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Michelle Obama Came to a St. Louis Target and Left Us a Present

And we think it was the Kirkwood Target

By
Apr 19, 2024 at 4:22 pm
Just another Target shopper in suburban St. Louis, checking out the latest offerings.
Just another Target shopper in suburban St. Louis, checking out the latest offerings. SCREENSHOT VIA X
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Former First Lady Michelle Obama was in the St. Louis area in recent days. And not only did she stop by one of our local Target stores, she also left a gift behind at it.

Obama uploaded a video to X that shows her looking totally like herself and yet totally incognito, shopping at a suburban St. Louis Target in a sweatshirt and ballcap. The video shows Obama signing six copies of the brand-new paperwork edition of her best-selling memoir The Light We Carry — and then leaving them tucked behind other books on the shelves for shoppers to find.

"We are going to go undercover," she says, slipping on her shades. "Because I have not actually seen my book in a Target before. So we're going to try to do this low-key." The video then shows her signing copies propped up on a display rack. "It's kind of surreal," she reports.

The disguise, while extremely minimal, apparently worked: No one bothers her for a selfie, at least on video. You can see customers just walking past without a second look.

Then, after she picks up some dog toys for Sunny and some shirts for her husband ("the girls, they can get their own stuff"), the video shows a young cashier calmly checking her out. "I love your hair," she says. "Oh, thanks," replies the former first lady modestly.

The whole thing is frankly pretty cute, but this being St. Louis, we have to assume someone noticed Michelle Obama at their local Target store. (After all, it's Michelle Obama.) Why is this video the first we're hearing of it?

There's a lot of online discussion about whether she was at the south county Target or the Kirkwood one or (God have mercy on her soul!) the Brentwood one and the hellscape that would entail. Someone surely knows for certain!

That said, a little bird does tell us that reports of the Secret Service being in Kirkwood earlier this week made it to the Sunset Hills Community Board, and if it's that not a good St. Louis clue, we don't know what is. (And we should note our authoritative ranked list of all the Targets in town did place that store in the top five, meaning it's a good enough location to host a former first lady, at least by our rigorous standards.) Can anyone out there confirm — and maybe even show us their newly signed copy of The Light We Carry? We'd love to hear that someone who purchased one of these paperbacks was lucky enough to realize what they got.

Update: Well, turns out Obama must have consulted our authoritative ranked list and decided No. 5 wasn't good enough — because KSDK now reports that they have confirmation and she was at No. 4, better known as 4250 Rusty Road in south county.

All praise to the St. Louis Twitter sleuth who treated this video like a much more pleasant Zapruder film — and actually solved the mystery.
However, it appears Obama must have made more than one stop. The mayor of Brentwood says she also somehow braved the notorious Promenade — and lived to tell about it. Now that's a St. Louis miracle!


Editor's note: An earlier version of this story erroneously said the book was Obama's 2018 Becoming, not The Light We Carry. We regret the error.
Slideshow

Every Target Store in the St. Louis Area, Ranked

Countdown: Number 5 Kirkwood 1042 South Kirkwood Road Kirkwood, MO 63122 314-822-4051 This Target opens an hour early (from 8 a.m. until 9 a.m.) for “vulnerable guests.” In these times, that means that the elderly, who are more likely to have serious issues from a COVID-19 infection, can shop more safely without having rude people cough on them. This location is set up a little bit weird and can feel a bit hectic at the checkout counters, but it’s always well stocked. Though it has a busy parking lot, it’s not at all like dealing with the Brentwood parking lot. It also has a T.J. Maxx right next door, so it’s the perfect Target for you if you’re a Target-head and a Maxxinista. Photo credit: screengrab via Google Maps
Countdown: Number 14 Chesterfield 40 THF Boulevard Chesterfield, MO 63005 636-536-6207 This store has a weird layout. It has two entrances, but the more prominent one welcomes you into the butt-end of the store — you walk straight into the office supply section instead of into the clothing section. It’s a high-traffic location and very stressful because it is full of Karens every hour of the day. Also, nobody ever picks up the dang phone there so don’t even try to call. Photo credit: screengrab via Google Maps Countdown: Number 13 Florissant 2341 North Highway 67 Florissant, MO 63033 314-831-8000 This target just… sucks, man. There’s no Starbucks. There’s nothing good about it. The parking lot is always full of cars going way too fast. And you have to drive on Lindbergh to get there, which means you might be taking your life into your hands. In a way that’s difficult to explain, it just feels like a Walmart instead of a Target. Avoid if possible. Photo credit: screengrab via Google Maps Countdown: Number 12 O'Fallon 2300 State Hwy K O'Fallon, MO 63005 636-379-2903 This store is nothing special. The lines are long, there's never more than a couple cashiers and it's all around just "meh." But, they do have a great dollar section. Photo credit: screengrab via Google Maps Countdown: Number 11 Bridgeton 12275 St. Charles Rock Road Bridgeton, MO 63044 314-291-0600 This is the point in the list where the Targets start to get better. The Bridgeton location is a workhorse Target. It’s not exceptional but there are no big problems with it, either. It is decent. The main thing it has going for it is its double Starbucks situation. There’s a Starbucks in the Target and a stand-alone location right outside. Photo credit: screengrab via Google Maps Countdown: Number 10 St. Peters 6241 Mid Rivers Mall Drive Saint Peters, MO 63304 636-939-9433 This is a solid Target. It doesn’t have a Starbucks (though there’s one just a few doors down) but it does have a long list of amenities not offered at other Targets in town. In addition to the usual grocery and booze section, this one also has a CVS, a cell phone activation counter and they’ve even been known to have an ear piercing station on site, too. Photo credit: screengrab via Google Maps Countdown: Number 9 Arnold 3849 Vogel Road Arnold, MO 63010 636-287-1055 With a Starbucks, a CVS and a fresh grocery section all on site, it’s hard to go wrong at the Arnold location of Target. It’s also right next to a Home Depot and an other shopping spots, so it’s easy to get all of your various shopping done in just one trip. Photo credit: screengrab via Google Maps
Click to View 16 slides

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Sarah Fenske
Sarah Fenske is the executive editor of the RFT and its sister papers. She is the former host of St. Louis on the Air and continues to host its Legal Roundtable, as well participating as an occasional panelist on Nine PBS' Donnybrook. She lives in St. Louis.
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