WOOD RIVER - Five Lewis & Clark Junior High School student athletes were recognized by the LCJH District 15 school board on Feb. 24, 2026, in Wood River, Illinois, for earning spots on the Boys Basketball All Academic Team, an honor created this year by Coach Overton and Kraig Daniels. The board recognized Malik Turner, an eighth-grader, and seventh-graders Lincoln Brame, Harrison Hawkins, Gabriel Daniels and Hudson Gonzales during the recent board meeting at Lewis & Clark Junior High School.
GLEN CARBON – A 1,500-acre piece of mostly vacant farmland in Glen Carbon is set to become the site of several future developments within the village. Trustees unanimously approved the establishment of a STAR Bond District in Glen Carbon at their Feb. 24, 2026, Village Board meeting. The district’s purpose is to finance the development of future entertainment, retail, and tourism projects through Sales Tax And Revenue (STAR) bonds, according to the village’s STAR Bond District
EDWARDSVILLE - Tucker Lindstedt is one of the five seniors on this year's Edwardsville High School boys basketball team, and has been very supportive of his teammates as well as being a talented forward in the 2025-2026 season. The Tigers move to the sectional semifinals for a contest against Alton at Mascoutah on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. Lindstedt, as one of the club's seniors, is optimistic and confident that Edwardsville can continue on in postseason play with the Alton game ahead next.
ALTON - The Alton-Godfrey Rotary Club is expected to welcome hundreds of people to their 40th annual Chili Chowdown event. On Monday, March 2, 2026, community members could stop by Main Street United Methodist Church in Alton from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. or 4:30–7 p.m. for a chili meal. A $10 ticket gets you all-you-can-eat chili, a beverage and a dessert. Brad King, this year’s event chair, noted that the “legacy” of the Chili Chowdown and the Rotary Club is all about supportin
EDWARDSVILLE - Gabby Cook is a senior forward for the girls basketball team at Edwardsville High, and provided senior, veteran leadership for the Tigers during the 2025-2026 campaign. In a game against O'Fallon Feb. 6, 2026, at Lucco-Jackson Gym, Cook was one of three players who scored 11 points in Edwardsville's 53-42 loss to the Panthers. Cook averaged over 8 points and 7 rebounds a game for the Tigers and was consistently one of the team's leading scorers game in and game out. Cook is
O'FALLON, IL. - Cambree York, a 14-year-old cheerleader from O'Fallon, IL., has battled “a serious illness and infection,” and time in the ICU recently. Karrie Schulte has organized a fundraiser for York to help her family cover expenses tied to her medical care. The fundraiser is intended to support York’s family as they face “an incredibly challenging time, filled with uncertainty and worry,” the page says. It describes Cambree York’s “energy and
CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today highlighted a decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that once again recognized that the federal government cannot demand states turn over personal and sensitive information on millions of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applicants and recipients without protections for the data. SNAP is a state-administered, federally funded program that provides billions of dollars in food assistance
BELLEVILLE - Caritas Family Solutions is expanding its mission to help children and families across the region thrive with the launch of its new Office of Community Connection (OCC) program. This initiative focuses on prevention and connects families with critical resources and support services before challenges become emergencies. The OCC program offers short-term, voluntary assistance to families experiencing hardship who do not require formal child welfare intervention. Through this
SHILOH – HSHS Medical Group is pleased to announce Kate Renner, MD, FACOG, MSCP, is now welcoming new patients at HSHS Medical Group Family Medicine - Shiloh, 1116 Hartman Lane, in Shiloh. She is a board-certified gynecologist with extensive experience in obstetrics and gynecology. Dr. Renner has been recognized for her patient-centered approach and ranking in the top 5% for patient satisfaction, as well as her leadership experience in prior roles. She has additional certification as
WOOD RIVER - A call to the Wood River Fire Department that initially appeared to be a potentially serious incident at a Wood River nursing home ended without a fire after a dry chemical fire extinguisher was accidentally discharged, prompting an evacuation and medical evaluations, according to the Wood River Fire Department. Wood River Fire Chief Wade Stahlhut said the call came in from BRIA of Wood River, 393 Edwardsville Road, on Monday morning, March 2, 2026. He said fire crews arrived to fin
TROY - Community members and business owners have the chance to support an organization that supports them at the upcoming Glo Bingo for the Troy/Maryville/St. Jacob/Marine Chamber of Commerce. On Friday, March 13, 2026, the chamber will host their annual Glo Bingo fundraiser at the Tri-Township Activity Center in Troy. Proceeds go back to the chamber to help them coordinate events and networking activities for members and the community. Mark VanZeyl, chamber ambassador, explained that the
BETHALTO - A local teacher has been named Illinois’s Southern Regional Teacher of the Year and a finalist for the Illinois State Board of Education’s 2026 Teacher of the Year award. Angie Neilson, an educator at Civic Memorial High School in the Bethalto Community Unit School District #8, says it’s “humbling and shocking” to be recognized. As she waits to learn if she has received the Teacher of the Year honor, she is focused on continuing her work and helping
O'FALLON, IL. - Members of the O’Fallon Police Department and community participants took part Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in a long-running fundraising plunge for Special Olympics Illinois athletes, raising more than $33,000 in the process. The O'Fallon Police said the team’s total made it the top police fundraiser “in the region and the state.” The event continued “a long tradition of taking the plunge for Special Olympics Illinois athletes,”
BELLEVILLE – The Illinois Department of Transportation today announced that repairs on northbound and southbound Illinois 159 between Washington Street and the junction of Illinois 13/Illinois158 in St. Clair County will require intermittent lane closures beginning Monday, March 9, weather permitting. All lanes will remain open in both directions on weekdays from 6 to 9 a.m. and from 3 to 6 p.m. The project is expected to be completed this summer. Motorists should expect
ST. LOUIS, MO. — The American Red Cross urges donors to help the national blood supply recover from a severe blood shortage and empower their health by making an appointment to give blood or platelets in March. As a thank-you for helping save lives, successful donations will receive free A1C testing , commonly used to screen for prediabetes and diabetes, in March (one result per calendar year). New Red Cross data reveals 1 in 5 blood donors have elevated A1C levels — a sign that
People are more likely to start a new habit when their surroundings change—even if the change is small. A different route to school, a new schedule, a rearranged room. It’s not just motivation. It’s the brain noticing, “Something is different,” and treating that difference like an opening. That’s why spring so often feels like a fresh start. The feeling isn’t only poetic. It’s built from biology, memory, culture, and the way we organize our lives.
A strange thing happens to people when the light changes: they start making plans again. The same person who felt perfectly fine staying in and “keeping it low-key” suddenly wants long walks, fresh starts, and a calendar full of ideas. It can feel like a personal decision, but much of it is biology, memory, and culture working together. Humans look forward to spring because it signals relief and possibility. It offers a clear “before and after” moment that our bodies
You can hear it in a school hallway, a grocery store checkout line, or a group chat: someone looks out the window, shakes their head, and says, “March comes in like a lion.” It sounds ancient and obvious—like it must have been said forever. But the phrase has a surprisingly traceable past, and it didn’t start as a cute way to complain about a rough start to the month. A saying that feels older than it is “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb”
On March 2, 1917, the United States Congress passed the Jones–Shafroth Act, granting U.S. citizenship to people born in Puerto Rico and reshaping the island’s political relationship with the United States. At the time, it mattered because it changed legal rights and civic life for millions of Puerto Ricans, including how the island was governed and how residents could participate in U.S. institutions. It still matters today because the act sits at the center of ongoing questions abou
PONTOON BEACH – On Saturday, February 28, 2026, at approximately 1:08 a.m., the Mitchell Fire Department provided mutual aid to the Long Lake Volunteer Fire Department for a working commercial structure fire in the 3700 block of Pontoon Road. Upon arrival, crews encountered a fully involved commercial structure fire with exposures to adjacent buildings. Firefighters worked quickly to contain the blaze and protect surrounding properties. Additional agencies assisting on scene
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