ST. LOUIS - The National Weather Service in St. Louis forecasters said dry weather is expected during the day on Saturday, June 20, 2026, in the St. Louis area before showers and thunderstorms move in late Saturday night and Sunday, June 21, bringing the possibility of a few severe storms and locally heavy rainfall. The National Weather Service urged residents to stay updated on the forecast through the weekend and to know where to go if a warning is issued for their location throughout
HARDIN - A boil water order has been issued effective immediately for about 400 Illinois American Water customers in the Village of Hardin as continued improvements are made at the village’s water treatment plant, the company said. Customers should bring tap water to a rolling boil for five minutes before using it for drinking or cooking, according to Illinois American Water. The company said water remains safe for bathing, washing, and other common uses, and pressure impacts are not expected.
PONTOON BEACH – A Wood River man with a history of “violent and threatening conduct” faces his latest felony after allegedly severely injuring someone he shared a tent with. 51-year-old Timothy J. Chesus of Wood River was charged on June 8, 2026 with a Class 3 felony count of aggravated battery. From Feb. 19-20, 2026, Chesus allegedly caused great bodily harm to another individual without legal justification, causing the victim to lose consciousness and require medical treatment
COLLINSVILLE - The City of Collinsville will celebrate the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle with a major festival this weekend. From 2–7 p.m. on Saturday, June 20, 2026, in uptown Collinsville, the community will come together for a car show, vendor fair, live music, contests, games and more. Organized by Mike Gassman and his family, the festival promises to be a fun event for catsup enthusiasts or anyone who enjoys the history of the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle. “Basically,
AMES, Iowa - Nearly 4,900 graduates received degrees from Iowa State University this spring. Graduate and undergraduate commencement ceremonies were held May 14-16, 2026. The following are graduates from the Riverbend area: HOMETOWN, STATE; NAME, DEGREE, MAJOR(S), HONORS (if listed) Edwardsville, Illinois Sydney Rose Harris, Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, B.A. Ethan Nicholas Pavlinek, Bachelor of Science, Aerospace Engineering, B.S.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of both the U.S. Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees—issued the following statement in reaction to President Donald Trump’s disastrous U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding: “For over 100 days, an ‘end’ to this illegal and expensive war is all anyone has asked for. But there can be no other interpretation: Iran won, Trump caved and the American peopl
JERSEYVILLE — Jersey Community Unit School's Holly Lamer, Grace Russell, Ella Roberts and Maddy Highfill have been named to the Mississippi Valley Conference All-Conference Soccer team. The girls are also Sparklight Female Athletes of the Month. One of Lamer’s biggest moments of the season came April 17, 2026, when she scored the game-winning goal on a free kick against nearby rival Alton. Lamer was a sophomore this season and will return in 2027. Russell, one of the team’s
BRIGHTON - A fundraiser has been organized to support Colton Michael Bornes after his father, Damon Bornes of Brighton, died Sunday, June 14, 2026, in a car crash on State Street in Alton, according to organizer Diana Turnbough. Turnbough said the fundraiser was created to help Colton as he faces the loss of his father and to ease immediate financial burdens while providing support for his future. “On Sunday, June 14, 2026, our family lost Damon Bornes in a tragic car accident,”
CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today highlighted his office’s work to defend civil rights and lawful diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility efforts. “I have worked hard to be a strong advocate for civil rights and to combat discrimination, as attorney general and throughout my career as a public servant,” Raoul said. “Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom as well as a call to action to defend it. I’m proud of my office’s ongoing
EDWARDSVILLE/MARYVILLE - The 29th annual Anderson Hospital Foundation Golf Tournament was held on May 11, 2026, at the Sunset Hills Country Club in Edwardsville and raised a total of $26,460. The winners of the tournament were: Mike Marshall, Steve Carey, Ethan Guss and Jared Hogan. The event featured eighteen holes of golf and included contests, such as the Men’s and Women’s Longest Drive and Men’s and Women’s Closest to the Pin, Buy A Drive Contest, and a Putting
JERSEYVILLE - Connor Talley, a Jersey Community High School student in the class of 2026, has been selected to play in the Illinois Shriners All-Star Football Game at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 20, 2026, at Tucci Stadium in Bloomington, Illinois. Talley will represent Team Blue in the All-Star Game. He is committed to play at Quincy University in Quincy, Illinois, in the fall of 2026. At Jersey Community High School, Talley earned recognition as Mr. Panther, Best Defensive Lineman, and Best
Freedom for enslaved people in Texas was announced more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had already declared them free. That gap is the heart of Juneteenth, and it explains why the holiday is not only about celebration, but also about delay, struggle, and the unfinished work of making freedom real. Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865, the day Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that enslaved African Americans in the state were free. For many
On June 19, one of the most significant events in modern history is the end of slavery in the United States being publicly enforced in Texas in 1865, a moment now remembered as Juneteenth. More than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had declared enslaved people in Confederate-held territory free, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston and announced that slavery had ended. At the time, this mattered because it turned a legal declaration into lived reality for many people
GRANITE CITY — Granite City rising senior infielder Ben Wilson, who scored the first run in the history of newly refurbished Babe Champion Field on March 18, 2026, in a season-opening 2-1 win over Waterloo Gibault Catholic, has been named the Stillwater Senior Living Male Athlete of the Month for Granite City. Wilson made history when he crossed the plate on an RBI single by Andrew Willadredt in the opener at the new ballpark. After the game, Wilson said he was honored to be part of the
EDWARDSVILLE — Senior outfielder and pitcher Alex Pilger said he believed Alton High School’s baseball team was a difficult opponent when it was performing well, as the Redbirds completed the 2026 season with a 17-16 overall record and a 6-6 mark in the Southwestern Conference. Pilger, who played for Alton under head coach Scott Harper, spoke during the season about the team’s progress despite earlier losses and said his focus remained on helping the Redbirds succeed. Alex
ALTON - The Alton Police Department will begin an Independence Day traffic enforcement campaign June 19, 2026, targeting impaired drivers and seat-belt law violators in Alton as part of a statewide effort that runs through July 6, 2026, the department announced. The Alton campaign will cover three summer weekends leading up to and after the Fourth of July holiday. The Alton Police Department said it will focus on impaired and unbuckled drivers during the enforcement period. “We’re
ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Peters, Missouri, was charged with drug and gun crimes on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, after a toddler overdosed on fentanyl. Kevin Lamar Knowles, 50, was charged by complaint in U.S. District Court in St. Louis with one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He was arrested on Wednesday and appeared in court
GREENE COUNTY - After a series of accidents at the Heinold Curve on Old Route 67 in Greene County, State Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer said he worked with the Illinois Department of Transportation to add larger warning signs and rumble strips in an effort to prevent further crashes. Davidsmeyer first collaborated with IDOT in November 2025 after what he described as a bad car accident at the dangerous S curve. The IDOT-Davidsmeyer plan called for larger, more visible traffic warning signs at the Heinold
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation—is demanding the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reject any pressure to rubber-stamp President Donald Trump’s latest taxpayer-funded vanity project, the so-called “Triumphal Arch,” that could jeopardize the safety of the flying public. In a letter to FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, Duckworth warned against wasting time and resources
ST. LOUIS - Mayor Cara Spencer on Thursday, June 18, 2026, ordered an overnight youth curfew in St. Louis’ Forest Park Southeast neighborhood for the weekend of Pride celebrations, saying the city is taking the step to help residents and visitors celebrate safely and to limit the risk of violence and unruliness seen in previous years. Spencer signed Executive Order 97, according to the mayor’s office, imposing a curfew for juveniles from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. beginning the evening of Saturday,
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