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Sparklight Female Athlete Of The Month: Jersey Community Student-Athlete Amelia Strebel Excels Academically And Athletically

3 months 3 weeks ago
JERSEYVILLE - Amelia Strebel, a standout student-athlete from Jersey Community Unit School District No. 100, has earned a place on the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Academic All-State Honorable Mention team. The announcement was made following the selection of 76 students across the state, with each school permitted to nominate one male and one female student for the honor. Amelia Strebel is also a Sparklight Female Athlete of the Month for Jersey. The recognition comes at a time when Strebel is balancing her academic responsibilities with her participation in track and field, where she is an area standout in the shot put and discus. Jersey head girls track and field coach Kevin Strebel, who is also her father, expressed pride in her accomplishments both academically and athletically. "I am certainly proud of how she handles herself and takes care of everything the right way academically and athletically," he said. "She makes sure to prepare for any tests, and it is nice

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Lawmakers and business groups push rollback of Missouri minimum wage hike, sick leave law

3 months 3 weeks ago
Months after Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved a minimum wage increase and paid sick leave requirements, the new laws face challenges this week in court and the state legislature. On Wednesday, the state Supreme Court Court heard arguments in a lawsuit seeking to strike down Proposition A, which guarantees sick leave for hundreds of thousands of workers and gradually hikes the minimum wage to $15. A day earlier, the Missouri House gave initial approval to a bill repealing the sick leave law…
Diana Barr

Byron, Petri, Carlson & Kalb Male Athlete Of Month: Kolesa Rates Important Player For Griffins' Boys Basketball Team

3 months 3 weeks ago
GLEN CARBON - Owen Kolesa, a junior forward for the boys' basketball team at Father McGivney Catholic High School, has played an important role for the Griffins this season, and will be a key factor in the success the team enjoys in the upcoming IHSA Class 1A playoffs. He averaged 7.5 points per game and 2.7 rebounds a game on the season. He is a Byron, Petri, Carlson & Kalb Male Athlete of the Month for the Griffins. On Feb. 15, 2025, Kolesa had an outstanding game against Jersey contributing 17 points. The Griffins finished with a 15-18 overall record in the 2024-2025 campaign. Kolesa was interviewed after McGivney's 38-35 win over Maryville Christian on Feb. 15. He agreed that the comeback win over Maryville helped build up the team's confidence going into the final week of the regular season and the postseason run. "It really did build some confidence," Kolesa said after that encounter. "We were down, we battled through as a team. it gave us a lot of confidence through everything."

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Open enrollment bill clears Missouri House for fifth year in a row

3 months 3 weeks ago
Legislation that would allow students to enroll in neighboring school districts won approval from the Missouri House on Wednesday.  The 88-69 vote saw 22 Republicans join with all but three Democrats in opposition. It now heads to the Missouri Senate. The bill’s sponsor, Republican state Rep. Brad Pollitt of Sedalia, has filed the legislation for […]
Annelise Hanshaw

Alton School Board Race: Aline Russell Believes in Public Education

3 months 3 weeks ago
ALTON - Aline Russell believes in helping where she’s needed. Russell, one of six candidates for the Alton Community Unit School District #11 Board of Education, shared more about who she is and what she stands for. She expressed her excitement to potentially join the school board and create better schools for kids. “I’ve thought about someday running for school board because, with my mother and sister being public school teachers, I know about some of the challenges and joys, but also because I’m really proud of my kids who graduated from Alton High,” Russell said. “We were really happy with Alton High. I’m a real fan of the school system. Just with the possible serious challenges coming up for public schools, I wanted to get in and see if I could help, if there was a need for me.” Russell previously worked as a marriage and family therapist with an office in Alton, and she still occasionally offers her services doing interim

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Statements Issued After Legislature Passes State Takeover Bill Of St. Louis Metropolitan Police

3 months 3 weeks ago
Mayor Jones Issues Statement On Bill Passage To Strip St. Louis Control Of Metro Police Department ST. LOUIS – Today, the Missouri Legislature passed a bill that would strip St. Louis City of its local control over the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Mayor Tishaura O. Jones issued the following statement in response: “There is one thing that the bill sponsors and I agree on - that this bill is not a crime plan,” said Mayor Tishaura O. Jones. “My administration and I have spent the last four years addressing the realities of crime in our city. We continue to improve 911 response times, we’ve introduced call diversion programs, we’ve invested in community organizations that address the root causes of crime, and all this has resulted in a historic decrease in crime. All this bill does is halt and reverse our progress in service of allowing a small number of non-city-residents to pat themselves on the back because they succeeded in taking

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Trump’s Stagflation

3 months 3 weeks ago
Today on TAP: It’s not easy to engineer the combination of rising prices and falling economy output, but Trump is well on the way.
Robert Kuttner