Sarah Fentem
Sarah Fentem reports on sickness and health as part of St. Louis Public Radio’s news team. She previously spent five years reporting for different NPR stations in Indiana, immersing herself deep, deep into an insurance policy beat from which she may never fully recover. A longitme NPR listener, she grew up hearing WQUB in Quincy, Illinois, which is now owned by STLPR. She lives in the Kingshighway Hills neighborhood, and in her spare time likes to watch old sitcoms, meticulously clean and organize her home and go on outdoor adventures with her fiancé Elliot. She has a cat, Lil Rock, and a dog, Ginger.
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The National Women’s Law Center and Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed suit Thursday in St. Louis Circuit Court on behalf of 13 faith leaders in Missouri. The lawsuit claims Missouri’s so-called trigger ban and other laws restricting abortion access violate residents’ religious freedom. -
Adults in Missouri can now legally use marijuana. Dispensary operators say some with medical marijuana cards may choose to keep them to take advantage of lower taxes and other benefits that customers who use marijuana recreationally don't have.
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Family members of the gunman who killed two and wounded several others during a shooting rampage at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School recently asked police to take a gun from the home, interim St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief Michael Sack said Wednesday. They also had been monitoring his mental health and helped him get treatment and medication.
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In July, Missouri officials debuted 988, an emergency mental health hotline that connects callers to dozens of organizations around the country based on the caller’s area code. The hotline’s overhaul means crisis response organizations need more workers and money to pay them. Advocates are concerned that the state has not committed to funding the hotline for the long term.
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Washington University scientists are conducting a clinical trial of a new version of the original Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Researchers say it will likely be better suited to newer BA.4 and BA.5 variants of the virus that have become dominant this summer.
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During the first month of a national mental health crisis line, calls to Missouri mental health centers have gone up 30%, state officials said. The three-digit 988 line routes all calls to suicide prevention hotline crisis centers.
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The region is recovering after a massive storm dumped more than 9 inches of rain. People and animals are staying in makeshift shelters while the flash flooding recedes.
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The historic rainfall broke the single-day record set in 1915.
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The most rain in St. Louis in more than 100 years reports over 10 inches in under five hours. The rains caused flash flooding — closing major roads and leaving many stranded in their cars on roads.
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As fewer people are getting tested for the coronavirus in offices, labs and pharmacies, sewer shed surveillance has become one of the most accurate ways to show the virus still exists in the community. The state and its partners at the University of Missouri are monitoring 112 sites to see if viral particles are increasing and if new variants are emerging in the region's wastewater.
