Riverbender 🕸

CARLINVILLE - Early voting in Macoupin County for this year’s primary elections is off to a “slow but steady” start, Macoupin County Clerk Pete Duncan said. The early voting period in Macoupin County began on May 19 and will end on June 27, the day before Election Day on June 28. “Early voting in-person looks to be down considerably compared to past cycles,” Duncan said. “Right now, we’ve had 114 - our average number of in-person early votes over the last six primaries has been 388.” Duncan said he thinks there are two primary factors driving low turnout. “One, we have no local competitive primaries which usually is the driver of turnout,” Duncan said. “Two, I think the summer primary is unusual so people aren’t thinking it’s time to go vote.” Despite the low number of in-person early voters, Duncan said Macoupin County’s vote by mail program has been “extremely successful.”

Continue Reading

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Police (ISP) recently convened the first meeting of the Commission on Implementing the Firearms Restraining Order Act (Commission). The General Assembly passed legislation in 2021 calling for the creation of the Commission to advise on strategies for the education and implementation of the Firearms Restraining Order Act. The Commission is charged with developing a policy that will serve as the overall framework for timely relinquishment of firearms whenever a firearms restraining order is issued. The Commission will consult with counties and other states with extreme risk protection order laws that have been successful implementing such laws. Once the policy is approved, ISP will work with local law enforcement agencies to design a comprehensive strategy using the model policy. The Commission, chaired by ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly, includes State’s Attorneys, chiefs of police, a sheriff, circuit court judge, representatives

Continue Reading

GODFREY - Liz Campbell and Jessica Grace of BRUSH Hair + Makeup are set to open the area’s first size-inclusive clothing boutique at their grand opening event on June 29, 2022. Housed at the salon in Godfrey, Illinois, BRUSH Boutique will offer hand-curated styles in sizes small through 3XL. BRUSH Boutique co-owners Elizabeth and Jessica aim to fill a need in the area for trendy clothing options for all women, regardless of size. “We are thrilled to offer our community a selection of size-inclusive clothing. Every woman deserves the opportunity to confidently express her own style through her clothing, no matter her size. At BRUSH Boutique, we know you’ll find something that speaks to you,” co-owner Elizabeth Campbell said. Most of the styles found at BRUSH Boutique will be available in sizes small through 3XL. Honeycut Creek Candles and Marigolds Boutique Cut Flower Farm will also be at the grand opening event held on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, from 4 PM to

Continue Reading

(CENTERSTONE) - “It was as if I had been trying to run on gasoline and I actually had a diesel engine.” That was a client’s description of how difficult it was to function effectively when he wasn’t making self-care a priority. But once he incorporated a method of maintaining good health that worked for him – found the right fuel for his engine -- it was truly transformative. Most of us know that self-care is essential, so why do so many of us find it so difficult to incorporate it into our daily lives? One reason is that our brains are hardwired to react more easily and quickly to negative stimuli – threats and fear – than positive ones, like the knowledge of the benefits of self-care. According to psychologist Alicia H. Clark, this “negativity bias” is the main reason why so many people spend so little time doing what we know would benefit our physical, mental, and emotional health. This bias, which helped keep our ancestors

Continue Reading

SUMMIT, Ill. – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today celebrated the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) Program Argo Connections (B9) Project completion, a new double-track connection and crossover at Archer Avenue and 63rd Street. This will allow for increased rail speed and flexibility to reduce delays, increase capacity and lead to faster and more reliable travel times—creating jobs, making our roads safer and easing supply chain delays that can cause prices to skyrocket for everyday essentials. Duckworth was joined by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Representative Marie Newman (D-IL-03), Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Omer Osman, Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski and other state and local partners. Photos from today’s event are available here . “For the past two decades, CREATE has worked to improve the way passengers and goods move over rail, making Chicago’s railroad network safer,

Continue Reading

CHICAGO — As our nation celebrates Juneteenth this weekend, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement to commemorate the day, which became a federal holiday last year. The Senator emphasized the importance of policies that help and empower Black families and communities, and encouraged racial justice allies to not only learn and recognize our country’s complex history, but also to push for a more just union for every American. “Black communities have long celebrated the importance of Juneteenth – the day that finally marked the end of centuries of unjustifiable enslavement of Black adults and their children,” said Duckworth. “Allies across this nation should remember that today is not only about learning and grappling with the history of our country, it is also a call to action for us all to keep pushing, prodding and dragging our nation until we’re all not just created equal, but treated equally as well.” Duckwor

Continue Reading

EAST ST. LOUIS – State Senator Christopher Belt (D-Swansea) released the following statement in response to the former Broadview Hotel renovation to accommodate 109 affordable apartments for seniors and veterans in East St. Louis: “Investing in affordable housing is crucial, especially for our local residents who have sacrificed a great deal throughout their lives. Redeveloping the former Broadview Hotel opens the door for over 100 residents to have sufficient housing in the Metro East and will provide seniors and veterans with essential services to better their futures.”

Continue Reading

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-9) today led 12 of their Illinois colleagues in sending a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan urging him to expand eligibility for the new EPA Clean School Bus Program (CSBP) to improve its accessibility to Chicago-area schools and correct additional oversights in the implementation process. The program, a $5 billion effort established under the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act , aims to convert the nation’s school bus fleets to low- and zero-emission vehicles. “This new program offers an unprecedented opportunity to begin transitioning our nation’s school bus fleet to clean, low- and zero-emission vehicles, but it has come to our attention that the current design of the program may present challenges for Illinois schools,” the lawmakers began. Within CSBP’s implementation process, schools

Continue Reading

EDWARDSVILLE - Lewis and Clark Affiliate Habitat for Humanity held its first annual Habitat Home Sweet Home 5K race at Township Park in Edwardsville. The race took place at 9 a.m. Saturday morning taking off from the park down the Madison County Nickel Plate Trail and back after a turnaround. A trophy was awarded to the top male and female. Medals were handed out for the fastest times in their particular age group for males and females. The age groups were 9 and under, 10-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, and 70+. The race was professionally timed by Toolen's Running Start. Stephen Benicki won the race overall with a time of 21:48. The fastest female was Christy Sotoropolis clocking in at 28:56. She finished seventh overall out of 40 competitors. They each received trophies during the awards ceremony after the race. Jackie Helm was the organizer of this event and she said that it only took a couple of months of preparation. "A couple of months of planning, all hands on deck,

Continue Reading

EDWARDSVILLE - Craig and Heather Ohlau have both had a huge impact on young lives in their respective coaching positions. Craig is an assistant high school baseball coach at Edwardsville High School and Heather coaches various levels of volleyball and is the girls' high school head coach. Edwardsville’s baseball team recently captured another IHSA Class 4A State Championship, something Craig, head coach Tim Funkhouser and the entire Tigers coaching staff was very proud of. Craig and Heather have three children - Madelyn 12, Peyton, 11, and Jocelyn, 9. All three children are following in Craig and Heather’s footsteps in sports. Peyton is a member of an 11-year-old Gators squad that Craig coaches that has phenomenal success. The girls Madelyn and Jocelyn are following their mother’s footsteps in volleyball and love the sport, Craig said. Craig said as an assistant high school baseball coach, training begins in February and continues for about four months and the boy

Continue Reading

ALTON - Alton Fire Department Battalion Chief Derrick Richardson expressed some thoughts in regard to firefighters who are also fathers and grandparents today for Father's Day. These were Derrick's comments: "Most of us in the fire service are parents and grandparents. We choose the fire service because we want to help others, and provide a good life for our family while doing the job we love. We risk our lives to make someone else’s day better. As I like to say, “We risk our lives to make a person’s day better than the moment they needed us”. Derrick continued: "The community appreciates us, and our families appreciate us even more as husbands, fathers, and grandfathers who risk our lives to help others. We treat people, we rescue people, we save people, and we save savable property, and then go home to be with our families. I don’t like to think about how it would affect our families if we didn’t come home one day, but I know our families support

Continue Reading

Recently, pop star Britney Spears openly shared that she struggled with perinatal depression during a past pregnancy more than 16 years ago. In the social media post, Spears said “women didn’t talk about it back then” and that “some people considered it dangerous if a woman complained” when pregnant. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), perinatal depression is a mood disorder that can affect women during pregnancy and after childbirth regardless of age, race, income, culture, or education. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), one in seven women experience perinatal depression during pregnancy or in the first 12 months after delivery. “It may occur sooner in the pregnancy if a patient has a history of major depressive disorder, general anxiety disorder, anxiety, depression, or even bipolar disorder. If they have these prior to pregnancy, it can definitely be heightened throughout thei

Continue Reading

SPRINGFIELD - Building on a strong team of diverse experts in their fields, Governor JB Pritzker announced the following appointments in his administration and these included Sara Salger, a managing partner of the Gori Law Firm in Edwardsville. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Sara Salger will serve as a Member of the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees.* Salger is a Managing Partner at Th e Gori Law Firm in Edwardsville, IL where she has practiced since 2008. Prior to becoming Managing Partner she served as an Associate and Partner. She previously worked as a Law Intern in the Missouri State Public Defender System and a Law Clerk at a private practice firm. Sara is a member and 2 nd Vice President of the Illinois Trial Lawyer’s Association and a member of the American Association for Justice, American Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, and Missouri State Bar Association. She has received a Super Lawyers Rising Star Award every year sinc

Continue Reading

EDWARDSVILLE – A small frog is making big headlines thanks to the intriguing findings of researchers, led by Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Richard Essner, PhD. Comparable in size to the end of a pencil, or approximately one centimeter in length, Pumpkin Toadlets’ tiny nature, notably their semicircular canals, is making them clumsy when they jump with the inability to land gracefully, according to the researchers. Essner, a professor in the SIUE College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Biological Sciences, collaborated with researchers from Edge Hill University in England, Universidade Federal do Paraná in Brazil, and the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Their work was recently published in the prestigious, open-access scholarly journal Science Advances. Now, brightly colored Pumpkin Toadlets and the researchers’ findings are taking Twitter by storm. Additionally, Science Advances’

Continue Reading

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the social media app TikTok has taken the world by storm. In September 2021, the app reported one billion monthly active users worldwide – and about 80 million of these users are in the United States. The age group that uses TikTok the most consists of 10 to 19-year-olds, followed second by the 20 to 29-year-old age group. While light-hearted videos of dancing, cooking, and cute animals are both entertaining and have brought joy to so many – especially during a global pandemic that left many people feeling isolated – health experts are now warning that too much time spent on TikTok can become problematic. The term “TikTok Brain” is being used to describe some of the issues being discovered, such as shortened attention spans and even signs that are commonly seen with addiction. TikTok in particular is so engaging because the app learns an individual’s interests based on how long they watch a video, whether

Continue Reading

ALTON - The Alton Community Service League banners are up again in the Downtown area. The Alton Community Service League outgoing and incoming boards met on Monday, June 13, giving their reports and passing the torch to the incoming 2022-23 new board. ACSL will be led by new president, Cathy Droste. Announced at the meeting was that the banners designed by the ACSL, depicting Alton Landmarks, are again up in the downtown area. "Thanks again to Paul Wallace for putting them up the first time and second time," the ACSL said. League members continue to be active during the summer months doing beautification and volunteering. "Some of those activities include deadheading roses every Monday morning at Gordon Moore Park and helping distribute sack lunches for children once the schools are not providing them," ACSL said. ACSL prides its organization on volunteering and giving out grants for beautification and to charitable organizations. Allocations for Charitable and Beautification

Continue Reading

EDWARDSVILLE – What is the best way to celebrate dairy month? Honoring Prairie Farms' dairy farmers, of course. With over 700 farm families in America's heartland, it is important to recognize what they stand for and their crucial contributions to helping feed American families. National Dairy Month started as a way to distribute extra milk during the warm months of summer. The commemoration was established in 1937 by grocer organizations sponsoring "National Milk Month." By 1939, June became the official dairy month. "I'm honored to kick off National Dairy Month. It is the perfect time to celebrate every step of our farm-to-table story. I'm grateful to our farm families and team members for their hard work on our farms and in our facilities to bring milk to family tables," said Matt McClelland, Prairie Farms' Chief Executive Officer. "We take great pride in knowing that millions of families enjoy Prairie Farms’ milk and dairy products every day, and we are thankful for thei

Continue Reading

All pics, (including the gallery), can be purchased for personal use at: https://www.randymanning.com/Juneteenth-Alton-Illinois ALTON – Alton marked its 31 st Juneteenth Celebration with a rejoiceful day with milder weather and a huge crowd Saturday at James Killion Park at Salu. Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 18th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Former slaves in Galveston rejoiced in the streets after the announcement in what was the first Juneteenth celebration. Juneteenth is a nationwide celebration of the end of legal slavery in the United States, the end of the Civil War, and the Ratification of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ending slavery. Today the celebration also encompasses current civil rights issues and in Alton,

Continue Reading

EDWARDSVILLE - Officer Dillan Chamness took the Oath of Office for the Edwardsville Police Department at the last City Council meeting. Chamness joined the Edwardsville Police Department on May 23, 2022. The Police Department asked the community to welcome Officer Chamness to his new position.

Continue Reading

ALTON - With hot temperatures here, area health care professionals are offering advice to stay safe. Andrew Miller, MD, Chief of Emergency Services and Medical Director at Alton Memorial Hospital, warns that the hot temperatures may result in an increased risk of heat-related illnesses ranging from mild illness, to heat exhaustion, or heat stroke (most severe). Risk factors that increase the likelihood of heat-related illnesses include a recent infection, dehydration, fatigue, poor sleep, obesity, and poor physical fitness. Use of caffeine, alcohol, or drugs such as cocaine or amphetamines also increase the risk. Patients with mild illness may experience heat rash, heat swelling, cramps, thirst and increased sweating. Patients with heat exhaustion often experience dry mouth, thirst, heavy sweating, headache, dizziness, irritability, nausea, and generalized weakness. Heat stroke, the most severe heat-related illness, is a true medical emergency and has two main types: non-exertional

Continue Reading