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July's Small Business Award Winner Is Karen Wilson State Farm

2 years 6 months ago
GODFREY – The RiverBend Growth Association has chosen Godfrey-based Karen Wilson State Farm as the July 2023 Small Business of the Month. As its business name suggests, this local State Farm Insurance office is owned by Karen Wilson. Located at 225 Tolle Lane in Godfrey, Wilson has been in business for 20 years and currently has three employees. “I downsized to two team members for a while,” Wilson noted, “but realized that a third person is crucial to an efficient and customer-focused office. We feel this has been beneficial to all. She said that continuing education is required because of the licensing her team members must have. “However, coming from the world of education, I always encourage continuous learning. Seminars, trainings, self-help books, webinars are a very important part of our culture. “We are a woman-owned and operated business and proud of it. Although we are all familiar with the company I represent, I am the business owner.

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How St. Louis artists balance the creative and financial sides of making art

2 years 6 months ago
Forbes arts and travel contributor Chadd Scott discusses how large arts institutions support the arts and artists in St. Louis — and how those support systems compare with other cities in the Midwest. Two recent recipients of regional artist grants, musician Kasimu Taylor and video and performance artist Carlos Salazar-Lermont, discuss realities around funding specific projects and sustaining themselves as artists.

Study says drinking water from nearly half of US faucets contains potentially harmful chemicals

2 years 6 months ago
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Drinking water from nearly half of U.S. faucets likely contains “forever chemicals” that may cause cancer and other health problems, according to a government study released Wednesday. The synthetic compounds known collectively as PFAS are contaminating drinking water to varying extents in large cities and small towns — and in [...]
JOHN FLESHER, Associated Press

Raw data: New solar capacity by state

2 years 6 months ago
Who has the most new solar capacity? Obviously big states do. But what if you adjust for population and look at solar module shipments per capita? It turns out it's mostly still the big states that are solar leaders: California, Texas, Georgia, and Illinois. But Nevada has them all beat by a mile.
Kevin Drum

Lane Closures Set On I-55 In Madison County

2 years 6 months ago
TROY – The Illinois Department of Transportation announced today that intermittent daytime lane closures will take place on both directions of Interstate 55 from the Interstate 270 overpass to the Macoupin County line, weather permitting, beginning Monday, June 26, through Friday, June 30. Work will be suspended between 6-9 a.m. on the southbound/westbound lanes and 3-6 p.m. on the northbound/eastbound lanes. These lane closures are necessary for the evaluation of the pavement. Drivers are urged to reduce speed, be alert for changing conditions, obey all signage, and refrain from using mobile devices while approaching and traveling through the work zone. For IDOT District 8 updates, follow us on Twitter at @IDOTDistrict 8 or view area construction details on IDOT’s traveler information map on GettingAroundIllinois.com.

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Artist Brock Seals serves up local talent and good eats at ‘Art, Mimosas and Pancakes’

2 years 6 months ago
While St. Louis’ artist communities and art districts are nationally recognized— and homegrown foundations have uplifted the arts for decades — there are still artists that fall through the cracks and struggle to connect with the greater St. Louis art scene. Instead of waiting for a seat at the table, multidisciplinary artist and St. Louis native Brock Seals decided to build his own with his event, “Art, Mimosas and Pancakes.”