RFT names alumni, St. Louis Public Radio ‘Best of St. Louis’

From making tender and flavorful pork ribs to a stint in an indie pop band that is no more, several University of Missouri–St. Louis alumni were named Riverfront Times “Best of St. Louis” winners this week. St. Louis Public Radio | 90.7 FM, a service of UMSL, also cleaned up winning in three “Best of St. Louis” categories including “Best Radio Station.”

In the introduction to the alternative weekly newspaper’s “Best of St. Louis” issue, RFT Editor Tom Finkel called the awards “a celebration of all that’s still marvelous about the town we call home, in the form of nearly 400 blurb-length tributes to everything from ‘Best Baby Store’ to the ‘Best Cemetery.’”

UMSL Daily pored over the special edition of the RFT and found the following winners with connections to the university:

Best Radio Station: St. Louis Public Radio
Best Reporter (TV/Radio Division): Veronique LaCapra, science reporter at St. Louis Public Radio
Best Place to Take Out-of-Town Guests: Laumeier Sculpture Park (Executive Director Marilu Knode is the Aronson Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art at UMSL)
Best Local Artist: Peter Pranschke, BFA studio art 2003
Best Band to Die in the Past 12 Months: The 75s (band member Laurel Mydock earned two UMSL degrees, PhD chemistry 2010 and MS chemistry 2008)
Best Jazz Radio Program: Jazz Unlimited on St. Louis Public Radio
Best Pork Ribs (Non-Barbecue Division): Salume Beddu, co-owned by alumni Ben Poremba, BA philosophy 2003, and Mark Sanfilippo, BA philosophy 1998 and BA German 1998
Best Place to Meet Single Women: Rock ‘N Roll Craft Show (organized several years by crafters and alumni Meghan McGlynn, BA English 2000; and Sara Keller, BSBA 2002, BFA studio art 2006 and former director of UMSL’s Gallery Visio)
Best Local Act Gone National: Prince Ea, (rapper a.k.a. alumnus Richard Williams, BA anthropology 2010)

But here’s the thing: UMSL’s influence is widespread throughout St. Louis. The university has about 2,700 employees and more than 16,000 students. And more than 58,000 UMSL alumni live in St. Louis.

What are we getting at? Well, we probably missed a few “Best of St. Louis” winners with ties to UMSL. If you know of anyone we’ve overlooked, let us know in the comments section. Or send an e-mail to heinzry@umsl.edu.