
Rachel Lippmann
Justice ReporterRachel Lippmann covers courts, public safety and city politics for St. Louis Public Radio. (She jokingly refers to them as the “nothing ever happens beats.”) She joined the NPR Member station in her hometown in 2008, after spending two years in Lansing covering the Michigan Capitol and various other state political shenanigans for NPR Member stations there. Though she’s a native St. Louisan, part of her heart definitely remains in the Mitten. (And no, she’s not going to tell you where she went to high school.)
Rachel has an undergraduate degree from the Medill School of Journalism, and a master’s in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois at Springfield. When she’s not busy pursuing the latest scoop, you can find her mentoring her Big Brothers Big Sisters match, hitting the running and biking paths in south St. Louis, catching the latest sporting event on TV, playing with every dog she possibly can, or spending time with the great friends she’s met in more than nine years in this city.
Rachel’s on Twitter @rlippmann. Even with 240 characters, spellings are still phonetic.
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Dar AlJalal currently buries its members at the nondenominational Laurel Hill cemetery. But it now has more than 1,700 members, up from 500 in 2011, and is running out of space for new plots.
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Green won a special election in November 2022 to fill out the remainder of Lewis Reed’s term after he was charged in a federal corruption case and resigned. She was then elected to a full four-year term in April.
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Mayor Tishaura Jones first appointed members of the Detention Facilities Oversight Board in 2022, but legal battles and a failure to complete required training meant the board could not access the downtown jail until now.
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UnLocked Labs was one of three winners of the Justice Innovation Program, funded by the social justice nonprofit Dream.org. The $250,000 grant equals a quarter of its current annual budget.
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The bill is the first of a series of new restrictions that would rely on the state legislature giving St. Louis and other cities the right to pass their own gun control measures.
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The St. Louis Board of Aldermen's 6th Ward alderwoman is the first Latina to serve in the legislative body.
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The new regulations take effect no later than next year. They require permits to operate properties and limit the number of short-term rentals in a building, among other new rules.
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Aldermen made major changes to the pension systems for St. Louis firefighters in 2012 to cut costs. They included setting an age requirement of 55 to receive full retirement benefits, regardless of years of service. A proposal would adjust that.
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The restrictions only apply in unincorporated areas of St. Louis County. They had the backing of the police chief and the union representing police officers.
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The regulations include requiring short-term rental operators to get a permit before leasing out their properties on Airbnb and other platforms.
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Lawmakers in Jefferson City refused to consider any gun restrictions during the 2023 legislative session, despite pleas from students affected by the south St. Louis school shooting. Members of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen have tried to fill in the gaps with their limited power.
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Mayor Tishaura Jones appointed Charles Coyle to the role on an interim basis in January.