ST. LOUIS — City officials said Tuesday afternoon that their request for more time to get tornado-stricken residents signed up for key federal recovery grants had been rejected, and that the deadline for initial applications would remain midnight Tuesday.

Mayor Cara Spencer sent a letter to federal officials on Friday asking for a 30-day extension for new applications for the individual assistance program, which offers tens of thousands of dollars for families hurt by the May 16 storm. Spencer said hundreds of new applications were still arriving each week and that those applying were often poor and uninsured.

She reiterated those numbers in a news release Tuesday. “I strongly disagree with this denial,” she said.

Spencer urged anyone who had yet to file an application to do so before t

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