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Now, none of us went to school in a one-room little schoolhouse, Bill, maybe.

Oh, only a two-thirds maybe.

And then they got automobiles.

Well, that automobile has caused a little trouble out Manchester way because a historic schoolhouse might end up being a car repair shop.

When did you live out that way?

What you thinking on that?

Well, that was probably half a mile from the first house that my husband and I bought when we had our babies.

And we loved the schoolhouse, and then we loved up Henry Avenue was the Bacon Log Cabin.

And that is very historic and very historically significant.

And it bothers me because this is the Suntrup family, and they are terrific stewards of everything that they have been involved in.

And they're very good with the community.

But this particular little, when they say a BMW, like a repair shop, and I know that their hearts are in the right places.

And they're saying, you know, wait until you've seen it.

Little tiny historic schoolhouse, BMW repair bays.

I just can't make the, and not only that, but just east, like an inch east of the one, you know, 141 right there over Manchester Road.

You have quite a lot of commercial real estate.

So you could easily, look at me spending Mr.

Suntrop's money, but you could easily have a repair place.

Actually, you're spending my money because I've got like about five cars on Suntrop.

Five cars, Al.

Not at the same time.

That's one of the reasons.

How much do you give for this provocative tour thing?

Oh, very good.

I want to say like, you know, far be it from me to argue about West County with somebody who knows it so much better than I do.

But I think the main way to preserve historic buildings is you get them in the National Register of Historic Places, which happened here.

So then there's some protections where the developer can't do just anything.

And then to find a creative reuse for it.

So I'm open to hearing more about this one.

I think finding a use that would bring this building back to being used seems like it would actually be in its long-term best interest.

If they can keep the part that makes it so historic.

I thought the thing that was going to kill the project was the photograph that David Carson took.

Oh, it was.

One picture can be worth a thousand words.

Always when he takes a picture.

You know, from a drone, obviously.

Right.

But showing this beautiful building.

Laura Ingalls Wilder went to school there.

Nothing around it.

And the idea that, well, we're going to have parking for 45 cars, plus we're going to have all these bays where there were.

I just thought, boy, that picture just really hurts the Swentrip case.

Obviously, the folks in Manchester, the people who were elected, are going to have to tussle with this, though.

And because it is a NIMBY issue.

Not in my backyard.

And that's fine because all of these are, including data centers.

But it was what I found interesting about the story.

I oppose data centers in a lot of different places, Joe.

But where have you went to actually protest one?

I mean, you would be much more against them next to your house.

I went to a hearing.

You're a reporter.

That doesn't count.

I've been to a lot of stuff, Bill.

I've been to a lot of places.

I wouldn't have went if I hadn't.

Half the state gets to hear us.

So we go to all those meetings, technically.

In all fairness to Bill, there are a lot of people who are against this, not just as a NIMBY issue, but as a philosophical issue.

And I think that's where Bill was.

And I agree with that.

But the interesting thing is the argument was put down.

And I remember when I very first started, if you remember, the old computers had save get keys.

So you do that.

And one of the reporters, Tommy Robertson, I'll shout out a name to an old friend of mine, Tommy Robertson worked there.

And I went to a planning and zoning hearing.

And I'm writing it up.

And he said, write this down.

And I said, what?

And he goes, I want you to save it.

He said, residents opposed the project because it decreased property values, increased traffic, and was detrimental to the overhaul atmosphere.

Of the neighborhood.

I said, what's that for?

He goes, it's for every planning and development argument ever.

And it's true.

And I get it.

So what I hope is, is that the people who are on the Manchester boards and that, listen to what the residents want and act accordingly.

And remember Festus.

And remember Festus.

Because they have had this fight before and they thought that they had put it behind them.

Usually they're like, remember the Alamo.

Pretty much.

Remember Festus.

Pretty much, yeah.

Possibly.

Absolutely.

Bill.

All right, St.

Louis.

We got a lot of archaic stuff going on.

And one of them is, if the police get a raise, the firefighters have to get a raise.

I don't know any other American city that has that.

But boy, aren't we special in St.

Louis.

Good idea?

Bad idea?

Well, it almost doesn't matter because it's one of those things that if there's nothing to be done, maybe this isn't a problem.

It's just a fact.

And the Firefighters Association is very strong politically.

And they won this years ago when Tom Zisch was president of the Board of Aldermen.

They have parity with the police.

And for a politician in the city of St.

Louis to try to take it away, it will not happen.

The smaller the city gets, the stronger these associations are.

And Kara Spencer, in fact, caved in to the Firefighters Association.

On a fight about their pension.

Whether or not they control their pension.

So you can argue, should there be parity?

I would say no, but it doesn't matter.

Because that will not be taken away from the firefighters.

So the police chief kind of came out this week saying it was a problem.

And it was like, oh, shot across the bow.

Do you really want to say that, chief?

But it's a thing a lot of people are thinking.

It's part of the reason that Mayor Spencer has come out so vehemently against these police raises.

She's saying, hey, every time you jump this up this level, I've got to do the exact same thing for the firefighters.

And let's face it, we have no shortage of good people who are willing to be firefighters.

It's a cool job.

So it's not like the police job where they say we can't even fill the positions we have.

The state legislature would have to take it on.

I don't see those guys having the guts to take it on.

And I don't see the city taking on the firefighters either.

And I thought what was interesting was, and I remember a lot of folks applauding bringing in out of town when Mayor Jones, then Mayor Jones, brought in Chief Tracy.

I don't have a problem with it.

And Chief Tracy then said what everybody's been thinking for 25 years.

Hey, this parity thing, at some point it might have been good.

They might have been trailing behind.

I wasn't around when they did it or paying attention.

So it was a good idea.

But that every single time that it's happening, that it's got to go up.

Maybe that's not a good idea.

A lot of people have thought that.

I'll say this.

I'll at least give Chief Tracy the credit of putting it out on the table because it's part of the issue.

He's talking about pay parity while he is moonlighting at UMSL.

There's just something is so off in the universe.

Yeah, I mean in the old days when the sergeants made this, lieutenants made this, the captains, colonels, and then the chief.

And now we have the chief way up there.

And that's one reason that it's hard to argue against 22% raises where the colonels say, well, how come Tracy's making so much money?

Well, you know, I like the chief.

I thought the chief was doing a good job.

I didn't have a problem with him coming in from out of town.

But this whole thing where the city's going to be in a shambles if these people don't get a 22% raise, you're losing me, chief.

You're losing me.

Either he got dumb real fast or you didn't like him as much as you said you did.

It sounds to me like he's being honest.

If I had to choose, he got dumb fast.

No, I think what he did was being honest.

Well, you can pick it.

And I say that's disingenuous.

Because what he did was he told the truth.

And the firefighters hate to hear that.

I'm talking about the 22%.

You know, just because that whole thing where the whole city is going to fall apart.

And he said that.

I believe that they genuinely, police department genuinely believes that they have been disrespected.

And they're trying to correct that.

They are as honest in their beliefs as the other side is in theirs.

I'm sorry.

Again, the math isn't mathing.

The total budget, Sarah, for the police and the firefighters, if they observe the parity, $6 .6 million.

On top of what was submitted to ENA.

And then the consultants from California.

Who already need to be paid.

We can't not pay them.

What's that grand total?

$10 million.

I mean, again, we had to hire people after the tornado.

If we hadn't hired people after the tornado, all of us would be here.

Why didn't they bring in some experts?

Optically, it's a problem.

I could be a tornado expert for $10 million.

We could do it for $5 million.

Exactly.

You know, I'm the space guy.

I'm hurt.

I'm hurt that St.

Charles.

It's looking like they might get this space museum that was off in rural Missouri someplace.

It's important.

Gus Grissom is an American hero.

Come on.

You know, the astronauts were here in St.

Louis.

It needs to be in St.

Louis.

Friendship 7 behind me up on the mantle there.

Come on, Sarah.

St.

Louis County.

Doesn't St.

Charles County count as part of the St.

Louis region?

And tourists could come to St.

Louis and drive to St.

Charles.

It's not a drive I do that often.

But I don't feel like if St.

Charles gets this, I see this as a win for the region.

I'm worried it's going to Neosho.

That's kind of the buzz on the street right now.

If it goes to Neosho, that's why we shouldn't be pitting St.

Charles and St.

Louis versus each other.

We should pit us against Neosho every time.

And we should win that fight.

But St.

Charles, come on.

It belongs here.

McDonnell Douglas was here.

We are integral in the space program.

Neosho.

I thought McDonnell Douglas was in North County.

You just want it in Kirkwood close to your house.

But that's a Debbie issue.

That's a Debbie issue.

You want to be able to walk to the space program.

It's quality of life.

McDonnell Douglas was not in.

It wasn't in St.

Louis.

I mean, it was in St.

Louis County.

Well, yeah.

As opposed to St.

Charles.

Isn't St.

Charles really a cool thing?

I mean, has anybody been there?

They sent us some pictures.

The pictures look great.

They have moon rocks and they have space stuff.

They have some really good memorabilia.

And they said they're having to turn away memorabilia.

That's sad.

And it's got one of Gus Grissom's flight suits, I believe.

So, listen.

I think it belongs here.

And you guys belong watching Donnie Brook and Last Call every week.

Thank you for tuning in.

Have a great week.