St. Louis Public Radio News Team Biographies

News Director Bill Raack:
Raack has been in radio for over 20 years. After graduating with a degree in journalism from the University of Kansas in 1983, he worked at commercial radio stations in Kansas and then Illinois. He moved to public radio in 1990, joining the staff of WILL-AM/FM in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, as a host/reporter and then as news director in 1993. He returned to his hometown of St. Louis in 1995 as the local host of St. Louis Public Radio's Morning Edition program and also served as a reporter/producer until 1998, when he was named news director. Bill and his wife Kim are proud parents of two public-radio-listening children. >> Back to top

News Producer Adam Allington:
Allington’s radio career began at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Portland, Maine. He went on to cut his teeth filing stories for Maine Public Radio. Before coming to St. Louis Public Radio in 2006 Adam worked as freelancer for a variety of shows and networks including NPR, Marketplace and Weekend America. More recently, he was an international journalism fellow with Deutsche Welle in Bonn, Germany. Adam grew up on a cherry farm in northern Michigan. He holds a BA in economics from Kalamazoo College.

In December 2007, Adam went to Iraq to report on life there for troops from the St. Louis area.
>> Read his reports from the trip

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State House Reporter Marshall Griffin:
St. Louis Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay at a few music stations in Mississippi. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Griffin was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off the old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and of course, the 2000 presidential recount. More recently he enjoyed living in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. While there he worked a number of jobs, including reporting and anchoring for the local news/talk station, WWNC-AM, which back in the early 20th century aired bluegrass music and helped establish country & western as a radio format. Now he’s getting settled into Jefferson City and bringing St. Louis Public Radio listeners news of what their elected officials are doing. >> Back to top

News Producer Maria Altman:
Altman came to St. Louis Public Radio from Dallas where she hosted All Things Considered and reported north Texas news at KERA. Altman also spent several years in Illinois: first in Chicago where she interned at WBEZ; then as the Morning Edition host at WSIU in Carbondale; and finally in Springfield, where she earned her graduate degree and covered the legislature for Illinois Public Radio.

A native Iowan, Altman earned her bachelors degree in journalism at the University of Iowa. She remains a devoted Hawkeye. In her free time, Altman likes hiking, swing dancing, and searching for the perfect diner. >> Back to top

News Producer Rachel Lippmann:
Lippmann returns to her native St. Louis after spending two years covering state government in Lansing, Michigan. She earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and followed (though not directly) in Maria Altman's footsteps in Springfield, also earning her graduate degree in public affairs reporting. She's also done reporting stints in Detroit, Michigan and Austin, Texas. Rachel likes to fill her free time with good books, good friends, good food, and good baseball. >> Back to top

News Producer Matt Sepic:
Sepic is a native of Cleveland. He came to St. Louis Public Radio in St. Louis in 2003 after working for several years at WNIN-FM in Evansville, Indiana. Matt graduated from Ohio University in Athens, where he started in broadcasting at public radio station WOUB. When he's not working, Matt is likely reading, cycling, or working on his 100-year-old house in south St. Louis, which he shares with his wife Elise and daughter Elizabeth. >> Back to top

Science Reporter Véronique LaCapra:
Véronique LaCapra first caught the radio bug while writing commentaries for NPR affiliate WAMU in Washington, D.C. After producing her first audio pieces at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies in N.C., she was hooked! She has done ecological research in the Brazilian Pantanal; regulated pesticides for the Environmental Protection Agency in Arlington, Va.; been a freelance writer and volunteer in South Africa; and contributed radio features to the Voice of America in Washington, D.C. She earned a Ph.D. in ecosystem ecology from the University of California in Santa Barbara, and a B.A. in environmental policy and biology from Cornell. LaCapra grew up in Cambridge, Mass., and in her mother’s home town of Auxerre, France. >> Back to top

Hosts:

Bob McCabe has been the local host of Morning Edition since the mid-nineties, shortly after St. Louis Public Radio changed its format to news/talk. Before that, he hosted the daytime classical music program. A native St. Louisan, Bob spent 11 years in the Catholic ministry. When not sitting behind a microphone or standing before a classroom full of students or a church full of parishioners, Bob has enjoyed singing and recording with the St. Louis Symphony Chorus for two seasons, and working in St. Louis theatre. You might have seen him in roles with the St. Louis Repertory Theatre, Washington University’s performing arts theatre department, and many community theatres. He now works occasionally with the continuing education department at UMSL in their senior theatre productions. Most recently, Bob and his wife Pat became great-grandparents; so now Bob’s most important role is to be the best grandpa in the world. He will probably be getting up early in the morning for the rest of his life… >> Back to top

Steve Potter began his radio career at the NPR affiliate at Missouri State University, where he was the local news anchor for Morning Edition. After that he worked either as a news anchor or talk show host on several commercial stations before "coming home" to public radio at St. Louis Public Radio in 2001. Steve can be heard weekday afternoons on St. Louis Public Radio and hosts St. Louis Public Radio’s local arts program Cityscape on Fridays. He is also a program host on City TV-10 which is owned and operated by the City of St. Louis. >> Back to top

Gerry Rohde became radioactive in his hometown of Bremen, Germany, during the Reagan administration’s first year. After his move to St. Louis in 1983, Gerry resumed his radioactivity with St. Louis Public Radio in 1985 as a weekend jazz host. Since then, and following a news internship in 1987, he has hosted a variety of programs, including classical music. He began his current role as St. Louis Public Radio’s weeknight evening host in 1996. Gerry has spent so much time with the station that he is in the beginning stages of emitting public radio waves himself. >> Back to top

Don Marsh has extensive and broad media experience, with a career beginning in 1959. Starting as a managing editor for a small magazine in New Jersey, he went on to become a radio news writer in Germany; an Eastern European correspondent and bureau chief for the American Forces Network; news director at WJZ-TV in Baltimore; anchorman/political specialist reporter/producer at KTVI-TV in St. Louis; a talk show host for KMOX radio; an anchorman for KDNL-TV; and a producer of training videos for law enforcement. He began as host of St. Louis Public Radio’s St. Louis on the Air in September 2005. His many professional awards include 12 Regional Emmy Awards, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. >> Back to top

Jim Althoff fills in for Bob McCabe and Steve Potter when the need arises. Jim is a life-long radio guy. He's done jazz in San Francisco, classical music here in St. Louis and many years of talk radio in between--in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Milwaukee and St. Louis. Married to Andee for almost 25 years, he is the proud father of two sons, Harry, a senior at Truman State University, and Daniel, a Parkway high school student. In between his gigs with St. Louis Public Radio and the classical station, Jim works as a substitute teacher in the Parkway district and does a little writing. He's long been a fan of public radio and is delighted to be associated with NPR, PRI and the other providers through St. Louis Public Radio. >> Back to top

Christian Cudnik is an Emmy Award-winning producer. He received the award for “Best Historical Documentary” for the Higher Education Channel slave film, Seeking Freedom in 2008. His biographical profiles and interview features are regularly featured on HEC-TV and he is a contributor to the online publication, The Saint Louis Beacon. His photography received national exposure in 2005, (Pointe Magazine & Dance Magazine), and encouraged the creation of his first independent documentary, Enduring Tradition: Ballet in the Heartland. His second film, Collective Improvisation, featured the story of jazz in Saint Louis and earned a Telly Award. Recently, Christian directed Wallace Herndon Smith: Artist Without Boundaries, Footsteps into the World Beneath and a Native American-Archeology documentary called, Uncovering Ancient Saint Louis. This documentary premiered at the Saint Louis History Museum, The Archaeology Channel, and aired on PBS affiliate KETC in 2009. During his broadcast career, Christian obtained the number one ranked radio program in Philadelphia, and was nominated for two Philadelphia AIR Awards including, “Best Field Reporting,” and “Best Evening Program-Host” at heritage rock station WMMR. He has served as the Saturday morning host of St. Louis Public Radio since 2003, and in 2010 became the broadcast voice of Classical 90.7 KWMU-3 an HD channel and online service dedicated to live classical music programming. >> Back to top

Ed Francis is a long-time NPR listener, and has been a weekend host with St. Louis Public Radio since 2001.
When he's not in the studios at 90.7, he can be found working at Whole Foods Market, or helping his mother take care of the family home.  In his spare time, Ed and his partner Linda play music with The St. Louis Dances of Universal Peace Group. Ed completed his broadcast education in 1993, and made his radio debut with WEW, the oldest radio station in the St. Louis area. >> Back to top

Dennis Owsley has broadcast a weekly jazz show for St. Louis Public Radio since April 1983. Professionally, he holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry and is a retired Monsanto Senior Science Fellow and college teacher. His current show, Jazz Unlimited, is heard every Sunday night from 9:00 p.m. to midnight. The show has the largest jazz audience in St. Louis and was named "Best Jazz Radio Show" in St.
Louis for the years 2005-2007 and 2009 by the Riverfront Times. In celebration of his 25 years on the air, January 24, 2008 was proclaimed "Dennis Owsley Day" in the City of St. Louis. He is the 2010 winner of the St. Louis Public Radio Millard S. Cohen Lifetime Achievement Award.
Dennis is also a noted photographer. His one-man exhibit, In the Moment: Photographs of Jazz Musicians, ran from September 23, 2005 to January 21, 2006 at the Sheldon Art Gallery. His images have been published in music textbooks and on websites and several CD covers. He is a lifetime student of jazz history and teaches short courses on the subject to any group that wants him. Dennis is the author of the award-winning first book on St. Louis jazz history called City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz in St. Louis 1985-1973, published in 2006.

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Geri Mitchell Geri Mitchell is a 20+ year radio veteran. She began her broadcast career at the age of 18 at 88.7 FM WSIE radio in Edwardsville Illinois. With three years of radio experience, she graduated with a bachelor of science degree in mass communications. After employment at KETC as a producer, Geri longed to return to radio and in1992 she landed a job with KUSA radio where she worked as an announcer and board operator. She was later hired by KSD-AM as a board operator for CNN simulcast news programming. Geri later produced weekend programs at KMOX 1120 AM. She was soon promoted to senior producer for former Mayor Freeman Bosley Jr.’s “on the road” radio show, What’s Goin’ On, which aired on KSD-AM. In 2004, she produced and hosted Insight on St. Louis, a weekly talk program, which focused on the issues surrounding the metropolitan St. Louis area. You can hear Geri on KEZK radio, where she has worked for the past 15 years as an announcer/board operator. She is also a board operator for KYKY ‘Y-98” radio. Geri’s love for public radio has brought her to KWMU 90.7 as a weekend announcer where she can be heard during such programs as Fresh Air Weekend and All Things Considered. She is an MBA graduate from the University of Phoenix and freelance writer and published editor. >> Back to top