ALTON - Community members have the chance to experience a powerful musical performance to start the Lenten season at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. At 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 14, 2026, St. Paul’s will host a performance of Pergolesi’s “Stabat Mater,” a musical rendition of the Passion of Christ through Mary’s eyes. The performance by Baroque Orchestra from Early Music Missouri promises to be an emotional reflection on the Lenten season. “Lent i
GRANITE CITY - Granite City High School’s speech team has qualified for the Illinois High School Association State Tournament, scheduled for Feb. 20-21, 2026, in Peoria, according to the Granite City School District #9. The district congratulated the team on its state qualification and highlighted individual and group results from the qualifying round. Bug Wise was listed as a state qualifier in extemporaneous speaking, placing second, and in impromptu speaking, placing third.
ALTON - Heaven Everage, a senior at Alton High School, has been named one of two Alton–Godfrey Rotary Club’s February Students of the Month, an honor recognizing her academic work, leadership, and community service in the Alton area. Everage and Jessica Eales, a Marquette Catholic senior, are the February Alton-Godfrey students who were selected. Everage said she is “truly honored and grateful” for the recognition. First and foremost, she gives thanks to "God, who is
ALTON – A sex offender from Alton faces new felony charges after allegedly fleeing from police in a high-speed vehicle chase and on foot among other offenses. Dallas M. Cook, 47, of the 3000 block of Glenwood Avenue in Alton, was charged on Feb. 9, 2026 with his second subsequent offense of unlawful failure to register as a sex offender, a Class 2 felony. Cook was also charged with two counts of aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer (both Class 4 felonies), unlawful
ALTON — Marquette Catholic High School senior Jessica Eales was recognized as an Alton-Godfrey Rotary Club February Student of the Month during a recent event at Gentelin’s on Broadway Restaurant, honored for her academic, athletic, and extracurricular achievements. Eales was one of two students recognized, alongside Heaven Everage of Alton High School, as a Rotary Club of Alton-Godfrey Student of the Month. Eales, the daughter of Christopher and Christina Eales, has a 4.8 GPA
In letter to Noem and Lyons, Senate Democrats cite 30+ deaths since the start of the Trump Administration with concern over continued expansion of immigration detention WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, led 22 Senate Democrats in sounding the alarm on the dramatic increase in deaths in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention, with over 30 deaths since the start of the Trump Administration.
HIGH HONOR ROLL High Honor Roll – 12th Grade Lillian Ackerman Benjamin Alexander Jack Alexander Madelyn Allen John Almos Malak Amer Jeffrey Andrews Alaynah Archer Clara Armstrong Joy Azoji Finley Baker Atticus Ball Kain Barker Kira Bartoszkiewicz Ella Bates Schaefer Bates Kennedy Baugh Derrian Becker Jaylinn Bell Adler Bendel Owen Berning Ryan Bigtas Emma Birkenmeyer Haley Bloodworth Estelle Borden Lily Bowker Maggie Bowser Andrea Brenner Alexander Brewster
ALTON - Lyla Hsu’s artwork, from fiber arts to photography, helps her make sense of the world. Hsu is this month’s Milton Schoolhouse Artist of the Month. Her art is on display at Milton through the end of February, but her passion goes beyond this first exhibit. She hopes she can continue creating and inspiring others as she begins her professional career. “It’s a way to reflect on my experiences and then make sense of it, and just kind of a way for me to understand
ALTON - Debbie Sheary has spent a lifetime advocating for others. Sheary, one of the YWCA’s eleven 2026 Women of Distinction, will be honored at the Y’s annual gala for her commitment to the community. She explained that her career in education has guided her as she continues her community service through the YWCA and similar organizations throughout Alton. “I really love my community, and I just think we have such potential. I just try to be where I'm needed when I’m
EAST ST. LOUIS - East St. Louis School District 189 announced that Meonshai Houston, a teacher at Annette Officer Elementary School, received the Illinois State Board of Education’s Award of Special Recognition as part of the Those Who Excel 2026 honors. The award “celebrates educators who are valued for the skills, passion, and dedication they bring to their school communities each day,” the district said in its announcement. “Ms. Houston’s commitment
JERSEYVILLE — Jersey Community Unit School District No. 100 announced that Cali Breden has earned a spot on the 2026 Illinois Athletic Directors Association All-State Team, an honor that recognizes senior student-athletes for athletics, academics, leadership, and community service. Breden is also a 2026 JCHS Illinois State Scholar. Breden is a Sparklight Female Athlete of the Month for Jersey. Breden, a senior student-athlete, is averaging nearly 10 points per game for the Panthers
ALTON – Soulcial Kitchen will host its monthly Block Party for Good on Friday, February 27, 2026, from 2:00–4:00 PM at Soulcial Square (Market & 5th Street, Alton, IL) — providing free groceries, hot chef-prepared meals, and medical information and assessments to the community at no cost. The event is open to all. No ID is required. Supplies are available while they last. The February Block Party for Good will feature: Free Groceries provided by the St. Louis Area
The month that’s supposed to celebrate love is also one of the busiest times for breakups. That sounds backward. Yet relationship counselors, dating apps, and even social media trends often notice the same pattern: a spike in “we need to talk” moments around February. It’s not that February has magical breakup energy. It’s that the month stacks pressure, expectations, and practical stress in a way that exposes cracks that were already there. The “love month”
EDWARDSVILLE/MORO - First-grade students at Midway Elementary School celebrated Lunar New Year with their teacher, who spent five years teaching in China. Chelsey Phipps, a first-grade teacher at Midway, explained that she wanted to share her experiences in China with her students in the Edwardsville class. Students have spent the past week reading and learning about the Lunar New Year. On Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, they created a paper lantern craft, enjoyed oranges as a snack, and received
EDWARDSVILLE — One person died when a Chevy Silverado pickup truck crashed into the Redmon Insurance Agency building in the 100 block of South Main Street in Edwardsville at 11 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, Illinois State Police said. The crash caused significant damage to the building, according to authorities. Illinois State Police confirmed the death. ISP, Edwardsville Police, and SIUE Police responded to the crash, but additional information has not been released. Workers were bus
People say they “fell in love” as if love were a slick patch of ice—one wrong step and suddenly you’re down, heart-first, with no say in the matter. But the way we talk about love isn’t just poetic. It quietly shapes what we expect love to be: accidental, uncontrollable, and a little dangerous. That single phrase— falling in love —carries a whole story about desire, risk, and commitment. It hints that love happens to us, not through us. Yet real
In the late 1500s, Europe’s religious and political tensions were already shaping daily life. On February 16, 1568, Spain’s king issued a decree establishing the Tribunal of the Inquisition in the Spanish Netherlands. The goal was to enforce Catholic orthodoxy in a region where Protestant ideas were spreading. Instead of restoring calm, harsh enforcement added fuel to resentment and helped push the Netherlands toward a long struggle for independence. The episode is remembered as a
This morning starts with some fog that will lift early, giving way to partly sunny skies. Temperatures this morning are on the cooler side, starting around 41 degrees. By afternoon, expect a warmer day with highs reaching near 66 degrees under partly sunny skies. Winds will come from the south at around 9 mph, with gusts up to 25 mph. The evening will bring partly cloudy skies and mild conditions, with temperatures gradually dropping. Overnight will stay relatively mild, with lows around 41 degrees
ALTON - Lynne Burnett has always had a fire for giving back. Burnett, one of the YWCA’s eleven 2026 Women of Distinction, will be honored at the Y’s annual gala for her commitment to the community. Whether working in child welfare, advocating for marriage equality, or assisting at the Overnight Warming Location, Burnett does everything she can to help others. “W e're always involved with something,” Burnett said of herself and her wife. Burnett shared that she
On February 14, 1929, seven men were killed in Chicago in what became known as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. The attack was part of a struggle between rival criminal organizations during the Prohibition era, when the United States banned most alcohol sales and a huge illegal market took its place. At the time, the killings shocked the public because they showed how organized crime could operate with military-style planning in a major city. It still matters today because it helped push
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