Jim Merkel

Jim Merkel loves St. Louis, possibly because one branch of his history-loving family moved there before the Civil War. A longtime local journalist and author, he has written five books about the Gateway City, including Hoosiers and Scrubby Dutch: St. Louis' South Side. He covered South St. Louis and St. Louis City Hall for the old Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis from 2001 to 2009.

Jim Merkel loves St. Louis, possibly because one branch of his history-loving family moved there before the Civil War. A longtime local journalist and author, he has written five books about the Gateway City, including Hoosiers and Scrubby Dutch: St. Louis' South Side. He covered South St. Louis and St. Louis City Hall for the old Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis from 2001 to 2009. See less