I grew up in North County and for the majority of my life, that's where I lived. In 2004, I started dating a guy that lived in Arnold. I remember my first trip to the city - I thought I would never get there! When I finally arrived, I saw few businesses and A LOT OF FARMLAND. I felt like I was in the country. Well, me and the guy hit it off, and I eventually moved to the city. I watched it grow from a few small stores and a lot of vacant land to a hustling, bustling city with a wide variety of businesses and services. I didn't have to travel to South County to shop anymore or deal with that …

Hi all! I am pleased to announce that I am the new editor of Arnold Patch. I have been with Patch since it launched in the area in 2010. I started as a freelance writer in October 2010 covering Arnold, Fenton, High Ridge and Jefferson County news. In February, 2011, I was hired by the company as an associate local editor and was promoted to editor of Webster Groves Patch in August 2011. I currently live in Affton, but I have a contract on a home in Arnold! I lived in Arnold from 2004 to 2009 and loved it! I always felt SAFE! When I first moved to the city, there were few big businesses in the…

Just a quick thank you to everyone who "Liked" ArnoldPatch's Facebook page. During the July 4 holiday, the page received more than 250 "likes" and seems to be going on to 300 and hopefully many more. The page allows Arnold and Jefferson County residents to get news delivered to their own Facebook pages. People who receive the ArnoldPatch newsletter can have the daily news about Arnold delivered to their email accounts. The growth in Facebook likes has a deep meaning because it started out with zero likes and no one knew the page existed. Thanks again for the "likes", please stop by the page …

During a quiet moment, this editor will ocassionally look up at the air. After hours and days of looking at a computer screen or looking around at the city buildings, it's nice to have a different perspective on life. After a particularly stressful work day, I noticed a few items that reminded me of San Francisco, California. I lived on the West Coast for a while. Arnold has a few solar panels around town. The sights brought a smile to my face. Warm days (too warm this past week), sunlight, do-nothing (or do everything) days spent with friends and family. People sharing embarassing stories, …

A little more than a year ago, Patch ran a short three-question profile of former City Administrator Matt Unrein. He resigned from his position for personal reasons on Thursday, June 28, and the Police Chief Robert Shockey will serve as Interim City Administrator until a successor can be found. In the profile article, Unrein said he enjoyed the opportunity to help people.  Unrein treated this journalist at arm's length in the beginning in 2011 but realized he needed to talk to the press to accomplish anything in Arnold. He discussed Arnold's red-light ordinance, the possible closing of Value …

Arnold police officers caught and charged an 18-year-old man who painted graffiti on 10 different locations throughout the city. Ward 1 Councilman Doris Borgelt said, in a separate article about the crime, "I think that you have to nip this kind of thing in the bud." "It is costly to the property owners, degrades the area and is destruction of private property and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law," she added. In the article's comments section, Ward 2 Councilman Bill Moritz said a proper punishment would require the person who created the graffiti to clean up the mess. "He …

After stopping at the Arnold's Starbucks cafe, at 3884 State Route 141, this Patch editor noticed some activity at the former location of the Tilted Kilt bar, at 131 Arnold Crossroads Center. The doors to Hotshots Sports Bar were wide open, neon signs are glowing, the TVs displayed a sports channel show, tables and chairs were on the patio, and a handful of people were sitting at the tables inside the restaurant and on the patio. "Are you guys open?" I asked. Monday, June 4, at 11 a.m., I was told. The restaurant will be open for lunch. No indication whether there would be a grand opening, …

When Watercolor Villas, an affordable senior living apartment complex, opened on May 1 it was fully rented. It has a waitlist of at least 300 people. Arnold has at least three other senior-living or assisted-living complexes. The city's population has grown to about 21,000 people according the the 2010 Census results. And a number of national businesses—Starbucks, Aldi grocery, Five Guys Burger and Fries, and Trek Bicycle Store to name a few—have opened in Arnold within the last year. When it comes to medical care, however, there are more Walgreens pharmacies in and near Arnold than there are…

Another ice cream store is open in Arnold just in time for this week's 80-degree weather. Polar Opposites, a soft serve and self-serve ice cream restaurant, quietly opened next to the Starbucks cafe. The two businesses occupy a recenly constructed building at Arnold Crossroads Mall located near the intersection of north Jeffco Boulevard and Missouri State Highway. Panda Express, a Chinese-food restaurant, is the third business located in the building. Signs on the door say the business is open until 10 p.m. and that it accepts all credit cards. There are 10 self-serve flavors soft-serve ice …

Everyone has a morning or weekly routine. Most people like to flip through the daily newspaper or its website and catch up on their city's events. On Tuesday, I went to the stltoday.com news website to learn if anything new or important occurred overnight in Arnold or nearby sections of Jefferson County. I respect the establised paper and the numerous reporters who work for it. Sometimes they have the better articles or breaking news stories. Sometimes the underdog, their competition, has the better story. Reading all the sites assures a well-rounded and well-informed perspective. A valuable …

No, you're not losing it! Patch looks different today. We did a quick visual nip-and-tuck to the homepage to make it even more user-friendly. And we've moved a couple pieces of furniture. For those keeping score: We tweaked some words in our navigation bar to save space (e.g., "Traffic & Gas" is now "Commute") We moved the weather icon next to the Patch branding so you can find it more quickly! We moved, well, YOU closer to the top! (Our "shout stream" is now front and center to show all your comments off.) And of course we prettified a few things. While the site might look a little different…

There's only three weekends left prior to tax filing deadline on April 17. As reported earlier this year, a Washington DC holiday on April 15 has forced the IRS to delay the deadline in 2012. Since one of those weekends is the Easter Holiday, April 8, there's only two weekends remaining to calculate, complete forms and file taxes. For those readers who prefer to file taxes on their own, the IRS is issued a list of free tax preparers. There are 14 online taxpreparers that will help people who earned less than $57,000 in 2011. Seniors who prefer to see a tax specialist, in person, for free will…

Tuesday's high temperature forecasted in the 80s. The temperatures are supposed to fall into the 60s by Thursday. It's been a nice winter. Spring offically starts in a few days. So what have been your favorite moments during the 80 degree temperature this past couple of weeks? Every once in a while, for just a minute, there's peaceful moment that connects with a person. For us at ArnoldPatch those moments arrived after an interview and while driving around Arnold. Seeing a flowering tree next to a solar-powered windmill was the perfect moment to end the work week and enter the weekend on …

A special thank you to Arnold Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kelly Feldmann for providing a photo of the opening of Arnold's and the Chamber's newest member business. Home Service Oil, at 1919 Richardson Rd., had a formal ribbon cutting opening ceremony on March 14. Please stop by and give a hearty hello to owners and new employees. Arnold's economic growth seems to be going strong.

The City of Arnold has no intentions to annex land, voluntarily or involuntarily, any time soon. “But we need to be proactive about the city’s future looking five or 10 years down the road,” City Treasurer Dan Kroupa said during the City Council’s work session at City Hall on March 8. Council work sessions allow councilmen to discuss city issues and possible solutions prior to drafting a city ordinance into law. Arnold’s growth will be a quiet and pressing concern within a few years. The city’s population has grown to about 22,000 from about 19,900 a decade ago, according to Census data. …

A lot of new businesses have arrived in Arnold in the last year. Starbucks, Five Guys Burger and Fries, Aldi's grocery store, Panda Express, Christian Brothers Automotive repair shop . . . are a few that immediately come to mind. There's also a new senior living center under construction near Ferd B. Lang Park. But what else to readers and Arnold residents want to enjoy in the city? In a few ArnoldPatch articles and other websites, readers said they want to see an entertainment district in Arnold, sporting goods stores, home furniture reailers and a Trader Joe's grocery store. Other readers, …

The City of Arnold rejected, on Feb. 2, an offer to buy the city's sanitary sewer system. If the sewers sold, the city would have had additional money for other needed projects, such as road repairs. Arnold city government would no longer need to finance and find contractors to repair leaking sewer pipes or pay to further purify sewer water to meet federal requirements that will, in the the future, protect Missouri's waterways and lands. If the sale occurred, Arnold residents also faced the risk of higher sewer rates in the future. Without the sale, Arnold's government needs to pay for those …

We're ArnoldPatch, and we just want to say, "good morning!" That's what the daily Patch email newsletter is all about. Every morning, as you're rising to start your day, we send you the latest local headlines, events, blogs, photos and community tidbits — right to your inbox, free of charge. All you have to do is sign up. You won't believe how easy it is. Here's why we think you'll like it.  1) It's quick. Hey, we know you get a lot of email. That's why we made it easy to read. 2) We're all about your community. With a quick scan, you'll find stories about your schools, the local police, new …

The Starbucks cafe, at 3884 State Route 141, had a soft opening on Jan. 21. In other words, it's open for business and serving coffee, newspapers and blended coffee drinks through its drive-thru. It's also a great a place to linger and work on a laptop for a few hours. A "soft opening" is an unofficial busines opening that occurs with no announcments or publicity a few weeks prior to a ribbon-cutting event at a grand opening. Usually the mayor, a few elected officials and the business' management attend an official opening. Businesses have soft openings to allow managers and employees to …

Arnold Ward 2 Councilman Bill Moritz, who is a pilot, invited Arnold Patch on a Cessna plane ride on Aug. 19. Sometimes only a picture can convey the experience. Click through the slideshow to see a few images from the flight from St. Charles Airport, to St. Louis city, Arnold, Six Flags and back to St. Charles Airport.   Related Story - A Flight to Arnold