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@rymarev.photo

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Lesterville, Mo. —

@hannahswyman and I revisited Lesterville, the center point of where flash flooding devastated the southeastern region of Missouri in early July.

Three months later, businesses and residents are not eligible for FEMA aid. And many were uninsured. Disaster aid is spread out among federal and state agencies, local nonprofits, and insurance companies, and getting access and navigating these programs is a big ask for residents who are already trying to piece their homes and lives back together.

“I still need to live here,” Kimberley Garrett, of Lesterville, said as she looks around a gutted bedroom in her house. The July 10th Black River flash flooding destroyed her home and she is still working to get it fixed three months later. Her basement completetly flooded and the bottom third of every wall in her home, along with her flooring, had to be ripped out.

Ken Atkins, of Lesterville, stands in his home destroyed by the July 10th flood. He had just bought the house months earlier from a friend and had to sit on his tractor in his front yard and wait for the flood waters to recede before being rescued. As a handyman, he can repair most of the damage done to the house. “I’m trying to do it better than it was, so in case something happens again, I don’t have to do all this again,” Atkins said.

Debris-covered books sit on a church pew in Black River Baptist Church as a result of the July 10th flash flooding. Three months later, the church is still rebuilding and its members are displaced. The worship center will be demolished because water flooded the crawl space underneath the foundation.

Pastor Greg Freeman and his wife April, of Lesterville, cover their nose and mouths against the smell of mold as they pass by the worship center that will be demolished because of flooding damage at Black River Baptist Church.

Pastor Greg Freeman greets church member Dale Hawkins, of Black, as bible study wraps up and Wade Mathes, left, flips through renovation plans for the Black River Baptist Church in Pleasant Union United Baptist Church in Black, Mo.

The Black River Baptist Church’s worship center was destroyed in the July 10th flash flood and its member taken in Lesterville, Missouri by @rymarev.photo

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6 days ago

With the Maryville High School homecoming dance one week away, the Younts piled into a car and drove to go suit shopping for their two boys, Kasen, 14, and Kallen, 16.

Kasen put on “Shake It” by Metro Station and started singing and poking Kallen, who wrestled back at him in the backseat of their car. Their stepmom Stephanie watched her two stepsons, rolled her eyes and laughed.

After two miscarriages in her first marriage and one in her current, Stephanie thought she would never be a mother. “It’s ingrained in us to become a mother but then there’s all this biology thrown in there,” she said.

She married Maryville native Kent four years ago and gained two kids she thought she would never have. They first met when Kasen was three and Kallen was five and now 11 years later, they are inseparable.

She knows which girls they are taking to the homecoming dance, how many baskets Kallen missed in his basketball practice and how many feet Kasen hit the golf ball down the fairway that day.

“You define motherhood, and it doesn’t have to be having your own,” she said.

Thank you so much to @secondhalfsteph for letting into your life and showing me your amazing stepsons. And thank you to @alyssamgoodman, MaryAnne and the rest of my team for coaching and helping me through this fun story. Cheers to mothers everywhere!!💪 taken in Maryville, Missouri by @rymarev.photo

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17 days ago

What does life look like living next to a data center?

@ethan_colbert and I traveled to West Des Moines in Iowa, where Microsoft has several large-scale, billion-dollar projects, to find out:

“WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Chad Spieker thought he found his corner of paradise when he bought a dilapidated farmhouse on the outskirts of West Des Moines 26 years ago. …

But things began to change in 2016, when software giant Microsoft announced plans to build a 200-acre data center campus next door.

His concerns — and those of his neighbors — are familiar to the St. Louis area. He worried about the noise and the water use. He worried about light from the facility pouring into his home, and the loss of nature and wildlife. He worried about pollution of the water supply, declines in property values and increases in utility bills.

“I thought a lot about putting the house up for sale,” Spieker told the Post-Dispatch from his front porch last month. “I mean, it was abandoned when I found it — this old, wretched farmhouse. But I had spent so many hours working to fix it up, it was going to be really hard for me to decide to sell it.”

Some of his concerns have come true. Light hampers views of the night sky. He sees less wildlife. And the noise is noticeable.

But a decade after construction began, his most serious worries have not materialized.

“I’d still rather have the cornfields back,” Spieker said. “But I don’t know if there have been any serious negative effects about them moving in next door.”
————
Many residents have gotten used to Microsoft as their next door neighbor, and their biggest complaint has only been the bright lights that drown out the night sky. For others, the gravel dust seeped into their yards and gardens, and the high traffic constantly speeds by them on the country gravel roads.

“They stay on their side of the line, and we stay on ours,” Gary Gehrke said, who shares a fence with Microsoft’s Project Osmium.

And for some like Kim Jellema, the dust and traffic were too much. “We want to live someplace where we can live,” she said. taken in West Des Moines, Iowa by @rymarev.photo

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a month ago

Franklin County commissioners approved the proposals for two large-scale, multibillion-dollar data centers to be built on farmland in small town Pacific and unincorporated Gray Summit.

Dozens came to speak at the hearing, and many were left feeling hopeless, distraught and unheard after months of fighting and speaking out meeting after meeting against the approval of the data centers. taken in Union, Missouri by @rymarev.photo

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a month ago

Kyle Larson wins the Enjoy Illinois 300 NASCAR Cup Series Race yesterday at the World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill. 🏁🏎️🍾 taken in World Wide Technology Raceway by @rymarev.photo

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a month ago

A contentious day in the Missouri Supreme Court yesterday, where Secretary of State of Missouri Denny Hoskins conceded and agreed to use the congressional map drawn in 2022 for the upcoming November elections.

The Missouri Supreme Court called Hoskins to court for a contempt hearing over his use of the newly drawn 2025 gerrymandered maps, favored by state Republican leaders that split up the Kansas City seat, even after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected its use.

Hoskins told local election officials to use the 2025 maps for November anyways, but hours after the first hearing, agreed to comply with the federal Supreme Court and will tell election officials to use the older 2022 maps, avoiding the contempt charge altogether. taken in State of Missouri Supreme Court by @rymarev.photo

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a month ago

The Tour de Florissant brought hundreds of cyclists to compete in downtown Florissant yesterday. Residents and fans cheered for the athletes and celebrated Labor Day all in one day🚴‍♀️🇺🇸 taken in Florissant, Missouri by @rymarev.photo

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a month ago

Cfb!!!!!!! We’re so back!!!! Mizzou won 54-14 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Thursday night for the first home game of the season 🏈 taken in Mizzou Tiger Stadium by @rymarev.photo

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a month ago

The BMW Championship wrapped up yesterday with Wyndham Clark placing first against Rory McIlroy at Bellerive Country Club in Town and Country, Mo. 🏆🏌️‍♂️

First time covering golf, will need new walking shoes. taken in Bellerive Country Club by @rymarev.photo

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2 months ago

Some Cardinals, and some SLU women’s soccer! 😛 taken in St. Louis, Missouri by @rymarev.photo

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2 months ago

Chicago Cubs in town: A walk-off win, an unexpected rain delay and some ballpark features. ⚾️ taken in Busch Stadium by @rymarev.photo

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3 months ago

In nearly 100 degree heat, the St. Louis Cardinals lose 5-3 in their last game against the Cincinnati Reds at home. They also busted out their “victory blue” uniforms in game two for the first time since 2012. taken in Busch Stadium by @rymarev.photo

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3 months ago