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I'm hesitant to post this chart, because it comes from a source I'm unfamiliar with and don't know if I can trust. But it seems both interesting and plausible. Zach Goldberg of the Manhattan Institute combined the answers to a whole slew of mental hygiene questions into a single index of teen mental health, and ...continue reading "Chart of the day: Teen mental health has plummeted"

Catherine Rampell says that if we achieve the coveted economic soft landing, it won't be because of anything radical we did: It will be because of boring, standard economic textbook fixes for inflation: i.e., supply shocks subsiding, fiscal support fading and, most controversially, interest rates rising. The Federal Reserve’s 10 rate hikes since March 2022 ...continue reading "Fed hikes haven’t slowed the economy—yet"

I’ve long been passionate about the Greater Alton area, feeling it’s grossly underrated considering its striking topography, scenic river vistas, interesting characters and historic architecture. The Melvin Price Lock and Dam on the Mississippi makes the river more like a lake up there, dotted with recreational boats from the popular Alton, West Alton and Grafton Marinas and filled with numerous wooded islands with sandy beaches.  When friend and media personality Steve Potter told me about a Pride Garden Tour happening this past Sunday, I rounded up friends and made a day of it.

I never expected to get dragged down the rabbit hole yet again of Mississippi's "reading miracle," but I have no choice. It looks like I might have been wrong again. Sigh. Let's recap: In 2013 Mississippi passed a new law that focused on teaching phonics in elementary school. The results were impressive. After the law ...continue reading "Mississippi revisited: The Mississippi reading miracle looks to be real after all"

"I just think it's needed because it's getting really dangerous out here," said one concerned city resident.

Here's where to get your scoop on Sunday, July 16, for National Ice Cream Day.

ALTON - Phae Morrissey has always loved the Milton Schoolhouse. This month, Milton is returning that love by featuring her art throughout the building. The Milton Schoolhouse is home to a number of businesses. Every month, they invite a local artist to arrange their work in the main hallway, so almost everyone who enters Milton will walk past it. For Morrissey, the opportunity to display her art is made twice as special by her personal connection to the people who spend time at Milton. “Having my pieces up in a space that I already love means a lot to me,” Morrissey said. “And then getting that positive feedback from my friends and heroes and just the random folks off the street has been really uplifting.” Morrissey spends a lot of time at Milton, chatting with the regulars at Maeva’s Coffee and her partner, who works behind Maeva’s counter. But when she’s not at Milton with her loved ones, she can be found either searching for new materials

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COLUMBIA, MO. - Marilyn Hope Lake, PhD., a 1960 Alton High School graduate and one of five valedictorians of that class of 485, has been selected as a finalist in the 2023 Missouri Writers Contest for Best Non-Fiction. Her Best Poem entry is also a finalist. A finalist in the contest applies for first, second, and third place and honorable mentions. Winners of the contest for each category will be announced at our conference in Colombia on Saturday, September 23, 2023. Marilyn Hope (Waide) Lake was born in Alton Marilyn was also was Best Thespian of the Year, 1960 in Alton. She lives in Columbia and has a new book, "Our Mothers' Ghosts and Other Stories" in pre-publication at Meadowlark Press and Books, Emporia Kan. The expected publication date is the fall of 2023.

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MARION - The Life;Story 5K Walk and Run will aim to prevent suicide and raise awareness about Centerstone, a mental health and addiction treatment service in the Riverbend area. The 5K will take place on Sept. 9 in Marion, though there are also Centerstone locations in Alton, Carbondale and other towns across the country. All proceeds will help Centerstone patients. Other health and wellness organizations will be there on the day of the event, and speakers will talk about their experiences with suicide. “The purpose of Life;Story is to bring about awareness for suicide prevention,” Erin Camfield, Centerstone’s Director of Advancement, said. “The semicolon represents that there’s more to come. There’s more to your life, and there’s more to your story.” This is the first Life;Story 5K in Illinois. Centerstone’s Florida location has sponsored the event for 21 years with thousands of participants each year. Camfield hopes

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Despite sitting on a significant budget surplus, Gov. Mike Parson’s administration is not promising state funding to probe radiation in the St. Louis region

The state said this week it will not participate in a federal program that would provide $120 in benefits to each eligible child, citing administrative hurdles.

A manufacturer in Ferguson hopes to tackle one of an engineering challenge: Creating an electric motor strong enough to lift an air taxi, and lightweight enough to remain aloft.