The 314 Podcast: Nahuel Fefer on Fixing St. Louis Government

Nahuel Fefer on how St. Louis could save itself

The former executive director of the Community Development Administration discusses what it will take to make true change in St. Louis. Interested in a city-county merger? “Listen up,” says host Sarah Fenske. “Because his idea for the form the new government could take is one that makes the most sense to me.”

In this episode of The 314 Podcast, host Sarah Fenske talks with Nahuel Fefer, who worked at City Hall under four mayors, most recently as executive director of the Community Development Administration. The native of Argentina explains what’s broken in St. Louis city government—and his ideas for city-county unification. Then, Sarah chats with SLM staff writer Ryan Krull about the city treasurer’s failure to hold people accountable when they rack up tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid tickets. Watch on YouTube and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever podcasts are available.

”The federal government isn’t going to save us, at least not anytime soon. We have to find the resources here at the local level in order to build the kind of city that we want to call home. ”

This episode is sponsored by STAGES St. Louis. STAGES is celebrating 40 years of Broadway-quality musical theatre right here in St. Louis. Join STAGES for a milestone season featuring the hilarious 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, the return of the high-rolling charm, Guys and Dolls, and the powerful, heartwarming hit Come From Away. Get tickets.

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About The Hosts

Sarah Fenske

Sarah Fenske is St. Louis Magazine‘s executive editor. She manages news and business coverage and edits The Daily newsletter. She’s been a reporter, columnist, newspaper editor, and radio host, and she is currently host of the monthly Legal Roundtable on St. Louis Public Radio and a panelist on Nine PBS’ Donnybrook. She lives in the city, where she attempts to juggle herding her kids to sports practice and swapping political gossip over a good martini.

Ryan Krull

Ryan Krull is a staff writer at St. Louis Magazine, writing for the The Daily newsletter. A graduate of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, he taught there for many years before joining the staff of the Riverfront Times, where he was a reporter for the last years of the paper’s life. He lives near Tower Grove Park in the city with his wife and son.