This Fourth of July will be a return to form as Fair Saint Louis moves back to the riverfront after a three-year stint in Forest Park. And this summer, after much delay, the freshly revamped museum beneath the Arch is slated to reopen. The $176 million renovation and expansion of the Museum at the Gateway Arch (formerly the Museum of Westward Expansion) is part of a $380 million overhaul of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. By spring, pathways from Washington Avenue and Pine Street into the park will open, in addition to the new lid over I-44.
The museum’s exhibits will teach about colonial St. Louis, westward expansion, life on the river’s banks, how the Arch was built, and more. A 100-foot “Dream Wall” in the lobby will screen videos of the building of the Arch and include interactive galleries. And yes, there will be a buffalo—though not the stoic one that many St. Louisans remember from field trips.
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Clang! Clang! Dang!
Delays, unexpected cost overruns, and months of construction have worn thin some St. Louisans’ opinion of the Loop Trolley. A string of delays snagged the project, which was originally expected to be rolling by 2014. The budget ballooned from an initial estimate of $43 million to nearly $51 million. Some businesses that shuttered or moved away cited construction as one reason. Next year, St. Louis could finally find out whether it was all worth the wait: The old-timey trolley line is expected to be running by early 2018. Three vintage trolley cars will shuttle folks between the Delmar Loop’s western edge and the Missouri History Museum.
Hail to the Chief?
St. Louis will have a new police chief in 2018. In April, on her full first day in office, Mayor Lyda Krewson followed through on a campaign promise to oust Chief Sam Dotson. The city enlisted the help of the International Association of Chiefs of Police to conduct its first-ever national search for a chief. The Virginia-based organization met with civic leaders and the public to hear frustrations and suggestions. Forty-two people—including candidates from Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, and California—applied for the position. The city’s personnel director, Richard Frank, said more than half were quickly weeded out for not meeting minimum qualifications, including a bachelor’s degree and at least 10 years of experience at the rank of captain or higher. The pool was narrowed, and final interviews were scheduled for mid-December with Krewson and Jimmie Edwards, the new public safety director, who was to make the official selection.
Ballot Battles
Politics will continue to dominate the headlines next year. During the primary in August, lawyer and retired business executive Mark Mantovani will challenge incumbent Steve Stenger to become county executive.
In November, another incumbent, Democratic U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, will seek reelection, likely against leading GOP candidate and Missouri attorney general Josh Hawley. In a state in which Donald Trump won by 19 points, it could be a close contest.
And medical marijuana could be one other hotly contested ballot item. After an initiative fell just 23 signatures short of making the ballot in 2016, Missouri voters may finally decide whether to pass grass at the polls.
