St. Charles County

Vapor Nozzles On Their Way Out at St. Louis Gas Stations

They've been around for well over a decade, but now the accordian-like bibs on gas nozzles at metro St. Louis gas stations are headed toward extinction. Last year the EPA determined that the vapor-trapping nozzles are no longer needed because most cars on the road these days come equipped with dev ... More >>

Drinker Sees the Light, Won't Point Laser at Helicopter Again

A St. Charles man has learned a valuable lesson: pointing a laser at an aircraft can be wickedly entertaining when you're drinking and painfully regretful when you're standing before the judge. Yesterday, 36-year-old Michael Brandon Smith was sentenced to two years of probation, two months home c ... More >>

Chris Higgins, FOX 2 Meteorologist, Writes Letter To Haters Questioning His Weather Skills

Reporting the weather can be a dirty business in St. Louis -- and for Chris Higgins, FOX 2 meteorologist, the snowstorm over the weekend apparently pushed him to a new low. Higgins has posted on his Facebook page a ranty "open letter" directed to "all the haters" out there. Who are these haters, ... More >>

UFO Over St. Charles County? Probably Not, KTVI Fox 2 Investigation Finds

Did Google Street View capture an unidentified flying object over St. Charles County? KTVI Fox 2 says that "many are still debating" the content of an image that could maybe, possibly be a mysterious UFO. And who exactly is debating this? Not John Lakey of the St. Louis Science Center -- the only pe ... More >>

Helen Denson Charged in Lottery Ticket Theft, High-Speed Chase

Helen Denson, 41, has been charged with a slate of crimes following her alleged gas station theft and high-speed chase through St. Charles County early Tuesday morning.According to St. Peters Police, Denson wrapped a gray scarf around her face and then stuck up the BP gas station at 150 Salt Lick Ro ... More >>

Vibriosis: Another Reason Not to Eat Uncooked Shellfish

Remember paragonamiasis? It's a rare disease caused by eating raw crawfish, also known as Ozark sushi. It's pretty gross. When Riverfront Times reported on it last summer, it was noted that a lot of sufferers from paragonamiasis contracted the disease while on drunken float trips in Missouri's river ... More >>

John Thomas III, Rebecca Russell and Billy Bunch Jr: Accused of Raping Neighbor's Kids

John Thomas III, 27, and Rebecca Russell, 30, are a couple who live in the Tee Kay Mobile Home Manor near O'Fallon, Missouri. They'd often babysit their neighbors kids. Often their friend, Billy Joe Bunch Jr., 25, would come over while the kids were there.And then, according to police, the three wou ... More >>

Red, White and Boom! Nothing says "Happy Birthday, America" like a 500-gram cake

KSDK Knows When You're Going to Die, Based on ZIP Code

To hype last night's "I-Team Investigation," KSDK-TV (Channel 5) had been running a promo piece that featured two cartoon guys. Cartoon Guy No. 1 is Joe, who, the voiceover says, lives in St. Charles. He's got glasses and kind of looks like George Costanza. Cartoon Guy No. 2, Doug, favors a young Pa ... More >>

Michelle Higgins and Anthony Higgins, Sr: St. Charles Couple Hoarded Reptiles, Lived in Filth

​A St. Charles couple kept 157 snakes and lizards in their split-level rental property, as well as at least 1,500 live mice to feed them, and one dog. The snakes were housed in clean cages -- the problem was all the animal waste, which the couple, Michelle Higgins and Anthony Higgins, Sr., did not ... More >>

Gateway Bike Plan Calls for 1,000 Miles of Lanes and Trails In and Near St. Louis

​Great Rivers Greenway yesterday released an online copy of its Gateway Bike Plan that calls for 1,011 miles of bike lanes, shared use lanes and other bicycle facilities throughout St. Louis, St. Louis County and urbanized areas of St. Charles County.The plan is to be put into effect over the next ... More >>

Richard Bradley: St. Charles Man Labeled Sexually Violent Predator; Detained Indefinitely

​Richard Bradley, 42, became the 12th Missouri prisoner this year committed to the state's Sex Offender Rehabilitation and Treatment Service in Farmington where he could stay the rest of his life. Bradley will join 174 other sex offenders who've completed their sentences for their crimes but bee ... More >>

Dealers and Residents Debate Scrap Metal Bill

The wild wheel-and-deal days of the scrap metal trade may be winding down in St. Louis.​Scrap dealers, police officers, realtors, lawyers, landlords, homeowners and lobbyists packed Thursday's Board of Aldermen Public Safety Committee meeting to debate the merits of a bill to tighten regulations o ... More >>

Michael Gordon: Pretended To Be a Cop To Pick Up Women

St. Charles County Sheriff's DepartmentMichael Gordon: Frisky cop was a real handyman.​By day he was a self-employed handyman living with his mother. By night, police say, Michael Gordon was a make-believe cop, using his faux occupation to impress women in bars. The handcuffs and other police equi ... More >>

Kelli Horton: Mother Used McDonald's to Shoot Heroin / Babysit Kids, Say Police

St. Charles County Sheriff via KSDKKelli Horton: It's hard not to grimace when you're accused of doing heroin at Mickey D's.​Sometimes nothing satisfies your cravings like two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions on a sesame seed bun.But what happens when a Big Mac ... More >>

Solae Wants You to Grill on Meatless Mondays. But Do You Want To?

meatlessmonday.comFiring up the grill for Meatless Monday? Not so fast. ​Since the beginning of year, the Meatless Monday movement has gained momentum, thanks to publicity from vegetarian Paul McCartney and carnivore Mario Batali. The Oprah Effect kicked in, with the former talk show queen off ... More >>

St. Louis Smoking Summit a Dud

​We had imagined yesterday's "smoking summit" for St. Louis area officials would look something like this. Only instead of beer, the table would be full of ashtrays and mounds and mounds of those famously cheap Missouri cigarettes. After a bit of frank discussion, the officials would sit back and ... More >>

Canadian Libel Judgment Quashed by Missouri Appeals Court

The cover of Udis Sanchez Lord's autobiography, which got her in big trouble with her cousin -- and a Canadian court.​Kidnapping! Land fraud! Cousins fighting with cousins -- even as one cousin rises from working as a fieldhand to achieve both her Ph.D. and win (drumroll!) the title of Ms. Asia In ... More >>

Fair Tax Proposal Passes House Committee on Party Line Vote

Andrew Koenig​A resolution to replace Missouri's income tax with a so-called "fair tax" passed the House Tax Reform Committee yesterday. All eight Republicans on the committee voted in favor of the proposal; all four Democrats rejected the effort. The proposal (HJR8) by state representative Andrew ... More >>

Mom Acquitted of Making Fake Craigslist Ad, Prostituting Her Teenage Enemy

Elizabeth Thrasher: Lives up to her surname in online feuds.​Missouri's cyber-harassment law has teeth. But does it have bite?  Not when you consider a case this week that seemed like it would be a slam dunk for prosecutors to win a first-ever conviction for the state's 2008 law to crack down ... More >>

The RFT 2011 St. Louis Web Awards: Best Neighborhood Blog

Last Collector Standing: Cliff Hardesty, Owner of CD Reunion, on BBQing with Ozzy and the Who's Iconic Album Covers

Jon Scorfina​Sometimes the best reason to collect records is for the unabashed love of the music. Picking up from a short winter hiatus, Last Collector Standing met up with Cliff Hardesty, who, above anything else, is a genuine music lover. He is also the owner of multiple record stores, inclu ... More >>

This Just In: St. Louis Is Segregated

​The St. Louis metro area clocks in at (un)lucky No. 7 in terms of black/white racial segregation among the country's largest urban regions. That's according to 2009 data released by the U.S. Census Bureau, which was analyzed by A.P. and Post-Dispatch reporters and summarized in an article this mo ... More >>

St. Louis Happy Hours: Where to go if you want to drink like a fish

St. Charles Bike Ban Debate Coasts On

Image via​The St. Charles County council is really ganging up on bikers these days. In addition to Councilman Joe Brazil's statistic-bending joyride attempts to banning cyclists on country highways with no shoulder or bike lane, The Post-Dispatch reports that Councilman Jerry Daugherty has propose ... More >>

"You Ripped My Freaking Heart Out"

​Not a bad way to open up a murder trial, eh? A real attention getter, sure to wake up even the sleepiest of jurors. Scott Turow is almost certain to use it in his next courthouse potboiler. In any case, that's how St. Charles County Prosecutor Jack Banas began his opening statement ear ... More >>

Listen and Learn

St. Charles Representatives Team Up to Stop Foreigners from Driving in Missouri

Chuck Gatschenberger​So, just for fun, let's review how St. Charles state representatives are banning together to stop all those funny speaking foreigners (read: suspected illegal aliens) from driving in Missouri. First there's Chuck Gatschenberger (R - St. Charles County) who -- when not filing l ... More >>

Washington and St. Clair -- Latest Missouri Towns to Outlaw Fake Marijuana

​The Washington city council voted on Monday to outlaw the sale or possession of synthetic marijuana, such as K2. The Washington law is similar to one passed in St. Charles County earlier this year. Also on Monday, alderman in St. Clair also approved a law banning fake marijuana products.Meanwhile ... More >>

Kids Count Report: Every Day in Missouri ... 212,369 Children Live in Poverty

​Kids Count, a publication of Citizens for Missouri's Children, confirms that young people in the state are facing increasing challenges brought on by higher levels of poverty, a lack of affordable health care and a dearth of quality educational opportunities. The 2009 Kids Count Data ... More >>

Is Lake Saint Louis a Great Place to Live?

lakesaintlouis.comMoney Magazine came out with its listing of Top 100 Places to Live yesterday. The magazine ranks towns with populations 8,500 to 50,000 for education, crime scores, housing prices and employment. Coming in at No. 9 this year is Lake Saint Louis. The poll's authors notes that the co ... More >>

Last Week's Most Popular Daily RFT Posts, June 22-28, 2009

If you missed any of the posts last week on Daily RFT, here are the top ten most-read posts:Five of the Worst Pitches Recorded on VideoWith the news that President Obama would throw out the first pitch at the All-Star game, we began wondering who had the worst first-pitches ever.President Obama to ... More >>

Food Tripping: There's no better time than now to get to know what you eat

Farmer Wants a Wife Matt Neustadt Interview

MySpace Bully Talks Back (Maybe)

Grudge City

O’Fallon, Missouri: Home to petty feuds, poisonous politics – and prickly postcards.

River Rage

The bizarre story of a 2006 summer melee on the Mississippi will soon unfold in a St. Charles County courthouse.

Go! 9/14-9/16

Arrested Development

A look at north St. Louis from ground zero.

The Softy Side of Paul McKee

Here's to Beer!

The Bough Breaks

When fourteen trees fall in St. Peters, who picks up the tab?

Whack Off

Unreal witnesses a mailbox massacre -- but we soon forget when we're urged to thrust and thrust and thrust. Plus, a mint-condition Brooke Shields finds her way into the Bargain Box.

Far Out!

Taylor's is classy, tasty and worth the extra mileage

Best Missouri Winery

Stone Hill Winery

Saintly in St. Chuck

The Lord's county executive plans to cleanse his county's Family Arena

Letters

Week of December 13, 2000

Best Riverfront Attraction

Two Pecan Tree Pond

No Way Out

When Wendy Huddleston fell $1,370 behind in child-support payments, she was jailed indefinitely. She needed money or a lawyer -- and she had neither.

GREEN ACRES

How the Page Avenue extension has been good for influential road-builder Fred Weber Inc. -- through construction contracts, profitable land sales and a sweet deal with St. Louis County to expand its golf course