By MARK EVANS mevans@stegenherald.com A relatively small but enthusiastic crowd heard five guest speakers give presentations at the annual Ste. Genevieve History Conference last Saturday. The annual event, put on by the Foundation For Restoration of Ste. Genevieve, had been cancelled by the COVID-19 crisis in 2020. One speaker did cancel this year. Chris Collins,…
Harold’s Famous Bee Company and Sweet Things Sweet Shop are sponsoring Moon Over Market this Friday night., 6-10 p.m. on Market Street .Jeremy Boyer, organist for the St. Louis Cardinals and Blues will perform and mead tastings and chocolate pairings will be offered. Various vendors will also be on hand. A section of Market Street…
By MARK EVANS mevans@stegenherald.com Ste. Genevieve R-II Schools will require students to wear masks – at least until the Sept. 21 board of education meeting. The board called a special meeting last Friday evening to address the face mask issue, as COVID-19 cases continued to grow. A large crowd attended, even though the meeting was…
By MARK EVANS STE. GENEVIEVE HERALD Noted historians will return to town next weekend for the 19th Ste. Genevieve History Conference. Put on by the Foundation For Restoration of Ste. Genevieve, the annual event was cancelled in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s schedule features the following presenters: Sharon Person – “Un ‘mariage inconstant’:…
By ERIC X. VICCARO eviccaro@stegenherald.com Ste. Genevieve city administrator Happy Welch presented to the board of aldermen two different budget scenarios during a work session on Monday, Aug. 30. One budget proposal included a potential contract with Alliance Water Resources, Inc., for the street and parks operations. A second budget had the status quo with…
By MARK EVANS STE. GENEVIEVE HERALD Ste. Genevieve County commissioners are pondering how to best organize a new county fair board. The commissioners had previously decided it was time to reformulate the fair board in accordance with state statutes. During last Thursday’s commission meeting, they discussed ideas of what that could look like. The initial…
By ERIC X. VICCARO eviccaro@stegenherald.com A big decision is looming on the future of the Ste. Genevieve streets and parks department operations. Former mayor Dick Greminger chimed in. One town resident also expressed his concerns. Aldermen also shared their thoughts on this sensitive process. Originally, the agenda featured the first reading, “approving an additional memorandum…
By MARK EVANS STE. GENEVIEVE HERALD Setting a new tax rate is never a simple matter for the Ste. Genevieve R-II School District and other taxing entities. This year it is even dicier. With Holcim Concrete coming onto the county tax rolls and challenging the county’s assessed valuation of their plant as expected, things are…
By ERIC X. VICCARO eviccaro@stegenherald.com The Ste. Genevieve Tourism Advisory Council (TAC) learned all about the budget for Fiscal Year 2022 during a regularly scheduled meeting on Aug. 17. This marked the first time the group had met since May 18 – mainly because of the departure of former tourism director Toby Carrig. A quorum…
By MARK EVANS STE. GENEVIEVE HERALD One of the Ste. Genevieve County Commission’s big goals moved a step closer to possible realization last week. The county’s current top priority for a Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) project within the county, the addition of stoplights at the intersection of Interstate 55 and US Highway 32, west…
By ERIC X. VICCARO eviccaro@stegenherald.com Ste. Genevieve County Health Department administrator Jennifer Mueller made a public appearance during last Thursday’s board of aldermen meeting. Mueller covered current statistics for the county, which may also be found on the department’s redesigned website, regarding recently resurgent COVID-19 (coronavirus). The website can be found at, www.stegencohealth.org/current-data. There were…
From Staff Reports A Ste. Genevieve Parks and Recreation board meeting originally scheduled for Monday, Aug. 23 was moved to Monday, Aug. 30. Because of severe thunderstorms on Aug. 23, board members could not make it to the Ste. Genevieve Fire Department meeting room – therefore, a quorum couldn’t be established. Only board member John…
By ERIC X. VICCARO eviccaro@stegenherald.com Ste. Genevieve’s annual festival, Jour de Fete, wrapped up on Sunday afternoon – and most all the vendors left town by nightfall. We’ll soon know if the festival turns into a “super spreader” event, with a mix of masked and maskless individuals seen walking along downtown streets throughout the busy…
By ERIC X. VICCARO eviccaro@stegenherald.com The Ste. Genevieve Board of Aldermen plowed through a work session last Thursday night – under the cover of cellphone flashlights. “The lights were flashing for 15 minutes, and then the lights went out,” Ste. Genevieve city administrator Happy Welch said. “We kept going.” City clerk Pam Meyer took minutes…
By MARK EVANS STE. GENEVIEVE HERALD Local business owner and civic leader John Stuppy died on Aug. 13 at Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis. He was 62. Owner of Stuppy Towing and Auto Sales for many years, Stuppy served as a Ward 2 alderman from 2008 until he resigned in July 2016. He had…
By MARK EVANS mevans@stegenherald.com Ste. Genevieve County commissioners expressed pleasure with the job Sanford Roth of S & R Excavating had done in removing the bluff on Saline Creek Road. With road and bridge foreman Scott Schmieder vacationing, Ronnie Karl reported to the commission for the department. Karl reported that the bluff work on Saline…
By MARK EVANS STE. GENEVIEVE HERALD Bloomsdale will wait and see when it comes to fibre optic cables. After listening to proposal by Chris and Nate Govero of Lightwave Communications of Festus at its Aug. 10 meeting, the Bloomsdale Board of Aldermen opted to take a wait and see approach to the issue. Govero approached…
By MARK EVANS mevans@stegenherald.com On the 200th anniversary of Missouri’s statehood, Aug. 10, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to dedicate Ste. Genevieve’s contribution to the statewide celebration. The Bicentennial plaza on the south side of the county’s new parking lot was dedicated, with local historian Bob Mueller making a few comments to the gathering. Mueller…
By MARK EVANS mevans@stegenherald.com Walter “Stormy” Crawford’s spirit was certainly felt Friday morning when the Ste. Genevieve Levee Wildlife Refuge was dedicated. The road leading to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife refuse between the Urban Design Levee and the Mississippi River, meanwhile, was named Stormy Crawford Way. Local historian Bob Mueller, Floyd Truetken of the…
During the week prior to the 55th Annual Jour de Fete, a few changes have been made to events. For one, the classic car show, being held by GearHeadZ Car Club, has been changed to a car cruise rather than a show. Therefore no prizes will be awarded. Also, the bouncy house that was going…
By MARK EVANS mevans@stegenherald.com Ste. Genevieve County Library director Shawn Long has declared amnesty. His declaration had nothing to do with migrants crossing the U.S. border, but rather readers who have been delinquent on returning books and other checked-out items. “Our biggest update is that effective July 15 the library has gone fine-free on all…
By MARK EVANS STE. GENEVIEVE HERALD Although storms delayed the demolition derby on Saturday and wiped out much of the scheduled Sunday activities, the 2021 Ste. Genevieve County Fair was considered a ringing success. Huge crowds attended, enjoying the cloud cover and breeze that later led to the rain showers. An estimated 9,000 people attended…
By ERIC X. VICCARO eviccaro@stegenherald.com Federal community planners spent Saturday listening to feedback from Ste. Genevieve residents regarding future bike and walking trail use in downtown. Recently, the National Park Service (NPS) established Ste. Genevieve’s downtown as a historical park – which includes the Welcome Center and several other buildings. “The first step is always…
By MARK EVANS mevans@stegenherald.com Mike Sweeney, Bicentennial coordinator for the state of Missouri, set up Bicentennial photo exhibits, along with two other Missouri State Historical Society employees, at the Ste. Genevieve Welcome Center last Thursday. Mary Elise Okenfuss of the Welcome Center explained that the exhibit was originally supposed to arrive in February, but was…
By ERIC X. VICCARO eviccaro@stegenherald.com Federal community planners spent Saturday listening to feedback from Ste. Genevieve residents regarding future bike and walking trail use in downtown. Recently, the National Park Service (NPS) established Ste. Genevieve’s downtown as a historical park – which includes the Welcome Center and several other buildings. “The first step is always…
By MARK EVANS mevans@stegenherald.com Whether to tackle any further road overlays this year was tabled until August during the Special Road District A board meeting on July 13. The board had come up with a potential list at an earlier meeting, which had included sections of Joggerst Road and Quarrytown Road, according to road foreman…
From Staff Reports One of two occupants in a small plane was reportedly injured when the plane made an emergency crash landing near Routes M and P, near Ozora on Sunday. Details were sketchy at press time. According to the Missouri Highway Patrol, the Ste. Genevieve County Sheriff’s Department was first on the scene. The…
By ERIC X. VICCARO eviccaro@stegenherald.com Little girls were preparing to dress as Elsa, or maybe Anna, on Saturday, June 26, with “Frozen” set to be shown in Pere Marquette Park. However, a line of thunderstorms made their way into Ste. Genevieve around 9 p.m. that night — soaking park grounds for about 30 minutes. “Movie…
From staff reports All five requests were unanimously approved by the Ste. Genevieve Planning and Zoning Commission last Thursday. Two involved the city of Ste. Genevieve wanting to subdivide two parcels in the 1000 block of Progress Parkway and were quickly passed. Community development administrator David Bova explained that it was for “future roadway use…
By MARK EVANS STE. GENEVIEVE HERALD After being a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Ste. Genevieve County Fair will be back as strong as ever, this weekend. The 77th fair’s theme will be “Blue Jeans and Country Dreams,” and will feature all the past favorites, including the demolition derby and tractor pull,…