100 years ago in St. Louis, cold winter temperatures brought an annual blanket of thick smog. The air quality was so bad, St. Louis Public Radio’s Kate Grumke reports it planted the seeds for a famous Missouri institution.

In the fall of 2023, 540 St. Louis families were selected to receive $500 a month for a year and a half. The guaranteed basic income program, or GBI, aimed to help low-income residents meet basic financial needs. But halfway through the program, a lawsuit temporarily paused the payments. Then other crises hit. The Midwest Newsroom’s Naomi Delkamiller reports.

With the cold weather hitting the St. Louis region in the past two weeks, Illinoisans have been using more natural gas to heat their homes. In the last six years, Ameren has been working to renovate its natural gas storage fields to make them more efficient for the company — and, they say, save customers money. St. Louis Public Radio’s Will Bauer recently toured one of the fields near Freeburg and has this report.

University of Missouri sociologist Chris Conner has studied and written about conspiracy theories for years. And he says the belief in them is spreading beyond the typical fringe groups — it’s our friends and family, too. He shares why so many Americans are adopting even the most extreme-sounding ideas, and how to respond.

The nonprofit organization Feeding America was looking for a better way to distribute billions of pounds of food to food banks each year. It used to use an algorithm to answer that question. It generated a list of food banks based on need, and when a shipment came up, Feeding America called the food bank at the top of the list. But what if a food bank didn’t need or want that donation? The answer to that problem is a market economy, of sorts.

Ameren Missouri’s new rates for data centers are now in effect. But a consumer advocacy group is asking for a redo. St. Louis Public Radio’s Kate Grumke explains the case and the latest updates. Plus, Midwest seniors have two options for Medicare coverage– traditional Medicare through the government, or a private Medicare Advantage plan. While Advantage plans cost less up front, experts say seniors could pay the price with their health.

People with alpha gal syndrome are suddenly unable to eat meat or dairy. It’s becoming more and more common in Missouri. In fact – so many people are living with the condition now, some restaurants are adapting their menus to accommodate, as Rebecca Smith reports.

The niche card game was once banned at a downstate Illinois prison, but is back and helping with rehabilitation efforts.

A St. Charles County judge who agreed to resign after being accused of misconduct by the state of Missouri, including for dressing in an Elvis Presley costume while on the bench, appears to have changed his mind. St. Louis on the Air producer Danny Wicentowski has the latest in the case.

Starting today, Missourians can legally bet on sports. St. Louis Public Radio’s Sarah Kellogg reports, it marks the end of a years-long effort to legalize sports betting in the state, one that ultimately came down to a vote of the people.