NEW YORK (FOX)-Former St. Louis Cardinals player and manager, Joe Torre, started a foundation 13 years ago aimed at raising awareness and helping to end the cycle of domestic violence. Torre’s mother was abused by his father. On Thursday, he hosted his annual golf and tennis classic at the  Sleepy Hollow Country Club with dozens of VIPs to raise awareness and funds for his Safe At Home Foundation.

The foundation’s school-based ‘Margaret’s Place’ program helps middle and high schoolers affected by domestic violence have a safe room to talk about it. Torre says the most important thing his organization does is let youngsters know that it’s not their fault and they’re not alone.

Joe Torre Website

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ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis man has won Fourth of July’s $70 million jackpot prize after trying for 23 years.

62-year-old Tom Rea has been playing the same Powerball numbers for over two decades. The numbers have a special significance to Rea as they are a combination of family birthdays.

“I’ve been playing those numbers every Wednesday and every Saturday for 23 years, ” Rea shared.

Accompanied by his wife Cathy, Tom claimed his prize at the Missouri Lottery headquarters in Jefferson City on July 24.

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Rea didn’t know he had won the big prize when he took his ticket to be scanned at the Gas Mart on Hampton Ave. in St. Louis.

“I put it in there, and it said, ‘You won $70 million,'” he said. “So I wiped the ticket under my arm and tried it again. It said the same thing, so I asked the girl who was working there to check it for me. I told her I wanted to make sure my eyes weren’t seeing things.”

The store clerk ran the ticket with the same results.

“She said, ‘Oh, my God, mister. You won!'” Rea shared. “Then the manager came out and hugged me and shook my hand, and the girl was crying because she’d never sold such a big ticket.”

Once he learned of his big win, Rea shared the news with his wife. The two sought legal and financial counsel before claiming the funds.

So what does winning a Powerball jackpot feel like?

“It allows for early retirement,” Rea said.

“Relief. It opens all new avenues,” Cathy added.

Despite winning the ultimate prize, Rea hasn’t stopped playing his lucky numbers.

The post Man Wins $70 Million After Playing Same Numbers for 23 Years first appeared on STL Homelife.

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WARREN COUNTY — A local woman says her neighbor killed what is believed to be a Burmese python after it attacked her dog Tuesday morning.

Pauline HorstDaniel says that she saw her dog being attacked by the snake in her neighbor’s yard early Tuesday morning. She called for her husband, who ran out wearing only his underwear and a handgun. Henry HorstDaniel doubted the gun would kill the snake.  The couple then called for neighbor Clayton Dement to shoot the snake twice in the head with his shotgun.

The post 15 ft Pythons in Missouri? first appeared on STL Homelife.

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The final vote contest is on, Cardinals fans. Carlos Martinez is one of the National League candidates to get the last spot on the roster for the NL squad. He goes up against Clayton Kershaw, Johnny Cueto, Troy Tulowitzki and Jeurys Familia.

The Cards have even joined forces with the Kansas City Royals to help get Martinez and Mike Moustakas into the midsummer classic, and incentivized the voting with a chance to win to box seat tickets.

But let’s not mess around, here are 10 reasons to vote for Martinez. Don’t think. Just vote.

See Top 10 Reasons

The post 10 Reasons Martinez Should Be an All-Star first appeared on STL Homelife.

Today The MX District on Washington Avenue in Downtown St. Louis will be flooded with more than 1,000 St. Louisans. STL Summer Fest, a (free!) fun-in-the-sun block party and bazaar returns to the streets as part of ALIVE’s mission to feature local makers and celebrate our city. Read on for why you should add this local shopper’s dream to your weekend agenda. –

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See more at: http://www.alivemag.com/blog/index.php/2015/07/stl-summer-fest-takes-over-downtown-st-louis/#sthash.F1wjqLSk.dpuf

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The post Buying a Home in O’Fallon, MO: Your Ultimate Guide to Suburban Bliss first appeared on STL Homelife.

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MEXICO, MO (STL Homelife)- Local St. Louisan has been crowned the latest Miss Missouri . McKensie Garber, was the 2015 winner and receives a $11,000 Scholarship as the new Miss Gateway St. Louis!

The First runner-up and recipient of a $5,000 Scholarship was Miss Springfield,  Kelsey Dacus.

The Miss Missouri Pageant is a preliminary to Miss America, which will be held in Atlantic City in September.

Follow McKensie Garber on Twitter at @McKensieGarber

The post Miss Missouri is from St. Louis first appeared on STL Homelife.

St. Louis, MO – NBC Sports – Until they find someone to buy the naming rights to the new proposed St. Louis NFL stadium, maybe they should refer to it as the Hot Potato.

A lawsuit challenging the St. Louis ordinance requiring a public vote prior to the use of tax dollars on a sports stadium has been through two judges this week, as explained by David Hunn of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The first to go was David Dowd, who removed himself from the case on Monday. Dowd is ill and unable to handle the case in a timely way; the presiding judge of the St. Louis Circuit Court, Bryan Hettenbach, insisted that Dowd wasn’t simply trying to sidestep a case that could ultimately make him unpopular with Rams fans, if outcome results in a popular vote that prevents the stadium from being built. Regardless of the power of the NFL, electorates currently don’t have the desire to subsidize some of the richest people on the planet.

The case was next assigned to Circuit Judge Joan Moriarty, but the attorneys for the Edward Jones Dome authority (the group challenging the 13-year-old ordinance) exercised their right to strike one judge from the case. The decision to remove Moriarty means that based either on her politics or her past rulings the lawyers representing the Edward Jones Dome authority believed she would conclude that a public vote is required.

So now Judge Thomas J. Frawley, who primarily handles family law issues, has gotten the case. His background doesn’t necessarily fit this dispute. Because he’s now presiding over a lawsuit that could result in a divorce between the Rams and St. Louis, maybe it does.

Regardless of the outcome of the case, the clock is ticking. The powers-that-be in St. Louis need to secure a final order overturning the ordinance in order to clear the way for a stadium proposal that would be deemed sufficiently strong by the NFL to persuade enough owners to prevent Stan Kroenke from moving the Rams to L.A.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/06/04/st-louis-stadium-lawsuit-cant-keep-a-judge/

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Summer is here, and so is Muny Season! One of the “Must Do’s” one every St. Louisans summer list should be to attend a show at The Muny! This summer, their line-up is sure to attract some very large crowds.

June 15 – 21

One of history’s greatest and most popular musicals, Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Ladyopens The Muny’s 97^th summer season. This all-time Muny favorite has some of the most enchanting Broadway songs ever written. You’ll delight in “On The Street Where You Live,” “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?,” “The Rain in Spain,” and “I Could Have Danced All Night.” A witty and moving story of the sexes in their fiercest and funniest battle, My Fair Lady is the best of classic Broadway.

June 23 – 30

Winner of eight Tony® Awards including the 2003 Tony® for Best Musical,Hairspray brings its infectious beat and hilarious fun to the Muny for 8 performances. Set in the changing times of 1960s Baltimore, Tracy Turnblad dreams of dancing on the Corny Collins Show AND creating a perfect integrated world! Does she have the moves and the courage? Based on the 1988 John Waters Film of the same name, Hairsprayfeatures incredible dance numbers and a blazing set of pop tunes including “Good Morning Baltimore” and “You Can’t Stop The Beat!”

July 6 – 12

Happy holidays – all of them! Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn comes to joyous and extravagant life on the Muny stage. A Muny premiere, this will be only the second production in the world of this new musical based upon the beloved 1942 film. With thrilling dance numbers and lively comedy, this wonderful new show features Irving Berlin classics like “Easter Parade,” “Steppin’ Out With My Baby,” “Shakin’ The Blues Away,” “Be Careful, It’s My Heart,” and more!

July 13 – 19

The story of beloved American rock ‘n’ roll icon Buddy Holly explodes onto The Muny stage in Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story. Buddy Holly created the sounds and styles that made American rock ‘n’ roll, and this fantastic show features songs you’ve loved for decades: “That’ll Be The Day,” “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” “Peggy Sue,” and “Johnny B. Goode!” Another Muny premiere, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story is an all-American summer night’s energy boost!

View The Full The Muny 2015 Summer Line Up

The post The Muny Summer 2015 Line Up first appeared on STL Homelife.

ST. LOUIS (STLHOMELIFE) – St. Louis ranks high for more than just staycations.

Financial advising website WalletHub unveiled a report Tuesday naming the best American cities for baseball fans.

Unsurprisingly, St. Louis took the top spot; we’ve been saying that for years.

WalletHub examined 11 key metrics, including average ticket prices and minimum season ticket cost, stadium accessibility and more.

By the way, Chicago came in at 45th, well below non-MLB cities like Chapel Hill, North Carolina (23rd), Baton Rouge, Louisiana (29th), and Corvallis, Oregon (36th).

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