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MARQUETTE – Marquette Catholic has what can be described as a power-packed girls' track and field squad this season, led by seniors Sammy Hentrich, Caroline Rea, Grace Sechrest, and Kailey Vickrey. The Explorers girls’ squad was first recently in the Bert Trump Relays and performed well in the Madison County Small Schools Meet, two of the biggest outdoor meets to date. The Marquette girls are a Tucker's Automotive Female Athletes of the Month for the Explorers. Paige Rister, a middle-distance runner, has shined all season for the Explorers. Rister was clocked at 14:02.19 in the East Alton-Wood River Invite. She is also a key member of multiple relays. Vickrey is poised for big performances the rest of the season as the sectional is near. Ava Certa, Katie Johnson, Karly Davenport, Caroline Cain have stood out all season. Rister has placed high in every meet in her long-distance races. Davenport has been clocked at 13.64 in the 100 meters and under 29 seconds in the 200

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ALTON - A crash occurred on Monday night at the corner of the 1100 block of Washington Avenue and Donald Avenue in Alton. Alton Fire Department said a person was transported from the scene to a hospital, but there were no details on injuries. The vehicle hit a power pole and the call to Alton Police and Fire came out at 7:41 p.m. on Monday, the fire department added. Initially, four customers were without power until the Ameren Illinois crew arrived and power was cut to 250 customers for about 40 minutes to safely make permanent repairs in the area.

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EDWARDSVILLE – The Edwardsville Police Department announced it issued a total of 80 traffic citations and 165 warnings for hands-free law violations during April’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month enforcement campaign. “We strongly enforce traffic laws to reduce traffic crashes and to save lives,” said Lt. Brandn Whittaker. “This increased enforcement was implemented to help motorists avoid the often-deadly consequences of distracted driving with a simple reminder: Drop it and drive.” The Edwardsville Police Department joined forces with the Illinois State Police, local law enforcement and highway safety partners for this enforcement effort. The Illinois distracted driving campaign is funded with federal traffic safety funds administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

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DU QUOIN – The Du Quoin State Fair is excited to announce six acts scheduled to perform at the Du Quoin State Fair Grandstand. In addition to harness racing and ARCA and USAC auto races, the grandstand will play host to kids’ entertainment, comedy, country music, and a Grammy-nominated rap artist. Fairytales on Ice kicks off the grandstand entertainment on Friday, August 25 , with a cool new experience that will keep the whole family entertained. Delight in the spectacular as award-winning skaters bring your favorite fairy tale characters to life through ice skating, singing, and music. Featuring stories and characters from Beauty& The Beast , explore the fairy tale land alongside Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Little Red Riding Hood, and more! Follow the ice-skating magic as you enter Arelia. Meet Beauty and join along as we share our modern storyline full of fun and adventure! Grammy award-winning country singer-songwriter Carly Pearce takes the grandstand

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EDWARDSVILLE – SIUE's Student Athletic Advisory Counsel (SAAC) celebrated the 2022-23 athletic year with the Cougar Choice Awards on Thursday, April 27 at the Wildey Theater in downtown Edwardsville. Tanner Collins of golf and Max Kristoff of wrestling served as hosts of the event. Highlight of the Year: Ray'Sean Taylor (Men's Basketball) The Highlight of the Year Award goes to a student-athlete who delivered a clutch play, game changing moment, or outstanding performance that results in the #1 standout moment of the year in SIUE athletics. Nominees for this award were selected by the Sports Information Staff and Coaches and the winner was voted on by head coaches and our SAAC members. Male Newcomer of the Year: Demarco Minor (Men's Basketball) Female Newcomer of the Year: Macy Silvey (Women's Basketball) The Newcomer of the Year goes to one student-athlete from a women's team and one student-athlete from a men's team. These athletes are in their first year of competition

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Nearly 800,000 Americans suffer a stroke each year. Strokes can have life-altering consequences like vision, walking and swallowing difficulties. They also rank in the top five killers of Americans. For each minute a stroke goes untreated, the brain loses around 2 million cells it cannot recover. "Getting to the hospital quickly – within four and a half hours of your onset of symptoms – is important," says Leslie Ingold, a registered nurse and stroke coordinator with OSF HealthCare. A cutting-edge stroke drug recently rolled out at OSF HealthCare is already turning the tide for people. Tenecteplase (TNKase ®) can be used in people experiencing a stroke and who meet certain criteria, such as a specific blood pressure, history of brain bleeds, medications taken at home and how quickly they arrived at the emergency department. TNKase is a clot-busting agent that stands to become the gold standard of this type of care, Ingold says. "It has a lower cost. It’s

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CARLINVILLE - One of the greatest annual events in American sports is the Kentucky Derby, which will be run for the 149th time this Saturday. One past champion was bred in Macoupin County. This week marks 134 years since the victory of Spokane, who captured the 1889 Kentucky Derby during the infancy of the event. The horse was bred at “The Meadows,” the farm of Gen. Richard Rowett one mile north of Carlinville. Rowett horses, and their jockey colors of orange jacket and blue cap, were on tracks throughout the west and south. But Spokane was the greatest production of The Meadows, a nationally recognized breeding ground for thoroughbreds. In 1885, a prized dark brown horse named Hyder Ali was standing at The Meadows when Rowett bred him to one of his top mares, Interpose. This pairing had produced favorable offspring in the past, including Grey Cloud, a fine racer owned by Noah Armstrong of the Doncaster Ranch near Twin Bridges in the Montana Territory. Armstrong’s

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ALTON - Eddie Sholar Jr., the owner of Fast Eddie’s in Alton, had an abundance of kind words to say Monday about his friend, colleague, and mentor Mike Shannon, the Voice of the Cardinals, who died Saturday. Sholar and Shannon are most known around the St. Louis area together for their commercials for Fast Eddie’s that they did for years. Sholar described Shannon as first and foremost “a family man” and always there for his children. “He was amazing,” Sholar said about Shannon. “It is very hard to describe how he was, but he was big with everything he did. He was the best high school athlete from around here and the same when he became a Cardinal baseball player and then for 50 years he was behind the microphone of the Redbirds. He had such a big booming personality, you had to just put a microphone in front of him.” Sholar and Shannon were very close and even spent time in Major League baseball spring training in Florida together.

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ALTON - Alton High School senior baseball captain and catcher Jayden Diaz has enjoyed a good season for the Redbirds as the calendar is about to turn into May and into the stretch run for the regular season into the IHSA playoffs. Although he went a combined zero-for-three in his team's Southwestern Conference losses to Edwardsville 16-6 on Apr. 25 and 13-1 on Apr. 26 that put Alton's record at 7-13, Diaz has enjoyed a good season to date. Diaz has hit .341 in games through Apr. 26, with three home runs and 13 RBIs, with an on-base percentage of .547 and five stolen bases. He had provided leadership and guidance to the other players on the team and is a team captain who leads by example. For all of his efforts both on and off the field, Diaz has been named an Auto Butler Athlete of the Month for the Redbirds. Diaz, who plays for head coach Scott Harper, felt good after the Redbirds' loss Apr. 25 and also is trying to keep the team's spirits up, staying positive and upbeat.

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BETHALTO - Civic Memorial junior runner Justice Eldridge is the definition of a versatile track star. He's geared more toward the distance side, with the one mile and 800m recently being his races, but can also run the 400m, and two mile. In his last outing on Friday, April 28 at the Triad Knight Invitational, in a field of 32 runners, he took first place in the one mile with a time of 4:29.71. For his running efforts, Justice is a Tom Lane State Farm Insurance Athlete of the Month for Civic Memorial. He also ran the 4x800m relay where he was his team's anchor (final runner) as the Eagles took third place with a time of 8:03.38. That time broke their previous school record and became the leading time in IHSA Class 2A. "It's a six-second school record. We're really excited with where we're at with about three weeks left," CM track head coach Jake Peal said Saturday afternoon. In his other distance event, the two mile, he recently took second place at the Winston Brown invitational

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EAST ST. LOUIS – With strong support from State Senator Christopher Belt, $200,000 will be coming to the Metro East area to boost local tourism efforts and attract visitors. “This funding will allow us to continue to grow and promote tourism in our region,” said Belt (D-Swansea). “Tourism is an important economic driver in the Metro East, and this grant will enable us to build upon current success and attract even more visitors to the area.” Through the Illinois Travel and Tourism Grant Program, a total of $2.9 million is being awarded to 51 grantees to support local tourism promotional efforts. This program provides funding for promotional efforts by local governments, municipalities, non-profits and local promotional groups such as Illinois' Certified Convention and Visitor Bureaus, with the goal of attracting visitors to destinations, attractions, and events throughout Illinois. The City of Fairview Heights and Discover Downstate Illinois will both

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and 18 of their colleagues in sending a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf, urging the FDA to promptly finalize its April 28, 2022 announced proposed rules to end the sale of menthol flavor in cigarettes and all flavors in cigars. “We urge the FDA to act with urgency to solidify and enforce the ban on these harmful products,” wrote the Senators. “The harmful effects of these products on public health have been well-understood for several years and cannot be overstated. In 2013, your agency released a report that found that menthol cigarette use is associated with increased smoking initiation among youth and young adults, greater signs of nicotine dependence, and less success in smoking cessation.” The 2013 findings, reinforced by more recent data from 2019, reports nearly 18.6

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GRANITE CITY - Juniors Isaiah Tebbe and Madison Vasiloff of Granite City High School were selected as Granite City Rotary Club Students of the Month for April. Students were nominated by teachers, and were chosen on the basis of academics, as well as scholastic, extracurricular and civic honors and awards, and organization membership and leadership. Each honoree will receive a framed certificate and a gift card, and will be recognized at the Granite City Rotary Club Meeting on May 16, 2023. ISAIAH TEBBE Marching Warriors Drum Major ... ILMEA All-State ... Two-time Student of the Month ... Student Choice Award ... Marching Warriors Most Versatile Musician Award ... Wind Ensemble Award ... Volunteer at church ... Son of Leanna Tebbe. MADISON VASILOFF Three-year varsity girls soccer letterwinner ... Member of Secondary Honors Program ... Confetti Club/Warrior Flock member ... Volunteer at Relleke's Farm ... St. Louis Post Dispatch Athlete of the Week: 2023 ... Has 29 career

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MONTGOMERY COUNTY - The latest update from Illinois State Police on the tragic wind storm that led to a multitude of serious crashes Monday on Interstate 55 in Montgomery County at Milepost 76 is as follows: "At this time, 72 vehicles are reported to have been involved in the crash. A total of 37 people were transported to area hospitals. Injuries range from minor to life-threatening and ages span from 2 years old to 80 years old. "Reports show there are six fatalities, all occurring in the northbound lanes. At this time, one decedent has been identified as 88-year-old Shirley Harper of Franklin, WI. The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office is working diligently to identify the other five individuals and notify their families. The crashes occurred at approximately 10:55 a.m. on May 1, 2023. Northbound and southbound lanes of Interstate 55 were reopened to traffic at approximately 6 a.m. Tuesday morning. This information is still preliminary and the ISP continues to investigate

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TORONTO (AP) — Gordon Lightfoot, the legendary folk singer-songwriter known for “If You Could Read My Mind” and “Sundown” and for songs that told tales of Canadian identity, died Monday. He was 84. Representative Victoria Lord said the musician died at a Toronto hospital. His cause of death was not immediately available. Considered one of the most renowned voices to emerge from Toronto’s Yorkville folk club scene in the 1960s, Lightfoot recorded 20 studio albums and penned hundreds of songs, including “Carefree Highway,” “Early Morning Rain” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” In the 1970s, Lightfoot garnered five Grammy nominations, three platinum records and nine gold records for albums and singles. He performed in well over 1,500 concerts and recorded 500 songs. He toured late into his life. Just last month he canceled upcoming U.S. and Canadian shows, citing health issues.

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WOOD RIVER - The Wood River City Council saw two new council members sworn in and two former council members step down tonight. Bill Dettmers and David Ayers were both sworn in, while Leroy Duncan and Sonya Hagaman stepped down. However, the appointment of several more individuals to various boards and commissions were postponed citing the absence of Councilman Jeremy Plank. One of tonight’s agenda items called for the consideration of a recommendation by Mayor Tom Stalcup to appoint several individuals to the city’s Traffic Commission, Planning Commission, Police and Fire Commissions, the Police & Fire Pension Boards, and many other boards and commissions. Newly seated Councilman Ayres said he’d prefer to table the item until the next meeting until they “have a full council.” “Okay, can I ask you why?” Mayor Stalcup replied. “Well, I’d like to review it,” newly seated Councilman Dettmers said. “Review it?”

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WOOD RIVER - Wood River’s East End Park on 14th Street officially unveiled a new set of pickleball courts to the public with a ribbon-cutting ceremony late last month. Jason Woody, director of the Wood River Parks and Recreation Department, said this and other park upgrades have been in the works for about a year and a half. “For years, the Parks and Rec Board and us, we’ve been trying to figure out how to get some pickleball courts. It’s not really something we have in this immediate area … and I’m glad we were able to come up with this location,” Woody said, noting its proximity to highways 255 and 143. Woody said the project was partially funded by the Parks and Recreation Department, as well as a Madison County Park Enhancement Program (PEP) grant of $28,000. “I think people are pumped - I mean, we’ve already heard from a lot of people, there’s already been people playing on it,” he said. “I think

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ALTON – Alton Physical Therapy, a leading rehabilitation center, is delighted to announce its new location at 3550 College Ave, Alton, marking a significant milestone in the provision of exceptional care for individuals seeking physical therapy services. Alton PT aims to revolutionize the rehabilitation experience by combining cutting-edge techniques, a patient-centered approach, and a team of highly skilled professionals. At Alton PT, our mission is to empower individuals to regain their mobility, recover from injuries, and enhance their overall well-being. "We understand that every patient is unique, and therefore, we provide personalized treatment plans tailored to meet specific needs and goals. Our team of experienced professionals and support staff work collaboratively to ensure that each patient receives the highest standard of care. Key features that set Alton PT apart from other rehabilitation centers include: Comprehensive Evaluation: Our dedicated team conducts thorough

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JERSEY COUNTY - A GoFundMe has been established by a family member for a 29-year-old man, Damon, who was injured in an accident this past Friday. Kaylia Edmiston, the man's sister, organized the fundraiser to assist him and says he is on life support at the present time. “As some of you may know, my brother who is 29 years old got into a very bad motorcycle accident on 4-28-2023. As of right now he is on life support and fighting for his life, we are asking anyone and everyone to please help if you can,” Kaylia said. “We all live an hour away and we are doing our best to stay near him and support one another, we also need help with getting his three beautiful girls back and forth to school and the hospital, we also need help paying for a place to stay two blocks away from him as we don’t want to go home due to living an hour away. “The funds raised would help his wife, kids, mother, sister, and any other family member who is here staying here. Please

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JERSEYVILLE - Two Jerseyville individuals were charged last week with several crimes including burglary, possession of a stolen vehicle, theft, and more, according to recent court filings. Cody Wells, 30, of Jerseyville, and Dawn M. Phillips (also known as Dawn Scoggins, Dawn Day, and Dawn Wells), 43, also of Jerseyville, were both charged with the following: Residential Burglary Unlawful Possession of Stolen Vehicle Theft Criminal Damage to Property Cody was also individually charged with aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer. On April 23, the two “entered into the dwelling place” of a resident on Bull Hollow Road in Fieldon, according to court documents. Both were charged with Class 1 felonies. Cody and Dawn were also charged with unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle, specifically “a red 2012 Hyundai Elantra,” according to court documents. Class 2 felony charges were filed against both for the vehicle offense. The

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