Thank You St. Louis For Staying Patched In

ST. LOUIS, MO — Thank you, Patch readers, for taking time out of your busy lives to spend some with us. We appreciate your visits and contributions, and we want you to know we take nothing for granted. Thank you for helping us to grow and thrive this year.

Patch came to the St. Louis area eight years ago this month — with a four-year hiatus from 2014 to 2017. St. Louis Patch launched in the fall of 2017. We've come a long way since then, and you're a big reason why.

In August, St. Louis Patch recorded 115,918 visitors — that's about 100,000 more than this time last year, just before we relaunched. Across the St. Louis area, our 25 other local Patches garnered another 74,400 visitors, a healthy chunk of our more than 322,000 visitors statewide. That figure — compiled and verified through Google Analytics — includes readers on desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile and our app, and our visitors often access Patch on several devices over the month.

Here are 10 of the most-read articles on St. Louis Patch in August:

• Missouri's 100 Best Public High Schools: New Rankings
• Police Looking For Woman 'Too Old To Be Wearing Aeropostale'
• Bagels Go Uneaten At Poorly-Attended Olive/170 Business Meeting
• TIF Vote Was Just First Step For Contentious U. City Development
  
• 'Felony Lane Gang' Targeting Women In Saint Louis
• 'Right-To-Work' Proposition A Defeated In Missouri
• Branson Duck Boat Shouldn't Have Been On The Water: Coast Guard
• Two Missouri Astronauts Chosen To Fly SpaceX's Dragon
• Saint Louis Police Lip Sync Under The Gateway Arch
• Army Chopper Seeks Shelter From Storm In Restaurant Parking Lot

Got a news tip? I'm Ryne Danielson, your local editor. My background is in international relations, but I love digging into community stories and holding local officials accountable. Many journalists start off as reporters then move into public relations for better pay and better hours. I did the opposite. I started as a writer and photographer for a medical university on the east coast before moving to St. Louis in 2017.

"Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed; everything else is public relations," according to George Orwell in a quote that is probably apocryphal. No matter who said it, it's a creed I try to live by.

Send your tips, ideas and questions my way at ryne.danielson@patch.com.

---

If you would like to post on St. Louis Patch, too, signing up for a free user profile is easy. As a Patch user, you can post articles, events, jobs, and announcements. And the "rules of Patch" are easy to follow: "no abusive content, no commercial spam, keep it local, and be awesome."

What else is new? So far this year, hundreds of new email subscribers have joined St. Louis Patch. (Wait? You don't get our email? Click here and we'll hook you up.)

If you own a local business and are interested in getting your message on any of our nearby Patches, please visit the page and tell us what you need. One of our sales reps will be in touch.

Here's another fun fact about Patch: Did you know that Patch is among the 100 most trafficked websites in the United States? Patch ranks 91st on the most viewed websites in the country, according to Alexa. St. Louis Patch is part of a broad network, with more than two dozen Patches in Missouri and more than 1,200 across the United States. That's a lot of local news!

And, while many news websites are limiting access to free articles, articles and events by Patch journalists and our users are always free to view.

We're thrilled you've made Patch a part of your life. Thank you so much for your support and readership.

Try The Patch App
We've taken the best of Patch and packed it into a lightning fast, super-clean app that is loaded with features users have told us they want. If you haven't tried the app, give it a try. You can get the latest local news sent straight to your phone or tablet with the free Patch app for iPhone and Android.)

Photos by J. Ryne Danielson/Patch