St. Louis Area Sees Record Growth In Immigrant Population, SLSO Names Music Center in Honor of Civic Leader, Nine PBS Celebrates 70th Birthday
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St. Louis Area Sees Record Growth in Immigrant Population; Hard Work to Shift This Trajectory “Is Paying Off”
Newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that the focused and intentional work taking place to increase the St. Louis metro’s immigrant population is succeeding, as the 15-county bi-state St. Louis metropolitan area recorded the highest percentage increase in foreign-born population among the 30 largest metro areas in the United States from 2022-2023.
“Attracting smart, ambitious people from all over the world to St. Louis is vital for our long-term prosperity,” said David Kemper, Executive Chairman of Commerce Bancshares Inc. and Greater St. Louis, Inc. Board Member. “While we should celebrate these numbers and the growth we have seen, we must also double down on our efforts to ensure this growth is sustained.”
“Winning this decade means getting our population increasing and shifting the trajectory of our metro into growth mode, and this data shows that the hard work led for years by partners like the International Institute of St. Louis and the Mosaic Project is paying off,” said Jason Hall, CEO of Greater St. Louis, Inc.
International Institute Attracts Latino Immigrants to St. Louis
The International Institute of St. Louis’ Latino Outreach Program, launched last year, has already helped attract nearly 300 Latin American immigrants to St. Louis this year. “We’re trying to help with the workforce needs and the growth of the population,” said Karlos Ramirez, vice president of Latino Outreach at IISTL, a GSL Investor Council member, adding that the institute has a waiting list of about 250 individuals.
Bayer CEO Says Company is ‘Doubling Down’ on St. Louis
Bill Anderson, CEO of Bayer, an executive-level GSL Investor, affirmed the company's commitment to its St. Louis agricultural operations. This commitment is significant for the metro area, as Bayer employs about 4,000 people in Missouri, with the majority in St. Louis, helping maintain the region's role as a hub for agricultural technology. “Our core scientists in our plant technologies are in St. Louis,” Anderson said. “And that’s here to stay. … we’re investing $100 million in new capital in those R&D facilities, in greenhouses and labs. ... We’re sort of doubling down on that here.”
SLSO Names Music Center in Honor of Philanthropist and Civic Leader Jack C. Taylor
The Grand Center home of the world-renowned St. Louis Symphony Orchestra will reopen in September 2025 with a new name, following a $140 million renovation and expansion. The Jack C. Taylor Music Center will encompass Powell Hall, the performance venue built in 1925 that’s been home to St. Louis Symphony since 1968, plus a 64,000-square-foot expansion including an entrance lobby, education center, and backstage wing for performers. “No individual patron in the long history of the SLSO has had a greater impact on the success of the orchestra than Jack Taylor,” said SLSO board Chair Steven L. Finerty. Taylor, the late founder of Enterprise Rent-A-Car (now Enterprise Mobility) and a prolific donor to St. Louis arts organizations, made a $40 million contribution to help establish the orchestra’s endowment trust in 2000, a donation noted at the time as the largest ever given to an American orchestra.
St. Louis-Based Nonprofit Gets $14M Federal Grant to Produce Drug Ingredients
Based in the Cortex Innovation Community, the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Innovation Center — a nonprofit aiming to improve the U.S. supply chain for pharmaceutical ingredients — has received a $14 million federal grant to produce three critical active pharmaceutical ingredients used to treat asthma, diabetes, and anxiety disorders. The work at APIIC, said its Chief Operating Officer Kevin Webb is “attracting a lot of attention — not only from the government but from other commercial partners who are now very interested in coming to St. Louis because of the work that we're doing.”
Nonprofit Looks to Build $4.7M STEM Center After Completing Educational Garden
Eight years after its founding, with its 3.5-acre educational garden up and running in St Louis' Shaw neighborhood, nonprofit Green House Venture is shifting focus toward building a $4.7 million education center nearby.
Created to link students to plant science as a potential career, the nonprofit continues to provide programming to students from four St. Louis elementary schools at the garden, built onto the Interstate 44 embankment on space leased from the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Thanks to St. Louisans, members, donors, and viewers, Nine PBS has served the metro over the last 70 years as a storyteller and trusted partner and consistently ranks as one of the most-watched PBS stations in the country. Through compelling national programs, inspiring local stories, and engaging initiatives, Nine PBS, a GSL Investor Council member, plays an essential role in moving the region forward and has been the most-watched PBS station in the U.S., with the highest percentage of households viewing, since 2020.
Intern and Apprentice Recruitment Act Application Deadline
Last year, Missouri Governor Mike Parson visited GSL to sign the Intern and Apprentice Recruitment Act, a major GSL policy priority designed to help attract top talent to St. Louis and Missouri. The bill, which was passed overwhelmingly by both houses of the Missouri General Assembly, opened to qualifying employers July 1, 2024. Applications are due Nov. 15.
The STL 2030 Jobs Plan makes it clear that driving inclusive growth will take bold and innovative forms of collaboration. Join Greater St. Louis, Inc. and leaders from across the metro to explore exciting ways public-private collaboration is helping small and diverse-owned businesses start up, scale up, and drive inclusive growth in St. Louis.
