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SPRINGFIELD - Enrollment at Illinois community colleges continues to climb for the second straight year according to the annual fall enrollment report, released today by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB).Overall, the Illinois Community College System’s opening Fall 2023 enrollments had an increase in both headcount (+5.7 percent) and Full-time Equivalent (FTE) (+5.2 percent) from the previous year. The Fall 2022 to Fall 2023 increase of 5.7 percent is the second largest Fall-to-Fall enrollment growth in the last 30 years. Only the Fall 2008 to Fall 2009 increase of 7.4 percent during the Great Recession was higher. “Illinois has the best community college system in the nation—and look no further than our fall enrollment numbers for proof,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “With a more than 5 percent increase in enrollment since last year, our community colleges are bouncing back better than ever—showing the rest of the nation what it looks lik

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ALTON - Local small business owners recently gathered for a presentation on “Becoming a Destination” in downtown Alton. The organizations Main Street America , Illinois Main Street and Alton Main Street sponsored the event. They invited Jon Schallert, the president of The Schallert Group, Inc., to speak about how to make a business a regional “must-see.” “I like talking to communities because you get a whole interesting mix of business owners from all over the place,” Schallert said to the ten owners who attended the presentation. Schallert has developed a 14-step process for becoming a “destination business.” He explained that a destination business is unique and not dependent on location. In fact, a true destination business will bring in people from outside the business’s traditional market. This is partly why destination businesses are so beneficial to communities. They also garner media attention and word-of-mouth

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GODFREY - Need some time for yourself? My Time Day Spa will offer an open house with discounts, free spa services and more from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. This year’s open house will celebrate the spa’s 17th anniversary and kick off the gift-giving season with deals for gift certificates and products. Owner and esthetician Diane Sconce explained that the open house aims to show her gratitude for her clients and the women who work with her. “We appreciate them being loyal clients and supporting us. I mean, we made it through the recession and we made it through the pandemic, so that’s pretty good,” Sconce said. “We want to thank our clients and we always appreciate new clients coming in. I want to thank my girls, too. I have a really great team that works there. Everybody helps out a lot and pitches in, and they’re just a really great group of girls.” This group includes hairstylists, massage therapists and nail

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ELSAH - Principia College’s Varsity Women’s and Men’s Tennis teams are offering a series of Tennis Clinics throughout the month of November to teach tennis basics while fundraising for their Spring Break trip to California. Coaches Shannon Carney and Rusty Jones will join the college’s varsity tennis athletes to lead the clinics, which will cover the fundamentals of ground strokes, volleys, overheads, serves, and returns. Groups will pass through circuits on different courts covering skills and tactics. Each session will include warm up conditioning exercises, and there will also be time for singles and doubles play toward the end of each session. All clinics will be held at the indoor courts located at 1 Maybeck Place in Elsah. Tennis Clinics will be available on Mondays and Wednesdays from Nov. 1 to Nov. 29, 2023. Clinics will be open to all ages and skill levels, and a variety of pricing options are available. Those interested can “drop in”

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JERSEYVILLE - This is the Jersey Middle School School First-Quarter Honor Roll: 5th Grade Honor Roll Atteberry, Zoey N., Bexheti, Jona, Dalton, Olivia N., Deverger, Landen J., Dewitt, Haylie I., Eberlin-Brown, Kynleigh J., Gillespie, Hannah M., Hardwick, Keilee J., Herring, Eva J., Jordan, Gage R., Kanallakan, Lydia A., Klunk, Jaxen, McNelly, Landon F., Orlando, Phenix A., Reisch, Liam M., Rex, Tiberius A., Smith, Grayson J., Talley, Clayton M., Taylor, Samson W., Weatherford, Kaleigh E., Wellenreiter, Braxtyn E. 5th Grade High Honor Roll: Abbott, Collin J., Adair, Trenton M., Allgood, Logan B., Anderson, Liam D., Balcer, Catherine B., Baro, Jessa J., Baze, Madelynn E., Behl, Aubrey M., Bray, Abilene M., Brittain, Karleen P., Burkman, Annora R., Byrd, Makailynn A., Campion, Molly J., Cooley, Richard A., Damm, Ashlynn N., Darr, Hailey L., Daugherty, Clayton J., Eich, Peyton I., Fallin, Arthur W., Falter, Chiara, Ferguson, Hayleigh N., Fry, Piper, Gajewski, Violet E.

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Home health remedies There are two home health remedies getting major exposure on social media platforms like TikTok. One is a mix of onion and honey, and another is a combination of garlic and honey. Ashley Simper, manager of Dietetic Services with OSF HealthCare, sifts through the research to explain what is fact vs. fiction. Onion and honey remedy TikTok user HealthwellnessAB, shared a “homemade cough syrup” using chopped onion and honey. Since being posted in early September, the video has garnered over 4 million views. The concoction starts with one layer of chopped onion, topped with one teaspoon of honey. The layering of honey and onion is repeated three times. Once the concoction is made, it’s recommended to keep it stored in the fridge for up to two weeks. “There are no clinical trials that show a direct correlation between eating red onion, or red onion extract, and reducing the symptoms of a cough. There are a lot of great things in

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CHICAGO – Someone in Illinois might be handing out full-size candy bars this Halloween! A lucky Illinois Lottery player purchased a Lucky Day Lotto ticket that struck the jackpot worth $1.2 million in the Friday, October 27 midday drawing. The ticket was purchased at Jewel Osco, located at 2940 N. Ashland Avenue in Chicago. The winning ticket matched all five numbers in the Friday midday drawing to score the $1.2 million jackpot. The winning numbers were: 14-15-24-25-34. This is also a big win for the retailer that sold the winning ticket, as the store will receive a bonus of one percent of the prize amount. For Jewel on Ashland, that means a bonus of $12,000. Nearly 50,000 other Illinois Lottery players had good luck playing Lucky Day Lotto on Friday, October 27, in total winning over $1.3 million. So far in 2023, over 10 million winning Lucky Day Lotto tickets have been sold, with total prizes amounting to almost $60 million for Illinois Lottery players. Winners have

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BENLD - Nature’s Bliss invites you to join them for their second-anniversary celebration, complete with food trucks and deals on countless skincare and self-care products. Owner Jeanine Fassero will mark the anniversary at her main shop, located at 104 N. Hardroad Street in Benld. From body butter to shampoo bars to lip balms, the products are all handcrafted by Fassero with natural ingredients and over 75 flavor/fragrance options. Starting Tuesday, Oct. 31, to Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, all products are 20% off. “It’s all natural, local, handcrafted, and you can try new fragrances,” Fassero said. “Start your Christmas shopping this weekend.” You can also check out local food trucks starting on Wednesday, when Off the Wall is scheduled to be at the shop from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. On Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, Yo Dawg Catering will take their spot. Fassero is especially excited for Dippidy Donuts from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, with donuts

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JERSEYVILLE - This time of year, fans of McCarry’s Dairyland in Jerseyville usually rush to buy their last ice cream treats before the community staple closes for the season. But due to high demand, Dairyland recently announced they’ll be staying open during their usual off-season. Dairyland will remain open each week from Thursday to Sunday starting the week of Nov. 5, 2023. Their hours will be from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays and Sundays, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. “We are beyond excited to keep offering your favorite treats throughout the cold season!” they wrote on Facebook . Shortly after becoming a co-owner of Dairyland , Jay Jones said the demand to stay open is just as much from staff members as it is from customers. “The staff requested that we stay open longer throughout the year,” Jones said. “That’s what they’ve requested, and a lot of the public has requested that as well.”

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ALTON - This is the St. Mary's Honor Roll and High Honor Roll List. 8 th Grade High Honor Roll Alivia Beaber Brooke Boston Clara Brass Connor Cochran Baylee Dunse Alayna Graham Isabella Greenberg Emily Hough Sophia Jacobs Jensen Janek Cameron Jones Chase Jones Ryan Joehl Sam Jun Allison Nash Natalie Novak Gianna Pulido Nora Ringering Jocelyn Thomas Mason Widman 8 th Grade Honor Roll Jackson Ellis-Gable David Haegele Lucas Joyce Kayleigh Pollock 7 th Grade High Honor Roll Avery Conrad Elaina Cowan James Fischer Katherine Fitzgerald Tucker Hamilton Eli Heischmidt Joseph Henesey Parker Hough Caleb Kasten Kainan Kelly Colette Manns Clyde Phillips Lucia Pulido Jenna Redman Caden Roth William Roth Caden Shewmake Olivia Smith William Waters Brendan White 7 th Grade Honor Roll Sam Johnson Kaelyn Page Alexander Schmittling Sophia Schmittling Elizabeth Strickland Brock Woodward Zoey Zeller 6th Grade High Honor Roll Jeffrey

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ALTON – Alton Pride is excited to announce its second annual Thanksgiving Food Drive Competition. Area establishments are competing for the title of “Top Turkey”, a trophy and bragging rights. From October 28 through November 12 participating locations will be collecting non-perishable food items for Thanksgiving. The business with the most donations will be crowned the winner. People can donate several non-perishable items, including but not limited to: Boxed Stuffing Mix Instant Potatoes Gravy Mixes/Jars Dry Macaroni Canned Yams Canned Vegetables Canned Cranberry Sauce Cornbread Mix Muffin Mix Canned Pie Fillings Pie Crust Mix Cake Mixes/Icing Flour Vegetable Oil Sugar Powdered Drink Mixes Rice Dried Beans Jell-O Mix Pudding Mix Powdered Milk Graham Crackers Cream of Mushroom Soup French Fried Onions Pride Inc. encourages the community to drop their donation off at their favorite hangout. There are currently 11 establishments competing to be crowned Top

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ALTON – OSF Medical Group in Alton is pleased to announce a new cardiology nurse practitioner has been added to its staff to better serve the cardiology needs of Riverbend region residents. Laurinda Harjai, DNP, FNP, RN-BC, will begin seeing patients on Monday, October 30, 2023, and will ensure continued access for patients in need of cardiology care at OSF Medical Group - Cardiology, located at OSF Saint Anthony’s Medical Office Building, Suite 305, #2 Saint Anthony’s Way, in Alton. Harjai will see patients Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Ms. Harjai, DNP, offers her patients a variety of specialty cardiology services encompassing (but not limited to): Chest pain Hypertension High cholesterol Heart failure Coronary Artery Disease management Harjai’s comprehensive, clinical experience also includes: Served as practitioner, educator, and consultant for patients with advanced heart failure, including heart transplant Pre and Post Cardiothoracic surgical

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ALTON – The Alton School District Board of Education said today it will begin a national search for the next leader of the District this week. The current superintendent, Dr. Kristie Baumgartner, announced last year that the 2023-2024 school year would be her last, leading to the forthcoming vacancy and search process. June 30, 2024, will be her last day. According to David Lauschke, Board of Education President, Baumgartner shared her intent to leave after this school year with them early last year." "We wanted to offer Kristie a multi-year contract extension last year but she was very upfront and transparent in sharing she only planned to serve one more year as superintendent,” he said. Lauschke added that Baumgartner’s service to district students, staff and families over the past two and a half decades has been impressive and appreciated. “I don’t know that you will find a more caring or hard-working leader than her and she has been that way since

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CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul is reminding parents and guardians to check the state’s sex offender registry and with local law enforcement agencies before finalizing Halloween plans. “Halloween should be a night of fun, family, and of course, candy. I am encouraging parents, grandparents and guardians to keep their families safe by checking Illinois’ sex offender registry before leaving home,” Raoul said. “While Illinois law prohibits child sex offenders from distributing candy, searching the registry is a quick step that families can take before leaving home to ensure everyone has a happy and safe Halloween.” Illinois law prohibits all sex offenders who committed a crime against a child from distributing candy, in addition to prohibiting them from participating in trick-or-treat events or other Halloween events involving children younger than 18. Sex offenders on parole, mandatory supervised release and probation may have other

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BETHALTO - This is the Civic Memorial High School 2023-2024 first quarter honor roll list. Seniors - High Honor Roll Alyssa Abernathy Akkadia Allsman Kadince Arico Charly Bellanca Carter Braun Ethan Bruhn Reid Buffington David Chen Gabriella Cochran Makayla Collman Avari Combes Anaiah Dabney Brian Dame Jasmine Davis David Dutton Justin Dyer James Farris Garreth Floyd Julian Floyd Tayla Fontana Samuel Frey Bryce Griffin Elijah Gruen Samantha Hamby Bella Hannaford Lela Haskins Lisa Henry Joshua Hodge Alyssa Hoffmann Jayden Huff Zak King Ella Landers Sydney Law Jasmine Lawrence Jacob Liefer Madison Lindley Joshua McCune Isabel Mims Lucas Naugle Aniston Naumann Kaitlynn Niemeyer Madelyn Ogden Timothy Oldham Raegan Ottwell Shelby Quick Ethan Rea Reagan Richards Ella Richey Meredith Schaaf Caleb Scott Kent Scottberg Jae Lynne Shotwell Destiny Slone Lauren Stacknick Taylor Stanford Josaline Stewart Christian Strader Noah Thien Kylie

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BRIGHTON - Friday night was freezing and rainy, but that couldn’t stop the population of Brighton. Kids took to the streets, hordes of Barbies and Spider-Mans and a few classic Freddy Kruegers, dragging along good-natured parents for three hours of trick-or-treating. I don’t have kids, so I was on Candy Duty. I spent those three hours sitting in the driveway with a few friends, passing out Snickers bars and sipping apple cider. (I can neither confirm nor deny whether the cider was spiked, but in our defense, it was 40 degrees and raining and also a Friday night. We needed a little kick.) In my 20s now, it’s natural that I occasionally think about having kids. The question — to parent or not to parent — has become a little more important lately as I chart out what I want to accomplish in the next ten years or so. After Friday night, I can confidently say that I am more uncertain than ever. Don’t be offended, parents of the Riverbend; your kids

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BETHALTO - The Bethalto Police Department has received over 20 reports of vehicle burglaries/stolen vehicles in the last week, Bethalto Police Chief Jason Lamb said. "We are reminding people to please lock your vehicle and either remove or hide any valuable items inside of your vehicle," Chief Lamb said. "We have taken reports of expensive valuables being taken. "Most of our reports have documented that their vehicles were unlocked, however, we have had some reports where force was used to enter the vehicle. Some of these encounters have been captured on video. "We are asking everyone to review your surveillance cameras (should you have any) for any evidence of these perpetrators near your or your neighbor's vehicle. If you have a video of these subjects, please contact us so one of our officers can obtain that video from you." Even if nothing was taken, the department would like to hear about it so they can further gather information about where these people have been,

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ALTON - Madison County Coroner’s Office Chief Of Investigations Shane P. Liley has identified a Godfrey area male who died as a result of being involved in a two-vehicle traffic crash early Sunday morning, Oct. 29, 2023. The man is identified as Anthony M. Geisen, 20, of Godfrey. Geisen was the driver and sole occupant of a white 2015 Ford Focus Hatchback. He was traveling northbound on Henry Street and through the intersection of Landmarks Boulevard when he was struck on the passenger side by a 2024 Freightliner tractor-trailer. The crash occurred at 5:54 a.m. on Oct. 29, 2023. Geisen was treated at the scene by paramedics with the Alton Fire Department and taken to OSF Saint Anthony’s Heath Center in Alton, where he was pronounced deceased at 6:23 a.m. after resuscitative efforts were unsuccessful. The victim was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash and his airbags did deploy, Liley said. The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured during the

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ALTON - The City of Alton unveiled its plans to become a child-friendly city through the UNICEF U.S.A Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI). Alton will be one of eight cities in the country to achieve this designation. “Sometimes you look in eyes and you see hope. Other times, you see despair. Other times, you see trauma. Through this Child Friendly City Initiative, what we want to do is be able to see the hope in their eyes and not despair,” Mayor David Goins said. “What I’d like to do is continue to work with the City Council and my administration as we strive to seek legislation, decisions that will positively impact children’s lives and health and wellbeing.” The City Council has allocated $1 million from the American Rescue Plan Act to “invest in our youth,” Goins said. The Council specifically approved $50,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act to go toward CFCI in Alton. CFCI focuses on promoting child rights, fighting

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ALTON - If anyone ever epitomized a life of service of Alton it would be retired Alderman Charlie Brake. Brake was a Ward 5 in Alton Alderman for 26 years and was first elected in 1997. He retired a few months before his 92nd birthday in June 2023. On Tuesday night, Oct. 31, 2023, Charlie Brake will have one of the most special moments of his life when he rides through the Alton Halloween Parade as Parade Marshal. Steve Schwartz, a spokesperson for the Alton Halloween Parade, said he thought the East End Improvement Association, the sponsors for the parade, made a great choice in Brake’s selection. Brake always stood up for what he believed in during his time as Ward 5 alderman. He said when he retired he was going to relieve some stress and relax more. “I worked all those years, too, and then had that alderman seat for 26 years,” he said. “I was involved a lot in the construction projects. We did new fire houses and a new police station and I managed to be

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