The Latest from Lyda - October

There is A LOT going on in St. Louis, from multi-million dollar investments, new policies and even new modes of transportation.

I know sometimes it can be hard to keep up with all that we're working on to move St. Louis forward.Here’s a summary of things that we’ve been working on in October, St. Louis news you don’t want to miss, and a few things on the horizon.

(And if you're looking for more, follow along on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.)

#MLS4THELOU

St. Louis is a soccer town. We play it. We watch it. And now we have another shot at the goal to score a soccer stadium and Major League Soccer team for St. Louis.

The Taylor and Kavanaugh ownership group have put together a great privately-funded proposal that is a great deal for our city. The stadium is planned for the site just west of Union Station in Downtown St. Louis and the team would be the first MLS team to be majority-owned by women.

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. I'm looking forward to working with this group to make MLS a reality in St. Louis.

Learn about #MLS4THELOU >>

 

Overhauling our Convention Center

Conventions are so important to our regional economy, bringing 28.5 million visitors and $5.8 billion in direct spending to St. Louis each year and supporting 88,000 jobs for St. Louisans. To attract conventions and compete with cities like Nashville and Indianapolis, we need to upgrade our 42-year old facilities.

That's why County Executive Steve Stenger and I announced this month that we're investing $175 million into re-imagining the America's Center.

 See what's in store for America's Center >>

New Public Safety Efforts

Public safety remains job #1. Recently we've introduced three new efforts that will help us recruit more police officers and advance criminal justice reforms.

New Cadet Program

We've created a new cadet program for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to engage young people when they're 18 so they are ready to enter the police academy at 21. Learn more >>

Lifting the Residency Requirement for 50 New Police Recruits

The City of St. Louis will waive the residence requirement for up to 50 new police recruits in an effort to help fill the shortage of police officers and broaden our recruitment efforts. Apply today 

Fuse Fellows for Criminal Justice Reform

Earlier this month I welcomed Debbie Allen and Wilford Pinkney, members of the FUSE Executive Fellowship Program, to join my administration and work on key criminal justice issues. Debbie will be working to improve coordination between the many entities involved in the criminal justice system and will institute a Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. Wil will be developing alternatives to cash bail. Learn more 

Recommended Reading

Here are a few articles from October about things going on in St. Louis that I don't want you to miss.

Up Next

Soldiers Memorial Grand Re-Opening on November 3

Join me on November 3rd for the re-opening of the new state-of-the-art Soldiers Memorial. And keep an eye out for additional events taking place that entire week for Veterans Week. Find out more here.

Election on November 6th

There are many items on the November 6th ballot that are important to our City and our state, from Prop B to raise the state minimum wage and countless local, state and federal races. Make a plan to get to the polls. Early voting is already open.  Find your ballot and poll information here.