As the lead content creator for the City of St. Louis government's social media, I am responsible for posting about projects, initiatives, and policy rollouts to keep residents informed and aware of the work that City staff and partners do everyday.
Timely updates give residents confidence in the effectiveness of city services and - very importantly - a medium to provide feedback. While municipal social media and communications can share spectacular stories for great effect, our goal is to have residents engage with their community and their role within it.
Pictures featured on this page were posted on the City of St. Louis' official social media channels.
In May 2020, the City of St. Louis received a long overdue shipment of more than 200,000 COVID-19 test kits and supplies. The City worked with the Regional Health Commission and local federally qualified health centers to provide free testing to any City resident — regardless of whether they had symptoms. For the City, community-based testing was a critical component of our COVID-19 response and recovery.
The city mourned Police Officer Tamarris Bohannon who was fatally shot on duty responding to a hostage situation in September 2020. Flags were lowered at City Hall, and mourners gathered for a candlelight vigil at Tillis Park in the North Hampton neighborhood.
View down Market Street as cranes and steel frames rise for the new St. Louis City Soccer Club MLS stadium in January 2021. The Market Street bridge is being reconstructed as part of roadway improvements related to the NGA West and stadium projects, which include a full highway interchange at Jefferson Avenue and I-64, enhancements to N. Jefferson and Cass Avenues, and other improvements.
During COVID-19 pandemic stay-at-home orders in Spring 2020, there was a public misconception that the City of St. Louis had ceased or shut down all essential services. To the contrary, employees were trained on social distancing and equipped with PPE. The Office of the Mayor set out to inform constituents that Meals and Wheels were being delivered, illegal dumping picked up, potholes filled, and essential services were operating.
City of St. Louis Streets Department salt crews activate January 2021.
Photos from August and December 2020. MoDOT coordinated with elected officials, alders, residents, and City staff to redesign Natural Bridge for a resurfacing and safety project, which features: a road diet, medians with designated places for pedestrians to cross safely, three roundabouts, mid-block crosswalks, and higher visibility crosswalk striping.
The one half acre Katherine Ward Burg Garden along the Mississippi Greenway has been designed to create a flexible and welcoming open space to attract visitors between Gateway Arch National Park and Laclede's Landing The amenities will include a trellis, sloping paths, and a seating wall that can be used for special events and programming. The garden includes a mix of plants that will provide seasonal interest. This project was funded with a generous bequest from the Estate of Katherine Ward Burg. Local contractors include Lamar Johnson Collaborative (design), KAI Build (construction) and Kozeny-Wagner (construction management). Great Rivers Greenway will open the park in Spring 2021.
Though it may not be a part of your regular commute, Hall Street is the backbone of the North Riverfront commerce corridor. The City of St. Louis, partners, and contractors are reconfiguring this roadway to help attract new businesses and also provide pedestrian connectivity, which did not exist before. New features will include: a sidewalk to increase pedestrian safety, access to the Mississippi Greenway, efficient LED lighting, and new stormwater upgrades with bioretention swales to reduce run-off to the sewer system.
The new national motto of Spring 2020. One of dozens of road signs set up throughout St. Louis on March 30, 2020 as community spread of COVID-19 became apparent.
Police academy graduates become St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers at a non-traditional outdoor and socially distanced ceremony at the 1904 Pavilion in Forest Park in September 2020.
To safely house and protect unhoused residents from the pandemic, the City of St. Louis used CARES Act funds to lease the former Little Sisters of the Poor convent and nursing home - staffed by City Hope. With PPE and safety protocols, unhoused residents received private rooms for social distancing while City Hope case managers and staff helped residents with meals and social services.
Volunteers from Spire work with City of St. Louis Parks Department staff to clear brush and mulch in Christy Park and in North Kingshighway medians in September 2020.
Views of the newly renovated O'Fallon Park boathouse and the park's egret rookery island in July 2020. The historic boathouse is one of three in City of St. Louis parks and the backdrop for a fishing lake, which is stocked by the Missouri Department of Conservation.
West Side Church, Food 4 Joy, Purina, Operation Food Search, STL Food Bank, and Mayor's staff volunteered on a food giveaway in the Greater Ville neighborhood. As the city works through the pandemic, St. Louisans are looking after and caring for their neighbors.
When St. Louis Public Schools closed in-person classes in Spring 2020, staff and volunteers worked together to make sure City of St. Louis youth continued to receive free meals on site or for pick-up.
Volunteers, City and Urban League staff, and contractors participate in Clean Sweep in the College Hill neighborhood in September 2020. The event cleans lots and streets, demolishes dangerous vacant buildings, and more. At this Clean Sweep, crews repainted the Grand Ave. Water Tower (the largest Corinthian column in the world). A special group of volunteer goats mowed a lawn on a vacant property.
Forestry staff cleared debris on a street and a fallen tree on a home the morning after a powerful summer thunder storm in August 2020.
Street Department crews clean up leaves in Fall 2019.
Get out the vote message in November 2020. The City of St. Louis set up remote early absentee voting sites and many safety precautions ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
Statues of Pierre Laclede, President Grant, and the firefighter memorial participate in #MaskUpSTL with the Regional Arts Chamber of Commerce in August 2020.
City of St. Louis Streets Department crews activate with salt and plows during a heavy snow in December 2019.
With PPE and safety precautions, City of St. Louis Streets Department crews continued essential work of paving roads on Market Street in downtown St. Louis in Summer 2020.
Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards, Chief John Hayden, friends, family and St. Luke's hospital staff celebrate the recovery of a St. Louis police officer who had spent a month on a ventilator with COVID-19.
Affinia Health staff partner with City staff on health screenings, COVID-19 testing, and service outreach for unhoused St. Louis residents near City Hall in April 2020.
Volunteers, City and Urban League staff, and contractors work in Walnut Park at a Clean Sweep event in October 2019.
City Hall hosted the Hispanic Heritage Month kick-off celebration with the incredible dancers from Our Lady of Guatelupe and Sumak Kamari in October 2019. Before the pandemic, the City Hall rotunda hosted daily events and ceremonies highlighting the rich and diverse cultural and political life in the City of St. Louis.