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NEW ORLEANS, LA. — Formerly of Illinois and a 2020 candidate for the state’s 8th congressional district, W. Thomas La Fontaine Olson has qualified for placement on the ballot by the Office of the Secretary of State of Louisiana. The candidate was detained for an extraordinarily lengthy amount of time at the Archives building in Baton Rouge, during which bureaucrats scrambled to apologize for stately incompetence. Yet the form of payment impressed upon the candidate to the point of distraction. “Cash is king in this lousy state,” La Fontaine insists. “I would have preferred to pay in twenty dollar bills, so that I might have further mocked the cultural fawning upon Andrew Jackson, but my speed these days requires a certain plasticity, and wads of cash tend to adhere a filthiness better suited to craven politicians, such as several of my opponents.” When asked to be specific, La Fontaine only signals b

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ALTON - Tab’s Cafe seems to be a new business destined for success in the Downtown Alton area. Tab’s will open soon at 400 State St. in Alton, in a building that was previously a barber shop and shoe store. Tabitha Craig plans to bring life to the establishment that has sat vacant for a period of time. Tabitha recently spoke about her new venture at a What's Up Downtown segment at the Riverbender Building in Downtown Alton. Tabitha said it has been her dream to have her own restaurant since she was a young girl. “My husband was in the military police in Hagerstown, Maryland, that is how we met,” she said. “When we came back to where he was in the St. Louis area, we started going to church in Alton and just fell in love with it. I really wanted to open a restaurant. I just give glory and praise to God that I love feeding people.” Tabitha grew up in a small town in West Virginia and said Alton reminds her of her original home. Tabitha then laughe

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ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The American Red Cross provided shelter Saturday night for 17 people who were impacted by recent flooding in the St. Louis area. Since first opening shelters in the metro starting on Tuesday, July 26, the Red Cross has provided for a total of 249 overnight stays. One shelter remains open at St. Vincent Community Center, 7335 St. Charles Rock Rd., St. Louis, MO., 63133. The Red Cross in partnership with local and state disaster assistance organizations and the State of Missouri Emergency Management will provide services at three additional Multi-Agency Resource Center dates starting Tuesday, August 9 for those impacted by recent flooding. These centers (MARCs) are “one-stop shops” for people needing assistance to recover from flooding. Three Additional MARC Dates: Days: Tues., Aug. 9, Wed., Aug. 10, and Thurs., Aug. 11 Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily Location: Friendly Temple, 5515 Dr. Martin Luther King Dr., St. Louis, MO 63130 Who: Services

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MADISON COUNTY - Johna Murphy and Skylar Touchette seem to be perfect choices for this year’s Miss Madison County Fair Pageant queen and runner-up. Skylar also was Miss Heart of Heirtlieb and the People’s Choice. Murphy, of Troy, was so "thrilled" to win the Miss Madison County Fair Pageant. “I was surprised; I am over the moon to win,” she said. This is my second pageant. I would like people to know they are more than welcome to invite me to any event, and I will try to be there.” Skylar was equally excited to walk out with three awards. She said she is a small-town girl from Edwardsville, and she was also thrilled with the honors. “All the fellow contestants were so nice and loving to me,” she said. Both girls said the Miss Madison County Pageant was a wonderful experience, and they encouraged others in the county to enter next year.

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HARDIN - At 7:20 p.m. on July 29, 2022, the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop on Park Street near North County Road, Hardin, Calhoun County, Illinois. Subsequent to an investigation, the driver, Gabriel S. Powell, age 47, of Alton, was arrested on the following charges: Unlawful Possession of Methamphetamine (Over 5 Grams). Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Operating an Uninsured Motor Vehicle. Powell was arrested without incident and lodged in the Jersey County Jail. All suspect(s) are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and the Invasive Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ICRCC) today announced the removal of one silver carp from Lake Calumet in the Chicago Area Waterway System. Lake Calumet is approximately seven miles from Lake Michigan. The fish was captured Thursday by gill netting and electro-fishing crews from IDNR and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers following a reported sighting of an invasive carp by a member of the public earlier this week. The silver carp was 38.3 inches in length and weighed approximately 22 pounds. The silver carp capture has triggered a response effort in the area of the captured fish to determine whether additional invasive carp could be present. It is important to note that the capture of this silver carp does not indicate that a reproducing population of bighead and silver carp exists above the electric dispersal barriers or within the Great Lakes. This is the third time a bighead or silver carp has

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CARLINVILLE - The Carlinville Public Library has received a major grant to cover the cost of some overdue physical upgrades. The library has been awarded funding through the Illinois State Library’s Live and Learn Construction Grant Program. The program, which is funded by an annual appropriation by the state legislature, helps public libraries with construction costs in their physical facilities. The Live and Learn program was established in 1993, and has been one of the most popular grant offerings by the Illinois State Library ever since. The Carlinville library received money through the mini-grant section of Live and Learn, which was available to libraries with limited funds. Local matching funds are not required. Live and Learn funds may be spent for various interior and exterior physical improvements in existing library buildings. The grants are overseen by Secretary of State Jesse White who, by law, also serves as State Librarian. During his six terms in office,

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DES PERES, MO. - A new era in leadership has begun for St. Paul's Lutheran School in Des Peres, Missouri. On July 31, 2022, Dawn Walker was installed as the school’s new principal, becoming the 15th principal to serve since the school’s founding in 1849. Walker succeeds Janet Profilet, who retired this summer after serving as principal for nearly twenty years. Walker knew she wanted to be a teacher when she was in Mrs. Kibler’s second-grade class at Holy Cross Lutheran School in Collinsville, IL. She attended high school at Metro East Lutheran High School in Edwardsville, where she was inducted into the Hall of Honor. At Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) she graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education–science and a minor in psychology. She earned her Master of Science degree in 1995. While at CUW Walker played on the women’s volleyball and basketball teams, was named Volleyball Academic American, and was inducted

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ST. LOUIS – Earlier today, Governor Mike Parson requested a major disaster declaration to seek federal assistance for the City of St. Louis and surrounding jurisdictions. The declaration is in response to the historic flash flooding on July 25 and the additional flooding on July 27. If the request is approved, a major disaster declaration will allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency to activate Federal funding programs to assist in the response. “St. Louis’ first responders, volunteers, and community leaders have worked countless hours to provide necessary services and information to our residents impacted by last week’s devastating floods,” said Mayor Tishaura O. Jones. “We will continue to work closely with our state and federal partners as we put our city on the path to recovery.” After deploying mobile command centers for the past week in the city’s hard-hit neighborhoods, beginning tomorrow (August 5), the City of St.

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ALTON - It’s not what many kids want to hear right now, but the new school year is just around the corner. Even while the long days remain filled with summer activities, families are starting to make plans for the first day of school and the coming year. While it’s hard to know what might happen with the ongoing pandemic, hopefully this school year will feel more “normal” than the last two. With this return to school comes the chance to help our school-aged children to get back to more normal health routines. Some recent research highlights two areas families could focus on, including physical activity and youth vaccinations. One paper, appearing this July in JAMA Pediatrics, put specific numbers to something many of us have suspected: that children and teens the world over were less physically active during the pandemic compared to before. Overall, the study’s authors found that the daily level of activity in youth ages 3-18 dropped by 20 percent. That

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SEE PHOTO GALLERY: EAST ALTON - The Back To School Giveaway event in East Alton has become a tradition that students will never forget thanks to the hard work of co-chairs Robin Carlton, Suzette Cranmer, and the many donors and volunteers who participate at the Keasler Complex. About 200 children took part Saturday at the Back To School Giveaway. The event was again something to remember Saturday. The Back To School Giveaway takes the chairs and volunteers about a year to coordinate and students receive everything from gently used clothes to backpacks, school supplies, hair cuts, girls get their nails done, undergarments, hygiene products, and many other miscellaneous items. Riverbend Bounce House also provided a Bounce House for children. In the end, there were so many smiles and blessed children with the right types of things to have a good school year. The Co-Chairs Carlton and Cranmer were so pleased with how it all played out Saturday. "It does take about a year to

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BENTON - An Oblong man and Robinson woman pleaded guilty on Thursday, August 4, 2022, to breaking into cars, stealing checks and IDs from vehicles, and committing identity theft in order to obtain thousands of dollars from local banks by fraud. According to court documents, Zachary Patrick, 30, of Oblong, Illinois, and Briana Blair, 31, of Robinson, Illinois, stole checks and personal identifying information from a series of victims, often by breaking into the victims’ vehicles. Patrick and Blair then used the victims’ information however they could, writing and depositing fraudulent checks, forging victims’ signatures, and withdrawing and spending thousands of dollars as they traveled around eastern Illinois and western Indiana. The pair even opened a bank account using one victim’s stolen information. The pair was eventually caught in a hotel parking lot in Brazil, Indiana, breaking into yet another vehicle. Patrick and Blair initially identified themselves

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EAST ALTON – For over a decade, volunteers with the Illinois RiverWatch program, part of the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC sm ), has been monitoring mussel populations in the Upper Sangamon River. Last year, in collaboration with the Upper Sangamon River Conservancy, the Missouri Botanical Gardens and the St. Louis Zoo, the Illinois RiverWatch program started a new 10-year project with funding from the Living Earth Collaborative. “This summer, volunteers are needed to help collect and identify mussel species,” said Danelle Haake, Illinois RiverWatch Director and Stream Ecologist. “For this project to be successful, 20 to 50 volunteers are needed to help collect mussels during each of the sampling dates.” Each mussel collected will be identified, weighed, measured, photographed and released. Genetic sampling will also be done on two focal species in the river basin, the pistolgrip and round pig-toe mussel. The

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CHICAGO — The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals today ordered the lower court to vacate the 1972 Shakman Consent Decree, citing Governor Pritzker’s significant progress “instituting and supporting several remedial measures in recent years to minimize the risk of political patronage in employment practices.” The ruling acknowledges that the administration has instituted long-term policies and procedures that will ensure “compliance sticks.” This ruling means the state will no longer be under federal court supervision related to hiring practices, saving taxpayer dollars and ensuring state government can better serve the people. “I’m gratified that the Court recognized my commitment to hiring practices that fully live up to the principles of the U.S. and Illinois Constitutions,” said Gov. JB Pritzker. “From the time that I took office, my administration has worked to strengthen the state’s hiring practices and ensure

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GODFREY - Did you hear? The Monarch butterfly has been put on the endangered species list. They have been listed as endangered due to the lack of high-quality habitat available as they migrate in the spring and fall. By adding a few native plants to your yard, you can help to make it a refuge for visiting wildlife. This year at The Nature Institute’s Wildflower Market, many species of flowering plants will be available for purchase. All of these plants will help make your yard a habitat hotspot for pollinators like the Monarch. The Nature Institute (TNI), located in Godfrey, IL, has provided the community with native plants at its annual plant sale since the year 2000. On Saturday, August 27, 2022, from 9 am to 12 pm, TNI and Lewis and Clark’s Restoration Ecology Program will provide many species of native plants to the community at its annual Wildflower Market. The Wildflower Market will be located at TNI’s greenhouse at the corner of Levis Lane and South Levis

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MASCOUTAH, IL. - A construction project began on August 1 by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) will provide improved access to MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (BLV) and the new Boeing Production Facility currently being built next to the airport. The project will include a new signalized entrance to the Boeing Production Facility, widening of IL Route 4 for turn lanes at this new entrance, signalization of the existing entrance to MidAmerica Airport at Airport Blvd, and improvements to the roadside drainage ditches along IL Route 4 in areas previously prone to flooding. In September 2021, Boeing began constructing a new aircraft production facility along IL Route 4 on MidAmerica St. Louis Airport property. Before this construction, in 2020, MidAmerica St. Louis Airport commissioned a Traffic Impact Study to determine the impacts on IL Route 4 of the proposed new Boeing Production Facility. The study indicated a need for traffic signals at the facility entrance and the

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GLEN CARBON - What? Shake the dust off your clothes and get back to the office? About a month ago I was talking with my executive assistant, and we both noted how long it has been since we went out to an event. It had been a while for both of us - about two years. It had been so long that we actually had to shake the dust off our suits. I started thinking about the need to go into the workplace. When you think about staff working from home, what are you thinking? Hmm…maybe they are in their pajamas watching TV or playing video games on their laptops? Well, my view is quite the opposite. Since the pandemic and even before, I allowed my staff to work from home and here are my findings. Staff increased productivity more than when they were working in the office. It’s like getting an extra day’s work from each employee. They said they took shorter breaks and HR discovered staff was taking fewer sick days and took less time off. They also reported higher job satisfaction

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ALTON - The James Killion Beautification & Enhancement Committee is "super excited" to once again bring back Movie Nights at James Killion Park on Saturdays in August. The first movie on Saturday, Aug. 6 is “Raya and the Last Dragon.” The opening week is followed by: 8-13-22 - “The Good Dinosaur.” 8-20-22 - “The Bad Guys.” 08-27-22 - “Spider-Man - No Way Home.” The James Killion Committee above consists of om the front row left to right: Sheila Goins, Rosetta Brown, and Christal Love. In the back row, are, from left, Abe Lee Barham, Cassie Gray, Karyn Clanton, and Cas Sheppard. “With successful Movie Nights last year in 2021, we thought it best to bring it back this year,” Goins said. “We had some amazing sponsors step up to make it happen for the youth of our community.” Coleman Campers is the first Movie Night sponsor, then Aug. 13, the sponsor is Gay and Barry Julian, the third movie on Aug. 20 is sponsored

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CHICAGO — The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals today ordered the lower court to vacate the 1972 Shakman Consent Decree, citing Governor Pritzker’s significant progress “instituting and supporting several remedial measures in recent years to minimize the risk of political patronage in employment practices.” The ruling acknowledges that the administration has instituted long-term policies and procedures that will ensure “compliance sticks.” This ruling means the state will no longer be under federal court supervision related to hiring practices, saving taxpayer dollars and ensuring state government can better serve the people. “I’m gratified that the Court recognized my commitment to hiring practices that fully live up to the principles of the U.S. and Illinois Constitutions,” said Gov. JB Pritzker. “From the time that I took office, my administration has worked to strengthen the state’s hiring practices and ensure

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CHICAGO - Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined two separate coalitions of attorneys general supporting LGBTQ+ students against discrimination in the classroom, filing legal briefs opposing an Indiana school district’s efforts to bar a transgender student from using the restroom consistent with the student’s gender identity and against Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law, which limits classroom discussions and has serious implications for LGBTQ+ students. “Across the country, we are seeing increased attacks on the rights of LGBTQ+ youth,” Raoul said. “Discrimination has no place in the classroom – period. I will continue to work with fellow attorneys general from across the country to stand up for the rights of all students and will vehemently oppose unjust policies that jeopardize the education and emotional and physical well-being of LGBTQ+ students.” Raoul joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in filing

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