Daily Brief: Monday, August 31, 2026

St. Louis news worth your time today — curated by PubDef, with receipts from the archive. Click through for the full stories.

Missouri charter school commission returns $685,000 in surplus funds to sponsored schools

Missouri’s largest charter-school sponsor entered August with nearly $3.3 million in its account, which is more than twice what it spent in the previous fiscal year. Now the Missouri Charter Public… — Missouri Independent

Missouri activists want fewer cameras on citizens and more on politicians

Pulaski County Sheriff Stacy Ball thinks Flock cameras help his deputies fight crime. But he also thinks they’re not worth keeping. Ball recently announced his office was pulling the plug on Flock… — Missouri Independent

‘Menace II Society’ actor Samuel Monroe Jr. dies at 52

Actor Samuel Monroe Jr. – best known for his role in “Menace II Society” – is dead after a battle with meningitis. He was 52. Monroe’s mother, Joyce Patton, told TMZ that the actor died last… — St. Louis American

📼 From the PubDef archive: “The Truth About Bill Ayers & Obama” (Oct 2008)

Chez Ali hits the right notes

Steward Stiles III was exploring the restaurants inside City Foundry STL when one menu stopped him: Chez Ali had oxtails. He ordered a plate and found them rich, tender and packed with flavor. More… — St. Louis American

📼 From the PubDef archive: “O'Brien and Child Threatened?” (Jul 2006)

Lionel Richie powers through for a high-energy night at The Muny

It’s no secret that music legend Lionel Richie faced a health challenge during his “Sing A Song All Night Long” tour. Richie pointed it out himself during his essentially sold-out concert at The Muny… — St. Louis American

📼 From the PubDef archive: “VIDEO: Committee Debates New Election Measures” (Mar 2008)

Missouri Medicaid changes raise fears of more coverage losses

More than 300,000 Missourians who receive health coverage through Medicaid expansion could face new requirements beginning in January, including more frequent eligibility checks and, for some,… — St. Louis American

📼 From the PubDef archive: “ACORN Endorses Jeff Harris for A.G.” (Feb 2008)

The woman behind Dr. King’s ‘Letter’ is getting her due

More than six decades after the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. composed his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” the then-young Black woman who helped transform scattered notes on smuggled scraps of paper… — St. Louis American

📼 From the PubDef archive: “Irene, Maida and Mike — a Tale of Delusion, Promise and Possibility” (Nov 2008)

The Daily Brief runs every morning. Headlines and excerpts belong to the linked outlets — click through and support them. Missouri Independent stories are republishable under Creative Commons.