Kate Grumke
Senior Environment and Data ReporterKate reports on the environment, climate and agriculture for St. Louis Public Radio and Harvest Public Media.
She started at STLPR in 2021 as the education reporter, covering late night school board meetings and tagging along on field trips. Before that, Kate spent more than 5 years producing television in Washington, D.C., most recently at the PBS NewsHour. In that work she climbed to the top of a wind turbine in Iowa, helped plan the environmental section of a presidential debate and produced multiple news-documentaries on energy and the environment. She also won a Peabody, a National Murrow Award and was nominated for a National Emmy.
Kate grew up in St. Louis and graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism. She also holds a certificate in data journalism from Columbia University’s Lede Program.
Have a story tip or idea? Email Kate at kgrumke@stlpr.org.
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“The Great River” by Boyce Upholt traces the history of humans’ relationship with the Mississippi and what engineering over centuries has created. -
An amendment to the annual defense spending bill fell along party lines in the House Rules Committee. The legislation would have added Missouri ZIP codes to the RECA program. -
Could whale baleen filter microplastics out of water like they filter plankton? What if microbes could be engineered to create a plastic alternative? Scientists are asking these questions in St. Louis labs. -
Local scientists have some theories about why parts of the St. Louis region are swarming with cicadas while others are eerily silent. -
There have been 184 tornado warnings in Missouri in 2024, which is the third-highest number on record. -
Drought and some holdover wildfires from last year in Canada are already sending smoke into the Midwest and Great Plains. -
This year saw one of the wettest Aprils on record in Missouri, which is welcome during the state’s ongoing drought. -
As the country tries to meet its climate goals, tackling emissions from farming will be key. Biochar, one climate-smart agriculture strategy, sequesters carbon while recycling agricultural waste and improving soil. -
The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking input from the public as it considers the company’s application for a Clean Air Act permit renewal. -
The flu has been found in cows for the first time, but most cattle seem to be showing only mild symptoms and recovering from the illness. Officials say the pasteurization process means milk remains safe. -
Total solar eclipses occur every year or two, but it is exceedingly rare for the paths of two of them to intersect only a handful of years apart, as it has in a swath of southern Missouri and Illinois. -
If Congress does not pass the funding, it will expire in June. It does not currently include the St. Louis region, but would in a version passed by the Senate.
