E-edition PLUS unlimited articles & videos Personalized news alerts with our mobile app *Refers to the latest 2 years of stltoday.com stories Please subscribe to continue reading… A land-grading machine operator sits idle along a path of future pavement on Tuesday in a subdivision being built off Lake Saint Louis Boulevard as a package delivery truck passes Saratoga housing development in Lake Saint Louis CHARLES COUNTY — Four cities grappling with growth concerns in St Dardenne Prairie and Foristell picked new leaders for their cities after the current mayors opted to not run for reelection Voters in Cottleville backed Stephen Thompson a challenger with an aggressive anti-development agenda All four cities have battled developers over large housing proposals in recent years Thompson campaigned on a 20-point platform that includes calls for a six-month moratorium on new construction permits the creation of a parks and recreation committee and for the city to take a more active role in developing the Dardenne Creek Blueway project who served as alderman in Cottleville from 2021-23 received 56% of the vote; Mayor Bob Ronkoski got 44% Thompson did not respond to interview requests Tuesday night Ronkoski drew the ire of residents after supporting the “Village at Twin Creeks,” a controversial subdivision approved despite being partially in the flood plain has grown from 700 residents in 1990 to more than 6,000 people now featured two candidates: current Alderman Tom Mispagel and zoning Commissioner Brian McKinney Concerns over the city’s growth dominated the race here and was a common campaign theme for both candidates Mispagel and McKinney largely agreed on the issues But McKinney’s pledge that he would urge developers to focus on building more single-family homes over apartments resonated with voters He received 59% of the vote compared to Mispagel’s 40% “Tom and I have spoken tonight and we have both agreed that we are going to continue to serve this city together,” McKinney said McKinney said he and his wife knocked hundreds of doors in Lake Saint Louis voters at the polls said they appreciated it saying that they recognized us from coming to their home,” McKinney said McKinney said he has already been in contact with Law The pair plan to meet in the next few weeks to begin introducing McKinney to city hall staff “I want to learn as much as quickly as possible,” McKinney said McKinney said among his priorities is helping Lake Saint Louis celebrate its 50th anniversary celebration Alderman Keith Widaman was the winner of a three-person race to replace retiring mayor John Gotway defeating former Alderman Justin Ungerboeck and current Alderman Mark Johnson Ungerboeck received 39% of the vote for a second-place finish Widaman had the endorsement of former Dardenne Prairie Mayor Marilyn Field and from the Citizens for Smart Growth, a group that formed following the controversy surrounding the Tall Tree development, a 556-home subdivision in rural St. Charles County that would have been the largest housing development in unincorporated St The project was initially blocked, before being ultimately scaled back and then approved as separate projects in O’Fallon and St Widaman said garnering those endorsements came at a crucial time in his campaign he had been the target of a mailer paid for by a political action committee The PAC spent more than $2,000 opposing his candidacy were an immediate counter to the PAC mailer They “showed we had support from people here on the ground,” he said Campaign finance reports show that the PAC opposing Widaman had recent donations from developers including Lombardo Homes and St “The people spoke tonight,” Widaman said Tuesday “They saw this PAC and these special interest groups trying to interfere with a Dardenne Prairie election and they rejected it.” the tiny city on the far-western edge of St Bradley Miller was elected to replace retiring Mayor Mark Meyerhoff Miller, who ran unopposed, is now tasked with leading a city that is experiencing rapid growth thanks to the jobs created by the soon-to-open American Food Group’s meat packing plant and the Coastal Cold Storage facility the population is expected to grow to 2,700 more than 10,000 people could live in this area bordering St a senior and Orchard Farm High FFA president Charles County still living on family farms Email notifications are only sent once a day The Wentzville Board of Aldermen will hold a public hearing on Ameren's proposal Wednesday as part of its regular meeting Ameren has not said how much this new training facility will cost Customers say the work was never completed — but their checks were all deposited into the business' checking account The library expects to cut two databases from the its research and reference collection switch to a smaller newspaper database and spend less… Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. Learn More Charles County are receiving some major upgrades this year where some will be ready in time for the public to enjoy starting this spring The expansion of Kinetic Park has been more than a year in the making Charles County online release.   Construction includes a massive new playground “The playground is phenomenal,” County Parks Director Ryan Graham said “I’ll be surprised if it’s not the best playground in the St Future attractions at the park include a splash pad outdoor pickleball courts and picnic shelters Charles City will be called Spring Bend Park.  It will include 126 acres of land lush with fields of wind-blown prairie grass overlooking the Missouri River The new park was donated by a local family with the condition that it remains a nature and conservation park featuring natural trails and minimal development Work is set to start in the spring with the first phase to be completed later this year New downhill bike trails have been planned for Missouri Bluffs Park They will offer challenge and excitement for riders “The biking community is really excited about that opening,” said Andy Fleck The goal is to provide a natural corridor between public lands and parks along Dardenne Creek Plans include adding four access points along Dardenne Creek for launching a kayak or canoe.  The project will provide access ramps and grade control structures to allow for public use of the Blueway.  cleaning and deepening the creek channel to allow for a more enjoyable experience when using the Blueway Trail system.  New Melle Lakes also will receive added lake accessibility for kayakers The older wooden playground inside the Indian Camp Creek entrance will be replaced with a modern play area Your request has been blocked by our security system due to potential security concerns Please contact us for assistance This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application  Beloved daughter of the late Leeman and Irene (Kwiaktowski) Kaiser  She received her degree of Bachelor of Science in Nursing She was employed by Barnes Jewish Hospital as nurse manager from1980-1992 1992-1993 at the National Institute of Health  She was selected to “Who’s Who” in American nursing in 1990-1991  Nursing Manager at Georgetown University 1994-1995 Her interests included major league baseball with a love for the St Visiting all baseball cities and stadiums in the United State and Canada  She created a major collection of sporting memorabilia while attending various major sporting events Joseph (Kimberly) Kaiser; cherished by great nieces and nephew; special cousin to Gregory (Sandy) Kaiser; special friend of many in her nursing career The family would like to give a special thank you to Three Oaks Hospice’s care giver Boyer and Son Funeral Home in Desloge (1116 N  A private inurnment will be held at Immaculate Conception Catholic Cemetery in Park Hills please consider donating to the Alzheimer’s Association or charity of your choice Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors College Baseball Coach Matthew Griese has announced his candidacy for State Representative of House District 108 in St The 24 year old Republican will pitch his conservative credentials to voters in and around Lake St “I am running to restore freedom and dignity to the people of Missouri,” said Griese “Our citizens are overburdened with every kind of tax under the sun Liberal Democrats and moderate Republicans are threatening to raise taxes even higher I want to put a stop to big government bullies and restore common sense to Jefferson City.” Matthew is the Head Coach for the Midland Bandits Baseball Team a position he has held for six years While also serving as an assistant coach at the University of Missouri – St he has served as Assistant Coach for Lindenwood University he has worked as the Head JV Baseball Coach at Duchesne High School and as the Midland Bandits Youth Coordinator Matthew will soon graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from UMSL Matthew’s legislative priorities focus on reducing the size of government and slashing taxes: “I fully support eliminating the personal property tax and the recently-passed gas tax,” said Matthew We need politicians that know how to call balls and strikes – we need to empower parents to help improve education outcomes for our kids and keep politics out of our classrooms Matthew has retained Axiom Strategies along with Survey St Louis to serve as consultants on his campaign Cherished daughter of Marla Gilliam and the late Carl Ezzell; her birth mother Monica Gilliam; and preceded in death by her birth father Jack Hufendick; dear sister of Christina Lynchard Nathaniel Gilliam and Alicia Gilliam; loving granddaughter of the late David (Ruth Ann) Gilliam Sr. the late Ann Fowler and Charles Hufendick; great-granddaughter of Marjorie Mayfield; niece of David Gilliam Ashley (Nathan) Litton and Sam Zambrzuski; great-niece of Marva (Terry) Sheehan; treasured aunt of Dakota Meade Veronica was strong in her faith and loved her church family at Dardenne Presbyterian Church She had a beautiful soul and was a genuine Veronica was very creative and artistic and gifted many of her drawings to others known as Auntie V; she was a wonderful daughter sister and was loved and cherished by her family Veronica was dearly loved and will be greatly missed by all who knew her In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Veronica's name to Dardenne Presbyterian Church – Dardenne Prairie, MO or Five Acres Animal Shelter.  Immaculate Conception Catholic Church of Dardenne flies through the air on his roller blades at Kinetic Park in St The park is currently undergoing an expansion DARDENNE PRAIRIE — Construction is underway on a play area that St Charles County officials are heralding as one of the “largest inclusive playgrounds in the St which features equipment that can be used by children of various abilities is part of a $12 million building frenzy at Kinetic Park in Dardenne Prairie that also includes an indoor pickleball facility it makes my heart sing to know that pretty much all children will be able to interact and play alongside one another,” said St to complement the current pump track and skate park at Kinetic Park in St The project is the latest in a growing, nationwide trend of building playgrounds that can be useful for everyone, including those with autism, intellectual disabilities, hearing impairments, cerebral palsy, and other mental or physical disabilities, according to a 2022 report from the National Parks and Recreation Association The playground will cost between $1.5 million and $2 million and it will incorporate traditional playground elements such as slides and swings but it will also have ground-level play areas such as drums the modern iteration of the merry-go-round Construction is expected to be complete sometime in 2024 is the second of three planned construction phases is slated to include a splash pad and a big wheel race track already has a 33,000-square-foot asphalt skate course — the largest of its kind in Missouri — in addition to a 30,000-square-foot cycling pump track “We are hoping that when this work is completed that Kinetic Park will appeal to a broader range of citizens in the county,” Graham said Another landmark feature of Kinetic Park’s overhaul is the construction of an e-sports arena will allow game users to host friendly competitions and eventually host tournaments at the park “We are looking at this as a truly growing field in parks and recreation,” Graham said The skate area is what recently brought Rebmann and Jackson Swetitch Rebmann works as a nanny for Jackson’s parents Rebmann said she and Jackson visit more than a half-dozen municipal and county-owned parks throughout the summer and Kinetic Park ranks as one of their favorites “What I like about this park is that there are all sorts of different things to do,” said Swetitch who zipped away on the concrete ramps on his scooter Charles County include Cottleville’s McAuley Park; St Charles’ Discovery Playground at Jaycees Park; O’Fallon’s Brendan Playground; St Peters’ Kennedy’s Playground at Union Hall; and Jake’s Field of Dream in Wentzville’s Heartland Park “Our focus is always going to be on providing the citizens of St Charles with the best parks that we can,” Graham said “We think all of these new amenities are going to definitely bring people from all across the region to Kinetic Park.” Charles County beat reporter Ethan Colbert joins the podcast to discuss his coverage of a growing region of the St Loving wife of the late Hiram Ables; beloved daughter of the late Betty West and the late J.D Dodd; devoted mother of Richard (Libby Raines) Ables and Alex Ables; dear sister of Mark West; life-long friend and sister of Jackie Tate Sandy was a very active member of Dardenne Presbyterian Church where she was a part of the Women's Prayer Circle She loved Disney and was a goof ball and a kid at heart planting and tending to her flowers and tomato plants She had a big heart for all animals and always had a special place there for cats Sandy loved taking trips to her favorite destination She was a very caring person and welcoming to all Sandy was dearly loved and will be greatly missed by all who knew her Memorials may be made in Sandy’s name to Dardenne Presbyterian Church It’s safe to say that almost no one in the Greater Toronto Area has ever heard of Dardenne Prairie, Missouri. The sleepy St. Louis suburb of 12,000 residents rarely makes international news. But one man is helping to put Dardenne Prairie on the map — Joseph Woll who is now the Toronto Maple Leafs’ best hope of escaping another embarrassing The towering 25-year-old netminder has firmly replaced Ilya Samsonov as the Maple Leafs’ starter, erasing any lingering doubts with his terrific 27-save performance in a 2-1 overtime victory on Tuesday Woll will step under the brightest spotlights in the NHL trying to stave off elimination on home ice in Toronto But his path to glory in The 6 started over 20 years ago just west of the Gateway City Woll started playing at a young age in the small suburb of Dardenne Prarie Woll’s path to the NHL would take him from the unsung suburb to the St. Louis AAA Blues, where, at 15 years old, he would play 18 games with a 1.71 goals-against average (GAA) and a .933 save percentage (SV%). He would move on to the U.S. National Team Development Program, where, despite some struggles, he would catch the eye of scouts at Boston College as he would tend goal at the U17 World Hockey Championships and then the U18 World Junior Championship the following year with a 1.34 GAA and .947% SV% in three games he would lead the tournament in both categories and help the Americans bring home bronze combined with a much better season at th USNTDP would convince the Maple Leafs to draft him early in the third round At Boston College, Woll played a lot in three seasons, finishing his college career with 101 games played, with a .916 SV% and 2.51 GAA. He seemed like he might become the solution for the Maple Leafs’ goaltender carousel and would go on to make his NHL debut on Nov Collegiate hockey in Boston is a high-pressure environment and a good breeding ground for future NHL players. Nowhere is this more evident than in the annual Beanpot tournament, a proving ground to assign bragging rights to that season’s top team. Woll had his opportunities to shine there, even facing future NHL opponent Cayden Primeau in 2019 Woll would never taste the pressure of NCAA’s ultimate proving ground — the Frozen Four Tournament but with two more between the Maple Leafs and the second round the rest of the story is yet to be written Woll will have to play a major role if Toronto is to pull off the miracle comeback now He’ll be a legend forever in the GTA if he can help them do it But even though the hopes of Ontario rest on his shoulders The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey commentary and features from hundreds writers worldwide our articles are read millions of times every month Uncategorized Get news and recommendations from the local arts scene sent to your inbox weekly Start your mornings with a fresh take on the day’s top local news from Sarah Fenske and Ryan Krull Our award-winning content brings readers revealing profiles Start your mornings with a fresh take on the day’s top local news Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly The site plan for a 266-home subdivision planned in Dardenne Prairie by McKelvey Homes in partnership with Lombardo homes and Payne Family Homes DARDENNE PRAIRIE • One of the most coveted pieces of land in St Charles County may finally be making the transition from soybeans to subdivision under a plan to build a 266-home housing development near Feise and Bryan roads McKelvey Homes has 106 acres of the roughly 175 acres of farmland owned by the Bopp family under contract and plans to develop the new $120 million “Inverness” subdivision with Lombardo Homes and Payne Family Homes “It’s probably the most sought-after neighborhood farm in St Charles (County),” said McKelvey Homes President Jim Brennan We were very fortunate to be the successful acquirer of the property.” the Bopp family farmland has slowly been surrounded by cul-de-sacs and shopping centers It’s now a conspicuous dark green spot amidst a sea of subdivisions in what’s referred to as the “golden triangle” of St Charles County — the area bounded by Interstates 70 and 64 and the Missouri River The remaining undeveloped farmland in the heart of St. Charles County is disappearing. Just this year, Lombardo Homes won approval to develop a 253-home subdivision on the former Sandfort farm just north of Interstate 70 in the city of St “The land is scarce in this golden triangle here,” Brennan said stores and parking lots never materialized The Dardenne Prairie Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to review the subdivision plan at its meeting Wednesday evening McKelvey and its partners held an open house to discuss the plan with nearby residents last month and Dardenne Prairie Mayor David Zucker said it seemed well-received “I didn’t sense any particular opposition,” he said Some people mentioned the potential for traffic and stormwater issues people looked at it and said that looks pretty good.” Approval for the subdivision could come in the next month or so and Brennan said he hopes to begin construction in the spring and have the first homes ready for sale in about a year Houses should range in size from 1,600 to 4,000 square feet and fetch prices of between $300,000 and $800,000 Calling it an “innovative plan,” Brennan touted variable setbacks throughout the development to reduce a “cookie-cutter” appearance Trails will run between houses and cul-de-sacs the remaining 68 acres of the Bopp farm closer to the intersection of Bryan and Feise roads is without a plan or buyer despite being teed up for development A small-format Walmart grocery store planned for the corner never materialized an attorney at Husch Blackwell who represents the Bopp family said a commercial plan for the remaining acreage submitted to the city in June is on hold while the McKelvey housing plan is finalized But even that commercial rezoning plan did not have any tenants or builders in mind and was designed to prepare the area for eventual development “Once McKelvey is approved by the city of Dardenne Prairie we would resubmit our plan for the rest of the property,” Feder said Final plans for the 68 acres could include more residential development but Feder said he expects at least some of the land closest to the intersection to become commercial “That’s probably what we’ll be looking at over the next few months,” he said “I think the city of Dardenne Prairie would like to see some of that devoted to residential have to work out a deal on road improvements Feise Road is controlled by Dardenne Prairie while Bryan Road is controlled by O’Fallon and Bryan Road needs curb cuts and other infrastructure to make commercial development there workable “That issue has still not been satisfactorily resolved,” he said “There’s no doubt there is some history here,” Feder said say they’d like to see at least some commercial development on part of the remaining land to serve nearby residents Brennan hopes to perhaps connect it to the subdivision with trails “Who knows whether 68 acres of commercial development will come to pass,” Zucker said But he said it’s “obvious” at least the 16 acres at the corner of the two big roads will be The site is one of the largest remaining chunks of green space in St Charles County’s heavily built-up eastern end Charles County's biggest city expects to grow by nearly 40,000 people in the next 20 years Aldermen had been expected to approve the store Wednesday night Louis Zoo lost nearly $1 million amid the Trump administration's funding cuts The Christian Brothers of the Midwest plan to sell the property after decades of welcoming Catholic parish and school groups Completion of the Old Courthouse renovations caps over a decade of work to revamp and reimagine the Gateway Arch National Park and Kiener Plaz… The shelter is closing to prevent a potential outbreak of parvovirus The shelter remains closed as it works to contain the spread and the shelter's veterinary team reports no new cases of parvo and is closely m… Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email Dardenne Presbyterian Church is seen Monday DARDENNE PRAIRIE — A Presbyterian church is suing its own denomination over who owns the St Charles County property the church has occupied for more than 150 years The 12-acre swath of land includes the current Dardenne Presbyterian Church building historic church the congregation built in 1868 which traces its origins back to a group of settlers in 1819 claims that land belongs to the church — not the denomination the Dardenne Church has historically been a church wary of denominational overreach,” the suit claims “And nowhere was the church’s concern more evident than in the church’s real property transactions which reflect a 200-year obsession with protecting the church’s property — not for denominations The suit is the latest related to the property policies of the Presbyterian Church (USA) the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country The denomination has long held that even if local congregations own their land in property records if the church breaks away from the denomination it doesn’t get to take the property with it Locally, the St. Louis-area Presbyterian authority sued the Bonhomme Presbyterian Church in Chesterfield in 2014 for rights to the church’s property when it broke away from the denomination Bonhomme eventually agreed to pay the denomination $1.1 million for the property 3 against both the national denomination and its local authority claims that the congregation has taken “a series of unprecedented actions to ensure that no denomination and no Presbytery could ever interfere with the church’s property in any possible way.” A letter sent to the congregation dated Oct 4 says the property is at risk and it would be “reckless and irresponsible to move forward without the property issue being settled.” It’s unclear if the church plans to branch off from the denomination though the lawsuit says there is “some tension in the relationship and uncertainty.” 7400 South Outer Road 364 in Dardenne Prairie is dominated by the main church built in 1985 The nearby graveyard was open to “strangers” who died on the trek to the western U.S. leader of the local Presbyterian authority said in a written statement that the Presbytery did not expect the lawsuit from Dardenne Presbyterian’s session “All there really is to say at this time is that this suit came as a surprise to us as we were not aware the session of Dardenne was having these kinds of deliberations,” the statement reads “Because communication is coming to us through legal means we are in the process of seeking legal advice Multiple leaders for the Dardenne Presbyterian Church declined to comment on the suit because of the ongoing litigation The church was a member of the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS) for nearly 120 years until the organization’s 1983 merger with the Presbyterian Church (USA) The two denominations traditionally had different property rights policies Dardenne Presbyterian’s suit is seeking a judgment declaring that it has sole control of the property but also asks a judge to issue a temporary restraining order preventing the denomination from interfering with the property while the suit moves forward and lock church doors during property disputes The suit claims those actions would disrupt worship along with the church’s charitable work including meal deliveries and support groups “A Presbytery takeover of the Dardenne Church’s property would thus harm not only church members A hearing on the restraining order is delayed while the parties work to reach a possible settlement Dardenne Presbyterian Church members will meet Oct 22 to vote on measures related to the property Dardenne Presbyterian is being represented by attorneys with McCarthy A selection of photos from 2022 by Laurie Skrivan Louis from nearly every angle as a Post-Dispatch staff photographer since 1998 Kennedy Journalism award domestic photography and was a member of the 2015 Breaking News Photography Prize awarded to the St A group of Black heavy equipment operators argue they are paid less than their white counterparts and 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