HIGHLAND - A semi truck and trailer hauling candles and perfume caught fire on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, on Interstate 70 near the 32-mile marker in Highland, shutting down the interstate for more than two hours as multiple fire departments responded, according to the Highland-Pierron Fire Department. “What may go down in history as ‘the best smelling fire’ was a semi truck and trailer on Interstate 70 near the 32-mile marker that was hauling candles and perfume,” the
JERSEYVILLE – Jerseyville City Council members approved various items at their June 9, 2026 meeting, from a new Library Board appointee to a grant for a relocating business and more. Shannon Maag Appointed To Library Board The council unanimously approved the appointment of Shannon Maag to the Jerseyville Public Library Board of Trustees. Maag will fill the unexpired term of Steve LeBlanc, with her term to expire on June 30, 2028. Mayor Kevin Stork explained that since LeBlanc is
ALTON - A local financial planner and attorney have partnered to offer a Wills & Trusts Lunch & Learn. At 12 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, community members can join Bill Kinkel and Walter Ozark at Vera Lee Meeting and Event Venue in Alton for a conversation about estate planning. Kinkel with Genesis Financial Group and Ozark with Ozark Law Firm, LLC , will answer questions and provide basic information about how to ensure you and your family are protected. “It matters where
ALTON - Community members are invited to Alton’s 35th annual Juneteenth event this weekend. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 13, 2026, at Killion Park in Alton, Riverbend residents can enjoy music, food vendors, crafts, free rides for kids and everything “from A to Z,” said organizer Lee Barham. The 35th annual event promises to be a day for community members to reflect on the history of Juneteenth while coming together for fun activities. “This is not a
WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) released the following statement after the Faster Labor Contracts Act passed the full House of Representatives. Budzinski was an original cosponsor of the bill, which would speed up first contracts for new unions, ensuring that when workers vote to unionize, a collective bargaining agreement follows. Democrats successfully used a discharge petition to force a vote on the bill, joined by a handful of Republicans who broke
ALTON – Alton will offer grants of up to $1,000 each to eligible event organizers under a newly approved grant program to support festivals and more across the city. Alton City Council members unanimously approved a resolution on June 10, 2026 to establish a festival and event microgrant program to support city-wide events using Food and Beverage Tax revenue. City Council Coordinator Beth Bear previously said grants of up to $1,000 would be awarded per event, with up to $10,000 in
GODFREY - As Vitality Women’s Clinic continues their Baby Bottle fundraising campaign, the team shared more about their work to support individuals who experience abortions. Vitality Women’s Clinic is a faith-based, pro-life pregnancy center in Godfrey. They offer free STI and pregnancy testing as well as ultrasounds. They do not refer for or provide abortion services. Executive Director Jackie Duty and Patient Services Advocate Laura Malley, LCPC, shared more about their “Support
CHICAGO – The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) is reminding local community members, residents, and leaders that there is still time to participate in the development of the 2027 Illinois Housing Blueprint (Blueprint) through two opportunities: (1) take the resident survey now until July 31, 2026, and/or (2) attend one of the six remaining Community Listening Sessions across the state. What Is the Blueprint? Launched in 2020, the Blueprint is a statewide initiative
WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke about the Social Security Board of Trustees’ report showing that the Social Security Trust Fund will face insolvency in 2032 and called on Congress to finally act to protect and save the program. “Each year, the Social Security Board of Trustees releases a report that tells us about the status of Social Security’s finances. Their 2026 report, released yesterday, should
CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today co-led a coalition of 20 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the addition of new terms to federal contracts that – in the name of purging “diversity, equity and inclusion” from federal contracting – impose unclear and confusing requirements on contractors that may depart from antidiscrimination policies that contractors have followed for decades, and threaten severe penalties on
POCAHONTAS – Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced a Pocahontas, Illinois man was sentenced to nine years in prison for disseminating child sexual abuse material. The case is part of Raoul’s ongoing work, in collaboration with federal law enforcement agencies and local law enforcement officials throughout Illinois, to apprehend offenders who download and trade child sexual abuse material online. Eric Hahn, 46, was sentenced today in Bond County Circuit Court after pleading guilt
WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) led 27 members in a letter to the Office of Head Start, urging them to withdraw the proposed rule that would eliminate the wage and benefit standards finalized in 2024. These standards were designed to stabilize the Head Start workforce and improve program quality for children and families. The members wrote, “At its core, this proposal asks the American people to accept
Adventure is not the opposite of safety. For many people, it is the thing that makes life feel fully awake. That may sound odd in a world built around comfort and routine. We use maps instead of getting lost. We order food without leaving home. We can talk to people across the world while sitting on the couch. Yet even with all that ease, people still climb mountains, book one-way trips, start new careers, try foods they cannot pronounce, and say yes to plans that make their heart race a little.
On June 11, one of the most consequential events in modern global history is the 1963 address in which U.S. President John F. Kennedy announced that he would soon ask Congress to pass sweeping civil rights legislation. He spoke after years of protest, court battles, and violent resistance to racial desegregation in the United States, and on the same day federal action forced the University of Alabama to admit two Black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood. At the time, the speech mattered becaus
ALTON – Alton has officially expanded the area non-union city employees and applicants can reside in. City Council members voted 5-2 to approve a resolution passed earlier this week by the Committee of the Whole to amend a section of the Alton City Code regarding residency requirements for non-union city employees. At both meetings, Alderman Chris Bohn and Alderwoman Patty Ford cast the two votes against the item. Currently, non-union city employees are required to reside within th
EAST ST. LOUIS - The Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation will host the official open house and grand opening of the JJK FAN Innovation Center on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in East St. Louis, Illinois, opening a new facility aimed at educating and supporting youth and families through agriculture, nutrition, and STEM-based learning. The event will begin with an opening ceremony and ribbon cutting from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., followed by an open house from 10 a.m. to noon at the JJK FAN Innovation Center,
ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Regional Freightway on Wednesday released its 2027 Priority Projects List, outlining 29 freight infrastructure projects across Eastern Missouri and Southwestern Illinois with a combined value of more than $9.2 billion, as regional and state transportation leaders pointed to funding progress and ongoing construction on several major efforts. The list was unveiled during the annual Freight Summit, the signature event of FreightWeekSTL, held aboard the Gateway
GLEN CARBON - Natalie Beck was one of the key seniors on the Father McGivney Catholic girls soccer team that won the IHSA Class 1A state championship on June 6, 2026, over Pleasant Plains 3-0 at North Central College in Naperville, in far west suburban Chicago, and was also one of the St. Louis area's leading scorers this season in helping the Griffins to the championship. Beck has been an outstanding athlete for McGivney over the years, playing on championship basketball teams and being a stat
ST. LOUIS COUNTY - A 36-year-old Villa Ridge man was killed, and a 56-year-old High Ridge man was injured Tuesday afternoon, June 9, 2026, in a two-vehicle crash on southbound Missouri 109 south of Niehoff Drive in St. Louis County, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report. The crash happened at 2:03 p.m. on June 9, 2026, and was investigated by Sgt. M.G. Autenrieth and MCIU No. 2 Sgt. J.D. Cox of Troop C, the report said. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, a
ST. LOUIS COUNTY - St. Louis County Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man whose partial human remains were found in South St. Louis County in 2021, authorities said Tuesday, June 9, 2026, after an artist’s rendering of the deceased was completed. The remains were discovered Nov. 27, 2021, near Green Park Road and Union Road, according to the St. Louis County Police Bureau of Crimes Against Persons. On Tuesday, police said the St. Louis County Medical Examiner’
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