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Couples names: Jarrid & Kedra City: Bethalto Date met or started dating: August 28, 2009 Date married: May 5, 2018 What makes your relationship special? We’re best friends first and partners second. The love and respect we have for each other is what makes us so strong. No matter what happens in life, at the end of the day we have each others back and always will! Share a memory you have made together: We met in our sophomore and junior year of high school so we have so many great memories and look forward to making many more! The best so far is sharing our honeymoon in the mountains with just us and the dog.

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Couples names: Chelsey & Shawn City: Alton Date met or started dating: December 28, 2013 Date married: December 28, 2016 What makes your relationship special? We started as friends and have maintained that friendship as the backbone of our relationship. Share a memory you have made together: In 2018 we moved to China together. We stayed there for almost 5 years teaching and traveling.

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EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville School District 7 will hold an informational night and open house at Lincoln Middle School at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, for community members to learn more about how the zero-tax-rate-change bond, if passed, would address needed renovations and a partial rebuild of the aging school building. Edwardsville School District 7 will have a $100 million zero-tax-rate change bond referendum on the April 4, 2023, ballot. If approved by voters, the district would be able to issue $100 million in bonds to address essential safety and security upgrades, identified facility needs and other identified critical maintenance. While some schools require more repair and renovation than others, every student attending school in our district will improve from improved school buildings. The informational night will begin with a presentation in the auditorium that will include architectural plans for Lincoln. District leaders, staff, and students

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ST. LOUIS - Charlee Soffer, a former St. Louis resident locally known as the “St. Louis Superman,” is embarking on a new journey halfway across the country as he and his wife Colleen begin their lives together after spending years in a long-distance relationship. They are asking the public for donations to their GoFundMe fundraiser to help cover moving expenses as they start the next chapter of their story, which has so far included multiple Superman events, an emergency marriage over Zoom, and much more. Charlee’s career as St. Louis Superman began when he moved to the city after graduating from Jersey Community High School in 2005. He went to his first Superman Celebration in Metropolis the next year and became the sole pupil of Christopher Dennis, the “Hollywood Superman” who was well-known for impersonating the superhero on Hollywood Boulevard. Charlee returned to the event every year, and on his sixth year going, he met Colleen. They started

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EDWARDSVILLE – The passion for her students and the field of healthcare is what makes Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Myjal Garner, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, stand out as a “SIUE Difference Maker”. The School of Nursing (SON) instructor and family nurse practitioner at the SIUE We Care Clinic strives to ensure that her students feel supported and succeed in their educational endeavors. “It is truly an honor to be a part of my students' journey,” said Garner. “My students inspire me more than they will ever know. The nursing students are choosing this profession, which is a career unlike any other, in my opinion. They are entering a field that I have loved since I was nine years old, so it is an honor to help prepare them for it.” Senior Katie Schuecking, one of Garner’s multiple nominators as a SIUE Difference Maker, acknowledges the great impact that Garner has had on her throughout her academic career. "Dr. Garner is an

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SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Police (ISP), working with local law enforcement and community partners, continues to decrease the supply of opioids and other drugs devastating many neighborhoods. In 2022, the ISP Metropolitan Enforcement Groups (MEGs) and Drug Task Forces across the state seized 679 firearms, 26,679 pounds of drugs, and arrested 1,942 individuals. The ISP MEGs and Drug Task Forces are on the front lines of narcotic enforcement, prevention, and treatment strategies. MEGs and Task Forces represent a collaborative effort among state, federal, and local law enforcement agencies to enforce Illinois drug laws and investigate gang activity. “Every neighborhood deserves to be free from violence,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “We’re getting results through an evidence-based and data driven approach focusing on violence prevention. I’m thankful for the hard work of our dedicated law enforcement officials who risk their lives in orde

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EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville High School's orchestra continued an eventful year with Director Victoria Voumard this past weekend at the Illinois State University campus for the 14th Annual Invitational High School Orchestra Festival. "We had six high schools, seven string orchestras, and approximately 350 string students on campus for the day," Voumard said. "You had rehearsals, clinics with the ISU artist String Faculty, and an opportunity to hear other orchestras in the Festival Concert." Voumard described the festival as a great experience for her students. Here was the Edwardsville High School schedule for Friday: 9:00 a.m. - Rehearsal on Braden Auditorium stage 9:30 a.m. - Clinic with Dr. Block 10:00 a.m. - Clinic with Dr. Kate Lewis, professor of viola 10:30 a.m. - Clinic with Dr. Igor Kalnin, professor of violin 11:00 a.m. - Move to Brown Ballroom to hear the ISU Symphony in concert Noon - Breakout sessions by instrument: All violins to Brown Ballroom – master

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EDWARDSVILLE – A Metro East Sanitary District commissioner is on the county board agenda this Wednesday – for removal. “Illinois law allows me to both appoint and remove MESD commissioners, with county board approval,” Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler said. The MESD board has five commissioners, two appointed by the St. Clair County Chairman, two by the Madison County Chairman, and one by the Mayor of Granite City. The commissioner on the agenda was appointed in 2017 and the term expired in December 2022. “I asked the commissioner to step down, at the conclusion of the term,” Prenzler said. “But the commissioner refused.” Illinois law (70 ILCS 2905/3-4) states: Commissioners shall be paid the same salaries as the county board members from either St. Clair or Madison County whichever is lower. Prenzler said that in addition to salary, commissioners also receive health insurance benefits – benefits that Madison County

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) encouraging them to use the authorities granted to them under the Clayton and FTC Acts to appropriately investigate interlocking directorates in the life science industry and take all necessary steps to combat this anticompetitive practice. An interlocking directorate occurs when an individual simultaneously serves on multiple corporate boards of directors. The practice can raise competition concerns, particularly when the individual serves on the boards of companies in the same industry or where the companies are competitors. Recent research suggests that anticompetitive interlocking directorates frequently happen in the life science industry, potentially resulting in coordination on pricing and other decisions that result in consumer harm. Under the Clayton Act, it is illegal for a person

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ALTON - Jerry Rumph, president of OSF St. Anthony's Health Center in Alton, appeared on a recent episode of Our Daily Show! on Riverbender.com to discuss the work the organization does, the Moeller Cancer Center, their partnership with SSM Health, and much more. Rumph said that while OSF is technically a Catholic health center, you don’t have to be Catholic - or able to pay them - to receive treatment. “The thing that we really focus on is not necessarily about being Catholic, it’s really about taking care of patients, the whole person - the mind, body, and spirit,” Rumph said. “We really focus on the person, the individual, the dignity of the person, what they’re there for regardless of their ability to pay. We actually honor that and we cherish the ability to take care of patients who are underserved or who lack the ability to pay for their healthcare.” Despite St. Anthony’s being part of a large ministry of 15 hospitals,

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URBANA, Ill. - Most deciduous trees are best pruned while they are in full dormancy. This happens to be February or March for this part of the country. While many of our landscape trees don’t necessarily need yearly pruning, the same can’t be said for fruit trees, especially if you want your trees to consistently bear fruit. If fruit trees are left to their own devices, they can quickly get too tall to easily harvest fruit at the tops of trees. Fruit trees are pruned for several reasons. First, to open the canopy so that all branches receive sunlight. The more sunlight a branch gets, the better its fruit production will be. Second, to help manage diseases and make pesticide applications easier. Opening the canopy to sunlight and air allows the canopy to dry out faster, helping to reduce disease problems. Finally, pruning keeps trees short so that fruit can be reached. Most people, especially when they first start, are intimidated by pruning fruit trees and end up pruning

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ALTON - The Three Rivers Project of Sierra Club Illinois, Alton YWCA, Milton Schoolhouse Gardens, and Hampton Gardens are hosting two Seed Swaps this winter to provide community members with a sociable space to swap and share quality seeds, cuttings, and bulbs. Join fellow farmers and gardeners in celebration of the end of winter and the start of the spring gardening season at this community event, which is free and open to all. The first seed swap will be held at the Milton Schoolhouse in Alton on Saturday, February 25 from 12:00 to 2:00 pm. To register for the Seed Swap at the Milton Schoolhouse, visit fb.me/e/2MKVkc9Tg . The second seed swap will be held at the Alton YWCA on Saturday, March 4 from 12:00 to 2:00 pm. To register for the Seed Swap at the Alton YWCA, visit fb.me/e/3hA11PCtB . If you are sharing self-collected seeds, please label the homegrown seeds with the common or species name, year, and your name. If you are sharing commercial seed packets, there is no need to labe

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Couples names: Susan HaugKinder and Elden Kinder City: Golden Eagle Date met or started dating: June 10, 1972 Date married: January 16, 2010 What makes your relationship special? We dated in 1972 before Elden joined the marines. My dad didn't want his 16 year old dating a 20 year old Marine so he chased him away. We met up again in September 2004 and have been together every since. We married in 2010. His 3rd marriage and my 1st. Share a memory you have made together: Rehabbing my 1925 kit home.

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Couples names: Dustyn Alexander & Emma Boyer City: Alton Date met or started dating: November 30, 2018 What makes your relationship special? We've been together for almost five years, and before that we were good friends since middle school. We have always been there for one-another, and although many people may consider our relationship a bit unorthodox, we are as happy as can be and proud of it. Share a memory you have made together: Our favorite memory so far was buying our first house together. It took a lot of hard work and dedication to buy our first house at just 22 years old, but thanks to the help and support of friends and family, we made it happen.

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Couples names: Juliana Weiner & Jonathan Siddell City: Jerseyville and Carlyle Date met or started dating: March 31, 2022 What makes your relationship special? What makes our relationship special? Well, let me tell ya. We both have kind souls and will do anything for one another, no matter the cost. Share a memory you have made together: We have made so many memories together, it’s hard to choose! Jonathan and I love going on adventures together. Our recent big trip was to Montana. We went to a musical festival there called Under the Big Sky! Got to see amazing artists and stayed in a beautiful lake house! The drive back from Montana was a beautiful experience with him. We have many more adventures ahead of us and I can’t wait!

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Couples names: Scott & Stacey Willis City: Carrollton Date met or started dating: March 18, 2018 Date married: June 18, 2022 What makes your relationship special? There's never a dull moment around each other. We are always up to something to either prank or tease the other. Share a memory you have made together: Going to Lake of the Ozarks for my birthday the July after we started dating. Taking a dinner cruise around the lake. We try going somewhere every year.

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Couples names: Angie Hillman & Matt Knight City: Alton Date met or started dating: June 11, 2022 What makes your relationship special? Although we’ve been dating a short time we are truly each others person. Dating after 40 is hard and never did I think I’d find the one in Alton Illinois. I moved here the year before we met and had given up on dating during that year. We connected on a Facebook dating shortly after I decided to give dating one last try. Our first “date” we spent 8 hours pressure washing my fence to prep it for painting and our second “date” he painted it! It took a few more dates for him to grow on me but when I met his friends and saw how kind he is and unapologeticley himself he is I was smitten! Less than a week ago he had a heart attack. Seeing him go through that and the recovery has made me love and cherish him even more! Share a memory you have made together: We’ve had many days on the river since meeting

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GOBBLERS KNOB, Penn. - Bethalto’s Steve Lowrance checked off a big bucket list item recently when he visited Punxsutawney, Penn., for the annual Groundhog Day Celebration. He said quite frankly when he returned that this was fulfilling a notch on his bucket list. “I went with my wife, Patti, my daughter and son-in-law, and my two grandkids,” he said. “They paid for my trip, which was present at Christmas time.” Steve Lowrance loves the movie “Groundhog Day” starring actor Bill Murray and even watched the movie a few times while he was at the festival. Steve only lived the experience one time, while Murray's character relived the festivities over and over again in the movie. Steve said it was wonderful to have his two grandkids there to enjoy this special moment with him. Reflecting on the Groundhog Day movie, he said in the beginning the Bill Murray character was not a very nice person. “He finally got a heart and he also found true

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Couples names: Alex & Abbie City: Bethalto Date met or started dating: September 1, 2007 What makes your relationship special? We had fifteen years of close friendship before falling in love in early 2022! There was no "new relationship learning curve" because we had almost our entire lives of learning about each other and growing both seperately and together before our timing was perfect, and the last few pieces fell into place for us to spend our forever together! Share a memory you have made together: Too many to choose! Abbie- "My personal favorite is the collective of all the nights spent stargazing for hours, only to feel myself slowly falling for my best friend, my favorite person--the memory still gives me butterflies!" Alex- "We've been there with each other for so many ups and downs throughout our entire platonic and romantic relationship, and all of my favorite memories are with her."

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Couples names: Ed & Lana Johnson City: Brighton Date met or started dating: August 11, 1971 Date married: February 23, 1973 What makes your relationship special? We both been so good to each other & we both provided for each other even in hard times. Sharing a love & a life God wants us to have. With doing that we have a beautiful family together! Also having the cutest puppy dog “Patty B”! Share a memory you have made together: A memory we share together, is we renewed our vowels 3 different times!

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