punk scene in the backwaters of Missouri?

Bowling for Dollars

Bowling alley owners hope to be spared from what they call an unfair tax.

Current Shows

Ivy Cooper encapsulates the St. Louis art scene

Current Shows

Ivy Cooper encapsulates the St. Louis art scene

Current Shows

Ivy Cooper encapsulates the St. Louis art scene

Current Shows

Ivy Cooper encapsulates the St. Louis art scene

Current Shows

Ivy Cooper encapsulates the St. Louis art scene

Current Shows

Ivy Cooper encapsulates the St. Louis art scene

Current Shows

Ivy Cooper encapsulates the St. Louis art scene

Current Shows

Ivy Cooper encapsulates the St. Louis art scene

Best Museum Exhibition

Sculpture and Drawings by Richard Serra

The Shape of Things

Spend time with Serra and learn how to see

Inside Out

Shmigel evokes our gutted past without dewy-eyed nostalgia

RIPPLE EFFECT

A statewide fight over the biggest-ever water-rate-increase request could spill over into St. Louis County