News

FEMA to House Displaced Tornado Victims Near Joplin Airport

The federal government is planning to use 50 acres south of the Joplin Regional Airport to provide temporary housing for people who lost their homes in the May 22 tornado.

The Illinois EPA held public meetings in Roxana on Tuesday to discuss what Shell Oil is doing to address historic contamination from the Wood River Refinery.

A consultant for Shell has found high levels of cancer-causing benzene and other toxic petroleum products in Roxana’s groundwater.

Chris Cahnovsky of the Illinois EPA says toxic, potentially explosive vapors have also been detected in the soils under several homes.

The St. Louis metro area is considered Missouri’s economic engine.  But, it’s in constant competition with both Kansas City and rural areas for state dollars for schools, roads and other needs.

Financial interests are not the only things that drive a wedge between city and country dwellers.  In this installment of our series “Bound by Division,” St. Louis Public Radio’s Marshall Griffin looks at how the divide between urban and rural interests often comes to a head in Jefferson City.

The state of Missouri is poised to help some of the towns along the Missouri River who may be running out of sand for sandbags.

Governor Jay Nixon is ordering the State Emergency Management Agency to help those fighting flooding along the Missouri River to obtain more sand.  At Nixon's direction, SEMA has identified additional suppliers that could provide sand if local supplies are exhausted or running low.

 The Missouri Attorney General’s Office has filed a lawsuit against a local butcher for allegedly selling ground beef and sausage that contains cow hearts and other ingredients.

 Attorney General Chris Koster says from September 2010 through March 2011 the Missouri Department of Agriculture and the USDA conducted an investigation into John's Butcher Shoppee as the result of an anonymous tip.

 Koster says there is no danger to consumers.