West Newsmagazine Your online news source for West St. Louis County, Missouri

Housing trends have been on the upswing, especially for homebuyers looking for a home that’s affordably priced and new on the market. In fact, national trends show that it’s become affordable to purchase a home without breaking the piggy bank.

Medical researchers at dozens of leading institutions around the nation have proposed updating the criteria for diagnosing early-stage disease which, if adopted, could increase the number of COPD patients by 2 to 5 million.

The number of twins being born to American mothers is falling after three decades of increases, according to a recent report from the National Center for Health Statistics. Since 2014, the twin birth rate has declined by 4% to its lowest level in more than a decade, to a rate of 32.6 twins per 1,000 births in 2018.

Before digging into that plate of tasty Christmas cookies, consider this: According to the American Heart Association [AHA], the average American adult consumes 22 teaspoons of added sugar per day – far exceeding its recommendation of about 6 teaspoons per day for women and 9 for men.

Every decade, the federal government surveys each state, city and county for updated population data. This information is then evaluated and used to reapportion congressional seats and determine how much federal funds states and counties receive.

Pedal the Cause, a community-wide fundraising bike challenge, recently donated $4,743,422 to Siteman Cancer Center and Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children’s Hospital to help fund ongoing cancer research.

The Marquette Mustangs are looking to jump in the pool for the girls swimming and diving season. Marquette won the Class 2 state championship last winter with 278 points. Rock Bridge was distant second at 224.5. It was the Marquette program’s third title. The other two came in 1999 and 2000. Coach Joe Schoedel’s team went undefeated in duals and won three meets before claiming the state title. He has eight state qualifiers back. Marquette senior Amanda Yu finished second in the 100-yard butterfly in 58.01 seconds last winter. Sophomore Carsyn Cosman came in second in the 200 freestyle last ...

Far beyond their usefulness as last-minute Christmas presents, gift cards now often serve a more sinister purpose: enabling scammers to steal money from consumers – to the tune of $74 million during the first nine months of 2019 alone, according to the Federal Trade Commission [FTC].

Although the holidays bring thoughts of celebrations and togetherness with friends and family, many seniors face an entirely different type of holiday season: a lonely one.

Try your hand at crafting these international cookie recipes this holiday season.