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Thank you for joining us for Last Call.

We go to you, Sarah Fenske, uh, as there have been some changes, of course, with the new administration in St. Louis's city hall.

Cara Spencer is the new mayor, but she's decided to go to, uh, the bullpen for some veterans to help with their transition team.

Uh there's a notfor-profit that's been established, funded in part anyway by some unions and Celeste Vosme, longtime local attorney and Jerry Schlleter, another local attorney who's been on this program are heading the effort.

Do you think there's any problem with uh I don't know a not for profofit that's not necessarily accountable to the taxpayers to be running a transition?

Yeah, it's not my favorite thing, but I have to defend how they're doing this because I don't think there's another way to do this.

You know, you have a one-week transition between getting elected and taking office.

You have uh hundreds of positions you have to replace.

And some of them, like the absolutely most critical positions to the kind of services that people want.

And the way that you can do that is you have to try to get around the personnel department, get around all these creaky archaic systems that we have in St. Louis, and you do something that's a little less transparent.

I'm going to defend it.

All right.

I just, you know, the the the call was we're going to do things differently and it's going to be a different St. Louis and now you got this not for profofit and I keep seeing the same old names and people are coming back and what I tell you Bill, you cannot put enough chains on the St. Louis without them bubbling back up to the top of the river and putting that dirt on.

Right.

Exactly.

So, here we are again.

The more things change, the more except except these old hands that are coming in are just supposed to be not taking over themselves, but helping get new people in.

Some of them are interum, not all.

I don't think it's really the old band getting back in so much.

I thought that I mean, yeah, she's going to do everything, you know, she's going to put her a new spin on on maybe some of the old ways, but uh the fact that Mr. Schlickter was not available and he might have been trapped under a piece of heavy furniture.

We have no idea why he wasn't available to comment when they called for uh for a comment, but that didn't look good.

That did not look good.

And and Celeste Vosser, you know, she's got a she's got a terrific reputation.

She's a slew law school professor.

She worked at charter for a very long time.

Um, I think they're going to have to be maybe a little more forthcoming to make people like Sarah and others more comfortable.

But to Alvin's point, I mean, the old hands are coming back.

Jim Sulman, who last left the streets department in 2006, is back.

He's a very capable guy.

And Otis Williams has taken over Charlie Temporary.

Yeah, I know.

But it is interesting to go back.

The guy's very mean.

I mean, like until we find somebody just like you.

No, we can find someone.

It's very It doesn't matter as long as the tees are crossed and the eyes are dotted, as long as the trash is picked up.

As long as So, it's a a temporary thing while they find permanent replacements and and bringing experienced people in for that limited role.

I think it's not a bad thing.

Yeah, you could bring in like the most genius person and be like, okay, you know, we need you to run the streets department.

There is this onboarding process and you don't get the benefit of your predecessor teaching you how to do this because they all left with the old administration and and properly so allows for some continuity.

We have a fantastic police chief and we found him someplace else and he's doing a great job.

Let's just find people and hire them.

Why?

Why are these old hands?

Well, I think they're searching.

I think the old hands are searching.

All right.

You know, and they go find them all downtown and Well, they they they didn't get the new chief in a week, Elvin.

I mean, it was a long process if I remember right.

Next topic.

Time is limited.

Wendy, uh, on April 20th this year, it was kind of weird because the Granite City Warriors played the Collinsville KHawks in baseball.

And it's possible that in the next year or so, they're going to have to change their names.

There's legislation in Springfield, Illinois that will require schools to have mascots that don't have Indian or Native American names.

So, Kay Hawks is out, Indians are out, uh, Warriors would be out.

What do you think?

I think that's why President Trump won a second term.

I truly do.

I think that a lot of people think it's an overreach.

I think that when you talk to some of the school administrators and and the students who are involved and the families of the students who are involved, they don't see it as a derogatory.

A warrior is a good thing.

You know, I and and I think that that's where it just looks like I think in the minds of a lot of people, you know, big bad government coming down on Main Street, USA.

And I don't think it's derogatory every single time.

And again, this seems to be so selective.

The Kansas City Chiefs were supposed to stop the tomahawk chop or whatever they call it.

They still haven't stopped.

So when you start picking on these little rural high schools, it's just not a good look.

I agree with you.

And I was just going to mention like say well you got the Golden State Warriors, Kansas City Chiefs, two teams that I'd like to root for.

I don't find those those names to be derogatory in any sense.

I also think you can't pass a state law that says you can't do it.

And two, kind of along your lines, this is one of those things where I like like, okay, how many offended people vote in the state of Illinois?

I mean, politically, why are you even going down this lane?

I mean, that's why you have what's happening in Illinois that the people in the more rural areas are so angry at the state government and they want to talk about seceding.

But on the other hand, I don't get why we cling to these mascots.

We have Native Americans saying, "We don't like this.

Don't do this.

Don't call this the K-Hawk.

I I get warrior.

I I am kind of confused on that one.

Yeah.

But some of these other ones, it doesn't work.

And why?

I don't understand the loyalty to something that could so easily be changed.

Oh, Sarah, these people that have lived in these towns forever and there's some names that like the Peak and Shinks needed to be.

I mean, that was one that has to change.

The Washington Redskins that has to change.

But the KHawks, the Warriors right now.

Okay.

And people, this is look, they they are still upset about this.

But it was decided by the UN University of Illinois, the Chief Alina would with me out there jumping around before the football and the basketball games.

Now, here's some white kid out there, you know, jumping around in the full Indian kind of thing.

And they may have had a black kid at some point, but I never saw him.

But that was insulting.

All right.

So, the university kind of did away with it.

And there's still some people that are really upset about that.

I mean, it aren't trying to resurrect some people in Washington are trying to resurrect the Redskins and and they're saying, "Nope, that's failed."

Hey, I I was in Ireland last summer in a saloon and I asked a guy, an Irish uh citizen, "How do you feel about the Notre Dame fighting Irish?"

And I said, "Is that insulting to you?"

He goes, "Well, considering that we've been fighting the British for 800 years, I love it."

Okay.

So, you know, and we when we say that Indians don't like it, which Native Americans don't like it?

Some, but have we pulled all of them?

And is the term first of all, the kayhock is weird because that Indian was actually a Mississippian at Cahokia Mounts.

It wasn't a Khok, right?

And I mean, I'm no expert.

You know what they call themselves?

You don't even know what happened to him, right?

Well, that's right.

You know, I mean, I don't know.

I feel like that the situation with the Irish people bring this up and it's it's just a different thing.

The Irish have been so ascendant in this country.

The Irish dominates uh politics where you and I are from.

Not for a long time.

I know.

But, you know, they're doing great today.

And and that's maybe a different situation.

I feel like the Native Americans, we have done we did terrible things to them.

Terrible things.

Unforgivable things.

You know, Martin Dugan used to be upset at Patty Wagon.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You know, he he found that very offensive.

Or if we go out to to Humphre, do we go Dutch?

No, you can't say that.

I don't know why you say that.

That's a compliment.

That's a slur.

Is it?

No.

I'm going to ask my Dutch friends.

Or or if you don't pay your bet.

That's uh Oh, welching.

Yeah, I will say that either.

I know a million of them.

Most I can't say on the air.

Thank you.

That's good.

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