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September 13, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Construction Forum is partnering with workforce development groups and community based organizations across the region to connect their candidates to the construction built environment industry. All participants will be age 18 or older.

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From KMOV4: Steps to improve I-70 are in the works. The Missouri Department of Transportation will be holding public information meetings to talk about proposed improvements to I-70.

Using $2.8 billion from this year’s state budget, the Improve I-70 program will plan, design and execute the construction of a third lane of both directions of Interstate 70. The addition will span 200 miles of the highway from Blue Springs to Wentzville.

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From Construction Dive: The Department of Labor on Thursday made public its final rule updating Davis-Bacon prevailing wage regulations.

The 716-page document says that the rule will be published in the Federal Register on Aug. 23, and will be effective 60 days from then, Oct. 23.

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MOWIT is accepting nominations to honor exceptional tradeswomen at the Missouri Women In Trades Blue Collar-Black Tie Awards Gala on Friday, October 6 from 5:30 PM – 11:00 PM at Sheet Metal Workers Local 36 Grand Hall. Winners will be announced at the event.

Award Categories

Tradeswoman of the Year Award

Breaking Barriers - Union / Pre- /Apprenticeship of the Year Award

Breaking Barriers - Contractor of the Year Award

Gina Walsh Legacy Award

Nominations will be accepted through Friday, September 8, 2023. 

If you have already submitted a nomination, please feel free to spread the word about the awards and encourage others to make a nomination.

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Amid a serious labor shortage in the national construction industry, the St. Louis Carpenters Union is bringing back a time-honored tradition. This past week, the union held its first apprentice graduation ceremony in more than 20 years.

“There are currently half a million unfilled trades jobs in the United States, threatening infrastructure and other major construction,” said Gary Perinar, head of the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council. “We thought this would be the perfect time to bring back our annual graduation event and celebrate the young men and women who are choosing a trades career to build America and keep our country’s economy moving.”

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Kwame Building Group has added three new team members: Junior Theolus as Project Administrator and Diversity Monitor, Patrick Jeep as Project Controls Scheduler and Chris Draper as Project Engineer and Construction Manager.

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From World Record Academy: St. Louis, Missouri, United States–The World’s Largest Chess Piece (WLCP) in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, measures 20 feet tall (6.096 m) and 9 feet, 2 inches (2.79 m) in diameter at the base and weighs a whopping 10,860 pounds (4,926 kg); it is 53 times larger than its model—the “Championship Staunton” king custom-designed by The House of Staunton in 2013 for use in the first Sinquefield Cup and it sets the world record for being the World’s Largest Chess Piece, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY.

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From St. Louis/Southern Illinois Labor Tribune: Roofers and Waterproofers Local 2 and its international, the United Union of Roofers Waterproofers and Allied Workers, recently partnered with GAF Roofing Academy to provide comprehensive low slope commercial roofing training for applicants seeking a career in the commercial roofing industry.

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From Illinois Business Journal: Vermeer Midwest, a recognized merchandiser of heavy industrial and agricultural equipment will be breaking ground on a new facility in Collinsville later this year.

Vermeer Midwest opened its current location on March 1 of this year. The new building will accommodate more storage space, training areas and service bays.

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Greg Mohler, head of Planning Design and Construction (PD&C) for BJC Healthcare will retire in April of 2024,

Bob Cannon, BJC Group President announced the retirement in an email to BJC Toolbox participants on Tuesday (Aug. 15). Mike Hayes, currently the healthcare market leader for PARIC Corporation, will return to BJC, to lead PD&C, Cannon announced.

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If you are not familiar with MOWIT (Missouri Women in Trades – mowit.org), you should be. This organization is truly one that fosters and supports career development of women who work in or want to work in the skilled construction trades.

MOWIT is a non-profit with a mission to expand opportunities for women to enter and succeed in apprenticeship and careers in the construction and building trades of the greater St. Louis area. MOWIT works with employers, unions, educational organizations, and other entities and allies to increase women’s equal employment opportunity and equitable working conditions. MOWIT is committed to building a diverse workforce, strong labor movement, safe and healthy worksites, and women’s empowerment and economic security.

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From West Newsmagazine: The historic flood of 1993 took away so much – residences, businesses and agricultural property, yet, because of it, so much more has evolved.

What was once a predominantly rural community known as Gumbo Flats, has transformed into a thriving metropolis with retail, restaurants, hotels, an entertainment district and athletic complexes.

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by Dr. John Gaal

Editor’s Note: Each week, Dr. John Gaal, director of worker wellness for the Missouri Works Initiative, a non-profit workforce formed by the Missouri AFL-CIO, collects and comments on news and trends in workforce wellness and life balance. Construction Forum will be carrying the Worker Wellness & Well-Being Blog as a regular feature.

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from the launch of a new mini-series on the US opioids crisis (“Painkiller” on Netflix); to how police are testing high drivers; to why younger workers in China, India, and Vietnam are avoiding factory jobs.

Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of the college “arms race”.

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by Chris Krehmeyer, CEO of Beyond Housing

We spend a lot of time in St. Louis talking about all the things that are wrong with our region. From our declining population and drop out of the list of the top 20 metro regions to our difficulty in attracting talent and our reputation as an area of high crime, the list is long and varied.

We fill auditoriums with panel discussions, many of which I’ve either been a participant or an audience member, discussing these problems and how to correct our course for the future.

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From St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The stone arches and brick hallways of Fanning Middle School weren’t vacant long before a developer pitched a plan to transform the Tower Grove property into affordable housing.

It also didn’t take long before some neighbors voiced concerns. And then they sued the city to stop the project.

“We stand for quality affordable housing,” said neighbor Greg Michaud, who sued the city last year. “This is not going to be a quality project.”

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IMPACT Strategies broke ground on Hoyleton Youth & Family Services (HYFS) new residential campus at the end of July with special guests, Governor JB Pritzker, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director, Marc D. Smith & Hoyleton Youth and Family Services President and CEO, Chris Cox.

As the design builder on the project, IMPACT Strategies collaborated with TWM Engineering & Hurford Architects during the planning and design stages.

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From St. Louis Public Radio: Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed legislation Tuesday designed to help the state recruit and retain young talent in the workforce.

The Intern and Apprentice Recruitment Act, which easily passed in the legislature earlier this year, encourages businesses to grow the number of interns or apprentices they employ.

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From St. Louis Business Journal: R.P. Lumber Co. Inc., one of the St. Louis region’s largest privately held businesses, will again expanded its footprint in Illinois with the acquisition of a location from another building materials retailer.

The Edwardsville-based hardware and building materials retailer said Monday that it will acquire the Sparta, Illinois, location of Wright Building Center, a two-location retailer of lumber and other construction products and services.

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From Construction Dive: Schools investing in campus upgrades are putting more emphasis on spaces that encourage student engagement, allow flexibility for changing enrollments, and ensure student and staff safety, according to experts in school architecture.

Before new spaces are built or existing areas reconfigured, however, there’s a lot of planning between school officials and designers about how best to maximize a district’s desires with what is practically and financially possible.

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From WASHU’s The Source: Architecture shelters and protects. Yet too often, the built environment also perpetuates entrenched biases as well as a domineering and extractive view of the natural world.

But what if architecture were rooted in a more holistic ethos? What if architecture tended not only to the needs of the body, but to the health of society and of the planet?

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From St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Downtown’s newest hotel — and art museum — is now open.

21c Museum Hotel opened Tuesday in the 95-year-old former YMCA building on Locust Street after several years of construction. The boutique hotel offers 173 rooms and over 14,000 square feet of museum exhibition space spread throughout the 10-story building. The art museum is free and open 24 hours a day.

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From St. Louis Business Journal: A St. Louis-based family of companies focused on hospitality has promoted one of its executives to a new role.

Linda Eigelberger has been promoted to chief commercial officer of Midas Enterprises from her previous position as senior vice president and principal at Midas Hospitality, Midas Enterprises said in a news release.

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