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Homeownership: Your New Year’s Resolution?
St. Louis American See page B1
The
JAN. 29 – FEB. 4, 2026
Serving, empowering and advocating for equity in St. Louis since 1928
stlamerican.com
Vol. 97 No. 42 COMPLIMENTARY
A bridge between boardrooms and neighborhoods Akberet Boykin Farr is Business Corporate Executive of the Year
By Ashley Winters St. Louis American When Akberet Boykin Farr walks into work on a hard day, she doesn’t reach first for a spreadsheet or a strategic plan. She thinks about children — students she has met in St. Louis classrooms, about literacy programs and after-school spaces that can change the arc of a young person’s life. She asks herself the same question again and again: What gives them the opportunity to live up to their highest potential?
Akberet Boykin Farr is being recognized for her outstanding leadership and professional success and her dedication to student literacy, math, and afterschool programs in the St. Louis region.
For Boykin Farr, that question guides her work as vice president of diversity and social responsibility at Emerson, where she oversees corporate responsibility efforts focused largely on education and community investment across the St. Louis region. “A lot of what Emerson does surrounds literacy programs, math programs and after-school activities,” she said. “Those are at the top of what reminds me why this work is important.”
Photo Courtesy Akberet Boykin Farr
See BOYKIN FARR, A12
Science Center halts STEM program Little explanation offered for abrupt suspension of popular initiative By Melanie Eversley St. Louis American A little over a month after one of St. Louis’ most beloved and established youth programs was abruptly suspended, those who helped run it and the families involved still don’t know exactly why. By most accounts, the decades-old Youth Exploring Science (YES) program at the St. Louis Science Center successfully guided young people from underserved communities into college and careers in science, technology, engineering and math — or STEM. The affiliated annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Community
Photo by Lawrence Bryant / St. Louis American
Residents work together to push a stranded SUV along snow-covered Wells Avenue in North St. Louis on Monday.
Milder temps ahead after winter blast
See STEM, A12
Missouri test scores stable but students still lag
By Sylvester Brown Jr. St. Louis American
Most St. Louis city and county schools closed Monday and Tuesday, along with major attractions including Gateway Arch National Park, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the St. Louis Zoo and all St. Louis City and County public libraries.
With several days of heavy snow and bitter cold behind the St. Louis region, a stretch of milder temperatures is finally in sight — offering relief after one of the coldest periods of the winter. Looking ahead, the region is expected to see a steady warmup over the next week. High temperatures are forecast to reach the mid-teens to upper 20s Friday through Sunday, with a chance of light snow Sunday. Early next week, highs are expected to climb into the low to upper 30s Monday through Thursday, with no major snow or ice storms currently in the forecast. The storm that started Saturday dumped between 8 and 12 inches of snow across the area as extreme cold settled in, bringing temperatures well below zero. Early Monday morning lows fell between 5 and 10 degrees below zero, according to AccuWeather St. Louis. That followed a frigid weekend, with temperatures ranging from a low of 2 degrees to a high of 10 degrees Saturday and a low of 6 degrees to a high of 14 degrees Sunday. The conditions forced widespread closures across the region. Most St. Louis City and County schools closed Monday and Tuesday, along with major attractions including Gateway Arch National Park, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the St. Louis Zoo and all St. Louis City and County public libraries. The weekend storm was messy and inconvenient but far less
By Ashley Winters St. Louis American As Missouri education leaders reviewed the state’s latest student test scores Wednesday, a troubling disconnect framed the conversation: While state officials report that more than 91% of schools “meet expectations,” fewer than half of Missouri students are proficient in core subjects, and overall achievement remains below pre-pandemic levels. That gap was at the center of The Opportunity Trust’s fourth annual Education Town Hall, where education policy experts, civic leaders and school
See TOWN HALL, A10
See SNOW, A10 BUSINESS
Essential money moves to set you up for success in 2026
HEALTH
Cardiovascular disease deaths are down
This time of year, dedicating time to focus on personal financial health can lead to savings and lower stress levels.
A new American Heart Association report shows 60% of Black adults live with cardiovascular disease and the rate of stroke deaths has overtaken COVID.
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