St. Louis Public Radio has hired Kavahn Mansouri as the newsroom's Economic Development Reporter.
Mansouri joins STLPR from the Midwest Newsroom, where he served as an investigative reporter covering the Midwest region for three and a half years. During his time there, Mansouri worked on several notable, award-winning collaborations with STLPR, including an investigation of the Hazelwood School District’s aggressive audits of student housing, and the community backlash following the ICE detention of Missouri mother Carol Mayorga, and her subsequent release.
In his new role as economic development reporter, Mansouri will cover efforts by local governments, universities and business leaders to expand the region's economy and spur job growth.
“Kavahn brings a wealth of investigative know-how, a nose for great stories and drive to break new reporting ground,” said Brian Heffernan, Managing Editor of Audience and Product.
Newsroom leadership is excited to welcome his investigative skillset to an important and evolving reporting beat.
Digging deep into the St. Louis economy
Mansouri said he is eager to dig in and looks forward to using his analytical skills to deepen the economic reporting for the region in what he said could shape up to be “a dream beat.”
“St. Louis is really in this very important moment — there are so many things happening in our region,” Mansouri said. That leaves room for excellent storytelling on many fronts.
“I really see this as a beat that covers St. Louis’ outcomes. I want to look deeply at the sort of systematic things that happen in our city, our region, and look at how it impacts the people who live here, and who wins and who loses. Really tell the stories of the people who are struggling under decisions that are made by the people at the top,” Mansouri said.
He's particularly interested in how the region is investing in housing, especially in the aftermath of the May tornado.
“We talk about a lot of different things in economics, but housing is such a core part of life. When it comes to people who are living without housing, people who are struggling to keep their housing,” he said, those are important stories.
"Recent news events make it clear that having someone like Kavahn in this role is crucial," said Rob Edwards, Managing Editor of News. "Kavahn's investigative background will allow us to hold public officials accountable and better understand the reasons behind our region's economic issues."
“There are a lot of decisions being made about the future of St. Louis,” Mansouri said.
In what could be a watershed moment for the St. Louis region, Mansouri said he’s thrilled to be a part of the team.
Before his time at the Midwest Newsroom, Kavahn reported on government accountability at the Belleville News-Democrat and was a general assignment reporter at the Washington Missourian. A native of St. Louis, he is a 2016 graduate of Webster University.
You can contact Kavahn with story ideas and tips at kmansouri@stlpr.org or on Bluesky.
