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Judge calls Ashcroft’s characterization of abortion amendment ‘unfair’ and ‘misleading’

10 months ago
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has been ordered to remove his characterization of an abortion rights amendment from his government website after a judge deemed it was unfair and violated state statute. A Cole County judge on Thursday ruled that Ashcroft’s “fair ballot language” summary of the reproductive rights amendment, also known as Amendment […]
Anna Spoerre

Hayner Public Library District Recognizes Staff Members on Labor Day

10 months ago
ALTON - The Hayner Public Library District celebrated Labor Day by recognizing all of the people who work at the library. Mary Cordes, executive director at Hayner, gave every department a special mention during a recent segment of “Our Daily Show!” with CJ Nasello . She thanked the staff members for their dedication to the library and their continued work to help the community. “I’m a little biased, I think we have the best staff,” Cordes said. “I thought we’d give some credit where credit’s due. I hope that everybody comes in and enjoys the people who work there, because we really enjoy our patrons.” Cordes noted that the Genealogy and Local History Library has “such a great staff,” including RiverBender.com contributor Lacy McDonald . Cordes remembers when she and McDonald found hundreds of negatives in a filing cabinet at the old Alton Telegraph building. They stood in front of the filing cabinet

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Randy Gori Memorial Kicks on 66 Ultra Car Show and Cruise In Glen Carbon On Sept. 7

10 months ago
GLEN CARBON - The Village of Glen Carbon is once again hosting the Randy Gori Memorial Kicks on 66 Ultra Car Show and Cruise presented by Newbold BMW and Newbold Toyota on September 7th, 2024, from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Schon Park in Glen Carbon, Illinois. A sneak peek of approximately 20 vehicles and the Kicks on 66 organizers will be at Schon Park on Wednesday, September 4 from 11 a.m. – noon for anyone interested in seeing a sampling of the vehicles and to ask questions about the event. Alex Rosenberger, owner of MasterCars, Inc., says car show attendees should expect more than 650 cars this year, with food vendors, bounce houses, and a live band playing during the show. “The cars start showing up between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. with the park opening to the public at 11 a.m. A few new clubs are expected to participate this year, bringing some rare exotic Ferrari and Lamborghini brands to the show field. It is always exciting to see vehicles spanning the decades,”

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Former Shriners Children's St. Louis Patient Breaks World Record in Shot Put

10 months ago
ST. LOUIS - Former Shriners Children’s St. Louis patient Noelle Malkamaki just broke her own world record in shot put at the United States Paralympic Trials and the world champion is now a heavy favorite for gold at the Paris Games. Before getting comfortable in her duality as a para sport star and a Division I athlete, Malkamaki appreciated the comfort she felt being treated at Shriners Children’s from a young age. Malkamaki came into this world without a right hand after being born with amniotic band syndrome but never slowed down as a child growing up. This Decatur, Illinois, native started going to Shriners Children’s before kindergarten and said it was one of the only spaces that felt like it was truly built for her. She knew doctors, staff, other patients and families wouldn’t look at her weirdly at Shriners Children’s. Everything about her limb difference felt normal there. “I felt prioritized from a young age at Shriners Children’s,”

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How much of Illinois is covered by corn fields?

10 months ago
If you've driven around Illinois, there's a strong chance you've noticed corn fields along your commutes. New research reveals that corn fields cover more of Illinois than every U.S. state except one.
Joey Schneider

100 Years Ago: Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus Comes to Town

10 months ago
ALTON - “You can’t have a circus without clowns and girls, and you must have plenty of both, if you have a big circus, such as the Hagenbeck-Wallace, which comes to Alton on September 8, for afternoon and night performances, with a more than a mile-long street parade at 11 a.m. circus day.” The circus was set up at Riverfront Park, with a big top that could accommodate 10,000 people. The Hagenbeck-Wallace circus had 50 clowns, the best that “ever trouped under the white tops,” and 150 “beautiful and stately girls.” There were also three herds of performing elephants, the Orrin Davenport troupe of equestrians, Australian Wood-choppers, “just arrived from the ‘land of the kangaroos’” and three troupes of Chinese stars, here by special permission of the Chinese government. There were aerialists, acrobats, and perch artists. Over $50,000 (approximately $925,000 in 2024 money) was spent on wardrobe alone for the performers.

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Five High Schoolers Volunteer as Middle School Softball Coaches: They Are Altonized Community Federal Credit Union Female Athletes Of Month

10 months ago
PIASA - Amanda Edwards is a very successful high school and middle school girls softball coach at Southwestern and she is ecstatic that five of her high school girls - Sydney Valdes, Ella Kadell, Grace Strohbeck, Vivian Zurheide and Hannah May - have decided to serve this season as volunteer coaches. For their efforts, the girls are Altonized Community Federal Credit Union Female Athletes of the Month for the Piasa Birds. Some of the girls are involved in volleyball for the fall and then head to the middle school practices and also helped in late summer. Those two girls - Hannah and Vivian - will also be profiled as Athletes of the Month separately too for their overall athletic efforts for Southwestern. "The five girls serve as mentors for the middle school girls team and are truly doing a phenomenal job. I am very blessed to have them as assistant coaches." Amanda said the five girls basically help teach every middle school player what it is like to be a "Piasa Bird player." Ella

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