Kate Grumke
Senior Environmental Reporter, STLPRI report on agriculture and rural issues for Harvest Public Media and am the Senior Environmental Reporter at St. Louis Public Radio, my hometown NPR station.
I started at STLPR as an education reporter, covering late night school board meetings and tagging along on field trips. Before moving back to Missouri, I spent more than five years producing award-winning television in Washington, D.C., most recently at the PBS NewsHour. In that work I climbed to the top of a wind turbine in Iowa, helped plan the environmental section of a presidential debate and produced multiple news-documentaries on energy and the environment.
I graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and hold a certificate in data journalism from Columbia University’s Lede Program.
You can reach me at kgrumke@stlpr.org or follow me on social media @kgrumke.
-
Nurseries or nursery dealers that buy, sell or propagate the plants would have their certificate suspended by the Department of Agriculture. Experts say the plants threaten Missouri’s native ecosystems because they can escape cultivation and don’t have natural competitors to slow their spread.
-
At least 21 states are considering legislation to block foreign companies and individuals from purchasing farmland. The issue has gained momentum in recent years.
-
The efforts to remove books from school libraries started with parents in local districts and eventually led to state legislatures. After two years of controversy, one Missouri school librarian says her colleagues are leaving the profession because it has become too painful.
-
Worldwide, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said last week that 2023 has a greater than 99% chance of being the hottest on record. During the August heat wave in Missouri, the state saw more than 260 temperature records tied or broken.
-
The agriculture department’s annual projections show a slowing economy and lower crop prices for the upcoming year. The USDA also looks ahead to the next decade, showing rising crop yields but a competitive job market.
-
A new report found Missouri’s rural teachers are paid better only than those in Arkansas. Missouri also has one of the lowest rates of state tax revenue, meaning the burden for funding schools falls heavily on local taxpayers.
-
Since the 2018-19 school year, the Hazelwood School District has increased its rate of investigating student residency eightfold, deploying a team of employees who can use intrusive tactics.
-
A change in USDA policy will make it easier for schools to offer free meals to all students, but they will still have to pay for part of the cost. As a result, many Missouri districts will likely say no to the offer.
-
A new poll from St. Louis University and YouGov found support for increased funding for some education initiatives but growing discontent with public schools in Missouri.
-
Most elementary teacher preparation programs across the country and in Missouri do not adequately focus on the science of reading, according to a new review from the National Council on Teacher Quality. In fact, Missouri's programs were among the worst in the nation — with the exception of UMKC.