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EDWARDSVILLE — James T. Berry, 24, of Edwardsville, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday to a Class X felony count of disseminating child pornography, Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine announced on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. Berry admitted to sharing a video file depicting an unclothed child via the Kik application on Sept. 14, 2024. The video was not created by Berry. The investigation began after the Edwardsville Police Department received a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, leading to the discovery of child pornography on Berry’s mobile device. Haine praised the Edwardsville Police Department for their work on the case and commended Assistant State’s Attorneys Ali Foley and Rebecca Buettner, who prosecuted the case as part of the Children’s Justice Division at the State’s Attorney’s Office. In addition to the prison sentence, Berry is required to register as a sex

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ALTON — Duke Bakery, a longtime fixture in the Alton community, is set to relaunch its Duke Beverage line with a launch party scheduled for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. The event will celebrate the return of the bakery’s soda offerings. The Doucleff family purchased Jackson Bottling Co. on Oct. 25, 1943, which is the reason for the significance of Saturday's date for the anniversary event. The soda plant closed in 1954. Mike and Helen Doucleff opened Duke Bakery in 1951. The business now has locations at 819 Henry St. in Alton and 3202 Nameoki Road in Granite City. The current Duke Bakery beverage lineup includes orange, cocoa crème, root beer, cola, grape, strawberry, and blue raspberry — a modern addition to fit the tastes of Hollis’s 14-year-old daughter and the youth of her generation. All beverages will be sold in glass bottles, emphasizing the nostalgic appeal. Ben Hollis, representing Duke Bakery, shared details during a recen

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EDWARDSVILLE – The Edwardsville Police Department is proud to announce it has been awarded a federal fiscal year 2026 Sustained Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) grant. Funded by federal highway safety dollars through the Illinois Department of Transportation, the grant will support increased traffic safety enforcement efforts aimed at saving lives and reducing crashes. “We are grateful for this grant, which allows us to step up enforcement of impaired driving, seat belt, speeding, and other traffic safety laws. One of our many priorities is the safety of everyone on our roadways.” said Lt. Matt Senci. The STEP grant year runs from Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2026. During this time, the Edwardsville Police Department will conduct additional enforcement operations, particularly during high-risk periods. These operations will focus on dangerous driving behaviors, including speeding, impaired driving, distracted driving, failure to yield, disobeying traffic signals,

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WOOD RIVER – Three redevelopment projects worth a total of up to $305,000 are moving forward in downtown Wood River with City Council approval. Council members on Monday unanimously approved three agreements authorizing Tax Increment Financing (TIF) assistance for various redevelopment projects in downtown Wood River, each on Ferguson Avenue. 59 & 61 E. Ferguson Under one agreement concerning 59 and 61 E. Ferguson Ave., the city has agreed to reimburse the developer, Crown Auto Properties II LLC, up to $240,000 or 43.24% of the redevelopment costs incurred, whichever amount is less. This will be paid in annual installments of $40,000 per year for six years. The full scope of the project involves renovating two adjoining commercial properties, including improvements to the building facade and interior, according to the application for TIF funds submitted by property owner Bob Federicho. Once an estimated $555,123 worth of improvements are made to the property, its fair

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WOOD RIVER — The Wood River Business Alliance's Annual Downtown Trick or Treat event attracted a large crowd, and many children left the event with bags full of candy on Wednesday, Oct. 22, from 6 to 8 p.m. along Ferguson Avenue in Downtown Wood River. Children and families walked through Downtown Wood River and visited participating businesses, and enjoyed an evening of costumes, candy, and community activities. “This event showcases the teamwork and community pride that continue to make our downtown grow,” said Kristen Burns of the Wood River Business Alliance. Burns emphasized that the event is a community effort, noting that police and fire departments, local churches, coffee shops and other businesses all took part. “It is great to see so many people enjoy our downtown,” she said. Burns also highlighted ongoing improvements in the area, including recent construction projects and new murals. “A building across the street from us has been redone,&rdquo

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EDWARDSVILLE - There are many key contributors to Metro East Lutheran's football success in the 2025 season, but one of those is tight end Ian Skelton. Skelton has helped open up many holes for the Knights' backs through the season with his blocking, MELHS Head Coach Mike Koch said. "Ian does a great job," the coach added. "We would like to get him the ball more, but he is a key to our running game. He starts it off and gets an edge for us and opens things up for our quarterback and running backs." Skelton is a BJ's Printables Male Athlete Of The Month for the Knights. Skelton said earlier in the season that he and the other Knights players are looking to do better than last season in the playoffs and go "way farther." Skelton mentioned a team goal the Knights set before the start of the preseason. "One of the team goals we set was going 5-0 in the first five games," Skelton said, "and go on from there, try to beat last year's record." Skelton and the others are looking forward

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SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois Department of Transportation today announced the release of the new Illinois Official Highway Map. The map includes updates to listings and locations of colleges and universities, Amtrak service, tourist attractions, recreational areas – and more! It also commemorates next year’s 100th anniversary of Route 66, with updates that better represent the alignment of the historic road. “While your first choice for directions these days typically is a phone, paper maps continue to be popular with the public,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Gia Biagi. “They also are invaluable. You never know when cell service will drop in an unfamiliar area. It’s good practice to keep a paper copy on hand for these situations as well as for travel planning.” The map’s cover features a picturesque sunset along U.S. 34 between Mendota and Princeton, near La Moille. The photograph was the winner of IDOT’s employee map cover

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EAST ALTON – Students in Lewis and Clark Community College’s Child Development program will take part in a hands-on workshop about curriculum design and lesson planning through water education. The workshop is a collaboration between John Phillips, Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of Child Development & Education at Lewis and Clark, and Jolena Pang, Waterschool USA Program Manager at the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRRECsm), a division of the college. Pang—who also serves as Project WET (Water Education Today) Illinois State Coordinator— will lead activity demonstrations, while Phillips will facilitate debrief discussions and a curriculum design exercise. The session will introduce students to Getting Little Feet Wet, Project WET’s early childhood curriculum, which emphasizes a creative, play-based approach to teaching young learners about water, sustainability and environmental stewardship. Collaboration

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CHICAGO — Governor JB Pritzker today signed Executive Order 2025-06 to establish the Illinois Accountability Commission (IAC), an independent board tasked with capturing and creating a public record of the conduct of federal law enforcement agents and recommending actions to hold the federal government accountable as they continue conducting military-style operations in Chicago, collar counties, and other areas throughout the state. The Commission will determine how to safely and prudently collect testimony, hold hearings, and gather information from individuals, community members, subject matter experts, local officials, journalists, faith leaders, and organizations. These accounts will be used to shed more light on the misconduct of the Trump Administration's federal agents and document a formal, public record that can be used to pursue justice and accountability. “The federal government is pushing the boundaries of their authority to terrorize our communities while

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EDWARDSVILLE – Your requests are about to arrive at your library faster thanks to the Illinois Heartland Library System (IHLS), the organization that handles interlibrary loan delivery throughout southern and central Illinois. It is now stepping into the future with a state-of-the-art automated material handling system. New Lyngsoe Sort Mate machines at IHLS hubs in Carbondale, Champaign, and Edwardsville are streamlining the delivery process to improve service for library patrons across the region. This significant upgrade marks a major step toward faster access to materials for patrons. Illinois Heartland Library System’s three hubs process over 3 million interlibrary loan items each year. Previously, system staff hand-sorted each of these items on their way to the borrower and on their return. This manual sorting process, which involved coordinating materials between 472 libraries, required extensive labor and time. Now, most materials are automatically sorted, reducing

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today met with members of the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC) and impacted business leaders to discuss a variety of issues, including the Dream Act and the impact of the Trump Administration’s anti-immigrant agenda on essential workers and the future of the economy. “Immigrants helped build our nation, and they contribute to our society and economy. They’re business owners, teachers, officers, and community leaders. I’ve fought for immigrants—especially Dreamers—for decades, and it’s more important than ever before that we support immigrant communities. I’m hopeful to reintroduce the Dream Act on a bipartisan basis this Congress, and I will continue fighting to protect DACA from unprecedented attacks. And I will always remain grateful to the tenacity and strength of our immigrant communities, especially i

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SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Transportation has announced that it has begun the process to recertify firms to qualify them for participation in the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program. In addition, IDOT will remove some contracts in its upcoming November letting to protect homegrown, small, disadvantaged businesses and ensure a continued level playing field on state projects. Adjusting the November letting will enable more time for businesses to get recertified while also preserving access to federal funding. These moves are in response to a new federal rule imposed under the Trump administration that’s designed to deny local minority- and women-owned firms the opportunity to participate on state contracts through the longtime DBE program. The federal change enacts new bureaucratic requirements on DBE certification, which potentially jeopardize the timely delivery of projects across Illinois. “Despite President Trump’s attempts to stifle minority-

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ALTON — A single-vehicle crash involving a female driver occurred Thursday morning, Oct. 23, 2025, near Alton Square Mall at the intersection of Oakwood Drive and Homer Adams Parkway, resulting in non-life-threatening injuries, according to the Alton Fire Department. The incident occurred in the vicinity of the 700 block of Oakwood Drive. The driver was transported to a local hospital for treatment with non-life-threatening injuries, Alton Fire Department Battalion Chief Steve Perry said. The crash caused a utility pole to be sheared off, prompting the closure of the road. Perry said Ameren was contacted promptly and arrived quickly at their nearby facility to address the damage. “They came out quickly and began to put a new pole in,” Perry said. The road remained closed while emergency crews worked at the scene. Further details about the cause of the crash were not immediately available.

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ST. CLAIR COUNTY - The St. Clair County Coroner's Office identified a man found dead Wednesday morning in Frank Holten State Park as 42-year-old Michael Rogers. Rogers’ body was discovered at 10:21 a.m. on the backside of the Grand Mariah Golf Course along North Park Drive. Rogers was pronounced dead at 12:20 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, according to the St. Clair County Coroner’s Office, which confirmed he died from gunshot wounds. Authorities have not released information regarding any suspects or a possible motive in the case. The Illinois State Police Division of Criminal Investigations, Zone 6, is leading the investigation. ISP officials said the inquiry remains in its early stages, and no further details are available at this time.

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GRAFTON — A stray dog found running loose in Grafton around Oct. 15, 2025, tested negative for rabies, city officials announced Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. The male dog began showing signs of illness the day after it was found and was taken to Hawthorne Animal Hospital in Glen Carbon. Veterinarians there suspected the animal might have contracted rabies and euthanized the dog to conduct testing. Officials had previously advised that anyone who had direct physical contact with the dog should consider consulting their physician as a precaution. Rabies is typically transmitted to stray dogs through the bite of an infected animal. The virus is present in the saliva of a rabid animal and can also spread if saliva enters an open wound or mucous membranes.

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ALTON – Two cases of battery in Madison County include an Alton man accused of striking security officer and a domestic incident in Granite City. Deondrae L. Cole, 18, of Alton, was charged with one count of aggravated battery, a Class 2 felony. Cole allegedly struck a private security officer in the face and body with a closed fist while the security officer was performing their official duties on Oct. 5, 2025. Cole was granted pretrial release from custody in the case presented by the Alton Police Department. In a separate case, Damon P. Moore, 48, of St. Louis, was charged with a Class 2 felony count of aggravated domestic battery. Moore reportedly intentionally strangled a household or family member on Oct. 6, 2025. The Granite City Police Department presented the case against Moore, who was ordered released from custody pending trial. Additional conditions were imposed on Moore’s release, including that he have no contact with and remain at least 500 feet away

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ALTON - Community members have just a few more chances to win $50,000. Marquette Catholic High School will host its Homecoming Block Party in front of the school on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. Community members are invited to attend to celebrate the season and enjoy several raffle drawings as part of Marquette’s Mega Raffle fundraiser. The grand prize — $50,000 — will be announced that night. “It’s just a really good opportunity for the Marquette family, alumni, past parents, to just come and get together and have a really fun time,” said Director of Development Mary Hough. “Of course, the night culminates with our Mega Raffle drawing.” In total, Marquette will give out $62,000 in prizes. They have completed five $1,000 early bird drawings so far, with the sixth and final one slated to take place on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. During the block party, Marquette will also draw for two $250 prizes, one $500 prize, and one lucky $5,000 winner.

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ALTON - The Alton public schools began serving milk and graham crackers to undernourished students (as determined by student weight) on Monday, October 19, 1925. Mrs. Daisy Creswick Rice, health supervisor for the schools, had just completed the fall student health assessments and encouraged all underweight pupils to take the opportunity for a mid-morning meal served at 10 a.m. at all buildings. The cost to the students was 4 cents per day for a half-pint of milk and two graham crackers, but arrangements were made (as in previous years) to provide the meal for free to students who could not afford it otherwise. Rice said that “experience of the past few years has shown that the serving of milk has been of great benefit, and has had marked results. Teachers are very enthusiastic over the plan for supplementary nourishment because they find that the morning lunch increases the working power of the pupils, and tends to improve their class work as well as benefit them physically.”

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Did you know that nearly 80% of people regret not capturing more family moments in photographs? While smartphones have made snapping quick pictures easier than ever, orchestrating a thoughtful photo shoot can transform fleeting moments into treasured memories. Fall, with its rich textures and warm colors, offers a unique backdrop for family portraits that can be cherished for generations. But how do you create a fall photo shoot that truly reflects your family’s personality and creates lasting memories? Planning Your Fall Family Photo Shoot Successful photo shoots begin long before the camera comes out. Planning involves selecting the right location, coordinating outfits, and choosing a time that maximizes natural light. Choosing the Location Fall landscapes provide an array of stunning options—from pumpkin patches and orchards to wooded trails and rustic barns. Consider places that hold meaning for your family, such as a favorite park or a grandparent’s farm.

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October 23 has been a date marked by pivotal moments that have shaped world history. Starting with the event that cast a long shadow over global affairs: On October 23, 1935, Italian forces launched a full-scale invasion of Ethiopia, then known as Abyssinia. This aggressive military campaign initiated the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, a conflict that would become a critical moment in the lead-up to World War II. Italy, under the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini, sought to expand its colonial empire in Africa, and Ethiopia was one of the few independent African nations at the time. The invasion was met with international condemnation, particularly from the League of Nations, the precursor to the United Nations, which struggled to effectively respond to the aggression. The war exposed the limitations of collective security agreements and emboldened other authoritarian regimes, highlighting the fragility of peace in the interwar period. Despite Ethiopian resistance, Italy's modernized

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