ALTON — The Alton Amphitheater will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Alton native Miles Davis with an expanded Alton Jazz & Wine Festival on Saturday, Aug. 29, from 6–10 p.m. Experience nationally acclaimed jazz in an intimate riverfront venue, with tickets starting at just $10. The evening will feature outstanding jazz music, wine, food vendors and premium VIP experiences—all celebrating the living legacy of one of music's greatest innovators. As the world marks the
A harvest festival is never just about food. It is about fear, relief, hard work, luck, and the simple fact that for most of human history, one good harvest could mean survival. That is what gives harvest traditions their staying power. Even in places where few people farm, people still decorate tables with grain, gather for shared meals, thank the land, and mark the end of a growing cycle. These customs feel festive on the surface, but their roots run deep. They began as practical responses
On August 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos de la Frontera in Spain on the voyage that would link Europe and the Americas in a lasting and transformative way. Backed by the Spanish crown, Columbus was searching for a westward sea route to Asia. He did not reach Asia, but his journey opened sustained contact between two parts of the world that had long developed separately. At the time, the voyage mattered because it promised trade, wealth, and strategic advantage. It still matters
WOOD RIVER — Riverbend Family Ministries (RFM) is excited to welcome Christy Schult as its new Executive Director. Schult brings a strong background in nonprofit leadership, fundraising, community partnerships, and organizational growth. Most recently, she served as Development Director at Community Hope Center, where she worked closely with businesses, civic organizations, churches, and local leaders throughout the Riverbend region to expand resources for families in need. Through tha
CAHOKIA HEIGHTS - A 20-year-old Cahokia Heights man has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy last weekend in Cahokia Heights, after investigators with the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis pursued about 60 leads in the case. Cleveland J. Ware, 20, was booked into the St. Clair County Jail at about 3:45 p.m. Friday, July 31, 2026, and was being held without bond. The arrest follows the July 25, 2026, shooting death of Lamerion L. Davis, 16, of Washington
On August 2, one of the most far-reaching events in modern history is the end of the Potsdam Conference in 1945, when leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union met near Berlin to decide how Europe would be governed after the defeat of Nazi Germany. The war in Europe had ended only weeks earlier, but many of the hardest questions were still unresolved: how to rebuild destroyed countries, how to punish war crimes, how to redraw borders, and how to prevent another major
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) is proud to announce that Deputy General Counsel Brian Fliflet has received the 2026 Multistate Tax Commission's (MTC) prestigious Paull Mines Award . Fliflet accepted the award during MTC’s Annual Meeting in Detroit, MI on July 29. The award recognizes an attorney who has made significant contributions to state tax jurisprudence, and who exemplifies qualities of leadership, legal excellence, and professional integrity in th
CHICAGO – Governor JB Pritzker today called on the Trump Administration to immediately reverse its work stoppage on the Brandon Road Interbasin Project, the latest federal action delaying one of the nation's most important infrastructure and environmental protection projects. The Trump Administration is halting years of bipartisan progress to protect the Great Lakes from invasive carp and follows months of federal actions that have slowed the project's advancement. Together, these delays
BETHALTO - The Riverbend community is invited to celebrate recovery and memorialize those who have been lost to overdose at an upcoming vigil. From 4–8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, Foster’s Light in the Dark will host their third annual Drug Overdose Awareness Candlelight Vigil at Bethalto Park. Complete with speakers, music, resources and a dove release, the vigil promises to honor those who have been lost while also celebrating those who are living in recovery. “Last
EAST ST. LOUIS - Residents of East St. Louis are invited to a free National Night Out event from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, at 8206 State St., where the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois, law enforcement agencies and community partners plan activities aimed at strengthening relationships between residents and police. Organizers said the event will include school supply giveaways for students, food for families and activities for all ages, including games
GODFREY – To educate seniors in southern Illinois on the latest scams targeting them online and over the phone, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will present a fraud prevention seminar. The presentation highlights information on online scams, fraud schemes targeting seniors and details on federal cases prosecuted in the Southern District of Illinois. The event will start at 12 p.m. on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, at Godfrey Baptist Church, located at 1601 W. Delmar Ave, Godfrey, Illinois.
ST. LOUIS – An adult day care provider has been indicted and accused of defrauding Missouri Medicaid out of $1.47 million. Tony King, 63, was indicted July 22 on five counts of health care fraud. King turned himself in Thursday and appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, where he pleaded not guilty. The indictment says King operated Agape Love Adult Day Care LLC, holding out the company as a provider in Missouri’s Adult Day Care Waiver (ADCW) program. That program provides
On August 1, one of the most far-reaching events in modern history is the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, marked by Germany’s declaration of war on Russia. That decision did not begin the crisis by itself, but it turned a tense regional dispute in Europe into a full-scale global conflict. At the time, the declaration mattered because it activated alliances, drew in major powers, and set millions of soldiers and civilians on a path toward a war none of them could easily stop. It
BRIDGETON, Mo. — One man was killed, and another was injured in a shooting Friday evening, July 31, 2026, on the 4000 block of Avery Lane, according to the Bridgeton Police Department. Police said officers responded to a report of a shooting at 5:55 p.m. on Friday, July 31, 2026. When officers arrived, they found two male subjects suffering from gunshot wounds. Both were transported to area hospitals for treatment, police said. One of the male subjects was pronounced dead, and the other
EDWARDSVILLE – Sex offenders from Edwardsville and Utah were charged separately in Madison County with failing to register, with one in custody and the other released pending trial. Jared W. Parker, 44, of the 3000 block of Ogden Avenue in Ogden, Utah, was charged in Madison County court on July 20, 2026 with sex offender registration/false information, unlawful failure to register as a sex offender (both Class 3 felonies), and obstructing identification (a Class A misdemeanor). Parker
CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul led a coalition of six attorneys general in opposing a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal to implement a federal permit program for the disposal of coal combustion residual (CCR), also known as coal ash. The EPA’s proposed permit program could allow coal ash facilities to receive federal permits without necessary scrutiny from the EPA. Coal ash is a form of toxic waste that is left over after burning coal at power plants,
WASHINGTON — Penny Kessler of Freeburg, Illinois, has been accepted into the Peace Corps and will depart for Kenya on Aug. 9, 2026, to begin training as a malaria prevention outreach specialist. Kessler, who previously served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Uganda, Liberia and Rwanda, will work with community members to strengthen health education and malaria case management, according to the Peace Corps. A 2018 graduate of New Mexico State University with a master’s degree in
FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS - What began as an effort to bring a simple place to sit to transit riders waiting at bus stops without seating continues to spark broader investments in public transit infrastructure throughout the St. Louis region. Citizens for Modern Transit (CMT) and AARP in St. Louis, in partnership with the St. Clair County Transit District (SCCTD) and Metro Transit, today unveiled the latest installation as part of “The Story of a Bench ” program at MetroBus Stop #15907 at
GRANITE CITY — Chestnut Health Systems™ announced expanded mobile behavioral health crisis response services for residents across 13 southwestern Illinois counties as part of a statewide effort to strengthen coordination and standardization of crisis care. Chestnut will serve as the designated mobile crisis response provider for Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Randolph, St. Clair and Washington counties. The expansion builds o
EDWARDSVILLE - As election season approaches, the Madison County Clerk’s Office in Edwardsville is warning voters about a rise in election-related scams, including phishing texts and emails that attempt to get recipients to click links, share personal information or verify voter registration through unofficial channels. The warning comes after a suspicious text message was recently received that urged immediate action to “verify” a voter profile through a website and claimed
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