Rachel Lippmann
Justice Reporter, St. Louis Public RadioRachel Lippmann covers courts, public safety and city politics for St. Louis Public Radio. (She jokingly refers to them as the “nothing ever happens beats.”) She joined the NPR Member station in her hometown in 2008, after spending two years in Lansing covering the Michigan Capitol and various other state political shenanigans for NPR Member stations there. Though she’s a native St. Louisan, part of her heart definitely remains in the Mitten. (And no, she’s not going to tell you where she went to high school.)
Rachel has an undergraduate degree from the Medill School of Journalism, and a master’s in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois at Springfield. When she’s not busy pursuing the latest scoop, you can find her mentoring her Big Brothers Big Sisters match, hitting the running and biking paths in south St. Louis, catching the latest sporting event on TV, playing with every dog she possibly can, or spending time with the great friends she’s met in more than nine years in this city.
Rachel’s on Twitter @rlippmann. Even with 240 characters, spellings are still phonetic.
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Florissant Police offier Julian Alcala pulled over victims for minor traffic violations then took their phones, ostensibly to check for electronic proof of insurance or vehicle registration. Instead, he searched through photo albums and sent intimate photos and videos to his own phone. -
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s office argued that the anti-redistricting referendum attempt violates the state and U.S. constitutions by infringing on the legislature's sole authority to draw maps. The federal case is one of multiple legal battles over state lawmakers' mid-decade redistricting effort. -
The federal lawsuit argues that the state Department of Mental Health unconstitutionally delays required treatment for individuals who have been found incompetent to stand trial and does not meet legal deadlines for competency exams. -
Danielle Bertothy pleaded guilty to a felony in July, admitting she started a fire outside a Puerto Rico bar that she had been asked to leave. In addition to serving the prison sentence, she will have to pay restitution to the businesses that were damaged. -
The new map breaks the Kansas-City-based district of Democrat Emmanuel Cleaver into three in an effort to make it more Republican-leaning. It's already facing a torrent of legal challenges plus an initiative petition campaign to defeat it at the ballot. -
The fire on Aug. 5 was deliberately set and damaged three vehicles, although no one was injured. Investigators also found what they called antisemitic graffiti at the scene, although some Jewish community members have pushed back on that designation. -
While announcing the National Guard would go to Memphis next, President Trump said the head of Union Pacific also asked him to do the same in St. Louis. "He said, 'Sir please, do me a favor. St. Louis has been so badly hit. It's very hard. Very very hard.'" -
John Diehl admitted in federal court Thursday that he used loans that were supposed to support his law firm for personal expenses, including country club dues, college tuition, credit cards and his mortgage. -
Chaman Silverio Balbuena, 31, is accused of helping route cash from the victims to the Dominican Republic. Prosecutors say he would pick up collect money from elderly victims, who were tricked into thinking their grandchild had been in a car accident and needed legal fees. -
Tonia Haddix pleaded guilty in March to perjury and obstruction of justice. She was subsequently arrested last month after federal law enforcement found a secret chimpanzee on her property in Camden County, violating several terms of her bond.
