PPRC's research efforts have a significant impact in the St. Louis region. Often our work is cited in the local and national news. Below are some of the recent stories and news broadcasts.

On January 31, 2008, Steve Gardner was interviewed on 90.7 KWMU's St. Louis on the Air. Gardner was part of a panel that spoke about property taxes in St. Louis County.

St. Louis Plans: The Ideal and the Real St. Louis, was named as one of the "notable books of 2007" by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Edited by PPRC Director Mark Tranel, St. Louis Plans is the third volume in the St. Louis Metromorphosis Series. It examines the public, civic and nonprofit plans for St. Louis over the region's history. Read article here.

In November and December 2007, Steve Gardner, Director of PPRC's Public Finance Initiative, was mentioned in stories about tax assessments. The stories ran on November 12 in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and on November 14 in the O'Fallon Community News. He was also quoted in a piece that ran in the December issue of the Spanish Lake Word, as well as in a column about tax assessments in the December 9 edition of the Post.

On April 19, 2007, Steve Gardner was featured in an interview with KMOX (1120 AM) radio's Megan Lynch. Gardner translated the statewide property tax assessment issue into layperson's terms. »Listen to the interview here.

The Public Finance Initiative's Steve Gardner recently contributed a feature article to The Missouri Municipal Review . Titled "Disparate Property Assessments Affect All Municipalities", the article can be found in the February/March 2007 issue. To obtain a copy of the article, contact the publication at info@mocities.com.

On January 4, Steve Gardner testified in the Cole County Circuit Court in a trial over Missouri's public school funding. The basis of his testimony was his research and recent findings, which were published in October, 2006. The court case and Gardner's research were cited in several news articles:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Assessments are Cited at Trial on School Funding", January 5, 2007 »Read Article
Jefferson City News Tribune, "School Funding Trial Focuses on Property Assessments", January 5, 2007 »Read Article
Jefferson City News Tribune, "Property Assessment Practices Studied in Court Case,", January 5, 2007 »Read Article
Kansas City News, January 12, 2007 »Read Article
Columbia Daily Tribune, "School Suit Focuses on Tax Values; Report Casts Doubt on Assessment Values", January 5, 2007 »Read Article

On July 19, the work of the Public Finance Initiative was highlighted in an Associated Press article. PPRC's Steve Gardner was interviewed regarding Missouri's property tax assessment policies, as well as the inequities in the way tax values are assessed. The article focuses on the impact on Missouri's public school funding. >> Read the article here.

On June 12, Donald Phares, and Terry Jones spoke about PPRC's Governance vs. Government in Metropolitan North America conference. Phares organized the conference, and he is Professor Emeritus in Economics and a PPRC faculty partner. Jones, Professor of Political Science & also a PPRC faculty partner, presented a forum at the conference on incremental movement toward a regional government. Listen to this episode of St. Louis on the Air here.

On May 22, Richard Rosenfeld, the editor of Hidden Assets: Connecting the Past to the Future of St. Louis, spoke with Amanda Doyle on KDHX's Collateral Damage. Andrew Scavotto, who contributed a chapter on the St. Louis blues scene to this second volume in PPRC's St. Louis Metromorphosis book series, also was interviewed. Listen to the interview here.

Watch Mel Watkin and the students from Buerkle Middle School on KETC Channel 9. On April 17, Channel 9 broadcast Ruth Ezell's coverage of the PPRC photography project and exhibit, "From Bosnia to Buerkle Middle School. Watch the story here.

On December 11, 2005, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch carried a story titled Immigrants and the Economy: Are We Missing Out? PPRC's David Laslo, director of MIDAS, was quoted in this article. Read story here.

Through a contract with ARCHS, PPRC's Applied Research unit developed an on-line resource directory that will be installed in police cars in St. Louis City. The directory allows officers to connect city residents with social service programs and resources that may help address their needs. The story was covered recently by both the Post-Dispatch and by KPLR-TV Channel 11.
>> Watch KPLR broadcast here.


On February 5, 2006, Mark Tranel, PPRC's Director, published a commentary in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the role of industry in the face of Ford Motor Co.'s decision to close its Hazelwood plant. To read the commentary, click here.

On August 8, 2004, a review of St. Louis Metromorphosis: Past Trends, Future Directions, was featured in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 2004. To read Thomas Crone's review, click here. For more information on the book and how to obtain a copy, visit our Books page.