Riverbender 🕸

ALTON – A resolution to delay the elimination of late night liquor licenses in Alton has been taken off the table. At Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting , Alderwoman Martha Pfister moved to rescind a resolution she introduced at the last City Council meeting to amend the effective date of the city’s elimination of late night liquor licenses . The new resolution would have allowed bars to continue selling alcohol during late night hours until April 1, 2026. Wit

HARDIN - The Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office would like to announce an arrest in relation to multiple offenses which are alleged to have occurred in Hardin, Calhoun County, Illinois, over the course of several months in 2025. On November 11th, 2025, Cody F Leavell, aged 46, of Hardin, Illinois, was located in Jackson County, Mississippi, and arrested on felony warrants for the following offenses: Failure to Register as a Sex Offender, Unlawful Residency of a Child Sex Offender, Unlaw

WOOD RIVER - Midwest Members Credit Union is proud to sponsor the “Oiler of the Month” program at East Alton-Wood River High School. A senior student is selected each month by members of EAWR faculty. Each student is awarded a certificate and a Subway gift card. The Seniors selected each month will have the opportunity to compete for a $1,000.00 “Oiler of the Year” scholarship at the end of the school year. November's winner is Connor Strebler. Connor is a Senior at EAW

ALTON - Committee chair Jody Basola expressed gratitude for the community's strong support of Vintage Voices and the event's continued popularity. “This year’s attendance brought our 24-year total to more than 10,000,” Basola said. “The portrayal of individuals from Alton’s past by costumed actors in the Alton Cemetery has become a treasured October tradition.” In addition to the primary mission of preserving local history, Vintage Voices is making a positive

WOOD RIVER - Jasiah Brown, a junior at East Alton-Wood River High School (EAWR), is being recognized for his dedication to basketball and all his other sports. Brown has been playing the sport his entire life and says he enjoys the opportunity to improve every day. “I’m thankful for my parents as they always pushed me through all the sports I participated in, especially my father, as you can probably recognize him at any sporting event because of his excessive yelling,” Brown

WOOD RIVER - Averi Gilliam, a senior at East Alton-Wood River High School, has been in basketball for many years. Gilliam has played the sport since seventh grade and credits her leadership, kindness, encouragement, teamwork, and focus as key qualities leading to this honor. She is a Midwest Members Credit Union Female Athlete Of The Month for the Oilers. Gilliam’s basketball career has been shaped by the support of her mother and coach Lindsey Perz, who coached her in previous years.

JERSEYVILLE - More than 100 underclassmen from Jersey Community High School toured several key government and public service locations in Jerseyville recently. The students visited the Jersey County Courthouse, Jersey County Government Building, City Hall, the City of Jerseyville Police and Fire departments, and the recently renovated Jerseyville Public Library. During the tour, students learned about various careers, community resources, current initiatives, operating procedures,

A potentially life-saving pilot program is launching in Bloomington, Illinois, to detect a little-known but surprisingly common genetic condition that can dramatically raise cholesterol levels—and the risk of heart attacks and strokes—even in children. It’s called familial hypercholesterolemia , or FH. It’s estimated that 1 in 200 Americans has the genetic disorder where the body can’t effectively clear LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol from the blood.

Holiday meals bring candy, cookies and other sweets in bountiful amounts. Most of us will chow down with a promise to return to healthy eating tomorrow . But people with diabetes must closely monitor their intake of sugar and carbohydrates at every meal. What is diabetes? Aminat Ogun, MD , is a family medicine physician at OSF HealthCare. She says diabetes is a disorder that affects how your body uses blood sugar. Type 1 diabetes is when an autoimmune reaction stops your body from making

Key Takeaways: Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes that affects the back of the eye and can cause vision loss, blurry vision and other problems. More than 30 million people in the U.S. have diabetes and one-third don't even realize it. OSF HealthCare has cameras at several locations that are used to detect retinopathy during a patient visit. Patients with diabetes should undergo an eye exam at least once a year. Andrew Hade was diagnosed with diabetes two years

ST. LOUIS COUNTY - St . Louis County Police Affton Southwest Precinct officers are investigating a motor vehicle crash that occurred on Sunday, November 23, 2025, on Tesson Ferry Road near Hagemann Road, resulting in the death of an adult female. At 10:42 p.m. Sunday, St. Louis County police officers from the Affton Southwest Precinct responded to a call for service for a single motor vehicle crash at Tesson Ferry Road at Hagemann Road. Upon arrival, officers located the crash involving

SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) is launching new coverage for home visiting services for pregnant and parenting Medicaid customers, effective Nov. 21. The newly-covered services and supports aim to meet the needs of pregnant and parenting individuals at a critical time in their healthcare journey, in order to create better health outcomes for both parents and their children. “My administration is committed to investing in children and families

WOOD RIVER - Rustic Roots Event Space has undergone a refresh, and you can celebrate with them. From 5–10 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, community members can stop by Rustic Roots in Wood River to check out the space and enjoy live music, food from their preferred vendors, a giveaway and more. They will also host a ribbon-cutting earlier that day at 11 a.m. Owner Tara Picket is excited to share the space with the community. “I can say that the space is definitely unique. There’s

ALTON – Grab your tinsel and your bows because FLOCK D is coming! Flock Food Truck Park and Bar, voted best cocktails and best new business by Reader's Choice, is transforming into a merry holiday wonderland for its highly anticipated seasonal pop-up experience, FLOCK*D. Opening its festively decorated doors on Saturday, November 29 at 5 p.m. , FLOCK*D promises to deliver holiday magic with photo-worthy backdrops, a special holiday drink menu, shareable bites from Byrdies,

CARROLLTON – The Carrollton United Methodist Church will host the 42nd Annual Community Carol Sing on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in the Church sanctuary. The program will be led by Tim Reif and feature groups from Carrollton area churches and a lively sing-along of traditional Christmas Carols with all attendees participating. The program will begin at 7 p.m. This is a good chance for everyone to attend and join together to make the Christmas Spirit a community wide expression of love and fellowship.

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Transportation announced today that lanes that have been closed for construction will reopen, where possible, for the long Thanksgiving weekend to minimize travel disruption. Non-emergency closures will be suspended from 3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 26, to 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 30. The following lane closures will remain in place during the holiday weekend. The public can expect delays and should allow extra time for trips through these areas. Drivers

COLLINSVILLE — Ameren Illinois employees turned generosity into action this Thanksgiving season, collecting and delivering over 20,000 pounds of food to local pantries across the state. This marks the fourth consecutive year of the company’s employee-led food drive, and participation continues to grow with 4,000 more pounds raised than last year. Through friendly competition, 42 Ameren Illinois operating locations worked together to stock shelves for families in need. “Helping

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Acting Director James Jennings announced the issuance of a health advisory for the PFAS 6:2 Fluorotelomer Sulfonic Acid (6:2 FTS), in accordance with Illinois groundwater regulations. Health advisories are issued when there is detection of a chemical substance(s) harmful to human health for which no numeric groundwater standard(s) exists, and resampling confirms the presence in a community water supply well. “Through Illinois

CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today, as part of a bipartisan coalition of 25 attorneys general and the city of New York, issued a letter to Shopify Inc. (Shopify), urging the company to take stronger action against merchants that use its services to sell illegal tobacco products, particularly e-cigarettes. Shopify’s current policies prohibit merchants from using its services for unlawful activities; however, merchants continue to use the platform’s services to

JERSEYVILLE – Members of the Jersey Community Unit School District (CUSD) 100 Board of Education voted 4-3 last Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025 to approve a tax levy increase of 7.06%. School Board members Pam Heitzig, Darcy Graham, Brad Hagen, and Peggy Perdun voted in favor of the increased levy, while Jeff Goetten, Judy Rowling, and Jacob Warford voted against it. Ahead of last week’s School Board meeting, Jersey CUSD 100 released a “ Notice of Proposed Property Tax Increase ”