Greg Hilbert, president of the Ste. Genevieve Golf Club, attended the February 25 meeting of the Ste. Genevieve Parks and Recreation board to speak on natural grasses. The board had previously agreed to invite him to come and share his experiences. The golf club has planted wild grasses on its property, as the park board…

Ste. Genevieve Parks and Recreation board members voted on February 25 to spend $1,500 to have the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission (SEMO RPC) make professional maps of the city parks. The board had been looking into the matter for some time, for a while considering having a competition in which high school and middle…

Local historian Bob Mueller visited with the Ste. Genevieve County Commission during last Thursday’s Commission meeting to discuss two different historical projects. Mueller showed the commissioners an example of the signs that will mark the path of the Plank Road, a toll road made of wood that connected Ste. Genevieve to Farmington, Iron Mountain and…

Ste. Genevieve R-II School District Board of Education members approved an amended fiscal year 2018-19 budget and an official 2019-20 calendar at the February 19 board meeting. Dr. Julie Flieg, superintendent of schools, talked with the board about the process for her first school budget, which drew upon the work of her predecessor, Dr. Jeff…

The city Ste. Genevieve’s Tourism Tax Commission is back in the billboard business. The city formerly had leased spots two billboards on Interstate 55 as well as one on Route B that were paid for with commission funds. Late in 2017 and early in 2018 a division within the group grew over the value of…

Carl Noll quickly received a Certificate of Appropriateness during the February 19 Heritage Commission meeting to build a single-family house at 472 Merchant St. The house will sit where a circa 1890 wood-framed I-house sat before being damaged by a fire in 2013 and demolished in 2015. Noll said it will essentially be on the…

Winter weather continues to dictate how the Ste. Genevieve County Road and Bridge Department spends its time. Foreman Scott Schmieder updated the County Commission at the commissioners’ meeting last Thursday. Schmieder said his crews had been busy with snow removal over the previous weekend and were patching muddy spots on roads last week. He said…

Standardized test scores again were outstanding for the Ste. Genevieve R-II School District, according to 2018 results released by the state of Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) earlier this month. Dr. Paul Taylor, assistant superintendent, shared the details with Board of Education members at their monthly meeting February 19. It had already…

More than one visitor  came in to express support for the idea of revamping the former Marina de Gabouri as a boat dock during last Thursday’s County Commission meeting. Mike and Jodi Uding said they had read Presiding Commissioner Garry Nelson’s comments on the marina’s tourism potential in the Ste. Genevieve Herald and wanted to…

The Bloomsdale Board of Aldermen passed a resolution during its February 12 meeting naming Wegmann Law Firm as city attorney. The board also tabled a request by Dr. Tracey Anheuser for help in finding a building to use for housing rescue animals. City clerk Lynnette Randoll reported that Anheuser, of Fourche Valley Rescue, is seeking…

Brian Helms, president of the St. Mary Board of Aldermen, said last week he’s trying to get a handle on all of the city’s revenue streams and expenses. Carl Wyatt, the city’s former mayor, said Helms was heading into dangerous territory in asking questions about the expenses related to city collections on water and sewer…

Overlaying a section of Industrial River Road and paving the remainder of Roth Quarry Road will be Special Road District A’s top priority as spring draws near. Two residents of Roth Quarry Road had stopped by prior to the February 12 meeting of the Special Road District A board to request the paving. When the…

Amendment 2, a constitutional amendment passed by Missouri voters that allows doctors to prescribe medical marijuana to patients with epilepsy, cancer, glaucoma, chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Parkinson’s, continues to make area leaders ponder future actions. Ste. Genevieve County commissioners discussed the issue last Thursday, again expressing frustration that more forethought had not…

A work session to deal with budget issues will take place at 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 14, prior to that evening’s regular meeting of the Ste. Genevieve Board of Aldermen. Outgoing Ward 4 Alderman Randy Ruzicka had suggested such work sessions be held this spring at the January 28 meeting. Some discussion ensued about…

With two recent attempts to allow utility vehicles (UTVs) on city streets shot down by the city of St. Mary Board of Aldermen, the aldermen now are exploring a proposal to prohibit the use of UTVs on city streets. Board president Brian Helms said the board wanted to pass a measure that would clarify the…

The city of Ste. Genevieve’s lodging tax receipts for calendar year 2018 came in a little below the recent average. Collections on the 2-percent tax from hotels, bed-and-breakfasts and other lodging establishments for 2018 totaled $23,230. Including 2018, the average for annual collections since calendar year 2008 is $23,262. Fluctuations in the annual totals have…

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri continued to show his support for federal legislation that would affect the Sainte Genevieve National Historical Park. Blunt on February 5 spoke on Senate floor in support of the Natural Resources Management Act (Senate Bill 47). The legislation includes provisions to enhance the visitor experience at the Harry S…

Rainy weather much of the week and storms last Thursday morning kept the Ste. Genevieve County road and bridge department from getting culvert pipes installed, but the bad weather did no real damage to roads. Road and bridge foreman Scott Schmieder said last Thursday that the county had gotten off lucky, considering the snow, rain…