This year has been full of developments for West County, from elections to cicadas to road safety measures. To close out 2024, we’ve gone back over the past 366 days (it was a leap year, among many other things) and collected the top stories. These are a mix of the highest-viewed stories from our website and social media, as well as topics our editorial team felt had a high impact on our readers.
At the start of the year, economic development brought a lot of eyes to Wildwood. The Big Chief Roadhouse opened a speakeasy, and this was just the beginning of a lot of business news for the city. The West County Feed & Supply on Manchester Road is being transformed into a Good News Brewing Company microbrewery and restaurant.Wildwood also hired a new communications and economic development manager, Gina Tarte, who came to the city from St. Louis Community College - Wildwood. The 2024 April 2 Municipal Election also saw a new mayor come to Wildwood, Joe Garritano.
Starting early this year as well were discussions in Town & Country about the Woods Mill Center commercial site. Town & Country saw two proposals from McBride Homes, the first of which was for an 80-home development on 11.58 acres. That proposal made it to the Board of Aldermen, but while residents had spoken in favor of it, members of the Planning & Zoning Commission had expressed concerns about density. Instead, McBride submitted a new proposal, which included commercial space and 112 condominium units. The new plan received board approval, solidifying the future of a piece of property that has been tough to find a use for in recent history.
However, the most viewed economic development story of the year was the development of Downtown Chesterfield. Mid-summer, news came that Dillard’s and The Staenberg Group (TSG) had reached an agreement for Dillard’s to be included in the Downtown Chesterfield Project, and later it was confirmed that a settlement in pending litigation had been reached between Dillard’s, TSG and the city of Chesterfield. In October, the demolition of Chesterfield Mall began, with Chesterfield Mayor Bob Nation saying, “Mr. Staenberg, tear down this mall” at a special event. We took photos and live-streamed the event on our Facebook page.
October also saw the implementation of the St. Louis County Senior Property Tax Freeze program, which residents can still apply for ahead of the upcoming 2025 assessment year.
Parkway’s longtime superintendent, Dr. Keith Marty, announced his retirement this year after 14 years in the position. He’ll retire after the end of the 2024-2025 school year. Filling his shoes is Dr. Melissa Schneider, from Loveland, Colorado, who will start July 1, 2025.
In addition to electing a new governor and a bevy of new faces holding State Senate and House seats, the November election featured a number of high-profile initiative petitions. Amendment 3, which removed the state’s ban on abortion, and Amendment 2, regulating sports betting, both received attention locally and state-wide.
There were also a massive number of sports accomplishments from local schools in 2024. State championships, comeback stories and recognitions abounded, but Lafayette’s Abby Carr’s no-hitter in the state softball championships was definitely one story to remember.
Finally, the Clarkson and Long road concrete curb bump-out islands, installed by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), caught the attention of local officials and residents. These islands are designed to slow traffic, and MoDOT is adamant in their efficacy, with area engineers citing implementations of similar measures around the country that are proven to work. Local officials objected to a perceived lack of communication ahead of construction, however, and in a November meeting, MoDOT said it would leave the traffic-calming measures in place for one year (a shorter time period than the usual five-year period MoDOT uses) and collect data and feedback to determine how to move forward.
Editor’s Note:
From all the staff and the editorial team at West Newsmagazine, thank you for reading this year, and thank you to our advertisers for supporting hyper-local and completely free news coverage.
In addition to all the news, sports and local school coverage you need, 2025 is bringing some new additions to our print and online editions. First, already in place, you can find our new and updated e-Edition, which has an improved user experience, along with clickable stories for easier reading and sharing.
We have a new daily crossword online, and starting next year we’ll have a full-page crossword puzzle in the print edition every issue in addition to the Sudoku puzzle.
The West Insider Podcast will continue with weekly episodes every Tuesday to go in-depth on specific topics, and starting in 2025 we plan to bring in guests for certain episodes.
Expect all this, alongside new cover stories and all our regular content, from us in the New Year. See you in 2025!