Itâs rare to find anyone with power in St. Louis whoâs universally respected; there's always at least one detractor. Which makes airport director Rhonda Hamm-Niebreuggeâs retirement such a bummer: I have yet to meet a single person who has anything bad to say about her, and at a time when newcomers fill so many top jobs regionally, her long tenure and great working relationships were an asset. More on what comes next below.
The St. Louis International Film Festival kicks off tonight, and we have all the details on that, too. Thereâs also news about a big change in Clayton, at least for us word lovers. Could St. Louis eventually follow suit?
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Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, center right, sponsored a resolution that stirred up citizen support at its hearing yesterday. Photography by Ryan Krull
THIS JUST IN
Critics of Israelâs war in Gaza push divestment at the Board of Aldermen
A resolution calling on the City of St. Louis to divest from companies that are âcomplicit in perpetuating violence against people within our city or abroadâ earned committee approval yesterday and heads for the full Board of Aldermen Friday. The vaguely worded resolution, sponsored by Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, doesnât mention Israel or Gaza, though pretty much everyone who showed up in support of it did. The public comment portion was robust, one-sided, and had to be cut off for the sake of time.
The resolution passed with just one nay, from Alderman Matt Devoti. âI am concerned about the practicality of the resolution,â he said. Aldridge's resolution specifically targets the city retirement system because an audit conducted by an activist group determined it to be the only city entity holding funds "complicit" in violence. However, asked how much money the city has invested in Boeing, a company that often draws activistsâ ire, Budget Director Paul Payne said there is no easy answer, citing as an example the Firefighters' Retirement Plan, which has a portion of its money invested in index funds tracking the broader stock market. Those funds in turn have some hard-to-discern portion of their capital in Boeing, among other defense companies. It gets very complicated, very quickly.
Fortunately for city money managers, the resolution is unlikely bring any concrete action. As one person could be heard saying outside yesterdayâs very long hearing: âItâs non-binding. None of this matters.â âRyan Krull
Rhonda Hamm-Niebreugge has led the airport since being appointed by then-Mayor Francis Slay in 2009. Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
DEEP DIVE
Airport director is ready for a long goodbye
St. Louis Lambert International Airportâs longtime executive director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge announced yesterday that she will retire next Augustâsaying sheâs ready to take more enjoyment from life.
Hamm-Niebruegge recently celebrated an achievement she had been focused on throughout her 15-year tenure: A nonstop flight to London. Its announcement this summer followed news that Lufthansa will soon expand the airportâs nonstop service to Germany. Under Hamm-Niebruegge, the airport also kicked off a massive terminal consolidation project that she expects should be at 60 percent of its design phase by the time she steps down. She is not worried about the project faltering, saying a strong team is in place.
Why It Matters: An airline executive before coming to work for the city (she ran TWAâs hub in St. Louis), Hamm-Niebreugge excelled at working two key Lambert constituencies: the airlines and the business community. The door opened to Lufthansa when she was able to persuade Greater St. Louis Inc. to put incentives on the tableâand the success of that flight led to interest from British Airways.
âWhen I first took this job, the business community was really concerned about the airport,â she says. âThey kept telling me that we had to get back on the international front. And the international front to them did not mean Cancun, right?â Lambertâs two flights to Europe, along with options in Canada, the Caribbean, and Mexico, have led to a âsigh of relief,â Hamm-Niebreugge says. âWe are getting back to where we have a true international footprint.â
Whatâs Next: Now 65, Niebreugge is looking forward to time with her five grandchildrenâand not panicking during inclement weather. As airport director, she says, âWhen you see snow, you're like, Oh my God, no.â But after retirement, âIâm just going to enjoy a glass of wine or cup of coffee and look at the snow.â âS.F.
Emerson celebrates St. Louis area educators with annual Excellence in Teaching
Emerson is recognizing more than 100 educators as the 2025 recipients of the Excellence in Teaching Awards. The program honors local instructors for their dedication to students and school communities.
Failure of Rockwood school levy could lead to salary freeze in 2027â2028 (stltoday): The board in March approved 10 percent raises over two years, saying that a property tax increase was needed to avoid a salary freeze in subsequent years. Voters rejected the one being offered Tuesday, 51 to 49 percent.
House party in OâFallon grew huge, led to thousands of dollars in damage (KSDK): A teen says he invited a few friends over to watch football but had to call 911 after hundreds showed up, a flash mob did serious damage, and violence broke out.
Gateway Arch to reopen on select days in November due to private donors (Fox2Now): The partner funding coordinated by the Jefferson National Parks Association will allow the national park to open on Sundays and a few other days even as the government shutdown drags on.
Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol in Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, which screens at SLIFF on Nov. 9. Photography courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes
Around Town
â THE POLITICAL TEA
Claytonâs city leaders arenât necessarily changing what they doâjust what theyâre called. During Tuesdayâs special election, nearly three-quarters of voters approved an amendment that updates the cityâs charter and renames Claytonâs Board of Aldermen as the Clayton City Council, with "aldermen" and "alderwomen" to become "council members." The change is part of a broader effort to modernize an outdated charter and provide more clarity about the operations of municipal government, says city manager David Gipson. âIf you look at our charter, you can tell it was put together in the 1950s,â Gipson says. âEverything was written for men. For instance, everything referring to the city manager is âheâ and âhimâ and âhis authority.â So we wanted to modernize everything, make it more gender neutral, and make the name itself more intuitive.â The change will go into effect once the St. Louis County Board of Elections certifies Tuesdayâs resultsâlikely sometime in the next two weeks. Claytonâs push to change the titles of elected officials follows last yearâs unsuccessful effort in the city of St. Louis to similarly rename the St. Louis Board of Aldermen as the St. Louis City Council. âMike Miller
Shop a Night Market with 50-plus regional makers and enjoy illuminated art, live music, and local bites at Laumeier Sculpture Park on Saturday, November 8, 4â10 p.m. Admission is $15. Plan your visit.
Heard on the Street
Taking over: Edward J. Feser, who was sworn in yesterday as Saint Louis Universityâs new president after being welcomed by Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe and Holden Thorp, former WashU provost, editor-in-chief of Science, and current SLU trustee. Said Feser, âWe are a university which strives to own its mistakes, to right its wrongs, to bridge divided people, to close the gap between falsehoods and truth, to pursue rigor and excellence in all things, and to do right and to do good for our students, our city and our country.â
Gunning to be the next sheriff in town: Former deputy Gregg Christian, who in addition to being a bailiff under Vernon Betts also had the oft-difficult job of serving as his spokesman. In a recent op-ed, Christian wrote that the next sheriffâunlike the current one now behind barsâought to be POST-certified. His byline, naturally, noted that he is.
Completing another trip around the sun: Forest ReLeaf executive director Meridith MacAvoy Perkins and KSDK political editor Mark Maxwell, both of whom celebrate birthdays today.
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