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ST. LOUIS - Best known for her performances as 'Hillary' on the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot, 'Bel-Air,' and her song 'ICU,' singer and actress Coco Jones has been making waves across the tv and music industries. But before she became a star on stages and TV screens, singer and actress Coco Jones watched her [...]

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent the following statement after President Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to prohibit federal funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB): “The ruthless cuts and attacks on our federal government was not enough for President Trump—now he is going after public broadcasting, which has been providing unbiased, informative, and breaking news for years, especially for our nation’s rural communities. As a democracy, we pride ourselves on having a strong freedom of the press. With President Trump’s executive order, we will only backslide. This is dangerous and I implore my Republican colleagues to act to reverse the President’s course—our democracy depends on it.” Through the government funding bill passed earlier this year, CPB will receive $535 million in advanced appropriations

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GLEN CARBON – Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois presented the Thanks Badge and Honor Pin to outstanding volunteers at the annual Recognition of Excellence awards ceremony. Mary Armes from West Frankfort, Jodie Herbstritt from Belleville, and Debbie Parker from Robinson were awarded the Thanks Badge while Amy Huller from Belleville was awarded the Honor Pin. The Thanks Badge honors an individual whose ongoing commitment, leadership, and service has had an exceptional, measurable impact on meeting the mission-delivery goals and priorities of the entire council or the entire Girl Scout Movement. The Honor Pin recognizes an individual’s exemplary service in support of delivering the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, which has had a measurable impact on two or more service units within the council and contributes to the mission-delivery goals of the council. Thanks Badge Mary Armes – West Frankfort, Illinois Mary Armes has been part of Girl Scouts for 34 years.

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Immerse yourself in awe-inspiring Chinese cultural performances, music, art and history while enjoying authentic cuisine. Since 1996, the Missouri Botanical Garden has collaborated with the Chinese Culture Education and Services […]

The post Chinese Culture Days appeared first on Explore St. Louis.

The 75th annual Greater St. Louis Book Fair will take place May 1-4 at the Greensfelder Recreation Complex in Queeny Park. Located at 550 Weidman Road in Ballwin MO 63011, […]

The post Greater St. Louis Book Fair appeared first on Explore St. Louis.

For almost 30 years, Shaw Nature Reserve has hosted a spring wildflower market to celebrate the beauty and utility of Missouri’s native plants while encouraging home gardeners to grow native. […]

The post Spring Wildflower Market appeared first on Explore St. Louis.

Cbabi Bayoc said his color is very bold and he hopes those pops of color draw people in.

ALTON – Two Riverbend residents are accused of burglarizing the construction site of the Sunnybrook Apartments in Alton. Henry R. Lakin, 37, of Alton, and David L. Miller, 50, of Granite City, were both charged on April 30, 2025 with Class 2 felony counts of burglary. On March 7, 2025, the two allegedly unlawfully entered a building on the Sunnybrook Apartments construction site, located in the 700 block of Washington Avenue in Alton, with the intent to commit therein a theft. Both were arrested by the Alton Police Department and have been granted pretrial release from custody. Miller was previously charged in a separate case of burglary out of Granite City. More details on that and a string of other Granite City burglaries are available in this story on Riverbender.com . All individuals charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of la w.

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GRANITE CITY – A man from St. Louis faces first degree murder charges and more after fatally shooting someone in Granite City. DeWayne Franklin, 41, of St. Louis, was charged on April 28, 2025 with two counts of first degree murder, both Class M felonies. He was also charged with a Class 3 felony count of possession of a weapon by a felon, as well as a Class 4 felony count of aggravated unlawful possession of weapons. On April 20, 2025, Franklin allegedly shot 58-year-old St. Louis resident Kenneth Whitehorn in the head, causing his death. Whitehorn was found deceased on Alton Street near Pontoon Road in Granite City. The weapon Franklin used in the killing, a 9mm handgun, was unlawful for him to possess as a felon previously convicted of possession of a controlled substance. He also had no valid Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card or Concealed Carry License at the time of the offense. A petition was filed to deny Franklin’s pretrial release from custody,

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EAST ALTON - East Alton’s Eastwood Elementary School has a special program for its young men. The Boyz 2 Men Mentorship Program allows fourth and fifth graders to engage with male role models as they complete community service projects. Male volunteers and teachers meet with this group of students once a month. The adults noted the students have grown a lot since the program’s inception. “I’m really proud of these kids,” said Eric Hensley, a fifth grade teacher at Eastwood. “A lot of schools could use it, but we definitely saw the need here. I liked the idea of it because some of these kids, they’re not always the most successful in the classroom, but you see so much potential. So it was nice to have some sort of outlet for them to do, to be able to show off what they can do. I feel like they have a little bit more freedom and self-confidence in this group, which is good for them to practice and use.” Angela Gray, East Alton Schoo

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WOOD RIVER - Riverbend residents are invited to Wood River for their annual Summer Kickoff festival. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 17, 2025, the City of Wood River will offer live music, food, craft vendors, games, a dunk tank and more to celebrate the summer season. Community members of all ages are invited downtown to the corner of Wood River Avenue and Ferguson for a fun day of festivities. “There is a lot going on,” said Kristen Burns, executive director of Wood River Main Street, which organized the event. “I love the Summer Kickoff. I mean, all of the events are favorites. But I really, really like the Summer Kickoff.” In addition to the downtown shops and restaurants, which will be open and ready for business during the event, there will be over 30 vendors downtown that day. Wood River has also arranged for several food trucks to come out and provide food and drinks. “We always get a lot of vendors for these,” Burns said

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O’FALLON, Ill. — HSHS Home Care invites community members to join them for butterfly release ceremonies at locations throughout southern Illinois at these Hospital Sisters Health System hospitals: HSHS Holy Family Hospital, Greenville Wednesday, May 14 at 4 p.m. in the fountain area (front of the hospital). HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, O’Fallon Wednesday, May 21 at 5:30 p.m. at the main entrance by the statue. HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital, Highland Tuesday, June 3 at 5:30 p.m. in the Healing Garden. HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital, Breese Wednesday, June 4 at 5:30 p.m. in the Healing Garden/Gazebo Area Family and friends are invited to celebrate and remember the life of a loved one who has passed. The ceremonies will include the reading of the names of those being honored in addition to the butterfly release. Valerie Engelbart, Bereavement Services Supervisor for HSHS Home Care, said, “These butterfly release

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Watchdog groups and tech giants want more clean energy. But some fear the utility is pursuing a big fossil-gas expansion plan outside of public scrutiny instead.

ST. LOUIS – On Saturday morning, St. Louis Public Schools is hosting a community budget forum, giving parents, students, and taxpayers a chance to weigh in on next year’s spending plan. A meeting Monday night kicked off the discussion earlier this week. District leaders say your input is critical as they work to close a [...]

ST. LOUIS – On Saturday, two fallen officers will be honored for their ultimate sacrifice. Independence Police Officer Cody Allen and St. Louis Police Officer David Lee will be remembered during the annual Missouri State Law Enforcement Memorial in Jefferson City. Officer Allen was shot and killed while serving an eviction notice in February of [...]

FLORISSANT, Mo. – A Hazelwood School District Bus Driver has been charged after an alleged fight with students on board. Police have arrested a Hazelwood School District bus driver after an alleged altercation with students. Lamar Murray faces two felony counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Those charges include allegations of physical assaults. [...]