Unreal News Challenge 2006

B) He kicked open the trunk, made a daring leap out of the moving vehicle and flagged them down

C) He employed the trunk's release lever, cracked the lid and displayed a makeshift flag

D) He kicked through the back seat and overpowered the driver

47) With what offense was Timothy Lamping, son of St. Louis Cardinals president Mark Lamping, charged on the Fourth of July?

A) Shooting Roman candles at baseball fans from a Busch Stadium luxury box

B) Throwing bottles into a swimming pool from the roof of a neighboring building

C) Scalping baseball tickets outside Busch Stadium

D) Carjacking a Chinese food deliveryman and going on a joyride

48) In March the son of an ex-Cardinal appeared in an Esquire magazine fashion spread between photos of actors William H. Macy and Seann William Scott. Who was he?

A) Nikko Smith, son of Ozzie

B) Dan Shannon, son of Mike

C) Jared Van Slyke, son of Andy

D) Matthew McGwire, son of Mark

49) This year Atlanta-based Civic Strategies Inc. ranked 21 large-market newspapers for their regional and local coverage. Where did the Post-Dispatch land?

A) 1st place

B) 8th place

C) 16th place

D) 21st place

50) What is the Missouri Department of Transportation's "Funding Allocation Challenge"?

A) A controversial new Lotto scratch-off game whose proceeds go directly into the highway department's coffers

B) An online game in which players allocate cyber money to projects in order to better understand the department's challenges

C) A leaked department briefing that recommends diverting all 2008-'10 monies earmarked for the city of St. Louis in order to fund the impending Highway 40 project

D) A department-wide spelling bee that pitted employees against one another to see who was the best at correctly spelling street names throughout the state

51) How much is the planned Highway 40 rebuild, which will be the largest highway project ever undertaken in Missouri state history, expected to cost taxpayers?

A) $342 million

B) $535 million

C) $684 million

D) Your bottom dollar

52) This summer the Reverend Larry Rice announced his support for the idea of setting aside an acre of city-owned land for use as a permanent homeless village. What would Rice's neighborhood be called?

A) Larryland

B) Slayburgh

C) Freedom Village

D) Hooterville

53) In October a seventeen-year-old Jerseyville, Illinois, youth died after being Tasered by a local police officer. According to police reports, what was the youth screaming just before he was Tasered?

A) "I want Jesus."

B) "I've got a bomb."

C) "Take one more step and I'll shoot."

D) "Who do you think I am, Larry Conners?"

54) What is Illinois Senator Dick Durbin's new title?

A) Whip

B) Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates

C) El Duderino

D) Assistant U.S. Senate Majority Leader

55) "It's going to hurt cheerleading," said Jennifer Graeff, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale's cheerleading coach, after the Missouri Valley Conference banned two cheerleading moves after a woman was injured. "The best analogy I can make is that this is like taking the three-point line away from the basketball team." Which two moves are affected?

A) The Herkie and the Cupie

B) The Basket Toss and the 2-1/2-Person-High Pyramid

C) The 3-Person High-V and 5-Person Tri-Hitch

D) The Whooptie-Doo and the Crotch Cradle

56) How did twelve-year-old Collinsville resident Alyssa Korte gain fame in 2006?

A) As a gold medalist in the 2006 Inline Speed Skating Invitational

B) As winner of A.G. Edwards' U.S. Youth Investment Championship

C) As a winner of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese's "Cheesiest Kids in America" contest

D) As the youngest-ever cover model for Cosmopolitan magazine

57) Who designed Washington University's new Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum?

A) Fumihiko Maki

B) Tadao Ando

C) Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK)

D) Definitely not Frank Gehry, because Riverfront Times would never mislead readers when it comes to the Greatest Architect in the History of the World. He has a great sense of humor, too. He's handsome, kind, gentle and not at all litigious.

58) What is the Morgan Quitno Press?

A) A weightlifting method that enabled televangelist Pat Robertson to leg press 1,300 pounds

B) The publishing house responsible for naming St. Louis the nation's most dangerous city

C) St. Louis-based porn publisher with titles such as Hot 'n' Greasy and Ridin' Dirty

D) Joyce Meyer Ministries' publishing arm

59) In October nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh was criticized for comments he made regarding a campaign ad that Michael J. Fox, who is afflicted with Parkinson's Disease, made for Claire McCaskill. What did Limbaugh say?

A) "Look at him. It's like he's doing John Ashcroft's version of the Percolator. Somebody should give him an Oscar. This is the performance of a lifetime."

B) "You know what would help him with those symptoms? A few tabs of mighty Oxycontin."

C) "I know a couple of people who have Parkinson's, and I have never seen them act in any way like that. He's clearly exaggerating."

D) "He is exaggerating the effects of the disease. He's moving all around and shaking and it's purely an act."

Match the local city official with the indiscretion:

60) Former Kirkwood deputy mayor Thomas J. Noonan

61) Former Country Club Hills mayor Felton Flagg

62) Former East St. Louis director of code enforcement Kelvin Ellis

63) Former St. Peters mayor Tom Brown

A) Revoking a liquor license as retaliation for an outspoken business owner

B) Stealing $73,000 from his employer, Zip Mail Services Inc.

C) Plotting the murder of a witness

D) Illicitly purchasing oxycodone

64) Which of the following is not owned by Anheuser-Busch?

A) Rolling Rock

B) Stone Mill Pale

C) Hurricane Malt Liquor

D) Boulevard Wheat

65) Brian G. Sparks of Florissant admitted in U.S. District Court that he had bilked businesses out of about $18,000 worth of electric guitars and music equipment by posing as which Grammy-winning guitarist?

A) Joe Satriani

B) Steve Vai

C) Eric Johnson

D) Yngwie Malmsteen

66) State Senator Bill Alter of High Ridge, at the suggestion of an eleven-year-old girl, introduced legislation that would bar grocery stores from selling what?

A) Individually packaged beer or beer that is refrigerated below 60 degrees

B) Wine with an alcohol content above 12 percent

C) Gay-themed pornography

D) Diet Coke and Mentos as part of the same purchase

67) Jackson, Missouri, student Nathan Warmack was barred from wearing what after he arrived at a high school dance sporting it?

A) A thong

B) A kilt

C) A nose ring

D) Grillz

68) What celebrity dropped in at O.B. Clark's bar in Brentwood with two Chihuahuas in tow?

A) John Lithgow

B) Paris Hilton

C) Mickey Rourke

D) Farrah Fawcett

Match the team with the sport:

69) RiverCity Rage

70) River City Rascals

71) St. Louis Swarm

72) Missouri River Otters

A) Indoor football

B) Basketball

C) Baseball

D) Hockey

73) Last year SabaH shuttered its New York City location to open in the Bevo Mill neighborhood. What is SabaH?

A) The nation's largest Bosnian-American newspaper

B) A world-famous Bosnian eatery

C) A human-rights organization that protects the interests of Bosnian Americans

D) The world's largest manufacturer of backyard smokehouses

74) Which municipality was cited by author Dave Gilmartin in his book The Absolutely Worst Places to Live in America?

A) St. Louis, Missouri

B) Pine Lawn, Missouri

C) Festus, Missouri

D) Granite City, Illinois

75) What catapulted north St. Louis County suburb Black Jack into the news this year?

A) Its city council legalized possession of small amounts of medical marijuana.

B) It unilaterally declared all forms of stem-cell research to be cloning and warned that violators would be charged with "crimes against humanity."

C) Its city council passed an ordinance prohibiting more than three people from living together in a single-family residence unless they are related by "blood, marriage or adoption"

D) It made the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest-ever game of blackjack, with 2,134 players.

Match the politician with the office he or she won in the November elections:

76) Claire McCaskill

77) Mike McMillan

78) Susan Montee

79) Jeff Smith

A) St. Louis License Collector

B) State Auditor

C) State Senator

D) U.S. Senator

80) According to AutoVantage, an automobile club, St. Louis drivers are among the nation's most courteous. Where does the city rank?

A) 2nd

B) 3rd

C) 8th

D) 17th

81) In December President Bush nominated Clayton businessman and deep-pocketed Republican donor Sam Fox to become ambassador to which country?

A) Belgium

B) Spain

C) Freedonia

D) Luxembourg

82) Who is Abigale Lynn Woods?

A) Missouri's oldest female death-row inmate

B) The first baby cloned under Missouri's stem-cell initiative

C) The recently announced Libertarian candidate for president of the United States

D) A baby abducted from her rural Missouri home

83) What the hell is that building where the Blues play called again?

A) Paige Laurie's Club 64 East West

B) Savvis Center

C) The Checkerdome

D) Scottrade Center

84) St. Louis Rapper Jibbs' "Chain Hang Low" borrows its melody from which traditional song?

A) "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"

B) "Zip Coon"

C) "Old Folks at Home"

D) "Moon River"

85) In December Chesterfield resident Hellen Carpenter offered up for auction items she inherited from her famous grandfather. Who was he?

A) Dr. James Naismith, creator of the game of basketball

B) Charles Darrow, who copyrighted Monopoly

C) Dr. William Mathias Scholl, who founded Dr. Scholl's

D) Martin Wilkes Heron, creator of Southern Comfort

86) What Detroit player made the final out of the 2006 World Series?

A) Magglio Ordoñez

B) Sean Casey

C) Brandon Inge

D) Pudge

87) Where did 2006 National League Most Valuable Player Ryan Howard attend high school?

A) Vashon

B) Lindbergh

C) McCluer North

D) Lafayette

Match the book with the local author:

88) Curses

89) Setting the Table

90) The Discomfort Zone

91) One Fine Stooge: Larry Fine's Frizzy Life in Pictures

A) Stephen Cox

B) Kevin Huizenga

C) Danny Meyer

D) Jonathan Franzen

92) "It is much bigger and better than what was originally talked about," St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay said at a news conference in October. To what was Slay referring?

A) St. Louis' shocking population gain, as reflected in revised census figures

B) The proposed hospital complex to be constructed on city-owned Forest Park land

C) A newly designed floating McDonald's that promises to revitalize the St. Louis riverfront

D) The proposed Ballpark Village project adjacent to Busch Stadium

93) In 2006 St. Louis lost three of its most famous blues legends. Which is still among the living?

A) Henry Townsend

B) Barbara Carr

C) Clarence Johnson

D) Bennie Smith

94) Which local men's store was named this year as one of Esquire's "Finest Men's Specialty Stores in the Country"?

A) Gus's Fashions

B) Sam Cavato

C) Ziezo

D) Level 1

95) This past spring the Gateway Grizzlies debuted a new menu item, "Baseball's Best Burger," at their home opener. What are the ingredients?

A) A hamburger, two strips of bacon, and cheddar cheese served between two halves of a glazed doughnut

B) A hot dog cut lengthwise and served between two hamburgers with a dollop of macaroni and cheese on a pretzel-dough bun

C) A hamburger, two slices of fried bologna and a spoonful of cole slaw, served between two halves of an apple fritter

D) A hamburger with cheddar cheese and Canadian bacon sandwiched between two slices of pepperoni pizza

96) Area pianist Peter Martin performed at this year's Oscar ceremony after appearing in what nominated film?

A) Walk the Line

B) Crash

C) Capote

D) Good Night, and Good Luck

97) What is the name of Grammy-winning St. Louis rap artist Murphy Lee's reality show?

A) Da Breakz

B) Da Survivorist

C) Da Grind

D) Da Crunkest Link

98) Who is the new coach of Vashon High School's basketball team?

A) Anthony Bonner

B) Floyd Irons

C) Diana Bourisaw

D) Quin Snyder

99) Which hot actress was seen tooling around St. Louis this summer while working on the local set of Bill?

A) Scarlett Johansson

B) Jennifer Connelly

C) Halle Berry

D) Jessica Alba

100) What did former Wizard of Oz Munchkin Mickey Carroll finally receive this year?

A) A presidential pardon after he was wrongly convicted of embezzling money from the Little People of America

B) A $423,000 check for residual payments

C) A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

D) His black-and-white striped costume, which he claimed was willed to him by the single-named Wizard of Oz costume designer, Adrian