Three strikes and you're out

Good morning STL and happy Thursday! Hope you like the smell of burnt dust, because it’s almost time for the heaters to kick on for the first time in a while. Warmer temps are back briefly this weekend before we settle into the mid 70s for highs with lows starting to dip into the 40s. Our heaters aren’t the only things warming up: if you listen really closely you can hear Mariah getting those vocal cords ready.

WEATHER AND SPORTS

AROUND TOWN
The Cardinals are making some moves

After missing the post-season for the second season in a row, the Cardinals are shaking up their front office…but not yet.

• President of Baseball Operations, John Mozeliak, will remain in his role for one more year. Chaim (pronounced HIGH-em) Bloom was announced as the new President, but he won’t take over until 2026.

• GM, Mike Girsch, will be reassigned to “VP of Special Projects” (seems like a made-up title).

• Head coach Oli Marmol will return for another season.

While the front office remains relatively “status quo” for the 2025 season, there will likely be some painful trades made this offseason. Arenado, Helsley, and Contreras could all be traded away before next season. Hard resets hurt, but are necessary, but will fans have the guts for it? The 2024 season closed out only attracting 2.8M fans total, which is the first time since the new stadium opened that they attracted less than 3M fans in a season.

Why isn’t Bloom taking on the president role next year?

Your guess is as good as ours:

• Maybe he doesn’t want to take the role yet? It’s possible Bloom wants to rework the minor league system first and needs time to do this before taking on the larger responsibility.

• It’s possible the organization wants to shield Bloom from the painful trades to come. Let Mozeliak take the heat for trading away some of the crowd favorites, then let Bloom come in to retool and look forward.

• Cardinals’ owner, Bill Dewitt, and Mozeliak are friends. Maybe Bill let Mozeliak finish out his contract as a gesture of goodwill to his buddy.

Regardless of the reason, if you thought the 2024 season was bad, just wait for the sequel. Although, expectations are everything, and with sights set low, it could potentially be more enjoying to watch knowing that the reset is in progress and we can only go up from here.

Quick hitters

• David Steward (born in Chicago, raised in STL), the founder of World Wide Technology (headquarters in Maryland Heights), was officially crowned the richest Black American with a net worth of $11.4 BILLION.

• South City gang, “55 Boyz” was dismantled this week according to authorities. Responsible for much of the fentanyl inflow into south city, the gangs leader, STL rapper, “Jizzlebuckz” was sentenced to 12 years in prison along with 14 other members.

• The NGA, the top secret government agency in North STL, will move into their new $1.7B headquarters (also in North STL) next fall. This agency was involved in a lot of the planning around the operation that killed Bin Laden.

• Residents can now apply for the senior property tax freeze on STL County’s website. If approved, senior property tax payers can freeze their property tax amounts indefinitely. There used to be an income cap on the application, but it now appears to be open to any income limits.

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WEEKEND WONDERS
What to do this week

Thursday

🥃 Fall Cocktail Release at The Gin Room: It's that time of year again to celebrate the arrival of Fall with some delicious Autumnal Inspired Cocktails. Indulge in an array of tantalizing gin concoctions expertly crafted by their Beverage Team, featuring a symphony of botanicals and seasonal ingredients. Savor each sip as you mingle with fellow gin enthusiasts and soak in the enchanting ambiance.

🎸 Seether and Skillet at STL Music Park: Touring to support their 9th studio album, Seether and Skillet play KC on Wednesday, then STL on Thursday. With hits like “Broken,” “Fake It,” and “Remedy,” the South African band has sold millions of albums worldwide and earned multiple chart-topping singles.

Friday

🌼 Best of Missouri Market at MOBOT: Shop more than 120 of the region's finest artisans, crafters, and food and beverage producers at a fall festival unlike any other in the St. Louis area. Enjoy live music, family fun, and a two-acre Kid's Corner adjacent to the Children's Garden. Regular admission required.

🎎 First Friday: Barbie at the Science Center: Celebrate everything Barbie at the Science Center from 5pm to 9pm. Part of the “First Friday” series at the Science Center, every first Friday of the month celebrate a different science fiction theme. Primarily designed for 16+— feel free to dress up!

Saturday

🎉 GroveFest in The Grove: Celebrating its 19th year, GroveFest is back to shut down Manchester for a night of entertainment. There will be TWO stages this year including the new Atomic Pavilion. There will be plenty of food, drinks and entertainment— go get weird.

🧙 Witches on Main in St. Charles: Adult witches night out. Grab your friends and dust off your broom stick (costumes highly encouraged— there will be a costume contest). Warlocks are welcome too. The bars along main will have drink specials, and there is a special witch afterparty.

Sunday

🤠 Line Dancing at Frankie Martins: Grab your boots and hat and head to Frankies every Sunday night from 6 to 10pm for a boot-scootin’ good time. The first hour is spent learning the dances, then you can spend the rest of the night dancing away. Beginners are welcome!

🎙️ $uicideboy$ at Enterprise: This Sunday, $uicideboy$ brings their Grey Day Tour to the Enterprise Center for an intense, high-energy show. The New Orleans duo—$crim and Ruby da Cherry—fuses dark hip-hop with punk intensity, featuring hits like “Carrollton” and “Paris” and amassing over 24 billion streams worldwide. They are recognized as one of the top 100 most-streamed artists of all time.

ARCHWAY ARCADE
Poll question of the week

Winner of last week’s poll question:

Last week’s poll was a two-way tie with 37% of voters either having never been to The Armory or only been once. The other 26% of voters had been more than once. You can slice and dice this a couple of different ways, but on the optimistic side, that means 63% of voters had been at least once. Maybe The Armory can live another day with new investors and the expanded build-out.

Did you know?

There used to be a 14-acre theme park named Forest Park Highlands where STL Community College now stands across 40 from Forest Park. This amusement park drew thousands of visitors each year and had a full wooden roller coaster named “Comet”, a ferris wheel, and carousel, and more. Unfortunately, it burned down in 1963 and the Community College was built on top of it. Luckily it didn’t burn down the Checkerdome right next door. Speaking of the Checkerdome, a large office building with a wavy roof sits a top where it used to stand. This wavy roof is a nod to the rollercoaster from the amusement park that used to sit next door. Also, ever wonder how the coffee shop in that office building got its name?

Trivia

The STL Arch is the tallest “building” in Missouri at 630 feet tall. If the Arch was located in Chicago, where would it rank in terms of height?

SHARING IS CARING
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Trivia Answer: If the Arch was moved to Chicago, it would be tied with the OneEleven building as the 48th tallest building. Chicago has A LOT of tall buildings.