TL;DR
This week in St. Louis: Election Day arrives Tuesday, Nov. 3, with five statewide measures on the Missouri ballot; the city paused the police chief’s pay increase while the state investigates how it was approved, and the mayor unveiled a four-part plan to refocus the police board; St. Louis County posted about 200,000 incorrect property tax bills online and now faces a state audit of its tax-appeals process; and a St. Louis jury sided with Monsanto in the first Roundup trial since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling narrowed such claims. Coming up: the St. Louis International Film Festival (Nov. 5–15), the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (Nov. 6–8), Día de los Muertos at the Missouri History Museum (Nov. 7–8), and the Flyover Comedy Festival (Nov. 11–15).
St. Louis News This Week
1. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3 — five statewide measures on the ballot
Missourians vote Tuesday, Nov. 3, on five statewide propositions: four proposed constitutional amendments (Amendments 3, 6, 7 and 8) and Proposition A, a referendum on the congressional district map passed by the Legislature in 2025. The Post-Dispatch’s voters’ guide, produced with the League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis, profiles candidates in more than 150 races and summarizes dozens of ballot measures in St. Louis city and St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson and Franklin counties. No-excuse in-person absentee voting ran through Nov. 2. In the campaign’s final days, a new political action committee tied to U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley and former Attorney General Andrew Bailey entered the Amendment 3 fight, with Hawley sharing a 30-second ad paid for by Vote Yes on Amendment 3; Amendment 3 would repeal the voter-approved 2024 reproductive-rights amendment and replace it with broad limits, allowing abortion in cases of rape and incest through 12 weeks of pregnancy and in medical emergencies and cases of fetal anomalies.
Sources: St. Louis Post-Dispatch voters’ guide · St. Louis Post-Dispatch: what the propositions would do · St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Amendment 3 ad battle
2. City pauses the police chief’s pay increase pending the state investigation
The City of St. Louis announced Oct. 26 that it is pausing Police Chief Robert Tracy’s salary increase until the Missouri Attorney General’s investigation is complete and the police board’s actions are determined to have been proper. The city said its Law Department formally notified the Board of Police Commissioners of legal deficiencies in the closed-door proceedings on Oct. 15 and Oct. 17 that approved extending Tracy’s contract through 2030 and raising his annual base salary to $295,000, an increase of roughly $110,000. The city also said it discovered the higher rate had been applied retroactively starting Oct. 11, before the board’s Oct. 17 vote, and that it “will not process one more dollar of this improperly-effected increase until the state’s investigation is complete.” Gov. Mike Kehoe had asked Attorney General Catherine Hanaway to investigate whether the board violated Missouri’s Sunshine Law.
Source: City of St. Louis, Mayor’s Office
3. Mayor Spencer unveils a four-part plan to refocus the police board
Mayor Cara Spencer unveiled a plan Oct. 28 calling on the state-controlled Board of Police Commissioners to shift its attention to four priorities: raising entry-level officer pay through an independent compensation study; exercising real operational oversight and coordinating with the city; accelerating violence prevention; and committing to transparency, fairness and fiscal integrity. The mayor’s office said the department operates with roughly 850 officers, down from 1,250 in 2020, and that civilian staff have gone 16 months without a contract. Spencer said she will bring the priorities to the board at its coming meetings; the plan itself does not adopt them — the board would have to act.
Source: City of St. Louis, Mayor’s Office
4. St. Louis County posts about 200,000 incorrect property tax bills online
Software problems in St. Louis County caused incorrect property tax bills to go online for about 200,000 taxpayers, including those who receive senior property tax freeze credits, according to the county executive’s office, the Post-Dispatch reported Oct. 29. Part of the problem is that the software is not recognizing the correct year used for calculating the senior property tax freeze credit, a county spokesperson said. The county said correcting the issue is a top priority but could not give a specific date for a fix, and the county had not yet mailed physical copies of the bills. The payment deadline is Dec. 31, and one county council member advised taxpayers on social media not to pay until corrected bills are issued.
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
5. State auditor to investigate St. Louis County’s property tax appeals process
Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick announced Oct. 26 that his office is investigating St. Louis County’s property tax appeals process, after whistleblowers raised concerns that the system may be unfair to homeowners and may potentially violate county ordinances. The probe targets the county’s Board of Equalization, the entity that responds to property tax appeals; the county created a second board in 2021 to speed up the process. The auditor’s office is requesting records by Nov. 6 showing how many appeals each board receives, what types of cases are assigned to each board, how those assignments are made, and the outcomes. St. Louis County assesses property every two years, and owners can challenge an assessed value they believe is inaccurate.
Source: St. Louis Public Radio
6. Aldermen committee advances plan to fund Code Blue with the marijuana tax
A St. Louis Board of Aldermen committee gave a “do pass” recommendation Oct. 28 to a bill from 7th Ward Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier that would use the city’s 3% tax on marijuana sales to fund cold-weather protections for the city’s homeless community. The program, called Code Blue, increases shelter, transportation and outreach during extreme cold; it was paid for last winter with more than $3 million in Rams settlement funds, and this year is paid for with $2 million from the city’s general budget, St. Louis Public Radio reported Oct. 30. The committee’s plan would shift that funding to the marijuana tax for emergency shelter, transport and outreach. The full board still must approve the measure.
Source: St. Louis Public Radio
7. ‘Witness’ statue installed at Rung for Women in Fox Park
“Witness,” an 18-foot bronze sculpture by artist Shahzia Sikander, was installed Oct. 27 at Rung for Women, a career development nonprofit in St. Louis’ Fox Park neighborhood, the Post-Dispatch reported. The sculpture, featuring a woman with hair braided in spirals like a ram’s horn, is hosted on permanent loan from the Gateway Foundation on a private lot near Victor Street and Ohio Avenue. Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway had criticized the installation, saying residents had described it as a “demonic affront to faith” and that there was minimal public notice or neighborhood input; Rung for Women has said the placement received approval through the Fox Park Neighborhood Association, whose review focused on historic-district standards rather than the artwork’s content.
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
8. St. Louis jury sides with Monsanto in first Roundup trial since Supreme Court ruling
A Missouri jury in St. Louis reached a unanimous defense verdict Oct. 29 for Monsanto in a case brought by three women who alleged that Roundup weedkiller caused their non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Bayer announced. It was the first Roundup trial since the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2026 ruling in Monsanto v. Durnell, which preempted state failure-to-warn claims seeking a cancer warning beyond the EPA-approved label; the jury found for Monsanto on the design-defect, fraud and negligence claims that remained. The three women are not participating in Bayer’s proposed $7.25 billion settlement of tens of thousands of other Roundup cases, which remains under review by a Missouri state court judge in St. Louis. The verdict resolves the claims tried in this case, not the wider litigation.
Sources: Bayer · Insurance Journal (Reuters)
9. Blues bounce back: shut out twice, then three straight wins
It was a whiplash week for the St. Louis Blues. Montreal blanked them 2-0 at Enterprise Center on Tuesday, Oct. 27, behind a career-high 46 saves from Jacob Fowler — the Blues’ second straight shutout loss. Two nights later they broke a scoring drought that had stretched to 139:38, beating Boston 4-1 on Oct. 29 as Robert Thomas and Philip Broberg each had a goal and two assists. The Boston win closed a five-game homestand at 3-2-0. On Saturday, Oct. 31, they opened a four-game road trip by rallying with three third-period goals, including tallies 18 seconds apart from Justin Barron and Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, to beat Detroit 5-4. The win moved the Blues to 7-6-1.
Sources: NHL.com: Canadiens 2, Blues 0 · NHL.com: Blues 4, Bruins 1 · NHL.com: Blues 5, Red Wings 4
10. 150 years after the ‘Great Divorce,’ St. Louis leaders weigh city-county reunification
St. Louis Public Radio’s Oct. 29 “St. Louis on the Air” episode took up city-county reunification, 150 years after the 1876 “Great Divorce” vote that separated St. Louis city from St. Louis County. The discussion revisited past efforts to change the relationship — including the Better Together proposal — and what its collapse reveals about power, trust and regional identity. No reunification measure is on Tuesday’s ballot; the episode is a look at a long-running debate, not a pending vote.
Source: St. Louis Public Radio, “St. Louis on the Air” (Oct. 29 episode listing)
Events Around Town (Nov. 3–15)
- Election Day, Tue., Nov. 3: Missourians vote on Amendments 3, 6, 7 and 8 and Proposition A, plus candidates and local measures. Check the Post-Dispatch voters’ guide before you go. Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch voters’ guide
- 35th St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF), Thu., Nov. 5–Sun., Nov. 15: Cinema St. Louis presents more than 200 films over 11 days at venues across the region, including the Hi-Pointe Theatre, with an opening-night screening of “Wild Horse Nine” on Nov. 5. Source: Cinema St. Louis / SLIFF
- St. Louis Symphony Orchestra: Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky, Fri., Nov. 6–Sun., Nov. 8, Powell Hall: Music Director Stéphane Denève conducts, with pianist Daniil Trifonov making his SLSO debut in Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1, closing with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6. Concerts Fri. and Sat. at 7:30 p.m., Sun. at 3 p.m. Source: St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
- Día de los Muertos Celebration, Sat., Nov. 7–Sun., Nov. 8, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Missouri History Museum: a free celebration in Forest Park with altars representing a variety of Latin American cultural traditions, live music and dance, bilingual storytime, food and drink vendors, face painting and crafts. Source: STL Parent / Missouri History Museum listing
- Flyover Comedy Festival, Wed., Nov. 11–Sun., Nov. 15, Delmar Loop and other venues: the 9th annual festival brings nearly 150 artists and 50+ shows of stand-up, improv and sketch, with headliners including David Cross, Roy Wood Jr., the Sklar Brothers and Dulcé Sloan. Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch: November entertainment
Looking for more? Browse our Top 10 St. Louis lists. Event details can change, so confirm with organizers before you go.
