Will Bauer
Metro East ReporterWill Bauer is St. Louis Public Radio’s Metro East Reporter. Before moving to Belleville, Illinois, Bauer worked at Nebraska Public Media. At the state’s NPR and PBS member stations, he served as a general assignment reporter, covering politics, higher education, agriculture and other topics. He also produced the station’s talk show, Speaking of Nebraska.
The Minnesota native graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with degrees in journalism, broadcasting and sports communications in 2020. In college, he reported for the Omaha World-Herald’s breaking news and sports desks. In his spare time, Bauer enjoys playing golf and watching movies. You can reach him by email at wbauer@stlpr.org and follow him on Twitter at @Will_Bauer_.
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Voting to decide Illinois’ next flag is underway until Feb. 14. From there, the results will be turned over to state lawmakers, who have the final say. -
The Mississippi Valley Library District board of trustees currently has a 3-3 ideological split. Finding a replacement for a vacant board spot just a couple of months before the election could swing the board away from a conservative majority. -
The Church of God in Christ’s Holy Convocation is estimated to generate roughly $250 million in economic impact over three years for St. Louis. -
Illinois promised answers after fatal officer-involved shootings and other deaths at the hands of law enforcement. But some prosecutors, including some in the Metro East, stay silent. -
In November, Madison County in the Metro East became the first nonrural county to pass a symbolic secession referendum. -
U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski of Illinois has renewed her push to include parts of the Metro East in federal legislation that would compensate residents for being exposed to radiation from the World War II-era atomic weapons program. -
The second-term Democrat has been outspoken in her opposition to Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of defense. -
Flag voting began Friday and will remain open until Feb. 14, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said. -
A separate deal to sell both blast furnaces in the Metro East town has been on the back burner, which union officials believe will cost hundreds of jobs. If the U.S. Steel sale is dead, some worry what’s in store for Granite City. -
A Southern Illinois University Edwardsville professor and student have been studying the effects of the buoys placed by Texas in July 2023 — finding they’ve altered the flow of the river on the U.S.-Mexico border. -
An incentive agreement between the state and the company lists an East St. Louis address for the facility that will create 150 jobs when operational. -
![Workers attempt to clear debris as part of a search and rescue operation on {wdat], at an Amazon Distribution Hub in Edwardsville, Illinois. Violent storms, some producing tornado activity, ripped through the Midwest on Friday night, killing at least two in the warehouse.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/697ad48/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1671+0+183/resize/280x156!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F51%2Fcb%2Fc82c195e4416a7cc687c577fede0%2F12112021-bm-amazon-storms-006.jpg)
“You have to get the foundation laid and then go from there,” said Lynn Cope, whose 29-year-old son, Clayton, was killed by an Edwardsville tornado in December 2021.
![Workers attempt to clear debris as part of a search and rescue operation on {wdat], at an Amazon Distribution Hub in Edwardsville, Illinois. Violent storms, some producing tornado activity, ripped through the Midwest on Friday night, killing at least two in the warehouse.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/58d4844/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1671+0+183/resize/560x312!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F51%2Fcb%2Fc82c195e4416a7cc687c577fede0%2F12112021-bm-amazon-storms-006.jpg)