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Politically Speaking: On Freeholder Struggles, Bell’s Budget And Missouri’s Medical Marijuana

Colorful photos hang on the walls at HCI Alternatives in Collinsville. The marijuana dispensary is set up like a typical doctor's office.
File photo I Carolina Hidalgo | St. Louis Public Radio
Colorful photos hang on the walls at HCI Alternatives in Collinsville. The marijuana dispensary is set up like a typical doctor's office.

On the latest episode of Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio’s Julie O’Donoghue, Jason Rosenbaum and Jaclyn Driscoll review some of the week’s biggest stories in state and local politics.

One of the big topics on the showis the first meeting of the Board of Freeholders, which can propose consolidating services in St. Louis and St. Louis County — or even combining city and county governments.

While the St. Louis County and gubernatorial members expressed optimism about the work ahead, the board is still incomplete because of a standoff between St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson and the Board of Aldermen. Krewson’s nine nominees are stuck in committee, primarily because some black aldermen want more members to be from north St. Louis.

The city has missed a deadline laid out in the Missouri Constitution to approve members for the board. Municipal League of Metro St. Louis Executive Director Pat Kelly said on Thursday that he sent a letter to the board about hiring legal counsel “to determine how they could move forward without the city participation.”

If the board takes up Kelly’s advice, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that its attorney could sue the city and force a vote on freeholder nominees. And according to the constitution, the city and county would have to foot the bill for the legal representation.

Other topics discussed on the show:

The podcast is sponsored by the St. Louis-based law firm of Capes Sokol

Follow Julie O’Donoghue on Twitter: @jsodonoghue

Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum

Follow Jaclyn Driscoll on Twitter: @DriscollNPR

Music: “You’re a Wolf” by Sea Wolf

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Since entering the world of professional journalism in 2006, Jason Rosenbaum dove head first into the world of politics, policy and even rock and roll music. A graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Rosenbaum spent more than four years in the Missouri State Capitol writing for the Columbia Daily Tribune, Missouri Lawyers Media and the St. Louis Beacon.
Julie O'Donoghue
Jaclyn Driscoll is the Jefferson City statehouse reporter for St. Louis Public Radio. She joined the politics team in 2019 after spending two years at the Springfield, Illinois NPR affiliate. Jaclyn covered a variety of issues at the statehouse for all of Illinois' public radio stations, but focused primarily on public health and agriculture related policy. Before joining public radio, Jaclyn reported for a couple television stations in Illinois and Iowa as a general assignment reporter.