SpaceX ‘pinky promises’ no bad impacts for Louisiana locals — then forced to backtrack

In a tense meeting, SpaceX managers told locals the massive spaceport won’t affect them at all. Then locals pressed for specifics.

Delaney Nolan, The Lens Oct 13, 2026

Agriculture

Aging farmers and the government want to save farms, but for many the cost is too high

A federal program promises to pay for farmland preservation. Few landowners are taking advantage.

Jana Rose Schleis, KBIA Oct 8, 2026

Community

Researchers, patients optimistic in fight against alpha-gal syndrome

A support group and a lab in the St. Louis area provide resources for people with the allergy to mammal products — and evidence that its effects can be reversed.

Rose LaForest, Nine PBS Oct 1, 2026

Rose LaForest

Rose LaForest joined the Desk in 2026 as a Report for America corps member. She is a multi-media journalist. Prior to Nine PBS, LaForest produced video explainers for WSLS-TV in Roanoke, Virginia, as part of an experimental program testing storytelling strategies for video journalists in local newsrooms. There, she covered a range of topics from reproductive freedom to local concerns over data center development. In 2024, she earned her master’s degree in broadcast and video journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where she produced short documentaries on dementia-related wandering, juvenile incarceration, and even traveled to Argentina to cover the shifting cultural attitudes toward women in male-dominated sports.