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STAUNTON - With Edwardsville’s Route 66 Festival coming this Saturday, Rich Henry encourages visitors to travel down the route to Henry’s Ra66it Ranch in Staunton. The Ranch is a Route 66 visitor’s center as well as a rabbit rescue. The Ranch welcomes visitors from all over the world who want to experience Route 66. Many people who make the classic Americana road trip from Chicago to California will stop at the Ranch to learn more about its history. “It’s not about making money. It’s about making friends,” Henry said. After traveling on Route 66 to California, Henry built a storage building at the edge of his property along Route 66 in 1994. The building was stylized to look like a 1940s gas station. Soon, people began stopping by to see the building and chat with Henry about his vintage cars and Route 66 knowledge. He was soon receiving visitors from around the world. Henry boasts that he’s met people from every major countr

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WOOD RIVER - Construction is underway for a new inclusive playground and recreation center in Wood River Central Park. The Wood River Parks and Recreation Department is heading this project. The playground will include a challenge course, which is unique to the area. The recreation center will offer basketball and pickleball courts and a gymnastic space. “We’ve been working on these things for a while, so to finally have them come to fruition is awesome. It has been a lot of work to get to this point, and I’m excited to see it all,” Jason Woody, Wood River’s Parks and Recreation director, said. “I think our citizens will be pretty excited when they start driving by.” The playground’s previous equipment has been replaced with a new swing set, a large play structure with multiple slides and a challenge course. This challenge course will allow people to time themselves and compete for the quickest time. “Nobody really

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BRIGHTON - Brighton will celebrate its history with the 117th annual Betsey Ann Picnic on Friday, June 16, and Saturday, June 17. The Picnic will include carnival rides and games, food and craft vendors, and Brighton’s famous Burgoo soup. The Picnic is sponsored by the Betsey Ann Association, which maintains Betsey Ann Park and its historical sites. “We use our funds to help improve and support the park, and also to help some of the other organizations around town,” Reggie Conlee, the president of the Betsey Ann Association, said. “This park has got a lot of history for the city of Brighton…I like to see the tradition continue.” So, what to expect for this year’s event? Little Egypt Shows & Carnival will run rides and games from 5–11 p.m. on both nights. An armband costs $20 and provides access to all the rides. Individual tickets will also be sold at a lower price. Bingo will run throughout the evening. Players can compete

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GRANITE CITY - Granite City Police Department identified the victim in a fatal crash on Tuesday night as Frank Fisher, 41, of Granite City. The crash occurred at 6:56 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of Nameoki Road and Lindell Boulevard in Granite City. Granite City Detective Captain Gary Brooks said Fisher was transported to a local area hospital where he was later pronounced deceased from injuries due to the accident. "This investigation is being conducted by the Granite City Police Department with the assistance of the Metro East Crash Assistance Team and the Madison County Coroner’s Office," Brooks said. "We at GCPD would like to extend our most sincerest condolences to the family of the individual who lost their life. This investigation is still ongoing and there will be no further comment at this time."

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BETHALTO - The Village of Bethalto and its Fire Department have placed a ban on all burning within the village until further notice, citing “dry conditions.” Bethalto Fire Chief Brian Buhs said the ban includes burning trash, using fire pits, and all other forms of burning. He said it’s partially due to dead vegetation. “What prompted it is a lack of precipitation was causing much of the vegetation to die within the area, and rather than to run an unnecessary risk and for somebody to cause a fire that damages their own property or somebody else’s, we decided to stop it until we get some rain,” he said. Chief Buhs said he doesn’t expect or hope for it to be a long-term ban and said there is a chance of rain within the next couple of days. “I don’t expect it to last long, we just want to make sure that we can protect everybody’s property,” he added. The Village made the announcement on its Facebook page , whic

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JERSEY COUNTY - The Jersey County Historical Society will host a one-room school reunion on the lawn of the Lone Star School on Saturday, June 24, from 2 to 4 p.m. The address is 601 N. State St., Jerseyville. Anyone who attended a one-room school in Jersey or the surrounding counties or who is interested in one-room schools is welcome to attend. Historical Society Board Member Patsy Halemeyer says, “Bring lawn chairs, your family, friends, and memories. We’ll provide iced tea and cookies. There will be no recitations, tests, or grades, just a relaxing and fun afternoon.” The Lone Star School dates back to 1877 and was one of more than 70 one-room schools located throughout the county. The school originally stood roughly 13 miles west of Jerseyville, near the intersection of Routes 16 and 100. For more than 75 years, students in the area were taught the three R’s (reading, ’riting and ’rithmetic) in the humble one-room school. Water for the school

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ROODHOUSE - Roodhouse firefighters battled a destructive blaze on Monday that damaged a home at 1270 County Line Road, and the lives of two dogs trapped inside were lost. The fire call came in at 1 p.m. on Monday and appeared to begin in a nearby shed and spread to the house. The family also lost all the contents inside. The Roodhouse Fire Department has not yet released the cause of the fire. The White Hall Fire Department provided mutual support to combat the fire. The shed was described as a 12 x 12 to 12 x 14 shed behind the home and was located about 30 feet from the house. Fire officials said the wind blew the heat to the back side of the modular home and it then caught fire. There were not any injuries to people or firefighters in the incident.

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HOLIDAY SHORES - A Holiday Shores boy named Cannon was reported missing today. He has been missing since 7 a.m. Wednesday and is 12 years old. He is described as wearing a red shirt with black shorts and has a buzzed haircut. If you have any information on the boy's whereabouts, contact the Madison County Sheriff's Office at (618) 692-4433.

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ALTON - Growing up on a farm a couple miles from the clinic where she works, Bethany Huelskoetter , APRN, knows the importance of playing it safe in a rural setting, whether you’re young or old. With kids out of school and farmers in the fields, Huelskoetter, a nurse practitioner at OSF HealthCare, says now is the time to review the basics of farm safety. Heavy machinery: For big equipment like a tractor or auger, know how to use it before you get in the driver’s seat. Know how to shut the machine off quickly in an emergency. When behind the wheel, know your surroundings. Go slowly and be very cautious in places like driveways where kids run around. Wear fitted, not loose, clothing. “Machines have shafts and moving parts,” Huelskoetter explains. “You don’t want to have loose sleeves or something that can get caught in that mechanism and cause a catastrophic injury.” Driving smaller vehicles: Children and young adults are often found whizzin

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MADISON, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin–Madison has recognized students named to the Dean’s List for the spring semester of the 2022-2023 academic year. Edwardsville's Zack Harmon, of the College of Engineering, was named to the list. Students who achieve a high level academically are recognized by the dean at the close of each semester. To be eligible for the Dean’s List, students must complete a minimum of 12 graded degree credits in that semester. Each university school or college sets its own GPA requirements for students to be eligible to receive the distinction. To view an online listing, visit registrar.wisc.edu/deanslist. Use the data display dashboard to find students from your circulation area who have received this honor. For questions or concerns about eligibility, please contact deanslist-registrar@em.wisc.edu

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GODFREY - New signage has been approved for an access road to Godfrey Road which is technically also known as Godfrey Road. After the Public Safety Committee considered re-naming the road, input from local residents and a business owner led to a debate around the name change and ultimately resulted in the road keeping its name, but gaining signage that had been missing. Roland Hopgood, an owner of Godfrey Storage, said the road’s current name confuses customers who are unable to find his business. He suggested it be renamed Storage Lane. “The fact is, we run a business,” he said. “ have no idea where they’re going. We try to explain it to them, they go right on by on 67. They’re calling us going, ‘I don’t see where you’re at, where are you at? What street are you on?’ They don’t know.” Two residents who also live on Godfrey Road near the storage facility said they’d prefer the road’s name sta

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EDWARDSVILLE - Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville issued an update after an e-Lert was sent Saturday, May 27, about an alleged kidnapping and sexual assault incident. "The SIUE Police Department sent an e-Lert text message to the SIUE community early in the morning on Saturday, May 27, informing them of the alleged incident. The e-Lert was issued based upon information reported at the time from Berkeley, Mo. PD, pursuant to the University’s timely warning obligations under the Clery Act," SIUE spokesperson Kalli Collins said today. The e-Lert stated, “A female reported she was taken against her will from Cougar Village parking lot 4D and driven to North St. Louis. The female reported she was held at gunpoint during the drive before being sexually assaulted in Missouri. The female reported she was an acquaintance of a black male suspect. The female reported being pushed from the vehicle after the assault where she called local police.” In addition, the alert

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CHICAGO – Building on four years of fiscally responsible leadership, Governor JB Pritzker signed the Fiscal Year 2024 budget into law today, delivering his fifth balanced budget while making transformative investments in early childhood, K-12 schools, higher education, workforce and economic development and efforts to fight violence and poverty. The Fiscal Year 2024 budget prioritizes fiscal responsibility, contributing an additional $200 million to the state’s pension systems beyond what is required, continuing to pay down the state’s remaining outstanding debts, and making ongoing contributions to the state’s Budget Stabilization Fund, set to surpass $2 billion. “From the beginning, I promised to work together with the General Assembly to restore fiscal responsibility to our state government after years of mismanagement,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Thanks to our firmer fiscal foundation, we have been able to put billions of dollars back

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CHICAGO - Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 28 state attorneys general, filed comments calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to clarify the federal rules requiring telemarketers to obtain consent between an individual consumer and one specific seller or business before making telemarketing robocalls and text messages. Raoul and the coalition filed the letter in response to an FCC notice of proposed rulemaking. The FCC has proposed an amendment to its rule concerning the proper way to obtain a consumer’s consent to receive robocalls as required under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Raoul and the coalition also call for the FCC to strengthen protections against illegal text messages and clarify that National Do Not Call Registry protections apply to text messages. “Robocalls and text messages are a constant source of frustration for millions of Americans, which is why I am asking the FCC to clarify consent requirements

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ALTON - Alton’s 26 th annual All-Wheels Drive-In Car Show will be held on Sunday, June 11 th from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. The event typically attracts over 200 classic cars, hot rods and motorcycles, which the public is welcome to browse on 3 rd , 4 th , State and Belle Streets. There is no charge for admission. Alton Main Street organizes this tradition with support from Time Machines Unlimited Car Club. Come out for the autos and stay for the live music, 50-50 drawing, vendor displays and festival food court. This year’s entertainment is Number4Combo; from 1:00-3:00 p.m. the band will perform live rock music with a smooth dance groove. We will also be featuring a pin-up contest at 3:00 p.m. to celebrate the glamour, sophistication and class of the 1950’s. Registration for automobiles is open from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m., and trophies will be given at 4:00pm. Please note that we are reconfiguring the event grounds to improve traffic flow, and registration

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CHICAGO - Attorney General Kwame Raoul today urged Illinois residents to be wary of scammers who use unsolicited email or text messages to trick consumers into sharing personal and financial information. Raoul encourages all consumers to stay aware of these unsolicited messages and to continue to report these incidents to his office. Unsolicited messages may be email phishing or text message smishing scams. Phishing is when scammers send a deceptive email to trick Internet users into revealing personal or confidential information. Smishing, or Short Message Service (SMS) phishing, is when scammers send a deceptive text message to trick cell phone users in the same way. Phishing and smishing messages may contain links to harmful software that could enable scammers to steal information from your phone or computer. Raoul’s office warned consumers to not click any links in an unsolicited email or text and to delete the message immediately. “Consumers should be suspicious

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GODFREY - Godfrey officials are advising residents that Union Pacific Railroad will be temporarily closing the North Alby Street (at Humbert) crossing this Sunday near Humbert Road for routine maintenance and repairs. Village officials are advising local residents and motorists to prepare and pre-plan for temporary detours next Sunday night due to the fact the Union Pacific Railroad will be temporarily closing the North Alby Street railroad crossing (at Humbert) overnight for routine maintenance/repair work. Work shall begin Sunday night, June 11th starting at 7 p.m. and will re-open on Monday morning, June 12th around 7 a.m. Godfrey Public Safety Administrator Chris Sichra states that local first responder agencies and mutual aid companies (Fire, Police, EMS), as well as local utility companies, have already been notified of the upcoming temporary closure so that they can adjust their response routes accordingly. Residents and motorists should also pre-plan to consider alternate

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ALTON - Earlier this spring, Jolena Pang joined the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC) education team as an environmental educator. She will be responsible for leading tours of the NGRREC facility for students of all ages and community members. “I hope to make the community more cognizant of the environmental issues facing our rivers and watersheds, and what that means for them,” Pang said. “And I hope to help inspire and motivate the community into positive action.” Prior to joining NGRREC, Pang completed a master's degree in political ecology and environmental justice in Barcelona, where she lived for the past few years. Pang also worked as a community organizer for the Wilderness Society, where she engaged over 600 grassroots supporters and led events focused on bringing a more diverse and inclusive perspective to conservation. “The best part of being an environmental educator is getting a chance to teach kids about the

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ALTON – Lewis and Clark Community College’s National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC) will host a Coffee and Cleanup event this month as part of the 1 Mississippi River Days of Action Initiative. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to noon, Thursday, June 15, at the NGRREC Field Station, located at 1 Confluence Way, East Alton, Illinois. All are welcome to join for free coffee and bagels and to learn about the Mississippi River Plastic Pollution Initiative , a community science project aimed at tracking trash in the Mississippi River watershed using the Marine Debris Tracker app. Community Ecologist Anthony Dell will give a brief overview of his research, which focuses on microplastics found in rivers. Microplastics come from plastic litter and trash that degrade overtime into microscopic pieces and exist in water sources, especially near more populated areas. Microplastics are a growing concern as they become more prevalent in drinking sources,

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O'FALLON - Sam Andria was a man of many talents, and his creative energy held no bounds. Searching for a permanent place where his trio could play, Sam stumbled across the countryside home that continues to operate as Andria’s Steakhouse today. In the late 70’s upon the inception of the restaurant, Sam and his friends held “Jam Sessions” in the house’s basement (rathskeller) for hours on end. Andria’s began as a place for people to dance and musicians to play. When people became hungry, Sam put his creative talents to the test by serving football size prime rib and mouthwatering steaks, the restaurant quickly grew its reputation and patrons raved about the distinct flavor (Andria’s Brush-On Steak Sauce) of the steaks and quickly returned for more. Sam’s music career was always a large part of his identity. He played Gaslight Square in the ’60s, released his technique and passion for the saxophone into archives at Southern Illinois

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