Towns in the Metro East have seen increased sales tax revenue this year. That’s after Illinois started collecting tax on online sales from out-of-state, as STLPR's Will Bauer reports. Plus: The Trump administration has cut National Science Research grants by more than a billion dollars. STLPR's Jonathan Ahl finds Missouri S&T is doing ok with theirs, for now.

St. Louis Sheriff Alfred Montgomery heads to trial this week: St. Louis Public Radio’s Brian Munoz breaks down the removal effort. Plus: The City of Ferguson has been under a consent decree for almost ten years. The city’s consent decree coordinator says her goal is to make sure reforms become deeply embedded in Ferguson’s identity. Consent decree coordinator Patricia Washington sat down with St. Louis Public Radio’s Chad Davis.

St. Louis Public Schools closed seven of its buildings and relocated nearly two-thousand students six months ago after the deadly May 16 tornado. As weeks turned into months, community members began to wonder whether the schools would ever reopen. St. Louis Public Radio’s Hiba Ahmad toured some of the schools and has this report.

St. Louis-area food banks and pantries are being put to the test. The uncertainty surrounding SNAP benefits during the government shutdown along with rising food costs and the ongoing impact of the May 16th tornado are adding extensive pressure to the upcoming busy holiday season. St. Louis Public Radio’s Olivia Mizelle reports.

A documentary making its St. Louis debut this weekend takes a familiar format — the rock concert movie — and adds a few unexpected elements. As St. Louis Public Radio's Sarah Fentem reports, the film "Matter of Time" uses the genre to introduce audiences to a rare skin disease and the people searching for a cure.

More than nine years have passed since the mobile game Pokémon Go was released, allowing people to spend time outside while playing a video game. And some are still going outside. Finnegan Belleau caught up with a group organizing regular meetups to play the game.

As the government shutdown lingers and the future of benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program remains uncertain for two-and-a-half-million people in Missouri and Illinois, the UnGUN Institute in St. Louis is providing free groceries and other essential items to local residents. St. Louis Public Radio’s Lacretia Wimbley reports on rising food prices and how the nonprofit’s founder partnered with Operation Food Search to meet people’s needs.

The new film “Mr. Wonderful” makes its St. Louis premiere on Tuesday at the St. Louis International Film Festival. It’s the work of St. Louis-based writer Daniel Blake Smith, who adapted the screenplay from his 2018 novel of the same name. St. Louis Public Radio’s Chad Davis spoke with Smith about the film. It features the late Michael Madsen, of Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill fame, in one of his final leading roles, playing a fictionalized version of Smith.

St. Louis-area Boeing machinists have been on strike since August 4th. The local union members recently rejected a contract from the company for the fourth time, but it was by the narrowest margin so far: 51% to 49%. St. Louis Public Radio’s Olivia Mizelle has been following the strike, and she sat down with STLPR’s Brian Moline to discuss where it stands entering month four.

The May 16 tornado left court buildings in the city of St. Louis and St. Louis County untouched. But hundreds of people associated with the criminal legal system – attorneys, defendants, judges and court personnel alike – suffered damage to their homes or offices. St. Louis Public Radio’s Rachel Lippmann has more on what the aftermath has looked like.