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JERSEYVILLE - Community members can support athletics in Jersey County while watching local kids compete in a 3v3 basketball tournament. Starting at 8 a.m. on Sunday, March 1, 2026, kids in third through eighth grade will compete in the tournament at Jersey Community High School. Parents and community members are invited to watch at $5 per person, with free tickets for children ages 5 and under and military. Proceeds go back to Junior Panther Athletics, a group that aims to provide athletic

Red can make a heartbeat feel louder. Think about how often love is shown in red: roses, hearts, lipstick, Valentine’s cards, even the little notification badge on your phone. It’s so common that it feels natural. But the link between red and love isn’t just a design habit. It comes from how our bodies react to red, what red signals in nature, and the stories and traditions people have built around it for centuries. Red feels like the body, not just a color One reason red

This morning starts off mostly sunny with temperatures near 33 degrees. The air feels just a bit colder at 29, so a light jacket is a good idea if you're heading out early. By the afternoon, expect mostly sunny skies with highs reaching around 58 degrees. Light southeast winds will blow at about 6 mph, with gusts nearing 9 mph, making it a comfortable day to be outside. The sun will set around 5:50 p.m., bringing clear skies into the evening. Overnight, temperatures dip back down to a low near 3

The most far-reaching event tied to February 26 is the 1991 expulsion of Iraqi forces from Kuwait City during the Gulf War. After Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait in August 1990, a U.S.-led coalition assembled under United Nations resolutions to push Iraqi troops out. By late February 1991, coalition ground forces had moved quickly, and on February 26 Kuwait’s capital was effectively back under Kuwaiti control. It mattered immediately because it ended the occupation’s central grip

ALTON – A section of Fosterburg Road in Alton is one step closer to receiving improvements. Alton City Council members unanimously approved a Joint Funding Agreement between the city and the Illinois Department of Transportation for improvements to Fosterburg Road at their Feb. 25, 2026 meeting. The funding agreement covers the first two phases of preliminary engineering for pavement widening and resurfacing on Fosterburg Road. These improvements will span 0.46 miles from 0.1 miles

EAST ALTON - East Alton Fire Chief Jeremy Diveley reflected on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, about the massive fire in the Wilshire Strip Mall early Tuesday morning, Feb. 24, 2026. One point he wanted to emphasize was how important all the fire agencies were when the box alarms went out for the fire. He also stressed the importance of the system for East Alton and other departments in the region. “The mutual aid system we utilize is vital to small departments like ours,” Diveley said

EAST ALTON - East Alton Fire Chief Jeremy Diveley said the fire in the Wilshire Strip Mall area early Tuesday morning, Feb. 24, 2026, was devastating for not only residents and those who still worked and owned businesses in the buildings. He pointed out that residents depend on the businesses at the Wilshire Strip Mall, as the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office investigates a fire that broke out Tuesday at the East Alton shopping center. Drone photos above are by Doug Booten. Diveley

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Wednesday sentenced a Mexican national to 18 years in prison for sexually abusing a minor. Giovanni Falcon, 41, began messaging a 15-year-old girl on Instagram in 2024 using an alias. In July and August of that year, Falcon sent the victim images of his genitals. Falcon then repeatedly engaged in sexual contact with the victim. On Aug. 13, 2024, the victim’s father contacted the St. Ann Police Department after discovering the explici

PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. - In recognition of outstanding academic achievement, Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights, Illinois, released the college's Dean's List for Fall 2025. Brighton's Madison Seymour is on the Dean's List for the fall at Trinity Christian College. The Dean’s List is Trinity Christian College’s highest academic honor. It is recognized for traditional undergraduate students who achieve a semester GPA of 3.5 or better in 12 or more credits with grade points.

BELLEVILLE - College students and community members can come together for a Take Back the Night walk. On Thursday, April 30, 2026, Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC) in Belleville will host the annual demonstration and resource fair, which aims to raise awareness about sexual assault prevention and resources during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The walk starts at 7 p.m. on SWIC’s Quad and will progress throughout campus, followed by a few speakers in the theater. “It’s

MASCOUTAH - Joshua Veath, a fifth-grade teacher at Mascoutah Elementary School, has been named one of 30 finalists statewide for the 2026 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching, selected from nearly 600 nominations in Illinois, according to Mascoutah School District 19. The district said Veath, who teaches math, science and social studies in Mascoutah, was recognized for the impact he is making in the classroom. Mascoutah School District 19 congratulated him in a post identifying

JERSEYVILLE – A man and woman from Jerseyville face felony charges in two separate cases of domestic battery filed in Madison County. Robert W. Reed, 44, of Jerseyville, was charged on Feb. 17, 2026, with a Class 2 felony count of aggravated domestic battery and a Class 4 felony count of his second or subsequent offense of domestic battery. Reed allegedly intentionally committed an act of domestic battery against a household or family member on Feb. 13, 2026, without legal justification.

EAST ST. LOUIS - Meonshai Houston, a fourth-grade English Language Arts and social studies teacher at Annette Harris Officer Elementary School in East St. Louis, has been named one of 30 finalists for the 2026 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching, selected from nearly 600 nominations statewide. The East St. Louis School District 189 said Houston was recognized for the impact she is making in the classroom at the East St. Louis school. “Congratulations, Mrs. Houston! Your dedication

COTTAGE HILLS - Community members gathered at Community Hope Center in Cottage Hills to learn about the new proposed site of the Hope House, a 48-bed homeless shelter operated by The Salvation Army. On Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, leaders with Community Hope Center and The Salvation Army introduced the Hope House project and answered questions about the proposed shelter, to be built on Community Hope Center property at 1201 Hope Center Lane in Cottage Hills. They noted that the Hope House wil

TROY, Ill. — Ashley Whittington, who teaches sixth through 10th grade at the Center for Educational Opportunities in Troy, IL., is one of 30 finalists for the 2026 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. She was selected from nearly 600 nominations statewide. Whittington has taught for 11 years and uses what the release described as a cyclical approach to instruction in her alternative school setting, where structure and engagement “matter as much as content.” In a

ST. LOUIS COUNTY - The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, charged Jesse St. John, 28, with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of 19-year-old Steffon Marmon, authorities said. St. John, of the 300 block of Henquin Drive in St. Louis, Mo., 63135, is being held on a $750,000 cash-only bond with no 10% option, according to the prosecutor’s office. Police were called to a disturbance and, upon arriving, encountered the

ST. LOUIS COUNTY - St. Louis County Police Department Bureau of Crimes Against Persons detectives are investigating a homicide in the 6600 block of Sacramento Drive in the City of Northwoods that resulted in the death of an adult male. On Saturday, February 21, 2026, at 12:20 p.m., police officers from the City of Northwoods Police Department and the North County Police Cooperative responded to a call for service for a shooting in the 6600 block of Sacramento Drive.

ROXANA - Midwest Members Credit Union is proud to sponsor the “Shell of the Month” program at Roxana High School. Students from each grade level are selected each month by members of RHS faculty. Each student is awarded a certificate and a Subway gift card. The Seniors selected each month will have the opportunity to compete for a “Shell of the Year” scholarship at the end of the school year. January's Shell of the Month winners are: Senior- Isaiah Carll & Natasha Little

CHICAGO — Tonight, Governor JB Pritzker released the following statement after President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address: “After spending the last year wreaking havoc on American communities, Donald Trump once again spewed lies and attempted to gaslight the American people. “We endured two hours of baseless claims, shameless propaganda, and the ramblings of a wannabe dictator outlining his plans to steal American elections. Illinois will keep standing for th

WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) reacted to last week’s Supreme Court ruling to strike down most—70 percent—of the tariffs enacted by President Trump. “Tariffs can be useful when used strategically, but President Trump exceeded these authorities, as clearly defined by Congress, and the Supreme Court, by a vote of 6-3, told him as much. He defied basic economic sense,” Durbin said. “Just ask