Riverfront Times | Kristen Hinman

The Humane Society and Big Agriculture Slug It Out Over Animal Rightsnew

On one side: a phalanx of corporation- and family-owned farms that operate on large economies of scale, raising 10 billion animals a year. On the opposite side: the Humane Society, founded as a protector for all animals, from dogs and cats to seals and whales to hens and cattle.

Riverfront Times | Kristen Hinman | 04-15-2010 | Animal Issues

Tags: USDA, Humane Society

Dana Loesch of the Tea Party and Conservative Talk Radio, Reporting For Duty!new

Dana Loesch is nervous. Executive producer Beowulf Rochlen sent word late last night that his boss, nationally syndicated conservative radio host Michael Savage, enjoyed her fill-in on The Savage Nation five days prior: Would she like to do it again in less than 24 hours?

Riverfront Times | Kristen Hinman | 02-26-2010 | Media

Tags: Tea Party, Dana Loesch, Michael Savage, conservatives, talk radio

Will Monsanto's Sweet 'EverMild' Tearless Onion Whet a Discriminating Palate?new

St. Louis-based Monsanto has a plan to make sweet-onion farmers weep. The seed company last week unveiled a tearless onion that it's dubbed the "EverMild," modeled after the famous Vidalia sweet onion from Georgia.

Riverfront Times | Kristen Hinman | 02-19-2010 | Food+Drink

Tags: EverMild, tearless onions, Vidalia onions, biotechnology, Monsanto

Confined to His Home For a Decade, Doug Lindsay Knows What Ails Himnew

Doug Lindsay suspects his adrenal glands produce too much epinephrine (a.k.a. adrenaline). He wants to correct the problem by doing away with the region at the center of each gland, the medulla. It's a dicey proposition.

Riverfront Times | Kristen Hinman | 01-08-2010 | Science

Tags: adrenal glands, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Doug Lindsey, dysautonomia

Bill Chott & His Fellow Improv Tricksters Aim to Bring Back St. Louis Sketch Comedy's Glory Daysnew

The Improv Trick has finally found a permanent dwelling in the increasingly hipster Cherokee 'hood. Chott has hired a full-time director of operations. The student roster continues to grow, and a program for at-risk neighborhood kids is in the works.

Riverfront Times | Kristen Hinman | 09-11-2009 | Performance

Tags: Bill Chott, sketch comedy, The Improv Trick, St. Louis, improv

Russ Kremer, the Pope of Porknew

In tiny towns across Missouri, old-school hog farming stages a comeback -- and at tables across the nation, diners rejoice.

Riverfront Times | Kristen Hinman | 05-26-2009 | Food+Drink

Tags: Ozark Mountain Pork Cooperative, Russ Kremer, food, pork, hog farms

The Disappearance of a St. Louis Boy Remains a Mysterynew

Six years after the fact, the disappearance of nine-year-old Christian Ferguson remains a mystery.

Riverfront Times | Kristen Hinman | 03-20-2009 | Crime & Justice

Tags: St. Louis, Christian Ferguson

Fields of Plasticnew

Researchers Brian Mooney and Douglas Randall are looking into growing plastic along the fringes of Missouri farmland.

Riverfront Times | Kristen Hinman | 03-13-2009 | Environment

Tags: Missouri, waste, Brian Mooney, Douglas Randall

Charter Schools Long to Find a Home in Dormant St. Louis Classroomsnew

St. Louis charter-school advocates say that a so-called deed restriction — which also bars medical clinics, adult entertainment venues and taverns from taking over city school properties — far exceeds efforts by other cities to block charter schools' growth.

Riverfront Times | Kristen Hinman | 02-13-2009 | Education

Tags: charter schools, St. Louis Public Schools

There's No End in Sight to the Cuts at the St. Louis Post-Dispatchnew

On the morning of August 28, unwelcome news began circulating through the newsroom at the daily: layoffs were imminent. By the end of that day, five editors -- two with almost 30 years of service at the daily -- were asked to collect their belongings and leave the building. In a subsequent interview, executive editor Arnie Robbins refuses to rule out further editorial staff reductions.

Riverfront Times | Kristen Hinman | 09-12-2008 | Media

Tags: media, layoffs, Lee Enterprises, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, news industry, St. Louis Newspaper Guild

One Navy SEAL's Mission to Help Fellow Iraq Vetsnew

Now 33 and released from active duty, Eric Greitens is at last back on his home turf and facing new challenges as chairman of a nonprofit -- the Center for Citizen Leadership -- that he created last fall. Its mission: To put wounded veterans back to work in public service jobs.

Riverfront Times | Kristen Hinman | 04-11-2008 | War

Tags: Iraq, veterans, jobs, war & peace