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Josh Renaud

@kirkman.bsky.social
1.5K followers 643 following 907 posts

Husband to a Boliviana. Daddy. Emperor of the Renaud Empire. Lover of Atari, BBSes, retro tech, and Tolkien. Journalist at stltoday.com. The guy behind breakintochat.com.

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Reposted by Josh Renaud
Kavahn Mansouri @kavahnmansouri.bsky.social · 20h
It took St. Louis city nearly nine months to tell me they have no responsive record to a fairly simple records request. Here are all the delay emails I received along the way. Nine months.
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Proud to say that I won some awards from the Missouri Press Association for stories and graphics I produced for @stltoday.com last year! Check the story below to see all the award-winning work from my Post-Dispatch colleagues. www.stltoday.com/news/local/m...
stltoday.com
Post-Dispatch wins 5 first-place awards in Missouri Press Association contest
The Post-Dispatch won first-place honors in five categories in the Missouri Press Association's annual Better Newspaper Contest.
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Michael Mishak @mjmishak.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Online sportsbooks say they do not want business from problem gamblers. So @propublica.org's Jake Pearson spent 10 weeks on DraftKings testing how the company would react to someone displaying all the hallmarks of a compulsive bettor. Spoiler: It made him a VIP. www.propublica.org/article/draf...
propublica.org
I Deliberately Bet Like a Problem Gambler. DraftKings Made Me a VIP.
Amid growing public health concerns, operators like DraftKings have touted “responsible gaming” tools and prompts. But as I went off the deep end, I found they were no match for the incentives and pro...
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Roland Klose @rwklose.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
US Supreme Court: Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins “was well aware that conducting the August primary election with the 2025 map carried significant risks.” www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
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Ruth Graham @ruthgraham.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
My dispatch from St. Louis, where Archbishop Fulton Sheen, whose TV audience once rivaled Milton Berle and "I Love Lucy," moved one step closer to sainthood yesterday. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/u...
nytimes.com
‘America’s Bishop’ Was Beatified. 50,000 Catholics Showed Up. (Gift Article)
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, who was the country’s most visible Roman Catholic clergyman of the 20th century, is one step closer to sainthood after a ceremony in St. Louis.
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
On Oct. 18, our family will walk in memory of our late daughter Jadzia at the St. Louis Walk for Victory. We are trying to raise $2,000 for the Marfan Foundation to help kids like her with connective tissue disorders. Would you consider supporting our team? give.marfan.org/renaudempire...
This collage shows a photo of Jadzia Renaud as a teenager, wearing a red knit cap and a "Walk for Victory" T-shirt. The collage says "We walk for Jadzia. Support our team in the Marfan Foundation's Walk for Victory 2026." It includes a link to https://give.marfan.org/renaudempire2026
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William Turton @williamturton.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
NEW STORY: Susan Collins Dismissed Our Reporting as Old News. Some of Her Claims Aren’t True. www.propublica.org/article/debu...
propublica.org
ProPublica Debunks Susan Collins’ Claims About FBI Anti-Corruption Probe
ProPublica revealed that the FBI was circling Sen. Collins over a defense contractor’s donations — until President Trump gutted the unit in charge. Collins has since mustered a defense with a series o...
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
On Oct. 18, our family will walk in memory of our late daughter Jadzia at the St. Louis Walk for Victory. We are trying to raise $2,000 for the Marfan Foundation to help kids like her with connective tissue disorders. Would you consider supporting our team? give.marfan.org/renaudempire...
This collage shows a photo of Jadzia Renaud as a teenager, wearing a red knit cap and a "Walk for Victory" T-shirt. The collage says "We walk for Jadzia. Support our team in the Marfan Foundation's Walk for Victory 2026." It includes a link to https://give.marfan.org/renaudempire2026
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Reposted by Josh Renaud
St. Louis Post-Dispatch @stltoday.com · 23/09/2026
Ferguson officials on Tuesday approved a controversial plan to give tax incentives for a tech hub and data center at the former Emerson campus.
stltoday.com
Ferguson approves controversial tax incentives for tech hub, data center
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Tom Timmermann @tomtimm.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
A busy schedule for City SC is giving Fallou Fall a chance to show his stuff in games. And other notes. www.stltoday.com/sports/profe...
stltoday.com
Fallou Fall rises to occasion as he gets chance to play for City SC
A busy schedule for City SC opened a chance for Fall to get some playing time, and some good performances are making for tougher decisions on who starts.
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
👩‍🏫👮‍♂️🏛️💵 How much did St. Louis-area public servants earn in 2025? From mayors to teachers to police, the new edition of the Post-Dispatch's Public Pay database has the answers: stltoday.com/pay We wrangled more than 100 records requests and cleaned up messy data to bring it to you.
A mosaic shows four images: a capitol rotunda, a light-rail train, a school bus, and a city hall sign.
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
ICYMI, the latest edition of our Public Pay database is live now at stltoday.com/pay !
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Roland Klose @rwklose.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
A three-pound wildcat with leopardlike spots from Bolivia who once lived briefly as a house pet isn’t just adorable. He is also, scientists say, the standard-bearer for the first new feline species discovered in a century. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/s...
nytimes.com
New Species of Cat Discovered for First Time in a Century (Gift Article)
The species, called a tilcayo, is smaller than a house cat and lives in the cloud forests of the Andes Mountains in Bolivia.
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
👩‍🏫👮‍♂️🏛️💵 How much did St. Louis-area public servants earn in 2025? From mayors to teachers to police, the new edition of the Post-Dispatch's Public Pay database has the answers: stltoday.com/pay We wrangled more than 100 records requests and cleaned up messy data to bring it to you.
A mosaic shows four images: a capitol rotunda, a light-rail train, a school bus, and a city hall sign.
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Reposted by Josh Renaud
Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Search our Public Pay database to see how much St. Louis-area governments and public agencies paid teachers, mayors, police, engineers and other employees during the calendar year 2025. www.stltoday.com/pay
stltoday.com
Public Pay: Government and teacher salaries for the St. Louis region
See what police officers, teachers, elected officials and other government workers earn.
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Special thanks to our summer intern Parker Carbonneau who helped clean data and wrangle records. He uncovered some interesting stories from University City during his work on the project: * www.stltoday.com/news/local/c... * www.stltoday.com/news/local/g...
stltoday.com
'Server issue' that knocked out services in University City was actually a cyberattack
For weeks, the city attributed the disruption to "server issues." On Wednesday, communications manager Jared Jones told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that UCity's network was targeted with "malicious in...
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The 2026 edition of the @stltoday.com Public Pay database is published! This year's bright spot — St. Louis city greatly shortened the time it took to provide records to us. But we ran into some issues with Kirkwood, U. City, and Riverview. More here: www.stltoday.com/news/local/g...
stltoday.com
How much did they earn? Here’s our 2026 pay database for teachers, government workers
Find out how much St. Louis-area mayors, teachers, police and other public servants earned in 2025 with the Post-Dispatch's Public Pay database.
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Digital Tolkien Project @digitaltolkien.com · 17/09/2026
This is such a good example of one of the main things we're trying to do at the Digital Tolkien Project: textual scholarship --> data --> visualization @kenhernden.bsky.social annotations.digitaltolkien.com/viewers/nazg...
annotations.digitaltolkien.com
The Nazgûl, together and apart
Explore the nine riders’ paths in an interactive tube map based on Ken Hernden’s chronology. 22 September–20 October 3018.
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Zach Everson @zacheverson.com · 17/09/2026
New: Trump called crypto "thin air." Last year, he reported $1.4 billion in income from it. Buyers of his crypto? They're an estimated $4.7 billion underwater. I made an 8-bit game out of it— 📈 Play as Trump: you cannot lose money. 📉 Play as an investor: you cannot win.
thinairrealmoney.com
‘THIN AIR,’ REAL MONEY — The Trump Crypto Game
An 8-bit game about real money. Play as Trump: you only make money. Play as an investor: you only lose. Every figure is drawn from Public Citizen's report and the sources it cites.
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Tom Timmermann @tomtimm.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Considering that City SC went 0-2 in the playoffs in 2023, I think last night counts as the biggest win in club history. The gamer, with reaction from Burki, Matan and Damet www.stltoday.com/sports/profe...
stltoday.com
City SC reaches U.S. Open Cup final for first time by shutting out Colorado
City SC has a chance for its first trophy after beating Colorado 3-0 and advancing to the final of the U.S. Open Cup in October
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Monica Obradovic @monicaobradovic.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Division 26 staff in the St. Louis circuit court want you to "enjoy your stay" 😊
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Wonder if you will be voting for a different congressional seat in November than you did in August? Use our lookup tool to see how things changed. www.stltoday.com/news/local/g...
stltoday.com
Find out if you'll vote in a different Missouri congressional district in November
Use our interactive map to see if your district and candidates for the November general election will be different than the primary.
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Reposted by Josh Renaud
Tom Timmermann @tomtimm.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
City SC has won 15 in a row in MLS play, and they came away from Saturday's 4-2 win with a lot of well-deserved frustration. Strange days indeed. The final gamer, with reaction from Damet, Wallem, Holse, Polvara www.stltoday.com/sports/profe...
stltoday.com
City SC extends streak to 15 with win over Minnesota but poor finish leaves team frustrated
A good first half led to a bad second half, but City SC managed to extend its unbeaten streak to 15 games with a 4-2 win over Minnesota
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
In 2020, my 15-year-old daughter Jadzia died, a result of Marfan Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder that affected her heart, among other things. (1/3)
Josh, Jadzia, and Yolange Renaud smile for a photo at the Marfan Walk for Victory in 2019. They are all wearing dark colors, with fun purple props like large glasses, a cowboy hat, and a feather boa.
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Hundreds of thousands of Missourians will vote in different congressional districts on Nov. 3 than they did in August. Officials and voters alike say the flip-flop is causing confusion and anger. @kelseylandis.bsky.social looks at the impact of the change. www.stltoday.com/news/local/g...
stltoday.com
What races are you voting on? For thousands of Missourians, the options just changed
Hundreds of thousands of Missourians will vote in different districts than they did in August. "Everybody gets to vote. It’s just that the lines have changed."
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Ernie Smith @ernie.tedium.co · 11/09/2026
Hi, I would like to tell you about the company whose AI agents spammed me four times in the past three hours. If you are a creative, particularly one who does #freelance, you need to know about the dystopian iLands business model. Keep yourself safe. tedium.co/2026/09/11/i... new @tedium.co
tedium.co
The Worst Spam Emails: Inside iLands' AI Agent Hustle
iLands, a new AI agent-centric startup, is spamming creatives like me numerous times a day. What do its agents want? My job. Why? They need to buy more tokens.
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Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Max @2xaught7.ing · 12/09/2026
Thanks to @kirkman.bsky.social's graphic, I can see just how bad this Missouri congressional voting map is. My goodness, the fifth district. www.stltoday.com/news/local/governm…
A map of Missouri divided into eight congressional districts, each marked with a unique color and number. Districts are labeled from 1 to 8, with specific cities highlighted in each district, including Saint Joseph in district 6 and Joplin in district 7. Major highways and adjacent states are also shown on the map.A map of Missouri divided into eight distinct regions, each marked with a number and color. The regions are labeled as follows: 
1 (green) - Columbia, 
2 (red) - Jefferson City,
3 (light green) - northern central region,
4 (yellow) - southeastern region,
5 (gray) - central region,
6 (brown) - northwest region,
7 (purple) - southwest region, 
8 (orange) - southern region. Major cities and geographic features are also depicted.
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Caitlin McGlade @caitmcglade.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Please consider helping us out a little if you're able. Thank you so much for your support. www.gofundme.com/f/help-charl...
gofundme.com
Donate to Help Charlotte Observer Journalists Through Job Loss, organized by Caitlin McGlade
Nearly 10 talented Charlotte Observer journalists committed to br… Caitlin McGlade needs your support for Help Charlotte Observer Journalists Through Job Loss
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
These layoffs at McClatchy newsrooms are devastating: 30 at the Miami Herald, 12 at the Lexington-Herald Leader, 7 at the KC Star. And who knows how many more. Across this country, the powerful are getting exactly what they want — fewer watchdogs and less accountability.
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Joe Sonka 😐 @joesonka.lpm.org · 10/09/2026
Unfortunately, very crappy news today from me, on the McClatchy hedge fund gutting Kentucky's second-largest paper 👇
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a federal court order requiring use of a new Missouri congressional map backed by President Donald Trump in the upcoming Nov. 3 election. www.stltoday.com/news/local/g...
stltoday.com
U.S. Supreme Court again blocks gerrymandered Missouri maps
Kavanaugh on Thursday morning granted an application to stay the order by the campaign People Not Politicians.
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Jean-Christophe Peyssard @jcpeyssard.eurosky.social · 10/09/2026
www.infodocket.com/2026/09/08/i...
infodocket.com
Digital Preservation: Internet Archive Releases Online Archive (199,000 Articles) of BET Journalism No Longer Available on the Live Web - Library Journal infoDOCKET
From the Internet Archive (via Bluesky, X, and Mastodon): Much of BET’s digital journalism is no longer available on the live web. Internet Archive has preserved more than 199,000 BET articles over th...
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Love this profile of fellow Hazelwood West alum @stlfromabove.bsky.social. www.stltoday.com/life-enterta...
stltoday.com
STL From Above has 100,000 followers. Its creator says he’s ‘not an influencer’
A St. Louis dad has attracted supporters from across the world to his social media profiles highlighting St. Louis' beauty from the sky.
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
🖖Happy 60th to Star Trek! I became a lifelong fan thanks to my my Aunt Karen, who loved TOS and owned many episodes on VHS. My brothers and I would visit and stay up all night watching her tapes. In the 2010s, I was thrilled to get a few chances to write about Trek for the Post-Dispatch. (1/4)
Spock plays a Vulcan lute, seated beside one of the space hippies in the episode "The Way to Eden".Lt. Uhura and Capt. Kirk, dressed in classical Greek costumes, are forced to kiss in the episode "Plato's Stepchildren."Dr. McCoy holds up his hands, covered in a silicon-based cement, which he used to treat the wounds of the Horta in the episode "The Devil in the Dark."
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
In 2013, when I learned J.J. Abrams would include the Carol Marcus character in his reboot film, “Star Trek Into Darkness,” I decided to write about my five favorites among Captain Kirk’s old flames from TOS. www.stltoday.com/life-enterta...
stltoday.com
Capt. Kirk's 5 most memorable love interests
Will Marcus and Kirk fall in love in this new film? Will they fight? Will Abrams kill her, too?
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
A few years later, the features editor tapped me to write a cover story for GO! Magazine for Trek's 50th anniversary: "50 reasons we still love 'Star Trek'". It remains one of my favorite things I've ever written. www.stltoday.com/life-enterta...
stltoday.com
50 reasons we still love 'Star Trek'
By Josh Renaud • jrenaud@post-dispatch.com
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I had a chance to interview Nichelle Nichols ahead of her appearance at a con in 2017 in St. Louis. (... but it was an email interview, so I'm nagged by doubts whether the answers were actually from her or just ghost-written by her publicist) www.stltoday.com/life-enterta...
stltoday.com
From the archives: Original Uhura Nichelle Nichols says fans keep 'Star Trek' alive
Before Nichols appeared at a local comic convention in 2017, we interviewed her about her career.
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I can never figure out why so many folks send me LinkedIn invitations but don't include a message. I won't connect to a person I don't know or have never met without a reason.
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
🖖Happy 60th to Star Trek! I became a lifelong fan thanks to my my Aunt Karen, who loved TOS and owned many episodes on VHS. My brothers and I would visit and stay up all night watching her tapes. In the 2010s, I was thrilled to get a few chances to write about Trek for the Post-Dispatch. (1/4)
Spock plays a Vulcan lute, seated beside one of the space hippies in the episode "The Way to Eden".Lt. Uhura and Capt. Kirk, dressed in classical Greek costumes, are forced to kiss in the episode "Plato's Stepchildren."Dr. McCoy holds up his hands, covered in a silicon-based cement, which he used to treat the wounds of the Horta in the episode "The Devil in the Dark."
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
My latest genealogical discovery — a knife fight in north St. Louis in 1906 involving my g-g-g-aunt Carrie Becker, also known as "Toots." www.joshrenaud.com/family/archi...
joshrenaud.com
A knife fight over “Toots” in north St. Louis
Late one September night in 1906, a 16-year-old boy’s misunderstanding escalated into a violent knife fight as he escorted two girls home from a dance in north St. Louis. The story made headl…
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
My latest genealogical discovery — a knife fight in north St. Louis in 1906 involving my g-g-g-aunt Carrie Becker, also known as "Toots." www.joshrenaud.com/family/archi...
joshrenaud.com
A knife fight over “Toots” in north St. Louis
Late one September night in 1906, a 16-year-old boy’s misunderstanding escalated into a violent knife fight as he escorted two girls home from a dance in north St. Louis. The story made headl…
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
There's NO PAYWALL on @stltoday.com this weekend! Lots of good stuff to read, including the latest from @jacobbarker27.bsky.social on the fallout from Thursday's Missouri Supreme Court decisions. www.stltoday.com/news/local/g...
stltoday.com
Missouri may have no path to appeal high court ruling on citizen petition measure
The court's ruling overturns unilateral action from Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins declaring unconstitutional a ballot measure with enough signatures to go before voters.
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Internet Archive @archive.org · 04/09/2026
If you see something, save something. Web pages disappear daily—changed, moved, deleted, or just forgotten. 🕳️ Save Page Now lets you preserve a webpage before it disappears. See something worth keeping? Save it today. ➡️ web.archive.org/save/ #ToolsYouCanUse
Cream graph-paper graphic with a decorative yellow line-art path and "save" wordmark, plus a yellow ">" chevron tagline reading "tools you can use." Bold black text reads "Save Page Now." Below, a yellow folder icon with the Internet Archive logo and white text: "If you see something, save something."Cream graph-paper graphic with decorative yellow zigzag line art framing the edges. Bold black text reads "Save Page Now lets you preserve a webpage that's important to you before it changes or disappears." A yellow ">" chevron tagline at the bottom reads "tools you can use."Cream graph-paper graphic framed by yellow line art, featuring a screenshot of the Internet Archive Wayback Machine homepage with its search bar, page thumbnails, and three tool options — Subscription Service, Collection Search, and Save Page Now — with the Save Page Now box circled in red. A yellow ">" chevron tagline below reads "tools you can use," pointing toward a yellow arrow.Cream graph-paper graphic with decorative yellow zigzag line art and a small multicolor line-art icon of the Internet Archive's columned building in the lower right. Bold black text reads "Save a page that matters today."
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
The MO Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state's 2022 congressional map — "the only map in effect" — would be used in the Nov. 3 election rather than the 2025 map. Here's a quick look at geographic and electoral differences between the two maps. (No paywall!) www.stltoday.com/news/local/g...
stltoday.com
Missouri Supreme Court changes congressional map for November. See what's different.
See how Missouri's eight congressional districts would change under Gov. Mike Kehoe's redistricting proposal.
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Lynn Worthy @lworthysports.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
BTW, the paywall is down this weekend so go ahead and take advantage
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Bike around Forest Park at sunset, then listen to your son practice with the bagpipe band? How could I say no?
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Got some cool news this morning: my presentation for the @tolkiensociety.org's inaugural Westmoot — "Reflections on Middle-earth from a Middle American" — has been published in the latest issue of "Amon Hen."
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
If you wonder why I wrote about St. Louis and Tolkien, here's a graf that was omitted: "This personal talk ... was written as a celebration of the Tolkien Society’s surprise announcement it would create a new U.S.-based conference and host it in Kansas City, Missouri — practically my back yard."
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
A video of the original presentation is available here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbQo...
youtube.com
"Reflections on Middle-earth from a Middle American" (Josh Renaud, Westmoot 2025)
YouTube video by Josh Renaud
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Josh Renaud @kirkman.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Our print issue of Amon Hen arrived in the mail Monday! @westmoot.org @tolkiensociety.org
Josh Renaud, wearing a green T-shirt with the "Westmoot" logo, stands outside, holding a copy of the "Amon Hen" publication, opened to the page with his article.
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