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URBANA – The career achievements of Illinois 4-H members were lauded at the Illinois 4-H Celebration of Excellence held April 9 at the I Hotel & Conference Center in Urbana. The ceremony celebrated career achievements of 4-H members, and the Illinois 4-H Foundation awarded $45,000 in scholarships as part of the celebration. The scholarships are awarded to five Illinois 4-H members in each of nine focus categories and are based on merit and a demonstrated standard of 4-H excellence. “My wife Janette and I give to the Illinois 4-H Foundation in honor of my parents and maternal grandparents,” says donor Kevin Rhoades, a Fayette County 4-H alum. “I saw what a difference 4-H made for all my extended family members growing up and what it meant to my mother, Mary Ann, who was a leader for so many years. We felt it was important to help provide resources for 4-H to continue to help bring those life skills and values to young people and future leaders from throughout

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URBANA - Pop star Britney Spears told the world this month that she’s expecting her third child at age 40. While society may view it as less common than getting pregnant in your late teens, 20s, or early 30s, experts say later-in-life pregnancies can be successful if you plan for the complications that come with age. “I would not want anyone to let their age to be a factor in deciding whether or not to have a child,” says Kelli Daugherty , certified nurse-midwife at OSF HealthCare in Urbana, Illinois . “You absolutely can have a healthy, safe, and successful pregnancy and birth over the age of 40 just as you can at the age of 20. It just may be a little more difficult to get there.” Daugherty says women are most fertile in their late teens to mid-30s. Then, fertility begins to decline until menopause , when they can no longer get pregnant. “By age 45, fertility has declined so much that conceiving naturally for most women is not possible anymore,”

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Mike Bost (IL-12) today announced the winner of the 2022 Congressional Art Competition, “Captivating Cardinals” by Kassidee Gabby of Marion High School. Kassidee’s artwork will hang in the Cannon Tunnel in the U.S. Capitol for the next year. “Congratulations to Kassidee for winning our 2022 competition,” said Bost. “I especially like that she incorporated not only Illinois’ state bird, the cardinal, into her artwork, but also our state flower, the violet. I’m looking forward to seeing it hang in the Capitol later this year. Thank you to the Mt. Vernon Visitors Center for hosting this year’s gallery as well as our judges, teachers, and students who participated this year. Job well done!”

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EDWARDSVILLE/EAST ST. LOUIS - First came the lesson, then the application and the result was freshly brushed and polished teeth. Bright Smiles Mobile Dental, of Swansea, concluded its services to more than 60 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) students on Friday, April 22. “We have to report to the state regarding students’ physical, vision and dental exams,” said CHS nurse Marquita Holton, LPN, who contacted and coordinated the dental visits. “We had numerous students who needed their teeth cleaned, due in large part to COVID-related challenges. When some students were entering the ninth grade, many dentist offices weren’t seeing patients.” “I was more than happy to come,” said Dr. Rosalyn Smith, who started her mobile dental business in 1996. “I wanted to assist students in underserved areas. Currently, I service students in East St. Louis and the Cahokia area.” Before student

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CHICAGO – In Illinois last year, approximately 103 people were killed or injured in grade crossing and trespassing incidents. Illinois Operation Lifesaver works to prevent these needless incidents from happening through public awareness campaigns, education programs and free rail safety presentations. Operation Lifesaver , the non-profit rail safety education and awareness organization dedicated to reducing collisions, fatalities and injuries at highway-rail crossings and preventing trespassing on or near railroad tracks, is observing its 50th anniversary in 2022. Over the past five decades, Operation Lifesaver and its safety partners have helped reduce railroad crossing incidents by 84 percent across the nation. But there is more work to do – every three hours a person or vehicle is hit by a train in the United States. “The Illinois Commerce Commission has overseen Illinois’ rail safety efforts for more than 150 years. Keeping pedestrians, motorists, and

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ST. LOUIS - Great news Bublé fans! The Grammy-winning, multi-platinum superstar entertainer Michael Bublé will be back on the road with his brand-new Higher tour and is coming to ENTERPRISE CENTER on Friday, September 9. Tickets will go on sale Friday, May 6 at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster and make a great Mother’s Day gift. The 27-city U.S. tour, announced by national tour promoter Beaver Productions, includes stops at NYC’s Madison Square Garden on August l8 and LA’s Crypto.com Arena on September 23. Tickets go on sale Friday, May 6 at 10 a.m. local time. Bublé’s previous global tour, which ended in 2021, spanned across 25 countries worldwide and included 61 sold-out U.S. shows alone and a collective audience of well over 800,000 fans. His just-released new studio album, Higher, is his 9th Top 10 on Billboard’s Album Sales Chart. With unstoppable talent, energy, and a voice that is equally at home singing standards, pop tunes, swing,

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ALTON - William Preston Stork Jr. of Marquette Catholic High School has had a strong boys tennis season for the Explorers in both singles and doubles play. The Explorers senior has also been a team leader and is the Tucker's Automotive Repair and Tire Male Athlete of the Month. Stork thanked his parents for helping him to continue with tennis and for coaches Cathy and Jim Claywell for their positive input and for helping him improve his skills. "I would like to thank all my tennis teammates for challenging me to make me become a better tennis player," he said. Stork is a natural on the tennis courts and has had extraordinary success with only two years of organized experience. He has also developed skills with summer tennis play with friends. "My favorite part of tennis is bonding and forming relationships with my teammates," he said. "In my spare time, I enjoy watching sports and playing club soccer. I also like playing unorganized sports with my friends and collecting sports cards."

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EDWARDSVILLE – The Metro-East Lutheran High School music department will go for the gold on Sunday, May 1, with a spring concert that is a tribute to the world of sports. The concert, which will begin at 4 p.m., will feature MELHS’s band, choir, strings ensemble guitar ensemble and choirchime ensemble.The program will focus on a sports theme, with musical selections ranging from “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and the theme from “Rocky” to John Williams’ “Olympic Fanfare” and the theme music from the NFL on FOX. “Some of this music is really challenging and some of it is more tongue-in-cheek, but the whole program should really be just a lot of fun,” said Karen Shimkus, music director at MELHS. The concert, which will last about an hour, will be held in Henschen Hall at the school’s campus at 6305 Center Grove Road in Edwardsville. The event is open to the public. The MELHS music department recently celebrated

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EDWARDSVILLE - Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine announced Tuesday afternoon Jerrica Christine Rudebeck, age 31, now residing in Belleville, was sentenced in the Circuit Court of Madison County to a term of four years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for her role in stealing over a half a million dollars from a small family business in Granite City. Rudebeck pleaded guilty to the offenses on December 6, 2021. The victims of this crime were Jeff and Todd Overby, owners of Overby InkJet Solutions. Over a period of six years, after earning the trust and respect of the Overbys with whom the defendant worked in very close proximity, she started stealing from their business, eventually stealing over $500,000. This created a deep financial hole for the Overbys by plunging them, unknowingly, into crippling debt. Through hard work and incredible resilience by the entire family, their business has thankfully survived. “Small businesses are the bedrock of our community,”

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JERSEYVILLE - A Maker’s Faire will be held tonight from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. in the parking lot under the water tower at the corner of Arch and Washington streets in Jerseyville. Local businesses and vendors will sell items like clothing, jewelry, plants, books, and more. The Maker’s Faire will be a recurring event every fourth Tuesday of the month from tonight until October 25 from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m., in coordination with the Jersey County Business Association’s “Open Late” promotional campaign. Businesses/vendors participating in the Maker’s Faire include Ajk Designs, Allen Greenhouse, A.Toppy Designs, Epoxy Farms, Fox & Thistle, the Jerseyville Public Library, Scentsy, and Triple H Frangrances. Outgoing JCBA Director Beth Bear said the purpose of the Faire is to promote local small businesses both new and old. “One of the reasons for the chamber of commerce is not only to promote our existing businesses, but to support new and start-up

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JERSEYVILLE - Tonight is the first night of the Jersey County Business Association’s “Open Late” promotion. Outgoing JCBA Director Beth Bear said participating businesses are encouraged to stay open later than 5 p.m. to give everyone - especially commuters - more time to visit downtown businesses. “Statistically speaking, nearly half of our working-age population commutes to Madison County, St. Louis County, or the City of St. Louis,” Bear said. “We are aware that for a lot of our 9-to-5 businesses, our residents just don’t get to experience what our retail establishments have to offer here in Jerseyville, so we wanted to make sure they had a chance outside of just a Saturday morning to come and enjoy our downtown, which is thriving at this stage.” “Open Late” nights will be held on the fourth Tuesday of every month from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. starting tonight until October 25. In addition to staying open later, businesses ar

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ALTON - This is the 47 th move of my lifetime. I have lived in four different states and the Philippines. My work has taken me all over the world including Canada, China, South Korea, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Sweden. I purchased a home here in September of 2021 and have announced to everyone that I have found my FOREVER HOME in Alton, Illinois. I am now officially an Alton Ambassador. I like the more formal term “doyen” meaning dean or elder member of a community. I also find it funny that the local pot shop uses the term when hiring new employers to become doyens of dope. Ah, language is another great joy of my life along with music and reading. People ask me repeatedly “why did you move to Alton?” I have whittled my response to six simple words: People, potential, and the Mighty Mississippi. In that order. I find the people of Alton to be extremely friendly. The potential of Alton, Illinois, is like electricity flowing from a cut

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JERSEYVILLE - The National Day of Prayer event in Jersey County will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 5, 2022, at LifeChurchX at 300 Bluebird Lane in Jerseyville and should once again be a "powerful one," one of the coordinators Linda Minor said. Minor said she has been affiliated with the Day of Prayer in Jersey County now for several years and she says it is a calling for her. “When God gives you something to do, you follow it," she said. "I feel this is what I am supposed to do. It means a lot to a lot of people and there are many awesome people who work on it and come together and pray. When people gather together and pray, God listens. It is so much different to be here in person for the event. I think people feel the ambiance and it really touches people's hearts." A bagpiper and drummer will open the event and perform "Amazing Grace" and Minor said that will set the stage for what is ahead. "God is not surprised by anything that each of us is going through," she said

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EDWARDSVILLE - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is partnering with U.S. Bank to bring convenient banking services to the campus community via an on-campus branch located in the Morris University Center. The U.S. Bank digital first advisory center is slated to open around July 1, 2022. It will include a customer engagement zone where bankers will provide one-on-one consultative services, financial education, financial guidance and recommendations. U.S. Bank will provide its entire suite of products and services, including new account opening, affinity debit card ordering and mobile app assistance. U.S. Bank will offer student checking accounts, as well as perks for faculty and staff. Additionally, there will be an ATM providing multiple denominations, which will serve the deposit, withdrawal and check cashing needs of students, faculty and staff. “The University looks forward to making available convenient and critical banking services via our partnership with U.S. Bank,”

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ALTON - East Elementary School in Alton celebrated its most recent addition - an outdoor classroom - with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that was well-attended and included a special visit from National Educational Association President Becky Pringle. East Elementary Cuts Ribbon on Outdoor Classroom: The East Elementary School outdoor classroom project has been a seven-year undertaking. Jen Herron, a fifth-grade teacher, was recognized at the ribbon cut, for her diligence and hard work. Herron wrote for several grants and also there was strong community support for the project. Her work has been done with complete love and sincerity and now thanks to her and the others, East Elementary has a beautiful outdoor classroom. Pringle, the highest-ranking official in the nation’s largest union, is a middle school science teacher with 31 years of classroom experience and has distinguished herself as a social justice warrior and education rights defender. East Elementary Principal

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ST. LOUIS COUNTY - The St. Louis County Police Crimes Against Persons detectives are currently investigating a homicide in the 15800 block of New Halls Ferry Road which resulted in the death of an adult male. On Monday, April 25, 2022, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office issued warrants on suspects Jeremiah Allen, 18 years of age, of the 1600 block of Langholm in Florissant, Missouri 63033, and Tywon Harris, 18 years of age, of the 3200 block of Brookshire in Florissant, Missouri 63033, each for one count of Murder Second Degree and one count of Armed Criminal Action. Both Allen and Harris are being held without bond. On April 24, 2022, at approximately 6:38 AM, St. Louis County police officers from the North County Precinct responded to a call for service for a shooting at the Hazelwood Central High School in the 15800 block of New Halls Ferry Road. Officers located an adult male in the parking lot suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. The victim was

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GRANITE CITY - Seniors Sierra Cooper and Lilly Relleke of Granite City High School were selected as Granite City Elks Lodge 1063 Students of the Month for April. The Elks Student of the Month Program is designed to recognize outstanding young men and women for achievements in school and community life-fine arts, hobbies, athletics, church, school, club and community service, industry, and farming. Nominees are judged on multiple achievements including leadership skills, good moral character, community involvement, extracurricular activities, honors and award, and scholastic ability. Each student receives a $100 U.S. savings bond and an Elks certificate of achievement. SIERRA COOPER Four-year member of Marching Warriors, including two-year Section Leader ... 2021 Homecoming Court ... Member of Book Club, Creative Writing Club, National Honor Society, Science Club, Varsity Club and Writing Club ... Pride Club Historian ... Rotary Student of the Month ... Daughter of Don and

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EDWARDSVILLE - The Illinois Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is partnering with regional business leaders to host the 1 st Annual Entrepreneurship Academy in a Day. The program brings together the greatest minds in business to instruct, motivate and empower winning entrepreneurial endeavors. It will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 7 in the Morris University Center second floor Conference Center on the Edwardsville campus at 1 Hairpin Drive, Edwardsville. Parking is available in Lot B. Registration is available at ilsbdc.ecenterdirect.com/events/36407 . Use code EASIUE052022 for a discounted price of $199. “The Academy gives business owners around the region the opportunity to spend the day learning and interacting with business leaders who have positioned themselves in the marketplace as experts in their respective fields,” said G.W. Slaughter, founder of the Entrepreneurial Academy. “This one-day,

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EDWARDSVILLE - Source Juicery, a locally owned business dedicated to offering convenient, healthy eating options, is encouraging people interested in getting their body on track before summer, to try a 3-day cold-pressed juice cleanse. Juice cleanses are a simple way to detoxify and heal your body while providing your immune system with nutrients, antioxidants, and active enzymes. Source Juicery Co-Owner Chrissy Stevens said a juice cleanse can also give your digestive system a much-needed rest. Stevens said a juice cleanse can help restore your gut, assist in weight loss and help minimize your cravings for processed food. Each of their juices has around a pound and a half of fresh produce in them. “Spring is a great time of year to try a juice cleanse because people typically are a little less active in the winter months and don’t eat as many healthy foods, so this helps reset your system,” said Stevens. “Our juices are unique because they are made in our

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AURORA – The Irvin for Illinois campaign today is proud to announce Illinois Troopers Lodge #41’s endorsement of Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin and State Representative Avery Bourne in the Republican primary for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. “Bad decisions from Springfield coupled with dangerous policies are alienating law enforcement and empowering criminals at a time when we need support from our elected officials,” said Troopers Lodge #41 President Joe Moon. “The men and women of Troopers Lodge 41 support individuals for office who support and understand the challenges facing state police and without question Richard Irvin is the Republican Gubernatorial candidate who has proven time and again he has the back of law enforcement.” Troopers Lodge 41 is the largest statewide police union in Illinois that includes approximately 3,200 sworn and retired Illinois state troopers. Irvin’s strong record in supporting law enforcement

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