Jenna Rae
Reporter
Huntsville, AL
Jenna became part of the WAFF 48 News team in July of 2018. She was born and raised up north in the Windy City, but is ready for the warm weather down here in the Tennessee Valley.
Jenna graduated in May of 2018 from the University of Missouri with a dual degree in Broadcast Journalism and Political Science. She spent her time throughout college working as a reporter for the NBC Affiliate station in Columbia, Missouri. This past year, Jenna was the Missouri State Capitol reporter and broke stories regarding previous Missouri Governor Eric Greitens’ affair, alleged blackmail and controversial campaign finance issues.
Political and investigative topics are stories she looks forward to covering. Jenna loves tackling hard news stories as well, and isn’t afraid of a challenge. She loves interacting with the community and sharing stories that truly matter to her viewers.
Jenna never thought she’d find herself so far away from home, but says everyone in Huntsville has made an amazing effort to make this her new home. While she’s not at work, Jenna enjoys working out, movies, E! shows, coffee shops and anything outdoors.
A man was found guilty after being previously charged in the overdose death of a 13-year-old in Washington.
Every year, for New Year’s Eve, gunshots can be heard across the city of St. Louis. St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said their calls for shots fired this year, dropped by 50% from the year before. Neighbors who made the effort to decrease this gunfire said it worked, but others said they think the gunfire was just as bad.
For months now, Art Loft residents have been speaking with News 4 about safety concerns, broken elevators and flooding inside their building. Now, they said their safety risk is at an all-time high. They said people have been breaking in and sleeping in closets, sparking police encounters and arrests.
Gun violence is a problem in downtown St. Louis regularly, and New Year’s Eve is no different. Residents captured video early Sunday morning of shots ringing out. They said they woke up to the aftermath of shattered windows and shall casings on sidewalks.
Days before Christmas, it seemed like a normal holiday season for the Bender Family in Centralia. However, with the help of family, friends and their community, the Metro East family got the Christmas miracle of a lifetime.
In just three days we’ll be ringing in 2023. While everyone has different ideas of celebrations, some city residents are asking you to avoid using your firearm in them.
Earlier this week, aldermen pushed forward a new, $135M build for the Central West End. It’s a luxury apartment that would go in the empty lot across from the Chase Park Plaza Hotel.
It’s been days of bags with no owners to be found, now packed tight into the terminals at Lambert International Airport.
Despite temperatures on the rise over the next few days, we’re still experiencing below-freezing temperatures. Dozens of unhoused neighbors in St. Louis City are continuing to brave the cold. However, after some city services couldn’t offer a warm place, one non-profit is coming forward saying the city should’ve planned better.
On Tuesday, a car crashed into a South St. Louis City apartment building killing one person, and injuring an 80-year-old man.
The snow is falling, the wind is whipping, and first responder crews across the Metro are ready.
Thieves are becoming even more bold this holiday season. We’ve seen them running rampant across the St. Louis Metro area. One suspect, targeting a home in The Hill last week, was caught on multiple surveillance cameras.
For weeks now, pediatric doctors have been scrambling to get ahold of RSV. It’s the respiratory virus many of us get on an annual basis, but it’s also one that has deeply impacted children this year. The disease is even bringing kids from rural parts of Missouri to the Metro for treatment.
A local robotics team of high schoolers is giving back to a vulnerable community, those who have Alzheimer’s disease.
Monday afternoon, Ely Walker’s second nuisance violation hearing was canceled. It was supposed to be a public hearing Thursday morning, where residents planned to talk with city leaders and the loft’s board members about their concerns.
The trial begins Monday morning for a Metro East police officer killed in the line of duty last year. On Aug. 4, 2021, Brooklyn Police Officer Brian Pierce was hit and killed by a car during a police chase. Now, his family said they’re ready for justice heading into his bench trial.
A promise made on the campaign trail is now coming to fruition. Mayor Tishaura Jones went to bat for the black community more than a year ago while running for mayor, and Thursday morning, she stands by that. In an executive order, the mayor announced the formation of the city’s first reparations commission. It’s a step forward, Jones said, could help improve the lives of the entire community.
Break-ins, unwanted parties, and a homicide are all problems plaguing Ely Walker Lofts in Downtown West.
In a matter of weeks this past summer, we saw teens parading through downtown with long guns, and several reports of teens getting shot.
We’re just days past Cyber Monday, one of the biggest online shopping days of the year.
Homeless people sleeping in stairwells, car break-ins, and broken down elevators; all issues Art Loft residents have brought to News 4. Residents said there have been issues for the last year, but now, the court is getting involved after one tenant was wrongfully evicted.
November is National Caregiver Month and News 4 is recognizing those who care for their loved ones every single day.
For more than a year now, car break-ins and thefts have been plaguing Downtown and the St. Louis region as a whole.
Members of the Hazelwood School Board spent hours Tuesday night questioning two conflicting environmental reports on the levels of contamination at Jana Elementary.
For days now, the St. Louis region has seen freezing temperatures and many are left out on the streets without shelter. For years, the St. Patrick Center has been vying for money to open a more permanent home for the unhoused.
Memories built over decades in a West County basement are looking for a new home. A local man spent years crafting and painting hundreds of World War II model planes, and now, his family is looking for a permanent home for the collection.
Next year, St. Louis is transitioning from 28 wards to 14, cutting the board of aldermen in half. However, some board members said more constituents means they should earn more money.
Last week corrections officers inside one Missouri prison in Pacific said they saw 19 overdoses in a 24-hour period.
A break-up gone bad. It’s a living nightmare for one Metro East family after three of their family members were shot Saturday, leaving one dead.
r months now, News 4 has reported on the countless, ongoing issues at Ely Walker Lofts in downtown St. Louis. Now, residents from a property across the street, managed by the same company that runs Ely Walker’s condominium board, are coming forward with their own concerns
“I heard her screaming, and I heard ‘help! Help!’ She kept screaming ‘help’, so I jumped off the couch, called 911. "
After years of fundraising and federal grants, a shelter dedicated solely to men is opening in St. Charles County. Founders said it’s the first of its kind over the Missouri River off Interstate 70 and Mid Rivers Mall.
In the last few weeks, more than 21 local businesses have been broken into and had things stolen from inside. St. Louis Metropolitan Police (SLMPD) are now saying that there is a trend of these crimes happening across St. Louis City.
“We need them to come in here, truly look at the building, see what we’ve been telling them for months and weeks now."
Pumpkin chucking event held to raise awareness about local anti-bullying and mental health resources
This past June, a video out of Wentzville Middle School went viral. It was a bullying incident that riled up parents, students and local leaders. This Halloween season, the city of Wentzville is ramping up its efforts to promote mental health and anti-bullying programs.
Police said Harris also dropped additional magazines in a stairwell, adding up to more than 600 rounds of ammunition total. Sack also alluded to Harris being mentally ill.
St. Louis Metropolitan Police are investigating a series of building and car break-ins at Laclede’s Landing.
Missouri prisons ban mail and packages in attempt to slow contraband intake and drug overdoses
If passed, Amendment 3 would legalize recreational marijuana in Missouri.
A now-deleted tweet has stirred drama between two candidates vying to represent Missourians in the U.S. Senate but stuck between Eric Schmitt and Trudy Busch Valentine are communities who said the attorney general is endangering their safety. Other critics said his deleted tweet emboldens hate.
On Friday, one family whose son died in the St. Louis County Jail in 2019 received some justice.
Former city jail superintendent and corrections officer speak out about dangerous staffing shortages
Staffing shortages have increased at the St. Louis City Justice Center.
Since January, six inmates have died at the St. Louis City Justice Center.
Sink holes, rodents, shifting foundation and more. It’s a problem some North County residents have been dealing with, they said, for far too long.
Despite some residents flocking out of the city during the pandemic, developers and other neighbors made a pledge to stay and make improvements.
Two West County families, living minutes apart, were total strangers until a life-altering moment changed everything. It’s a tragedy that’s entwined them together forever.
A dangerous moment of impact was seen and heard on camera. A video that’s caused a stir on social media shows a 12-year-old boy being hit by a car while riding his bike in his neighborhood. The driver turns out to be the local school district’s superintenden
A solution could be on the horizon for hundreds of St. Louis Public School students who have been left without school buses this year. It’s a story News 4′s been tracking for weeks now and talking with parents who are struggling to get their kids to school. Now, the district’s pledging that changes are coming.
Hundreds of St. Louis Public School students are still without school bus service. The district originally said the disruption in service would last 10 days, but now it’s closing in on five weeks.
A melted television, walls covered floor to ceiling in ashes, and an unrecognizable childhood bedroom
