Recent stories
Though I have worked primarily as a developer, data journalist and news designer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, occasionally I write or contribute to stories for the paper. Here are some of them.
Post-Dispatch
- "Court records online include private information for thousands of Missouri residents" April 28, 2023 - Post-Dispatch
- "Floods are getting more severe and frequent around St. Louis. Here's why." March 18, 2023 - Post-Dispatch
- "Traffic stops and tickets have plummeted in St. Louis. Traffic deaths have gone up." March 7, 2023 - Post-Dispatch
- "How out-of-state companies are buying up homes and changing the St. Louis area market" Nov. 20, 2022 - Post-Dispatch
- "FBI gets numbers wrong after St. Louis fell behind on reporting crime data" Nov. 8, 2022 - Post-Dispatch
- "Which St. Louis area Catholic parishes will close? The clues are in the data." Oct. 9, 2022 - Post-Dispatch
- "New Missouri law helps boost national effort to report when police use force" June 6, 2022 - Post-Dispatch
- "'It's like a highway here': Deaths, crashes spike on north St. Louis County road" May 1, 2022 - Post-Dispatch
- "North County neighborhoods grow more diverse, but local government representation lags" Feb. 26, 2022 - Post-Dispatch
- "Missouri teachers’ Social Security numbers at risk on state agency’s website" Oct. 14, 2021 - Post-Dispatch
- "As home values rise, nowhere in St. Louis is hotter than North County" July 26, 2021 - Post-Dispatch
- "Impact of Good Friday tornado still felt 10 years later in St. Louis County" Apr. 22, 2021 - Post-Dispatch
- "Police controversy reverberates in O’Fallon, Mo., mayoral race" Mar. 30, 2021 - Post-Dispatch
- "No more touch-screen ballots in St. Louis County after $6.9 million voting equipment upgrade" Nov. 29, 2019 - Post-Dispatch
- "A negative number of rapes in a St. Louis suburb? Yep, it's possible" Oct. 4, 2018 - Post-Dispatch
- "Few consequences when police fail to report crime data" Sept. 7, 2018 - Post-Dispatch
- "Fifty reasons we still love Star Trek" Sept. 17, 2017 - Post-Dispatch
- "Original Uhura Nichelle Nichols says fans keep 'Star Trek' alive" April 5, 2017 - Post-Dispatch
- " 'Calvin and Hobbes' creator Bill Watterson returns" June 7, 2014 - Post-Dispatch
- " 'Bigfoot of cartooning' emerges; comics artists are delighted" June 8, 2014 - Post-Dispatch
- "Capt. Kirk's five most memorable love interests" May 16, 2013 - Post-Dispatch
Personal writing
For more than 20 years, I've been a prolific blogger, having written and published around 800 pieces across three different blogs. Most of this work was related to my life, family, travel, and genealogy. And in more recent years I've done a lot of writing and interviewing related to technology and computer history.
Personal blogs
- "The mystery of the missing clarinet" March 19, 2023 - Extraordinary Renaud Family
- "Farewell, Nan" July 28, 2021 - Extraordinary Renaud Family
- "Jadzia's obituary" June 25, 2020 - Extraordinary Renaud Family
- "Remembering Benjamin Israel" Feb. 27, 2015 - Extraordinary Renaud Family
- "Merry Christmas from Ferguson" Dec. 19, 2014 - Extraordinary Renaud Family
- "'We didn't forget you. We ran miles just to get back to you.' April 9, 2014 - Extraordinary Renaud Family
- "More stops! More money! More waiting!" June 11, 2013 - Amazing Adventures in Bolivia
- "Love, baseball and losses" Oct. 23, 2012 - Extraordinary Renaud Family
- "The murder of John Becker" Feb. 5, 2008 - Extraordinary Renaud Family
- "The 24-hour fishing experience" April 7, 2007 - Amazing Adventures in Bolivia
- "Mamá and Jadzia go to jail ... and Papa gets kicked out" Jan. 26, 2006 - Amazing Adventures in Bolivia
Computer history
- "Bringing dry bones back to life: The Kirschen software collection" (series) November 2022 - Break Into Chat
- "I completed my 7-year quest to play Thieves’ Guild" Sep. 15, 2020 - Break Into Chat
- "Unearthed: My Atari 8-bit cassette tape" May 30, 2020 - Break Into Chat
- "Gary Martin, creator of 'TradeWars 2002'" (interview) July 19, 2019 - Break Into Chat
- "Visualizing 314: Fire Escape’s BBS Directory" (series) June 2013 - Break Into Chat
Older stories
The following are examples of news and opinion stories I wrote early in my career as a journalist. Some were freelance for publications such as the North County Journal, but most were published in The Current, the student newspaper of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
News stories
- In-depth: "St. Louis' shrinking priesthood" November 22, 2002 - Freelance
- "Parking fee going up" January 29, 2001 - The Current
- Analysis: "Meeting parking needs requires planning, high costs" January 29, 2001 - The Current
- "New computing tools make life easier for researchers" December 13, 1999 - The Current
- "Strike snags Performing Arts Center" August 21, 2000 - The Current
- "UMSL, MoDOT prepare for I-70 project" June 12, 2000 - The Current
Columns and commentary
- "Choosing new chancellor important task" October 16, 2002 - North County Journal
- "Jesuit Museum requires having wisdom of Solomon" July 17, 2002 - North County Journal
- "Adults owe children internet protection" May 1, 2002 - North County Journal
- "Airport expansion eats away at St. Louis region" March 5, 2001 - The Current
- "Battle ends in ultimate victory for one warrior" January 16, 2001 - The Current