ALTON – Madison County voters heard directly from two candidates competing for the office of County Clerk in the Nov. 3, 2026 elections. YWCA Southwestern Illinois and the Alton Section of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) hosted a free Candidate Forum on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026 in the YWCA gymnasium in Alton. The event was presented as a community service, as neither organization endorses or supports any candidate for public office. Candidates competing in three different
ALTON — Runners, walkers and mesothelioma advocates helped raise more than $20,000 at the 18th annual Alton Miles for Meso 5K Race and 3K Fun Run/Walk on Sept. 19, 2026, to support efforts to prevent asbestos exposure and eliminate asbestos-caused diseases. Simmons Hanly Conroy hosted the event alongside Metro Tri Club of Edwardsville, Illinois. Proceeds benefited the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, an independent nonprofit focused on asbestos awareness, prevention and advocacy.
ALTON - Alton High School is preparing to celebrate its Homecoming, and the community is invited to join in the fun. Next week is Spirit Week at the high school, with the Homecoming Parade planned for Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. This will be followed by the football game on Friday, Oct. 2, and the dance on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. Student Council leaders Eden Warford and Aiden Russell are eager to come together as a school and connect with the larger Alton community. “I feel like homecomin
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is reminding deer hunters that free chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing is available at participating sampling locations throughout the state. CWD is a fatal disease of the central nervous system that affects deer and elk. First detected in Illinois in 2002 in a deer from Boone County, CWD has since been identified in 28 counties across northern and central Illinois. Since 2002, 199,136 wild deer have been sampled statewide,
GRANITE CITY — Edwardsville senior striker Brandon Morris scored an impressive hat trick Sept. 17, 2026, in a 4-0 win over Granite City at Gene Baker Field, contributing to a team he hopes can advance far in the state playoffs this season. Morris has emerged as a key player and one of the leading goal scorers for the Tigers. “It was obviously good to get a win there, and to get the hat trick," Morris said. Morris is an Edison's Entertainment Complex Male Athlete Of The Month for
EDWARDSVILLE - Kennedy Gieseking is a senior running back and receiver for the girls flag football team at Edwardsville High School, and on Sept. 24, 2026, she might have made her biggest catch o the season. Gieseking made an off-balance catch of an Ella Wallace conversion pass after Wallace hit Stella Worman in the end zone for a game-tying touchdown in Edwardsville's stunning 13-12 win over Belleville East at Tiger Stadium to keep the Tigers undefeated, and clinch the Southwestern Conference
BETHALTO — Addie Jeffery helped lead Civic Memorial’s girls volleyball team to a two-set victory over rival Jersey on Thursday night, Sept. 24, 2026, with a strong performance at the net in Bethalto. The 5-foot-11 outside hitter has recorded 176 kills and 43 service points this season for the Eagles. Civic Memorial head coach Jack Grimm said Jeffery plays both middle and outside hitter, bringing composure and leadership to the team. She is a Tom Lane State Farm Insurance Female Athlete
EDWARDSVILLE — About 100 artists will bring their work to Edwardsville City Park Sept. 25-27, 2026, for the 2026 Edwardsville Art Fair, a free outdoor celebration that supports the Edwardsville Arts Center’s annual programming. Produced by the nonprofit arts center, the three-day juried fair will feature local, regional, national, and international artists, along with local performing arts, live art demonstrations, a children’s art gallery and food and drink vendors. The
ALTON - Alton Community Unit School District #11 families can support local elementary schools through a special fundraiser. On Sept. 30, 2026, North Elementary School and Lewis and Clark Elementary School students will participate in their annual Walk-A-Thon. Students will raise money by walking around the playground. The goal, explained Principals Lisa Harris and Latasha Leflore-Porter, is to connect the school community and engage families. “It’s become a tradition now,”
ST. LOUIS – St. Louis’ premier fall tasting event is back. The 14th Annual Brew in the Lou Festival returns to the Lily Pond at Francis Park on Saturday, October 10, 2026, from 1–5 p.m. For the first time in history, Brew in the Lou has a title sponsor: Southern Bank. Brew in the Lou guests will enjoy unlimited tastings of the region’s best beer, wine, spirits, and food , plus live music, shopping, and family fun — all while supporting scholarships and educational
GLEN CARBON — A 39-year-old Collinsville man died in a multivehicle crash early Thursday morning, Sept. 24, 2026, on westbound Interstate 270 near mile marker 10 in Glen Carbon, Madison County Coroner Nicholas P. Novacich said. The cause of the crash remains unknown. Novacich identified the man as Andrew A. Parcels, who was driving a black GMC Terrain and was its sole occupant. Authorities were notified through 911 at approximately 4:54 a.m. Madison County Coroner’s Office Investigator
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois EPA joined fellow midwestern states, including Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, to recognize PFAS Awareness Week. As a recap of Illinois’ efforts to address PFAS compounds, Illinois EPA has released its PFAS Integrated Strategy, which builds on early achievements in Illinois to identify, regulate, and reduce PFAS. Illinois has been among the most proactive states in the nation to develop and implement PFAS health standards, groundwater quality standards, and
SPRINGFIELD – A 1926 British Sovereign gold coin bearing the image of King George V, three Egyptian leather jewelry boxes, and baseball cards of Chicago legends Ryne Sandberg and Frank Thomas are among the treasures available at the online I-CASH auction September 25-October 4. “Our online auction offers a variety of distinctive, memorable items you can buy for yourself, a friend, or a loved one,” said Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs, whose office oversees unclaimed
CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a bipartisan coalition of 26 attorneys general, today called on Congress to immediately regulate the artificial intelligence (AI) industry. In their letter , Raoul and the coalition warn that reports of recent incidents demonstrate unchecked AI development endangers Americans and poses a potential threat to our financial system, critical infrastructure and national security. The coalition urges Congress to quickly pass substantive legislation
CHICAGO – Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) are encouraging eligible families to apply for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to support income eligible households with utility costs for natural gas, propane, and electricity. Applications will open October 1, 2026, and will remain open through August 13, 2027, or until funds are exhausted. “No working family should have to decide between heating their home
CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced an Effingham, Illinois man was sentenced to 38 years in prison for producing 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. Landin Miller, 24, was sentenced in Effingham County Circuit Court after pleading guilty to tw
ALTON – Members of the Alton Public Works Department are now officially on strike. Business Agent Jay Steinhauer with Teamsters Local 525 said the strike officially went into effect at midnight on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. Public Works employees began picketing outside the Alton Public Works building at 7 a.m. on Friday morning, Sept. 25, 2026. Steinhauer said the strike will last “as long as it takes” to get city leaders back to the negotiating table. “All they have to
Fifty years ago, a gathering in a Dublin kitchen began a musical partnership that would reach stadiums around the world. On Sept. 25, 1976, the musicians who became U2 assembled at drummer Larry Mullen Jr.’s home. As Sept. 25, 2026, marks that anniversary, the meeting stands out as the day’s defining milestone: an informal response to a school notice that eventually produced a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band. The date’s earlier history includes a very different route to musical
Why People Enjoy Traditions The cake tastes the same, but something feels wrong if nobody sings before it is cut. A birthday song adds no flavor, costs nothing, and rarely sounds polished. Yet leaving it out can make the celebration feel unfinished. That small moment reveals something important about human nature: we enjoy traditions not just for what they involve, but for what they mean. Traditions turn ordinary actions into signs of belonging, memory, and care. They can be grand public ceremonies
Major Historical Events 1513: Balboa sees the Pacific from the Americas On September 25, 1513, Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa reached a height on the Isthmus of Panama and saw the ocean beyond it. He is generally credited as the first European to see the Pacific from the American mainland. Indigenous peoples had, of course, known and traveled its shores for generations. For Europeans, the sighting confirmed that another vast body of water lay beyond the lands they were
stLouIST