Kirkwood City Hall Flag Flies at Half-Staff for Boston Marathon Victims

The American flag was flying at half-staff Tuesday to honor the victims of the Boston Marathon explosion. How else is Kirkwood showing its support for Boston?

Kirkwood City Hall Flag Flies at Half-Staff for Boston Marathon Victims

The American flag was flying at half-staff Tuesday to honor the victims of the Boston Marathon explosion.

Kirkwood City Hall's American flag, as well as the Amtrak station's, were flying at half-staff Tuesday in honor of those involved with the Boston Marathon explosion. READ: Boston Marathon Explosion: Three Kirkwood Residents in Race Several flags in the area were still at full height. President Barack Obama issued a proclamation to fly American flags in all public buildings at half-staff through sunset April 20. What do you think? How are you seeing locals show their support for Boston? Is your business or group doing anything to pitch in? Tell us in the comments.

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Thursday Marks 5 Years Since Kirkwood City Hall Shootings

The tragedy left six dead when a gunman opened fire during a Kirkwood City Council meeting in 2008.

Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013, marks five years since the Kirkwood City Hall Massacre that left six dead during a city council meeting. Charles "Cookie" Thornton, a long-time Kirkwood resident, opened fire shortly after a city council meeting commenced Feb. 7, 2008, at Kirkwood City Hall, according to a past STL Today report. Eight were shot in the incident, and six killed: Kirkwood Police Officers Tom Ballman and William Biggs, Councilwoman Connie Karr, Councilman Mike Lynch, Public Works Director Kenneth Yost, and Thornton, who was shot by police. Then-Mayor Mike Swoboda was also shot and survived through seven months after the tragedy before passing away from complications caused from the gunshot wounds. With a history of city council …

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DEA to Take Back Prescription Drugs in Kirkwood

Residents can drop off expired prescription medications at the Kirkwood City Hall parking lot Saturday.

The following information was provided by the Kirkwood Police Department.  Old Drug/Prescription Take Back Day is here again.  DEA and your Kirkwood Police Department is once again offering you the opportunity to properly dispose those old prescription medications. We will take everything except any type of sharpies (i.e. needles) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29. All you have to do is drive onto the parking lot of Kirkwood City Hall and our Police Explorers and CERT volunteers will take your items placing them into boxes which will be sealed and destroyed. You don’t even have to get out of your vehicle. RELATED CONTENT:

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City Hall Stars in Local Film Debuting Saturday at the Tivoli

Kirkwood City Hall is among the local locations included in this locally produced film.

Kirkwood City Hall is one of the featured locations for this locally produced film debuting at the Tivoli on Saturday. Information was provided to the Ladue-Frontenac Patch by Corner Film Productions. Moviegoers are invited to attend the 2012 Whitaker St. Louis Filmmaker Showcase for a special screening of "Casualties of the State," by Corner Film Productions, a local and independent St. Louis media production company on Saturday, July 8 at 6:15 p.m. at the Tivoli Theatre. Filmed in St. Louis and Washington, D.C., “Casualties of the State” features Missouri and Illinois actors and crew. Key locations include The Old Post Office downtown and Kirkwood City Hall. Cast and crew members will be available for discussion immediately following the…

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City Asks Residents to Weigh In on Zoning Code

The Planning and Zoning Commission is reviewing Kirkwood's Zoning Code and is asking for input from residents.

The Planning and Zoning Commission is in the process of reviewing the city's Zoning Code which needs to be modernized and reformatted, according to the City of Kirkwood. Residents are encouraged to attend the March 7 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting where city staff will present what has been reviewed and possible changes the commission may consider. After the presentation, the public will have a chance to comment on the current Zoning Code Code and the Planning and Zoning process. The March 7 Planning and Zoning meeting starts at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. Related Content:

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Ornaments for Officers Returns to Kirkwood

It's easy for Kirkwood residents to help Ornaments for Officers, a non-profit that gives back to families of police and firefighters who have fallen or are disabled in the line of duty.

Thank you to the City of Kirkwood for sharing the following information. For the second year, the City of Kirkwood will serve as a drop-off point for donations of used or new holiday ornaments. Ornaments can be dropped off at Kirkwood City Hall through Nov. 18. Beginning Nov. 28, donated ornaments may be purchased at City Hall for $3 each, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Proceeds benefit BackStoppers. Visit Ornaments for Officers for more information.

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Life in the Sandwich

The Perils of Speeding: An Eye-Opening Experience

Learning a valuable lesson about traffic violations and other crimes at Kirkwood Municipal Court on a strange and stormy night.

My 16-year-old son has his learner’s permit. He isn’t one of those kids who had to run out and get it as soon as he turned 15, which means he wasn’t ready for his license at 16, either. We’ve been in the learning-to-drive mode for 10 months, trying to smooth over some of his poor habits. He’s slowly getting better, and more confident, but there is one thing in particular I can’t stress enough: don’t get a speeding ticket in Kirkwood. In the midst of teaching my son how to drive, I received my first speeding ticket in 27 years of driving. I was on Adams near Kirkwood Park, and when I saw the lights flashing, I hoped the police car was going to pass me by, but no such luck. I smiled pretty, and said that I’d never had a speeding ticket …

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Beth von Behren

10:32 am on Tuesday, October 11, 2011

For anyone else who needs information on how the Kirkwood City Municipal Court functions, we are offering a class on November 2: Municipal Court Procedures & Courtroom Standards. This will be the fifth of six public safety informational classes offered by the City of Kirkwood. Class Description: If you received a traffic ticket or a court summons for another reason, would you know what to do? …   more ›

Live Blog: Kirkwood City Council Hears Requests for New Businesses

The Kirkwood City Council heard several special use permit requests at its Thursday meeting.

Up-to-the-minute coverage of Thursday's Kirkwood City Council Meeting. 7:02pm: Meeting begins. More than forty residents are in attendance. Mayor Arthur McDonnell briefly addresses the crowd and congratulates Councilor Paul Ward on his first grandchild, who was born last week. Councilor Gina Jaksetic is absent. 7:05pm: Mayor McDonnell awarded a proclamation to Bob Becker, a teacher at Kirkwood High School for twenty years. Becker was named the Missouri State Teacher of the Year and traveled to the White House to be honored by President Obama. In thanks of his years of service in the community, the proclamation announced June 2, 2011, would be known as “Bob Becker Day” in the city of Kirkwood. “It is an honor and a pleasure to work in a …

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City Hall Shooting Inspires Documentary By Kirkwood Grad

"Trying to Understand It All: The Kirkwood City Council Shooting" explores how the shooting exposed lingering racial issues in the city, and the process of moving past it.

Today marks the three-year anniversary of the shooting at Kirkwood City Hall that ended with two police officers and three city officials dead. The shooter, a Kirkwood resident named Charles "Cookie" Thornton, had long been at odds with the city council over the annexation and redevelopment of the historically black community Meacham Park. The tragedy was an eye opener for Chris Jeske, a Kirkwood High School grad who was a freshman at Marquette University in Milwaukee at the time. It motivated him to study the racial tensions in his hometown, in an effort to understand what made Thornton turn to violence that day. "I had a few events in my life where my eyes were opened up to the reality that racism still exists in the world today," he …

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