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WEST ALTON – The US Army Corps of Engineers, Rivers Project Office, will temporarily close overnight access to Riverlands Way, Maple Island, Ellis Island, and Lincoln Shields Recreation Area in West Alton for the Fourth of July Weekend. Riverlands Way will be closed each of the following timeframes: July 3rd from 10:00pm through July 4th at 7:00am July 4th from 7:00pm through July 5th at 7:00am July 5th from 7:00pm through July 6th at 7:00am Maple Island Access and Boat Ramp will be closed each of the following timeframes: July 3rd from 6:00pm through July 4th at 7:00am July 4th from 6:00pm through July 5th at 7:00am July 5th from 6:00pm through July 6th at 7:00am Lincoln Shields Recreation Area and Ellis Island Trailhead Parking Lot will be closed each of the following timeframes: July 3rd from 6:00am through July 4th at 7:00am July 4th from 7:00pm through July 5th at 7:00am July 5th from 7:00pm through July 6th at 7:00am All areas will again remain

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ALTON — Auto Butler, a car wash located at 1706 Homer Adams Parkway in Alton, is closed the rest of Wednesday, June 25, 2025, due to a water morning main break in front of the business, but Illinois American Water expects the issue to be resolved Wednesday afternoon so the business can open at 8 a.m. on Thursday morning, June 26, 2025. The water leak, which occurred on the road where customers enter the business, has caused the water supply to Auto Butler to be shut off while crews dig up the road to make repairs. The Auto Butler manager said Illinois American Water estimated it will take four to six hours to fix the leak, repair the road, and then water service to Auto Butler will be restored. “They have shut the water off while they fix it and they have to dig up the road,” the manager said. “Basically we are shut down for the day from washing cars, but we will be back open tomorrow morning at 8 a.m.” The manager added that the company’s “best-case

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ALTON – Centerstone, in partnership with Birth to Five Illinois: Region 41, invites the public to a free Community Health and Resource Fair on Saturday, July 19, 2025, from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM at the YWCA of Southwestern Illinois, located at 304 E 3rd Street, Alton, IL. The Healthy Communities: Community Health and Resource Fair will bring together local organizations to provide on-site access to resources in health care, education, employment, housing, finance, and legal services. Open to all ages, this event aims to connect our communities with valuable tools for personal and family wellness. Attendees will have the opportunity to: Access free medical and legal advocacy and counseling Receive assistance with SNAP and Medicaid applications Participate in health and wellness screenings Get tips on nutrition, fraud prevention, and credit building Apply for a library card Meet with local service providers Enjoy family-friendly activities “The goal

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WOOD RIVER - A local family is asking for help following a stage 3A colon cancer diagnosis. Carl and Kelly Streubel have been a part of the Riverbend community since they first met at Fast Eddie’s. They love music trivia and regularly attend fundraisers for families in the region. Now, they’re asking the community to rally behind them as Carl battles cancer and they plan a music trivia fundraiser on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, at the Wood River VFW. “We’re always trying to help out where we can, and now — well, we hate to do it, but it’s our turn to ask for help,” Kelly said. “We’re kind of struggling right now, and this would just be a big weight off of our shoulders if we could get a little bit of help here.” The music trivia night is “a little different than folks are probably used to,” she added. Carl, who is “a big musical encyclopedia,” has been coming up with the questions himself. They pla

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FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS - Ameren Illinois crews restored power to approximately 3,700 customers in and around Fairview Heights on Tuesday afternoon, June 24, 2025, working under extreme heat conditions, Brian Bretsch, a spokesperson for the utility company, said on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. "The crews focused on maintaining safety and efficiency while addressing the outage," he said. “They kept an eye on each other to make sure no one got overheated and did a great job." Bretsch and Ameren Illinois also urged residents to check on neighbors and individuals who are homebound during the continuing heatwave. Bretsch also recommended taking vulnerable individuals on a car ride in a cooled vehicle to a local restaurant for relief from the heat during the Tuesday outage. The Ameren Illinois spokesperson emphasized the importance of community support as the region faces several more days of extreme temperatures.

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GRANITE CITY – The Granite City Sports Hall of Fame has announced its Class of 2025, which will be inducted in a ceremony on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025 at the Granite City High School Performing Arts Center (PAC). The reception begins at 6 p.m., followed by induction ceremonies at 7 p.m. The Class of 2025 features 12 former student-athletes, two special recognition honorees, and three teams: Individuals - Kevin Atkins – 2000 – XC, Track - Tasha (Dittamore) Dailey – 2006 – Basketball, Soccer - Tessa (Gavilsky) Florio – 2007 – Tennis, Basketball, Soccer - Laura Gabriel – 1980 – Tennis - Erika (Todd) Hackmann – 2000 - Tennis, Basketball, Soccer - Jason Maxfield – 1993 – Soccer, Baseball - Stephen McArther – 1986 – Martial Arts - Dean Perkins – 1981 – Wrestling - Larry Schleicher – 1976 – Football, Basketball, Track, Baseball - Tony Segobiano – 1983 &ndash

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AMES, Iowa - More than 11,300 Iowa State University students have been recognized for outstanding academic achievement by being named to the 2025 spring semester Dean's List, including the following Riverbend area students: Edwardsville Mitchell Henry Steinkuehler, Mechanical Engineering, B.S. Taryn Leigh Trauernicht, Industrial Engineering, B.S. Hamel William Reese Kirk, Mechanical Engineering, B.S. Jerseyville Kendal Marie Lacy, Industrial Design Undergraduate Pre-Major Students named to the Dean's List must earn a grade point average of at least 3.50 on a 4.00 scale while carrying a minimum of 12 credit hours of graded course work.

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ALTON - The Alton Municipal Band continues its 135th consecutive season of concerts in the parks with “Blast Off,” featuring the music of faraway planets and distant stars. Selections pay tribute to the Apollo program, and paint pictures of distant galaxies and bright stars. Directed this week by Bradley Eston, the band will also feature selections from the Star Wars franchise. The Jewel Ice Cream Company will be present for the Sunday program, offering out-of-this-world delicious treats for purchase. Alton Municipal Band concerts are free to all in the community. The Thursday evening concert, located at Riverview Park, begins at 7:30 PM. The Sunday concert, at picturesque Haskell Park, begins at 7:00 PM. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring their lawn chairs and enjoy the long summer evening. For more information about the Alton Municipal Band, search for “Alton Municipal Band” on Facebook, or visit the City of Alton website at www.cityofaltonil.gov.

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CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 21 attorneys general, today filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its unlawful attempts to invoke a single provision buried in federal regulations to strip away billions of dollars in critical federal funding for states and other grantees. The lawsuit Raoul and the coalition filed seeks to limit the Trump administration’s use of this regulation to illegally terminate critical funding used for multiple initiatives such as combating violent crime, educating students, protecting clean drinking water, and conducting lifesaving medical and scientific research that safeguards public health and addresses food insecurity. “The Trump Administration continues to indiscriminately terminate federal funding authorized by Congress to be awarded to states to use for grants that support a wide range of often life-saving programs,” Raoul said. “I will continue to stand beside my colleagues

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the third anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade , U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Patty Murray (D-WA) in introducing the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025 , legislation to guarantee access to abortion everywhere across the country and restore the right to comprehensive reproductive health care for millions of Americans. The bill’s introduction comes as the Trump Administration further attacks a woman’s right to choose and Congressional Republicans barrel ahead with a bill that defunds Planned Parenthood. Put together, Trump and Congressional Republicans’ assault on Americans’ reproductive rights is a backdoor national abortion ban, ripping away millions of women’s access to abortion care and right to control their bodies. “In the three years since the Supreme

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CHICAGO – On the three-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 22 attorneys general, sent a letter to the American Hospital Association reaffirming hospitals’ legal requirement under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) to provide emergency health care, including abortion, to patients. The letter responds to the Trump administration’s recent decision to revoke prior guidance that underscored the obligation of covered hospitals to provide emergency abortion care under EMTALA. “No pregnant patient experiencing an emergency health condition should be denied care or be forced to travel long distances for life-saving treatment,” Raoul said. “EMTALA and Illinois law require hospitals to provide treatment, including emergency abortion care, to any person who comes to an emergency room in crisis. Refusal to provide emergency abortion care has caused

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STEELVILLE – The Illinois Department of Transportation today announced that the planned closure of Illinois 4 north of the Illinois 150 intersection in Randolph County has been postponed. The closure, originally scheduled to begin June 3 for intersection reconstruction, will not start until sometime after the July 4 holiday due to delays caused by wet spring weather. There is no change to the current traffic pattern at this time. IDOT is completing advance work to maintain two lanes of traffic on Illinois 150 during the closure of Illinois 4. An update with the revised schedule will be issued when available. Drivers are urged to reduce speed, be alert for changing conditions, obey all construction signage, and refrain from using mobile devices while approaching and traveling through the work zone. For IDOT District 8 updates, follow us on the social media platform X at @IDOTDistrict8 or view area construction details on IDOT’s traveler information map on GettingAroundIllinois.com

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today participated in a spotlight forum entitled “Scamming Our Schools: Robbing Our Students’ Futures to Line Their Pockets.” During the forum, which was hosted by U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Durbin focused on how the Republican budget reconciliation bill would create a national school voucher program that would further drain resources and funding from public schools. Durbin began by reflecting on the school voucher program created for Washington, D.C., called the “Opportunity Scholarship Program,” which was suggested by former U.S. Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH). “I asked some basic questions when this opportunity program was created. Basic questions like, who’s going to decide the quality of the teachers in these schools’ situations? What kind of curriculum will be offered? What kind of measurement of success or failure will there be? Will the student be better off a

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – After President Donald Trump illegally ordered a military strike against Iran over the weekend, today combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) condemned Trump’s actions as both unconstitutional and a violation of the War Powers Act and underscored her support for U.S. Senator Tim Kaine’s (D-VA) War Powers Resolution, which would reassert that only Congress holds the power and solemn responsibility to declare war. Duckworth reiterated that while Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon, the President of the United States and Commander in Chief should have pursued this goal through diplomatic means first before needlessly dragging the American people and our nation’s servicemembers into another war in the Middle East. Duckworth’s remarks can be found on the Senator’s YouTube . “When Donald Trump illegally bombed Iran without Congressional authorization, let’s be clear: there was no imminent threat to the

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Did you know that the average backyard party can generate over 50 pounds of waste, much of it non-recyclable? From disposable plates to plastic straws and single-use decorations, typical gatherings often leave behind an environmental footprint that lingers long after the last guest departs. Hosting an eco-friendly summer party isn’t just a trend—it’s a conscious choice that reflects growing awareness about sustainability and responsible living. Planning with Purpose: Setting the Eco-Friendly Tone The foundation of any sustainable event lies in thoughtful planning. Before sending out invitations or picking out decor, consider the environmental impact of every decision. Choose Invitations Wisely Digital invitations are an excellent way to reduce paper waste. Platforms like Evite or Paperless Post offer customizable, stylish templates that simplify RSVP tracking. If paper invites are preferred for their tangible charm, opt for recycled or seed-infused paper, which

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June 25th stands as a date marked by profound moments that have significantly shaped the course of history across the globe. Perhaps the most globally impactful event associated with June 25th is the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. On this day, North Korean forces launched a surprise attack across the 38th parallel, invading South Korea and igniting a conflict that would last three years. This war was not only a brutal confrontation on the Korean Peninsula but also a significant episode in the larger context of the Cold War, involving major powers like the United States, China, and the Soviet Union. The war resulted in immense human suffering and reshaped geopolitical alignments in East Asia, the repercussions of which continue to influence international relations today. Going back in time, June 25th, 1876, saw the dramatic Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand. In this fierce encounter during the Great Sioux War, a coalition of Native American tribes,

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ST. LOUIS – BJC Health System today announced that will retire effective October 1, 2025, concluding an extraordinary career spanning almost 40 years in health care — the last 16 of which were devoted to BJC Health System, headquartered in St. Louis, MO. “It has been an honor to serve and lead our team members these past 16 years as they deliver exceptional care to our patients and communities,” said Rich Liekweg, BJC Health System CEO. “Together, we successfully navigated through unprecedented times in the industry, never losing sight of our singular purpose to improve the health and well-being of the communities we serve. I am deeply proud of our caregivers, the culture we have created, and the values we share that place the patient at the center of all we do.” Liekweg joined BJC in 2009 as president of Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital and served as group president of BJC HealthCare. He was later named executive

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JERSEYVILLE – The City of Jerseyville is exploring its options for residential trash and recycling services. City Council members on Tuesday voted unanimously to solicit companies for bid proposals to contract with the city to provide exclusive residential waste, garbage, trash, yard waste collection, disposal, and recycling services for the city. Mayor Kevin Stork said residents have long requested recycling services, adding that previous efforts between the city and Jersey County to bring recycling to Jerseyville didn’t pan out as planned. He sees a new exclusive contract as a possible way to add those services while saving residents money. “When talking to residents, I’ve found that there may be different pricing depending on where you live in town, based on their routes and pickup,” Stork said. “As a city, I think we need to explore the options to get recycling see if we can save a little money for our residents by doing an exclusive contract.”

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FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS - Fairview Heights experienced a power outage affecting approximately 3,700 customers Tuesday afternoon, June 24, 2025, after a malfunction caused a power line to fall onto another line, utility officials said. The outage began around 2:32 p.m. when a series of power lines running through Fairview Heights encountered a problem. One of the lines at the highest point of a pole malfunctioned and fell into another line, resulting in the widespread loss of power primarily in Fairview Heights and surrounding areas, Brian Bretsch, a spokesperson for the utility company, said. Bretsch said crews responded quickly to the situation amid ongoing heat conditions. "We were able to reroute power to other sources in the area,” Bretsch said. “All but 110 customers have been restored as of 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday, and the remaining 110 are out until repairs are made. We need to replace a cross arm on the pole and rehang wire in that area.” Officials expect power to

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ALTON - On a recent episode of “You’re Beautiful” with Brian Trust , Duane and Cathy Lievers shared their testimony after an accident left Duane with burns covering 80% of his body. Duane shared there was an explosion at his job, and he was “dead center” when it happened. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was given 72 hours to live. Three years later, Duane is recovered and well, and Cathy and Duane believe God is the reason why. “You can’t deny it anymore,” Duane said. “Once you have Him touch you in the way that He has touched me, you can’t deny it.” When the doctor told her that Duane would die in 72 hours, Cathy responded with a “God reality check.” When the doctor said he would be in the hospital for at least six months, Cathy prayed. For the two months, 14 days and 20 minutes that Duane spent in the hospital, Cathy was by his side. She even started a prayer circle for other families

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