Rebuilding North St. Louis After the EF3 Tornado | Tornado Town Hall: Your Voice. Our Future.

On May 16, 2025, a mile-wide EF3 tornado tore through 23 miles across the St. Louis area, taking at least five lives and injuring another 38 people. The storm destroyed over 5,000 buildings and caused an estimated $1.6 billion in damage.

In this #NinePBS special, senior producer and host Carol Daniel moderates a discussion centering the voices of those impacted. Learn how local leaders, including Mayor Cara Spencer, have responded and how community efforts like The People's Response have stepped in to fill the gaps.

A previous version of this special was deleted due to a mistake in the credits. We regret the error.

CHAPTERS:

0:00 Opening Segment
2:35 Carol’s Introduction
3:55 Linda Granberry-Shelton’s Story
7:32 Paula Vickers’ Experience
10:11 Bettie Taylor’s Experience
12:43 Cicely Hunter’ Experience
14:19 Discussion with Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson
18:02 History of the Devastated Areas with Gwen Moore
22:13 Calvin Motley’s Story
25:46 Mark Timmerman Answers Follow Up Question
26:56 Discussion with Tef Poe
29:41 Discussion with Kayla Reed
32:42 Mayor Cara Spencer Responds
36:11 Discussion with Ohun Ashe
37:55 Mayor Cara Spencer Responds
39:48 Discussion with Farrakhan Shegog
46:47 Felice McClendon’s Story
50:20 Felice McClendon’s Conversation with Carol
56:37 Discussion with Congressman Wesley Bell
59:24 Discussion with Mayor Cara Spencer
1:07:36 Discussion with Julian Nicks
1:11:16 Discussion with Alderman Rasheen Aldridge
1:16:39 Discussion with Dr. Ness Sandoval
1:21:53 Mayor Spencer Responds
1:24:24 Audience Question