A Good Year: St. Louis

As 2011 comes to a close, St. Louis Public Radio is taking a look back at the things and people that have had a good year. In the St. Louis region, local food--both the production and demand--makes that list.

Smoking bans were implemented in several areas in St. Louis in 2011, including in the city and county.

Sarah Shelton, a data analyst with the Center for Tobacco Policy Research at Washington University in St. Louis, told St. Louis Public Radio’s Julie Bierach as part of our series “A Good Year” that, overall, it’s been a good year for non-smokers.

Squirrels are the sometimes adorable creatures that eat from your bird feeders, dig through your garden, and occasionally just can’t quite figure out how to successfully cross a road.

But the furry rodents were elevated to something approaching “hero” status in the 2011 Major League Baseball Playoffs – and that made it a very good year for a local charity.

It’s been a good year for documentary films focused on issues in St. Louis and for local filmmakers. “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth,” about the urban housing complex of the 1950s and 60s; “Brick by Chance and Fortune,” which looks at St. Louis’ architectural heritage; “The Gray Seasons,” about a four-year span with the Saint Louis University women’s basketball team; and "Give a Damn?," the story of three St. Louisians who explore the issue of poverty across three continents; have all been popular at film festivals in 2011.

As part of St. Louis Public Radio’s series, “A Good Year”, Bill Raack spoke with Cliff Froehlich, the executive director of Cinema St. Louis. Here's a summary of their conversation: 

2011 has been a banner year for Chess in the city of Saint Louis.

The United States Chess Federation named Saint Louis “Chess City of the Year” in 2011 for all of the hard work we’ve put in to promote the game of chess both locally and nationally.