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Casualties Increasing? Pedestrian Deaths Spark Debate On Traffic Safety Issues

A pedestrian was struck and killed on the evening of Dec. 14 on South Geyer Road near the signage entrance to Powder Valley Nature Center at Cragwold Road.

by Don Corrigan

A hike in human roadkill casualties in the St. Louis area at the end of 2024 is raising concerns. Pedestrians hit near the iconic Ted Drewes custard stand have led the St. Louis TV news for several years now.

Vehicles mowing over pedestrians elsewhere in the St. Louis region have received less media coverage. A hike in pedestrian deaths in the Webster-Kirkwood area at the end of 2024 is grabbing attention with the new year of 2025.

 

• A pedestrian, age 73, was struck and killed on Manchester Road in Des Peres on the evening of Dec. 7.

• A pedestrian, age 56, was struck and killed on South Geyer Road in Sunset Hills on the evening of Dec. 14.

• A pedestrian, age 79, was struck and killed near Manchester Road in Glendale on the evening of Dec. 27.

The recent spate of pedestrian deaths has sparked a debate on traffic safety issues in the letters pages of the Webster-Kirkwood Times. Although at times contentious, the discussions are focused on a common goal of reducing fatalities and injuries.

“From my study of these deaths, there are a number of common threads,” said Michael Carmody of Safer Streets for Kirkwood and St. Louis County. “These accidents happened at night and the lighting was poor. There were no visible crosswalks. Apparently, there were no witnesses.”

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Posted on January 19, 2025 in Home

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Victim of River Treachery: Steamboat Wreck, The Arabia, May Be Headed To St. Charles

By Don Corrigan

Mark Twain, an experienced steamboat captain, said rivers are not so glamorous as people often think. In fact, Twain insisted that rivers were treacherous – and not at all to be trusted.

While plying the Mississippi River, Twain saw many boats bottom out, get caught in snags, run aground in swift currents when attempting to round bends. More than 250 steamboats are estimated to have sunk on the Mississippi River during the 19th century.

Like the Mississippi, the Missouri River has had no loyalty to anything other than the whims of nature. It has changed course overnight and left ports high and dry. It has flooded farmland and destroyed an entire harvest.

More than 300 steamboats sank in the Missouri River in the 19th century, between Omaha, Nebraska and St. Louis, Missouri. The Missouri was known as a steamboat graveyard, and most of the boats sank after striking snags.

A steamboat wreck on the Missouri River that has become famous among Midwesterners is the sinking of the Arabia. Two riverboat authors from St. Louis found this out when they penned an account of river wrecks.

Vicki Berger Erwin and James Erwin, discovered the notoriety of the Arabia when researching and writing their 2020 book, “Steamboat Disasters of the Lower Missouri River.”

“The first question anyone asks when they hear we have written a book about steamboat disasters is: ‘Have you heard of the Arabia?’ We have,” said James Erwin.

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Posted on January 12, 2025 in Home, Opinion

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Powder Valley Nature Center: An Evening with Raptors Jan. 24

Photo: Courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation

Bird buffs, falcon fanciers, and anyone enraptured by raptors is invited to meet the objects of their admiration during this year’s An Evening with Raptors event.

The annual An Evening with Raptors hosted by the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center will be held again this year on Friday, Jan. 24 from 7 – 9 p.m.  The event is free, open to all ages, and offers both in-person and virtual participation options.

Falconry is the art of training raptors—birds of prey like hawks and falcons—to capture wild game, so that bird and trainer essentially become hunting partners.  It’s an ancient sport that goes back thousands of years, and you can learn about it at An Evening with Raptors event.

“Several area falconers will gather to offer the rare chance to observe and learn about these fascinating feathered hunters,” said MDC Assistant Nature Center Manager, Robyn Parker.  “They will also explain how those interested can get started in this age-old sport themselves,” she added.

Powder Valley will open at 6 p.m. for this event.  Visitors can tour the exhibits and explore educational stations, including a biofacts table to learn about Missouri’s birds of prey. They can create a take-home bird of prey craft and also meet members of the Powder Valley naturalist team.

The main presentation will take place at 7 p.m. in the nature center’s auditorium.  Afterward, visitors can meet the falconers and see their live hunting partner birds up-close in the classrooms.  The falconers will display their falconry tools, hoods, and other equipment, and visitors will also have the chance to ask them questions.

Alternatively, participants may opt to attend just the main auditorium presentation virtually.

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Posted on January 5, 2025 in Home, Local Events

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Atomic City Update: STL Region Can’t Wake Up From Its Radioactive Nightmare

Groups like Just Moms have advocated for radiation warning signs along contaminated creeks and streams – signs similar to these warning residents to stay out of the West Lake Landfill area.

By Don Corrigan

St. Louis has been dubbed “Atomic City” by environmental organizations across the country. And, in 2024, the St. Louis region once again got the short end of a poisonous radioactive stick due to its U.S. atomic legacy.

The nation’s atomic bomb builders have used portions of St. Louis City and County, as well as St. Charles County, as guinea pigs and as sacrificial lambs, for nuclear weapons programs dating back to World War II.

As Environmental Echo has previously reported, there has been plenty of political posturing, plenty of statements from government agencies, and plenty of nothing getting done. It’s been going on for decades with the radioactive contamination left here from America’s atomic bomb program.

In 2024, there has been plenty of talk about more testing for radioactive contamination at new land sites, more talk about testing groundwater for contamination, more talk about testing backyards and physical structures.

In 2024, there also has been plenty of talk about posting more “Danger Signs” at creeks and streams. Kids have been playing and hiking along contaminated waterways – without even the “Band Aid” of warning signs – for several generations.

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Posted on January 5, 2025 in Environment, Home, Opinion

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Happy Birthday To Us! Environmental Echo Eyes Its Future On 10-Year Anniversary

How many blogs last 10 years? Or even one year?

Statistics show the average life of a blog is less than two years. There are literally hundreds of millions of abandoned blogs on the worldwide web. In 2023, there were 600 million active blogs worldwide.

If each of those blogs had as many hits as EE has had over its 10 years, we would be talking 36,000,000,000,000 hits. Environmental Echo is happy to report it will celebrate 10 years this October! Hurray for us! The blog started as a class project in an environmental communications class at Webster University in October 2014.

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Posted on December 29, 2024 in Home, Opinion, Outdoor/Nature

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Chirping At Mighty Cricket! Sustainable Startup Scores $650,000 In Grant Support

by Don Corrigan

Munching on crickets may not be what you have in mind with a season of Christmas cookies, salty snacks, and New Year’s Eve toasts.  However, delectable crickets are very much on the mind of Sarah Schlafly.

Schlafly is the founder of Mighty Cricket, which this season is celebrating the gift of a grant to further efforts to convert food waste into nutritious cricket feed. The $650,000 nod of support comes from a Small Business Innovation Research grant through the Department of Agriculture.

This is not the first grant that the young cricket lady has scored. Three years ago, her sustainable protein startup, Mighty Cricket, received a $50,000 equity-free grant from Arch Grants. The company competed with hundreds of applicants and was one of 35 chosen.

“We are thrilled to receive this level of acceptance here in the Midwest,” said CEO Schlafly at the of the Arch grant . “Historically, the heartland has lagged behind the east and west coasts in terms of food trends.

“Here is our chance to lead the nation and the world with food options that are better for ourselves and the planet,” said Schlafly, a resident f the St. louis suburb of Des Peres.

Mighty Cricket’s mission is to build a sustainable protein supply. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, the world is projected to run out of natural resources to feed everyone on the planet by 2050.

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Posted on December 8, 2024 in Environment, Home, Opinion

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MDC Needs Birders to Help with Audubon Christmas Bird Count

MDC needs experienced birders to help with the National Audubon Society’s 125th Christmas Bird Count between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5. Go out over a 24-hour period on one calendar day to count birds, such as these eastern bluebirds.

Become citizen scientists by helping with the National Audubon Society’s 125th Christmas Bird Count between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) encourages experienced Missouri birders to become citizen scientists by helping with the National Audubon Society’s 125th Christmas Bird Count (CBC) between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5, 2025.

The CBC is an annual bird census where thousands of volunteers across the U.S., Canada, and other countries go out over a 24-hour period on one calendar day to count birds between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5. The data on winter bird populations helps track the long-term status of species and large-scale trends. Each CBC has a coordinator who assigns portions of a 15-mile diameter count circle to participants to count all birds seen and heard over a 24-hour period.

Missouri hosts about 20 CBCs. Learn more at audubon.org/conservation/join-christmas-bird-count and contact the CBC organizers listed for details on the specific count circles.

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Posted on December 2, 2024 in Home, Local Events, Outdoor/Nature

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November Flash Floods – Storms Dump Rains: Closing Parks, Altering Ecosystems

by Don Corrigan

After an extended period of drought, historic downpours on Nov. 3 severely damaged state and local parks, closed highways and put cars underwater, and actually scoured away ecosystems crucial to fish species.

Horses enjoyed playing in high water near I-44 and Highway 141, but drivers in the area were not amused by traffic problems. Photo by Ursula Ruhl.

In the St. Louis area, drivers in the Valley Park-Fenton area were frustrated when roads closed at I-44 and Highway 141 due to the flooding Meramec River. Horses had to be moved to higher ground at riding stables near the southwest quadrant of the two highways.

Marshall Road in Valley Park went underwater as did trails along the Meramec in Eureka, Valley Park and Fenton. Minnie HaHa Park in Sunset Hills suffered severe damage to its shoreline with trails and facilities washed out.

The National Weather Service reported rain amounts in the 6 to 8-inch range in the southeast St. Louis County area on Nov. 3. However, rain amounts in the Current River watershed area exceeded one foot.

Bike and hiking trail was washed into the Meramec River at Minnie HaHa Park in Sunset Hills.

Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources reported the closure for days after the deluge of such parks as Onondoga Cave State Park near Leasburg, Meramec State Park near Sullivan and Route 66 State Park near Eureka.

Unprecedented river levels shut the Current River down to recreational activities for several days and severe damage occurred on river sites near Akers and Pulltite and Round Springs. Also shuttered were Montauk State Park near Salem and Current River State Park north of Eminence.

 

Damage was incurred at the trout hatchery at Montauk State Park. Fish and wildlife authorities also expressed concern over habitat destruction for Ozark hellbenders in the streams of the Ozark Scenic National Riverways.

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Posted on November 29, 2024 in Environment, Home

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Tree City USA: Tradition Local Arbor Advocates Plant To Please With Street Trees

Students from Kirkwood High School’s Environmental Club pitched in for the 50 Trees
planting project.

by Don Corrigan

Soggy weather on Saturday, Nov. 9, didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of a self-styled tree-planting brigade. Tree partisans met at Kirkwood Park’s Campbell shelter at 9:30 a.m. and fanned out to plant 65 trees.

Delivery trucks arrived near the shelter early in the morning loaded with trees, mulch, and implements. The green cargo, dropped off at the maintenance yard, was then transferred to more than eight tree planting sites.

Seasoned tree planters were joined in their arbor efforts by a markedly younger work crew. The Kirkwood High School Environmental Awareness Club showed up in force. More than a dozen members arrived early for tree planting duty.

“It was great to have them helping us,” said Kirkwood’s Nancy Luetzow. “Any time I mingle with our high school students, my spirits are lifted by their energy, intellect, and enthusiasm. It’s always heartening.

“Our tree group is never deterred by a cool, cloudy, or clammy start to the day,” added Luetzow. “If anything, the recent 10 inches of rain and the additional showers Saturday, made our job easier and gave the new trees a good first drink.”

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Posted on November 26, 2024 in Environment, Home

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Sound-Off On Annoying Ads! “ODDVERTISING” Set For Blumenhof Winery Nov. 23

 

 

 

 

 

On the heels of its opening in Chicago, Don Corrigan will bring his humorous presentation, “STORY OF ODDVERTISING,” to Blumenhof Winery in Dutzow at 5:30 p.m., Nov. 23. The audience at the free show is invited to the Winery Tasting Room to “Sip, Snicker and Sound-Off!”

The Sound-Off Session will have attendees nominate the most annoying TV ads that they put up with this year. For discussion: Why are there so many goofy ads on TV? Why is the time given to ads expanding? Who are the creative geniuses behind Oddvertising?

Don has studied and taught media at universities for 40 years. He espouses media theories of Wally Armbruster, creator of top Budweiser and toilet bowl ads; Marshall McLuhan, the guru of hot & cool media; and Mike Johnston, the ad creative who coined this term: “ODDVERTISING.”

Don also will discuss his media books, which examine, in part, how squirrels, roadkill, and flatulence are used in ODDVERTISING. Sound-off night participants can enter a drawing to win the infamous Christmas Flatulence Basket. The basket winner will be announced at Blumenhof’s Christkindl Market on Nov. 30.

Not all “ODDVERTISING” is bad. As a fan of Wine Country and author of The Washington Missourian’s “Off The Vine” column, Corrigan is interested in audience ideas on how to promote wine country in unique ways. No charge for this event, but purchase of wine and books is encouraged!

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Posted on November 17, 2024 in Home