Asians

While lion dance can be demanding, its participants are enthusiastically sharing a quickly growing population’s cultural tradition throughout the St. Louis region.

The makeup of the St. Louis region is changing. Here’s what the latest census date tells us about the population and racial demographic trends of the region — and what challenges local leaders must tackle to attract more St. Louisans in the decade to come.

The Asian community grew 37% in the past decade, and the region’s universities play a key role as an attraction. But there are many other things that make the area desirable.

Southeast Asian refugees are among the groups that are especially vulnerable to falling into gambling addiction, experts say. Yet these refugees are often overlooked in the public policy debate over the expansion of legalized gambling, as states across the nation push for new sources of revenue to fill holes in government budgets.