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Godfrey Parks Director Gives Update On No-Smoking Signage

3 hours 2 minutes ago
GODFREY – Godfrey Parks and Recreation Director Chris Logan gave an update on his plans to add more no-smoking signs near park playgrounds and more at the July 1, 2025 Public Safety Committee meeting. Under Logan’s latest recommendation, several new signs will be installed around various park facilities. These include six new signs posted near playgrounds, including three at Glazebrook, one at Homer Adams, one at Clifton Terrace, and one at the Lewis and Clark Baseball Fields Playground. Each of these signs will say, “No smoking within 15 feet of playground surface.” Logan also suggested installing two signs at the splash pad, four at the soccer complex, eight at the baseball/soccer fields, two at the pickleball courts, and one sign each at the small and large dog parks. Each of these signs will feature a generic “no smoking” logo and language calling for “no smoking within 15 feet” of each facility’s fence. Eight other new

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Collinsville, Columbia Men Enter Guilty Pleas To Conspiracy To Commit Bank Fraud

3 hours 2 minutes ago
EAST ST. LOUIS — A former bank president and a contractor has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud in a scheme that involved falsifying loan applications to obtain funds between 2011 and 2020. Francis Eversman, 74, of Collinsville, and Gregg Crawford, 65, of Columbia, admitted in federal court that they conspired to defraud Tempo Bank in Trenton by recruiting straw purchasers to act as nominal loan applicants on properties that were often highly overvalued. Eversman, a senior loan officer at the bank, facilitated the loan approvals, while Crawford, owner of construction companies in southern Illinois, used the loan proceeds for unauthorized purposes. According to court documents, Crawford provided fake lease agreements to falsely indicate rental income from the properties. When an audit by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency uncovered the suspect loans, Crawford directed a straw purchaser to supply false information to investigators. “The integrity

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Beverly Farm's Annual Fireworks Display Rescheduled for Friday, June 11th

3 hours 18 minutes ago
GODFREY – The Beverly Farm annual fireworks display, which was postponed due to rain on June 27, 2025, has been rescheduled for Friday, July 11, 2025, at 9:30 p.m. on our campus in Godfrey, Illinois. The event is open to the public and promises an evening full of fun, entertainment, and patriotic celebration. Event Details: Date : Friday, July 11, 2025 • Time : Arrive as early as 8 p.m. Quick Bite Frozen Treats ice cream truck will also be on campus beginning at 8 p.m. Fireworks display begins at approx. 9:30 p.m. • Location : Beverly Farm Foundation, 6301 Humbert Rd., Godfrey, IL 62035 • Admission : Free Arrive as early as 8 p.m. Guests are invited to bring lawn chairs or blankets and enjoy the fireworks. The Quick Bite Frozen Treats ice cream truck will be on-site starting at 8 p.m. The Quick Bite ice cream truck offers a variety of frozen desserts priced from $2 to $5 each. Our spectacular fireworks display will begin at approximately 9:30

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GoFundMe Seeks Support For Maryville Couple's Medical and Housing Needs

3 hours 27 minutes ago
MARYVILLE - Lisa Becherer has launched a GoFundMe campaign to support her sister Cheryl Hays-Ridgeway and Cheryl’s husband, John, of Maryville, who have faced a series of serious health and financial challenges over the past decade. The fundraiser aims to provide financial relief to the couple, who are struggling to cover medical expenses, daily essentials, and housing costs. The campaign seeks to help them stay in their home and gain stability after enduring multiple medical crises. John and Cheryl, former small business owners of a portrait studio, encountered a turning point in 2016 when John suffered a stroke that paralyzed his right side, forcing the closure of their business and depleting their savings. Despite John’s progress through rehabilitation, the family’s financial situation worsened. In 2019, Cheryl was diagnosed with tongue cancer linked to medication for Crohn’s disease. She underwent major surgery and daily radiation treatments. The COVID-19

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States in ‘triage mode’ over $6B in withheld K-12 funding

3 hours 58 minutes ago
The U.S. Department of Education’s decision this week to hold back $6.8 billion in federal K-12 funds next year has triggered alarm among state education officials, school leaders and advocacy groups nationwide over how the lack of funds will affect their after-school, enrichment and language-learning services. The Trump administration’s decision to freeze the funding has […]
Robbie Sequeira

St. Clair County State's Attorney Reviews Charges Against Juveniles After Arrest

4 hours 2 minutes ago
FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS — Three juvenile males were arrested following an attempted vehicle theft and subsequent foot chase on June 30, 2025, according to the Fairview Heights Police Department. At approximately 8:30 p.m. on June 30, Fairview Heights Police officers responded to a report from a citizen who discovered damage to their vehicle consistent with an attempted theft in the parking lot of DXL, located at 315 St. Clair Square. While taking the report, police received another call about several teenage males acting suspiciously and looking into vehicles in the parking lot of Planet Fitness at 120 Commerce Lane. Although officers did not locate the suspects at Planet Fitness, their search continued, leading to the identification of three males matching the description in the Lowe’s parking lot at 6211 North Illinois St. When contacted by officers, one of the subjects fled on foot but was apprehended after a brief chase. The Fairview Heights Police said the three males,

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Lawsuit challenges ballot language for proposed Missouri abortion ban 

4 hours 17 minutes ago
A fight over wording for a proposal to reverse the abortion rights amendment Missouri voters added to the state Constitution in November will look very much like a similar fight in 2023. The ACLU of Missouri filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Cole County with two objectives: Keep the proposal designated as Amendment 3 off of […]
Rudi Keller