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CHICAGO - The Mega Millions jackpot is now over the half billion dollar mark, with an estimated top prize of $530 million up for grabs in the next drawing tonight Tuesday, July 19. If won, this would be the eighth largest Mega Millions jackpot ever won in the U.S. in the history of the game! An Illinois Lottery player is in the top 10 charts for Mega Millions jackpots struck. In March 2012, three tickets bought in Illinois, Kansas, and Maryland all matched the five winning numbers and the Mega Ball to scoop the top prize. The total jackpot on offer of $646 million was split between the three tickets and an Illinois resident walked away with just over $215 million. Mega Millions is played every Tuesday and Friday night, with the next draw taking place on Tuesday, July 19 at 10 p.m. (CT). Mega Millions tickets are $2 each, and players can add the Megaplier for an additional $1 for the chance to multiply non-jackpot prizes. Illinois residents who are 18 and older can play Mega Millions

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GLEN CARBON – Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois is happy to announce that Abi Zajac from Glen Carbon has been selected by Girl Scouts of the USA as a recipient of a Gold Award Scholarship. The Girl Scouts of the USA Gold Award Scholarship recognizes one outstanding Gold Award Girl Scout per council whose project exemplifies the core components of the Gold Award. Abi earned her Gold Award by self-publishing a children’s book on the topic of anxiety. Her book, Bobby Conquers Anxiety , was created in an effort to educate and reduce the stigma around mental health. Abi’s efforts were applauded by Girl Scouts of the USA for her project’s measurable and sustainable impact, and the national organization recognized her impact by naming her as one of the scholarship recipients. “All of us at Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois are extremely proud of Abi for earning this scholarship,” said Loretta Graham, CEO of Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois. “Abi i

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, detailed the unfolding health care crisis across the United States in the wake of the conservative Supreme Court’s majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization . In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin also continued to call on his colleagues to support enshrining into law a statutory right to an abortion. “In the weeks since the Alito-Thomas Supreme Court majority erased the constitutional right to abortion, the right-wing disinformation machine has kicked into high gear. Again and again, we hear the same empty words of reassurance from the Republican side—they claim that overturning Roe simply handed the question of abortion back to the people’s representatives, back to the States. Just that simple. This is false and they know it. The reality is overturning Roe has unleashed a health care crisis in this country. It’s

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GODFREY – The Illinois Adult Continuing Educators Association has named Lewis and Clark Community College Adult Education student Heather Conn as the winner of the 2022 Paul Simon Adult Learner of the Year Award. William Ellington, one of her instructors, said that Conn helped create a culture of learning in his classes and worked with an unwavering dedication in the face of any challenging obstacle. “Heather is the kind of learner who makes the learning environment around her better,” Ellington said. “She is intellectually honest. When she does not understand a concept in class, she asks for help. In this way, Heather helps her classmates learn too. She demonstrates an awareness that learning is not simply an individual exercise, but one that is best done with camaraderie.” The Paul Simon Adult Learner of the Year Award is given to a student who demonstrates an improved life situation as a result of their learning experiences, shows leadership, maintains

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representatives Sean Casten (D-IL-6), Mike Quigley (D-IL-5), and Marie Newman (D-IL-3) today sent a letter to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy urging him to take action to protect letter carriers after crimes against U.S. Postal Service (USPS) employees tripled since 2018. In their letter, the lawmakers call on Postmaster General DeJoy to implement an alerting policy to ensure that all USPS employees are made aware of any potential threats. “We write with growing concern at the increasing levels of violence and crime experienced by letter carriers around the country. According to the Postal Inspection Service, nationwide reports of mail carrier robberies have more than tripled in recent years, from 80 robberies in 2018 to more than 260 in 2021. We encourage the United States Postal Service (USPS) to take additional steps to ensure the safety of letter carriers a

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SPRINGFIELD, IL. – The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum will play a game of historical “what if” on July 26 with a free outdoor concert that imagines what it would have been like if the Beatles had reunited. The Reunion Beatles Fantasy Tribute Band asks, what if all four former Beatles were alive and well? What would it sound like and look like if they held a reunion concert that featured many of the greatest hits of The Beatles plus the best of their solo work, too? The free show will start at 7 p.m. in the ALPLM’s beautiful Union Square Park, across the street from the museum. Bring a lawn chair or blanket and enjoy an exciting evening of “what could’ve been.” Food and drinks will be for sale starting at 6 p.m. Free parking is available in the ALPLM parking structure at 6 th and Madison. “Union Square Park is a wonderful location, and we want to offer more events there to engage the community and enliven downtown

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DECATUR, IL. —The Millikin University men’s and women’s cross country program recently announced its letter winners for the 2021 season. Fourth Letter Senior Mackenzie Dixon (Edwardsville, H.S.)

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ALTON – The rehabilitation services team at OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony’s Health Center encourages Riverbend residents to walk, learn and earn through the mall walker program, launching next week. At 8:30 a.m. on the fourth Tuesday of the month, OSF Saint Anthony’s physical therapy Mission Partners (employees) will be at the OSF outpatient rehabilitation office at Alton Square Mall (200 Alton Square). Mission Partners will give a brief talk on healthy lifestyles, then residents are encouraged to pick up a walking log and take a stroll around the mall. The loop is around .2 miles. Participants will also have to sign a waiver to take part in the program. Residents can turn in their walking logs at the OSF mall office or at the Hayner Public Library on the lower level of the mall. The logs will be entered into a monthly prize drawing. Residents with a library card can also borrow a pedometer from the library. “This is a great way to start your physical

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ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY, MO - A Bethalto man - David E. Jones - entered guilty pleas for the charge of Statutory Sodomy - 2nd Degree and an Incest charge in Missouri on Friday, July 15, 2022. The court file says the alleged charges come from an incident on August 2, 2019, and Missouri St. Francois State Park Police is listed as the arresting agency. A report states the crimes for which he entered guilty pleas took place on a camping trip in the summer of 2019. He was ordered with pre-trial monitoring and to have no contact with the victim.

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ST. CLAIR COUNTY - When Waterloo resident Mary Kinsey was killed last week in a tragic accident near Millstadt in St. Clair County, the single mother and nurse left behind two young boys. Mary died on July 12, 2022, at age 49, in a crash in the 3500 block of Bonsai in St. Louis at about 10:45 p.m. Mary was very devoted to her boys, her church, and Catholic High School. To honor Kinsey, a GoFundMe fundraiser was created to help her sons. "As a single mother, Mary worked full-time as a nurse and tirelessly supported her boys making all of their activities her top priority. Mary’s boys were her entire world," the GoFundMe reads. "She gave her talents generously to support athletics at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic School as the President of the Booster Club and has served as the Chairperson of the Ss. Peter & Paul Church Picnic. “The loss is overwhelming for these young boys who must face the future without their beloved mother. Through God’s grace, Mary has raised resilient

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CARLINVILLE - The exploration of caves will be the topic of a one-hour, free program hosted by the Carlinville Public Library at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 2. “Introduction to Caving: Safe, Fun, Responsible” will be presented by Jeffery Gosnell of Carlinville, a skilled cave explorer whose TikTok videos have attracted millions of views. Gosnell has explored caves for over twenty-one years, including hundreds of wild caves in Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. He has assisted in the surveys of five previously unmapped caves. His presentation will discuss the science of the formation of caves, the wildlife of caves, rules of responsible cave exploration, and suggestions on how to begin exploring Illinois caves. “The presentation will appeal to both those who would just like to learn about caves without ever setting foot underground,” remarked Gosnell, “as well as those who would like to try caving for themselves.”

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SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois State Police (ISP), under the direction of Governor Pritzker, submitted an emergency rule change to the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office implementing broader use of clear and present danger reports that can bar applicants from receiving a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card or revoke a current FOID card. The rule change allows for the use and maintenance of historic clear and present danger information even if the subject was not actively seeking or holding a FOID card at the time a Clear and Present Danger report was made and allows for use of these reports in possible future evaluations. Since 2013, administrative rules have unnecessarily limited and complicated the ability of the Illinois State Police to consider Clear and Present Danger information over time. For example, the former administrative rule required a Clear and Present Danger to be “impending”, “imminent”, “substantial” or “significant.”

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ST. LOUIS, July 15, 2022 - Schnuck Markets, Inc. today announced that Schnucks customers, vendors and the company itself pledged a gift of $850,000 to benefit the Folds of Honor Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides educational scholarships to the spouses and children of veterans who were killed or injured in the line of duty. The Round Up at the Register campaign, which ran May 25 – July 4 at all Schnucks locations, enabled customers to round up their purchases to the nearest dollar to benefit the foundation. One hundred percent of the funds will benefit Folds of Honor and will provide 170 educational scholarships. “Each year, our teammates, our vendor partners, and most importantly, our customers, join us on the Schnucks mission to Nourish People’s Lives by helping to provide educational scholarships to family members of injured and fallen service members through Folds of Honor,” said Schnucks Chairman and CEO Todd Schnuck. “Because of ou

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(BUZZ MAGAZINE) - America's first president, George Washington (1789-97) is responsible for the great success of the mule in the United States. A farmer and owner of a large plantation in Virginia, he was always searching for ways to improve agricultural procedures and products. He believed that progress for America depended on strong and hardy work animals, and was convinced that this meant the mule. Mules - a cross between a male donkey and a female horse - can do an equivalent amount of work as horse - or more - with less food and water. They also suffer less injuries and live longer than a horse. “Three mules can do the equivalent work of two draft horses on half the feed and not get hurt doing it,” said Ed Murphy of Murphy’s Draft Mules in Farmersville, a small town about 20 miles south of Springfield. Murphy's Mules is a fourth-generation, family-owned farm that raises prize winning draft mules. Presently, the operation is managed by Edward Murphy

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EDWARDSVILLE – The Edwardsville Police Department recorded 6 impaired driving arrests during the recent Fourth of July “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” and “Click It or Ticket” safety campaigns with a host of other violations. The Edwardsville Police Department joined forces with more than 200 other state and local law enforcement agencies to get drunk and drugged drivers off our roads, encourage seat belt use, and enforce speeding and other traffic laws. Edwardsville Police Department Lt. Barry Jones said the effort featured high-visibility enforcement combined with a variety of outreach activities, including the Illinois Department of Transportation’s new media campaign: “It’s Not a Game.” The enforcement period was funded by federal traffic safety funds administered by IDOT as part of the statewide “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” and “Click It or Ticket” programs. In addition to the 6 DUI arrests, Officer

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New 9-8-8 helpline launches Saturday, July 16 MARYVILLE – The National Suicide Prevention Hotline’s 9-8-8 dial code is set to activate on Saturday, July 16, and State Senator Kris Tharp is highlighting its importance to community wellness in the Metro East. “In my experience as a law enforcement officer and jail administrator in Madison County, I can attest to the importance of offering services and support to individuals struggling with their mental health,” said Tharp (D-Bethalto). “I encourage residents to spread the word on this new 9-8-8 helpline, it could save a life.” For support, individuals in need can dial 9-8-8 on a phone to be connected with a trained mental health professional who can provide direct assistance during an emotional crisis. In Illinois’ Fiscal Year 2023 budget, implemented as of July 1 of this year, mental health care and community-based substance use disorder treatment providers were appropriated an increase o

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ALTON - Stutz Excavating has moved in an efficient fashion with the demolition of the old Alton building next to Germania. By the end of Monday, it appears much of the demo project will be completed. On Monday morning, Stutz was in place with a full team removing remains from the demolition. Stutz began the project on Friday and the building was dropped to the ground Friday afternoon.

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CHICAGO - This week is Lottery Week, which is a celebration of the role lotteries play in generating essential funding for their communities. Lottery Week runs from July 17th to 23rd and is a celebration of lotteries across the United States and Canada, in acknowledgment of their collective contributions to the communities they serve. “The Illinois Lottery has been part of local communities across the State of Illinois for almost 50 years with the primary purpose of generating funding to support K-12 education across the State,” said Harold Mays, Lottery Director. “When people play the Lottery, it’s a win for our state. Since 1985, Lottery players have helped generate more than $23 billion in essential revenue for the Common School Fund, which goes to support thousands of schools across the state.” “That’s a big win for the two million public school students and their families. About a quarter of every dollar spent on the Lottery goes t

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ALTON - Here is the weekly update regarding new and changing road conditions due to the ongoing sewer separation project. A link to the weekly update can be found here.

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EAST ALTON – The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC sm ) is welcoming three new environmental technicians to assist with field and laboratory support for various research projects. The technicians will primarily be monitoring the ecology and conservation efforts surrounding amphibians, reptiles, dragonflies, and damselflies. “I really like the tangible impact our work and findings have on the scientific understanding of amphibian ecology, and it feels like I am doing something beneficial for the world,” Environmental Technician Andrew Wilk said. “I also really enjoy working with this community of scientists.” The technicians will be working mostly with John Crawford, terrestrial wildlife ecologist, to continue data collection on the bird-voiced treefrog project in Southern Illinois as well as a salamander study taking place in the Smoky Mountains National Park that has been running for over 20 years. The newest project is a dragonfl

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