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GRANITE CITY - A local nonprofit is celebrating its first anniversary with a giant community giveaway. Wolf Pack Den of Hope is a thrift shop and nonprofit that aims to connect community members with resources, including free meals, food, toys, hygiene items and other necessities. Located at 3131 E. 23rd Street in Granite City, the organization will host its biggest giveaway yet featuring a barbecue cookoff, inflatables, prizes and plenty more on Oct. 21, 2026. “We’re really

EDWARDSVILLE/GLEN CARBON - Students at Glen Carbon Elementary School have completed special art projects to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Over the past few weeks, art teacher Sarah Willig has taught her students how to make papel picado, flores de papel, and molas. These three art projects helped students learn about Hispanic culture while practicing fine motor skills and enjoying the process of creating. “It’s fun to be introducing those new cultures to them, and they

SPRINGFIELD – To help protect and serve communities during emergency events, the Illinois State Police (ISP) held a full-scale preparedness training exercise at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield on October 7, 2026. The ISP Special Operations Command Statewide Weapons of Mass Destruction (SWMD) Team led the exercise, which focused on improving collaboration between multiple municipal and state agencies. “The goal of this full-scale exercise was to test and evaluate the

EDWARDSVILLE — State Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, supports Gov. JB Pritzker’s swift and meaningful action to address outrageous diesel fuel prices as farmers close out harvest season through an executive order and disaster proclamation. “One year ago, the average gallon of diesel fuel cost $3.75 in the Metro East. Now, the average is $6.63. Diesel costs hit our area's all-time high last month at $6.80 on average,” said Stuart. “Fuel and oil prices are hitting

CHICAGO - Today, Governor JB Pritzker welcomed a bipartisan group of 13 governors and the Mayor of D.C. to Illinois to the 2026 Governors’ Summit on the State of PJM. During the remarks, the Governor announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that formally establishes the PJM Governors’ Collaborative, a multistate, bipartisan organization designed to strengthen states’ collaboration as they work to reduce costs for working families and strengthen grid reliability

WOOD RIVER - The City of Wood River stays busy, with several events planned for the next few weeks. At 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, community members can enjoy the Cruise and Que , a day of barbecue, live music and classic cars. This will be followed by the Downtown Trick-or-Treat on Wednesday, Oct. 21, and the Wood River Business Alliance golf tournament on Oct. 23. Kristen Burns, director of the Wood River Business Alliance, expressed her enthusiasm for supporting local community

Attorney General Raoul Opposes Trump Administration’s Attempt To Gut Head Start Standards CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 23 attorneys general, submitted a comment letter opposing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) proposal to dramatically cut regulations governing the Head Start program. Raoul and the coalition explain in their letter that the proposed rule would gut long-standing and evidence-backed Head Start Program

EDWARDSVILLE – A Granite City resident charged with soliciting a minor he supervised at their previous place of employment has been released from custody. Prinston J. Leflore, 34, of Granite City, was charged with one count each of indecent solicitation of a child (a Class 2 felony), grooming and solicitation to meet a child (both Class 4 felonies). The case against Leflore was presented to Madison County prosecutors by the Edwardsville Police Department. The charges were filed on Sept.

WOOD RIVER - A new size-inclusive boutique is opening in downtown Wood River with a medspa attached. True North Boutique and Medspa, located at 16 East Ferguson Avenue, will celebrate its grand opening at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. The grand opening party will coincide with Wood River’s She Means Business event recognizing women-owned businesses in the community. True North owner Mandie Clark can’t wait to bring people together for the big day. There’s lots

BETHALTO - Bethalto Community Unit School District #8 students recently learned important life skills while building new decorations for Civic Memorial High School. Teachers Allyssa Schmidlkofer and Jeremy Christenson worked together to teach a Civic Memorial life skills class how to complete a basic maintenance project that doubles as new decor for the high school. The students painted two pillars in front of the school to look like giant pencils. As part of this, they went shopping, measured

A new virtual dermatology service from OSF OnCall offers a way to get skin conditions diagnosed without an in-person appointment. For one Central Illinois woman, it meant finally getting relief from a problem she had been dealing with for months. Susan Scott of Groveland, Illinois had been dealing with red, itchy and scaly skin around her eyelids all summer. She tried over-the-counter ointments, but nothing seemed to work. And as a busy mom with children's medical appointments to juggle,

PONTOON BEACH — A backseat passenger died after being ejected from a vehicle that lost control during a lane change and rolled over on Illinois Route 255 on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, according to Illinois State Police. The Illinois State Police said Troop 8 units responded to the single-vehicle crash at approximately 3:55 p.m. Wednesday in the southbound lanes north of Illinois Route 162, near milepost 30, in Pontoon Beach in Madison County. ISP said preliminary investigative details indicate

The same red can make a warning sign feel urgent and a maple leaf feel comforting. Color does not carry one fixed emotional message. Its effect depends on where we see it, what surrounds it, and the memories we bring to it. That helps explain why autumn’s reds, oranges, yellows, and browns can feel cheerful to one person and quietly sad to another. These colors appear in parks, clothing, shop displays, and home decorations. They can draw our attention, stir familiar associations, and chang

On Oct. 8, 1957, Jerry Lee Lewis recorded “Great Balls of Fire” in Memphis, Tennessee, giving early rock ’n’ roll one of its defining performances. His forceful piano playing and charged delivery demonstrated that a keyboard could command the same attention as an electric guitar. Looking back on Oct. 8, 2026, that session begins a sequence of milestones in which musicians challenged expectations about what popular music could sound like — and what it could say. Lew

On October 8, 2005, a powerful earthquake struck the Kashmir region and surrounding areas, killing more than 80,000 people and leaving millions without secure shelter. Communities in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and northern Pakistan suffered the heaviest losses, while deaths and destruction also occurred in Indian-administered Kashmir. Schools, hospitals, homes, and roads collapsed within seconds. The disaster demanded an international response, but damaged roads and mountainous terrain

EAST ALTON – A local man faces major felony charges after allegedly fleeing Worden Police officers with methamphetamine in his possession. Justin D. Jett, 31, of East Alton, was charged on Sept. 30, 2026 with a Class X felony count of unlawful possession with the intent to deliver methamphetamine, a Class 1 felony count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine, and two Class 4 felony counts of aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer. Jett allegedly knowingly possessed

PIASA - Southwestern sophomore Maddie Pruitt has grown into a stronger presence at the net in the 2026 girls volleyball season, according to head coach Derek Dempsey, who singled out the outside hitter’s development as a player. She is also an Altonized Community Federal Credit Union Female Athlete of the Month for the Piasa Birds. Pruitt, who wears No. 6 for the Piasa Birds girls volleyball squad, also plays varsity basketball and softball. Coach Dempsey described Pruitt as a good player

CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) and the Cannabis Regulation Oversight Office (CROO) recently released the State of Illinois’ 2026 Annual Cannabis Report, providing a comprehensive look at the work of state agencies responsible for cannabis licensing, regulation, public health, public safety, economic development and reinvestment during Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26). “Fiscal Year 2026 was an important year for Illinois’ cannabis

Festivals, live music, pet activities, history tours and Halloween fun offer plenty of ways to spend Oct. 9-11, 2026, across the region. Explore the highlights below and visit RiverBender.com Events for the complete calendar. Food, beer, live music and family activities will fill the St. Mary’s School Grounds in Alton during St. Mary’s Oktoberfest 2026 , Oct. 9-11. The three-day parish festival also includes games, raffles and Mass, supporting the parish, school and community

GARDNER – Today, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Finance Authority (IFA) announced the launch of a pilot loan program to assist farmers across the state by connecting them with the capital needed to construct on-site grain storage facilities. The low-interest loan program will reduce the long-term costs of remote storage and improve overall harvest efficiency. The announcement builds on the Governor’s efforts to support Illinois farm families facing rising input costs, damaging