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ST. LOUIS (May 23, 2023) — After weeks of anticipation, viewers watched live as Peregrine falcon chicks emerged from their eggs. For the 11th year, Ameren Missouri’s Falcon Cam has given people a unique glimpse into nature via a live feed, this year from a nesting box in Franklin County, where a pair of Peregrine falcons nest and raise their chicks each spring. "The excitement we feel when seeing the fluffy new chicks for the first time never gets old," said Julianne Randazzo , environmental scientist at Ameren Missouri. “We’re glad we can provide this space for the falcon family to nest. It’s one of the many ways Ameren is caring for our shared environment.” The live stream, a partnership with the World Bird Sanctuary and The Missouri Department of Conservation, is intended to give viewers the chance to witness the development of Peregrine chicks each year, while also promoting Peregrine falcon conservation efforts. “As a Peregrine enthusiast

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DECATUR – Illinois State Police (ISP) Director Brendan F. Kelly today announced ISP has received final accreditation for the new ISP Decatur Forensic Science Laboratory and it is now officially open for business. The new four-story facility located along U.S. Route 51 on the south side of Decatur houses12,200-square feet of laboratory space and will serve law enforcement agencies across the state. “This top-tier facility will increase capacity to significantly reduce turnaround time for DNA testing, produce rapid results, and further reduce the case backlog,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Since day one, my administration has been committed to delivering justice for every Illinoisan, and this new Decatur lab will ensure we can accomplish that.” The new lab will focus on high-throughput DNA testing, which comprises about 20% of all ISP forensic cases in the laboratory system. Forensic scientists at the laboratory will examine evidence collected from

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ALTON - The 156th annual Alton Memorial Day Parade is set for Monday, May 29, 2023 in Upper Alton. The parade starts at Alton Middle School at 10 a.m. on Monday. Jack Keller, a Naval veteran of the Korean War time period, will be honored this year as parade marshal. Keller once owned a service station in Alton and has been involved in many service capacities over the year. Steve Schwartz, the spokesperson for the parade for the main sponsor - East End Improvement Association - said Keller was “thrilled” at the decision to name his grand marshal and will be very proud to be featured in the event. East End Improvement Association said the parade organizers consider the Alton Memorial Parade “the oldest continuous Memorial Day Parade in the United States.” “We go all the way back to 1858 and have never missed a beat,” Schwartz said. “We have about 50-plus organizations that will participate this year and this ranges from voter groups, Boy Scouts

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KANE - The Illinois State Police has provided names of three individuals involved in a fatal three-vehicle traffic crash on U.S. 67, near SE 175 Avenue in Kane Township in Greene County at 10:36 a.m. on May 22, 2023. One of the drivers - Kenneth R. Crull, 64, of Carrollton, was pronounced deceased at the scene. He was driving what will be called Unit 3 in the preliminary report below by ISP. The vehicles were: Unit 1 – Silver 2012 Chevrolet Malibu Unit 2 – Red 2023 Chevrolet Blazer Unit 3 – Gray 2004 GMC Sierra DRIVERS: Unit 1 – Daniel J. Blair, a 37-year-old male from Elberon, IA – Airlifted to a regional hospital with serious injuries. Unit 2 – Julie A. Jackson, a 57-year-old female from White Hall – Transported by ambulance to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. PRELIMINARY: " Preliminary information indicates the following occurred: ISP Troop 8 responded to the location above for a report of a three-unit

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KANE - A three-vehicle crash reported Tuesday morning on U.S. Highway 67 near Kane resulted in one death and multiple injuries, according to information released by the Illinois State Police. The Greene County Sheriff’s Department, Greene County EMS, and Illinois State Police responded to the scene after the accident was reported at 10:36 a.m. on Monday. One driver was declared deceased at the scene, another driver was transported to a local hospital by helicopter with major injuries, while the third driver was transported by ambulance with minor injuries. Illinois State Police reported that one vehicle was traveling northbound on US 67 while another vehicle was traveling southbound, and a third vehicle was traveling directly behind the southbound vehicle. At one point, the northbound vehicle crossed over the center line and sideswiped the first southbound vehicle, spun sideways, and was hit by the second southbound vehicle. The driver of the second southbound vehicl

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ALTON - The Annual James Killion Day Ceremony on Saturday, May 27, 2023, has a solid lineup of activities and should be a first-class way to kick off the Memorial Day weekend. The event starts at 1 p.m. on Saturday at James Killion Park in Alton and will begin with a community lunch and a Meet and Greet with the Killion family. The Riverbend Community Gospel Choir will also perform. From 2:30 to 4 p.m. will be the ceremonial portion of the event. Alton Fourth Ward Alderwoman Rosetta Brown will be the emcee. There will be a presentation of colors and music, plus acknowledgment of sponsors and dignitaries. David Frye, Mary Hyndman, and Gene Baldwin, an author and family friend, will be the event’s keynote speaker. Baldwin is a playwright, essayist, journalist, poet and fiction writer. His play “Water Brought Us and Water’s Gonna Take Us Away,” about the Underground Railroad in Illinois and commissioned by the National Park Service, was produced at the Prop Theate

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

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GLEN CARBON – Distinguished volunteer Rita Schaefer from Belleville has been honored with the annual Heart of Gold Award by Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois. This prestigious award recognizes the tremendous long-term impact a volunteer has had on girls and adults in his or her community through Girl Scouts, and it is the highest award a Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois adult volunteer can earn. Rita is a shining example of a lifelong Girl Scout. She has spent 50 years with the organization, more than 30 of which have been in a volunteer capacity. “She is the first person to step up and say, ‘Adults do not age out of this program; I’m still here!’” said Donna Aaron, a fellow Girl Scout volunteer who nominated Rita for this award. Rita has proven this to be true. From being a troop leader for all five of her daughters’ troops, to a day camp volunteer, to a recruiter, Rita has held numerous volunteer roles over the years and shares her love for

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SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Fair announced today that singer-songwriter-musician Alanis Morissette will headline the grandstand on Sunday, August 13 . Since 1995, Alanis Morissette has been one of the most influential singer-songwriter-musicians in contemporary music. Her deeply expressive music and performances have earned vast critical praise, 14 Canadian Juno Awards, 7 Grammy® Awards, two Golden Globe nominations, a BRIT Award, and sales of over 75 million albums worldwide. Her debut album JAGGED LITTLE PILL was followed by nine more eclectic and critically acclaimed albums, all of which continue to influence and inspire fans and fellow artists alike. Her artistic impact can also be seen via “Jagged Little Pill, the Musical,” which made its Broadway debut in December 2019. The show was nominated for 15 Tony Awards with two wins and continues to tour globally. In 2021, her 25 years of Jagged Little Pill tour became the number one female-fronted tour

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BETHALTO – Rural broadband is more than making an Internet connection, it’s about connecting people and giving back to our local communities. This year marks the 18 th year that Madison Communications has sponsored the Teacher of the Year Awards contest! Madison has proudly contributed over $27,000 to local area schools through this program. The Teacher of the Year program annually presents an award to three teachers. Teachers employed at school districts within Madison’s service areas are eligible to be nominated for this award. The contest takes place from March 1 st - May 1 st and is divided into the nomination and voting phase. During the month of March Madison received a total of 210 nominations and during the month of April, they received over 20,000 votes. This was a big jump from receiving 140 nominations and 12,000 votes in the 2022 contest. The three teachers who received the highest number of votes were announced May 1 st on social media platforms

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CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today released a comprehensive report detailing decades of child sex abuse by members of the Catholic clergy in Illinois. The report concludes a multi-year investigation into child sex abuse by members of the clergy in all six Catholic dioceses in Illinois. Attorney General Raoul’s report reveals names and detailed information of 451 Catholic clerics and religious brothers who abused at least 1,997 children across all of the dioceses in Illinois. The Attorney General’s Report on Catholic Clergy Child Sex Abuse in Illinois – released this morning during a press conference in Chicago – represents the state of Illinois’ first comprehensive accounting of child sex abuse by members of the Catholic clergy in the six dioceses across Illinois. The nearly 700-page report features detailed narrative accounts of child sex abuse committed by Catholic clerics. Many of the narratives were written in consultation with

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CHICAGO – One player in Romeoville will be thanking their lucky stars when they realize they have won over $1 million after playing Saturday’s midday Lucky Day Lotto draw. The winner matched all five numbers of 4-8-22-27-37 for the May 18 midday drawing to score a jackpot prize of $1,050,000. The winning ticket was sold at Sunshine Food Mart #5 at 5369 S. Budler Road in Romeoville. For selling the winning ticket, Sunshine Food Mart will receive a bonus of $10,500, or one percent of the million-dollar prize amount. In total, there were over 26,000 winning tickets sold in Saturday’s midday drawing, but there was only one new Lucky Day Lotto millionaire made that day. This is the second million-dollar prize won this month and the sixth Illinois Lottery player this year to win a prize of a million dollars or more playing Lucky Day Lotto. The Illinois Lottery encourages all winners to write their name on the back of their ticket and keep it in a safe place until they’r

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ALTON - Alton Main Street’s quarterly information exchange, called “What’s Up Downtown”, will be held on Tuesday, May 23rd at 5:30 p.m. at Jacoby Arts Center, located at 627 E. Broadway in Alton, IL. The public is invited to learn the latest news regarding developments in Alton’s historic downtown district, including updates from new & existing businesses, news on real estate transactions and details of upcoming events and projects. The evening’s featured speakers will be: - Kieran McGuane & Martha Phillips, the new owners of LuciAnna’s Pastries, who will be sharing details of their new hours and menu items including the addition of café style lunch - Thomas Nealeigh of FreakShow Deluxe, who will share about his family’s decision to relocate their nationwide sideshow act company to Alton - Dorothy McCoy, who will be speaking about developments with her mobile business Mo’z Sweet Treats as well as her plans for a brick

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GLEN CARBON - 2023 marks the 131st year for Glen Carbon Homecoming, happening on Fri., June 16th and Sat., June 17th. The Glen Carbon Community Events Committee (CEC) is seeking nominations for a Grand Marshal for this year’s homecoming parade and additional parade participants are also encouraged to apply. Participation in the Glen Carbon Homecoming parade is free for local organizations, groups and businesses. Nomination forms for Grand Marshal are available on the Village website at www.glencarbonil.gov under Latest News and Updates. Nominees are accepted based on their exceptional volunteerism efforts in the community and volunteer forms must include specific examples. Grand Marshal nominations must also be willing to act as Grand Marshal and be available at 5 pm on Sat., June 17, 2023, to lead the parade. More information is available on the Village’s website. Main Street in Glen Carbon will be closed off to accommodate the parade and weekend activities, which include

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ST. LOUIS - The commercial launch progress of Intramotev Autonomous Rail’s autonomous, zero-emission railcar was highlighted during the opening session of FreightWeekSTL 2023, which kicked off May 22. This new railcar that would operate without the use of a locomotive has the potential to make the U.S. rail system more efficient and sustainable, while also enhancing safety on the nation’s 140,000-mile rail freight network. It is one of the emerging technologies featured during FreightWeekSTL’s Innovation Day, which highlighted several companies with the potential to dramatically change the future movement of freight. Launched in January 2020, Intramotev has been focused on the development of its primary product -- the TugVolt, a battery electric self-propelled rail car that enables freight to move with the flexibility of a truck, without breaking the existing model of rail operations. “Rail has been the backbone of the economy for a long time, and we are confident

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ALTON - A new “fountain frog” is coming to the fountain island display at State and Belle Streets in Alton after a thief stole the last one. After the story went viral on Facebook , an outpouring of community support has led to fundraising efforts to replace the frog. Those interested in donating to the “Frog Fund” can do so on Venmo @frogfund2023 , or donations can be mailed by check to the North Alton-Godfrey Business Council, P.O. Box 306, Godfrey, IL 62035. Laura Dixon Wallendorf, who adopted the island and has managed its upkeep, said the incident appeared to be very deliberate - and that it wasn’t the first time - on a recent episode of Our Daily Show! on Riverbender.com . “I saw the frog was gone again, and it was so purposeful … it’s unexplainable to me,” Wallendorf said. She added that somebody cut the plastic tubing connecting the fountain’s water and stuck it inside the fountain so it wouldn’t

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These are Memorial Day activities set in the Riverbend region for this weekend. If you have Memorial Day activities to add, e-mail them to news@riverbender.com . SATURDAY, MAY 27, 2023 ALTON The Third Annual Scott Reinke Memorial Ride To Fight Suicide is Saturday May 27, at Ted's Motorcycle World. The event starts at 9 a.m. at Ted's and includes food, beverages, shirts and kickstands up at noon, and the trek heads to Grafton, Hardin, and finishes back at Bluff City Grill. ALHAMBRA Memorial Day Services are set at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 27, at Harris Cemetery in Alhambra. The public is invited. SUNDAY, MAY 28, 2023 COLLINSVILLE Collinsville's Sesquicentennial Celebration is Sunday, May 28, and includes a 4 p.m. start at Collinsville Aquad Park with vendors, food trucks, music, and children's activities. EDWARDSVILLE St. James Cemetery Association has a Memorial Day Service at 2 p.m. Sunday, at the cemetery, 5700 James Drive in Edwardsville. MONDAY ALTON

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EDWARDSVILLE — The Gori Law Firm recently announced the hiring of Kaitlyn Crnkovich as its newest attorney. Crnkovich joins the firm’s asbestos litigation team, where she represents individuals or groups who have been affected by asbestos exposure. Prior to joining The Gori Law Firm, Crnkovich worked for a medical malpractice and personal injury law firm. She was also previously a prosecutor focusing on cases involving domestic violence and juvenile cases. During law school, she interned at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in their felony trial division. “Kaitlyn is very passionate about helping our clients,” said Sara Salger, managing partner of The Gori Law Firm. “Combined with her experience, we believe that she is a great addition to our firm, and we are excited to have her as part of the team.” Crnkovich received her juris doctorate from The University of Illinois Chicago School of Law in 2015. Before law school, she receive

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ALTON - Famed artist Joe Miller returned to State Street in Alton to touch up half of the circle mural he created back in September 2021 to bring it back to life. The painting faded with the traffic flow on State Street. Together with Sara McGibany, executive director of Alton Main Street, they concluded a half circle would be a better way to be more lasting with traffic flow in that area. Miller, originally from Staunton, was a Lewis and Clark Community College graduate and now is a world-renowned artist. He has done mural projects throughout Chicago and across the U.S. and the world. Miller said he is doing some touch up on the project and give it another shot. "Based on what we know now, we hope to replenish it in a half circle," he said. "it is the same paint, just with more coats, and today I am using a cleaner to take away some of the leftovers. We just figured we would give it another shot and go and chalk it up to a learning experience. "Bringing back half of it reminds u

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JERSEYVILLE - Several Jersey Community High School students were recently awarded with scholarships up to $1,500 for their academic success, strong character, leadership, and involvement in the Panther Athletic Club (PAC). Kari Krueger and Drake Goetten were presented with the Don Snyders Academic Athletic Scholarship of $1,500. Seniors Logan Meisner and Chloe Kallal were honored with $750 PAC Scholarships. In addition, the PAC awarded the following students with $500 scholarships: Kendall Davis Elaina Walsh Anna Fink Cate Breden Colton Gavaza Tanner Brunaugh Kelly Goetten with the PAC said: “Congratulations to all recipients, and a special thanks to Mr. Snyders for always supporting the PAC and our Jersey Athletes.” To learn more about the PAC, visit their Facebook page .

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