Horse a touching examination of friendship Workplace relationships can be tricky. Sometimes personalities clash and it becomes a chore showing up each day, having to rub shoulders with someone who irritates you, or worse, you despise. If you’re lucky, you find a kindred spirit, someone you click and bond with during and because of the […]
Arts & Culture
Posted inPoetry
True Story, I Swear!
We named the barn cats after Mother’s friends; we got the names off her envelopes. One day a long black cat streaked by me, she had a long black neck naked from a mange treatment. She had a bird in her mouth. “Fernwood!” I shouted “Fernwood Scrimshaw! Drop that bird! Fernwood, you bad cat!” But […]
Posted inCommunity & Lifestyle
Opening doors, creating opportunities
One of my favorite quotes is, “Believe there is good in the world. Be the good.” Every day, I have the privilege of seeing that philosophy lived out through the generosity of our donors and the determination of our students. At Lincoln Land Community College, scholarship applications tell stories that are as inspiring as they […]
Posted inCommunity & Lifestyle
The parable effect: interrogating assumptions at the farmers market
Downtown was just warming to sunrise as Sister Elyse and I unloaded the contents of the van onto the sidewalk at Fourth and Adams streets: a tent and table, loads of fresh bread and a tote full of handcrafted items from Sister Kristin. This was our last day at the Old Capitol Farmers Market; it […]
Posted inIT Picks
Film festival kicks off with special screening
HISTORY | Movie features Eisenhower and his vision of U.S. highways This special showing is part of the upcoming Route 66 International Film Festival. After Ike: A Journey that Changed America traces then-Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 3,251-mile journey from Washington to San Francisco along the Lincoln Highway in 1919. According to the festival, this […]
Posted inThe Mosaic Project
Chris Nickell interview
Vault 66 Pinball is more than an arcade; it’s part of Chris Nickell’s vision for a more vibrant downtown Springfield. In this episode of The Mosaic Project, we sit down with Chris to talk about entrepreneurship, downtown revitalization and what he hopes the future holds for our city. Related We also get into his unexpected […]
Posted inArts & Culture
UIS to honor veterans with yellow ribbons, flag ceremony, speaker and open house
The University of Illinois Springfield will honor military service members and veterans with a series of campus events leading up to and on Veterans Day, including the annual placement of hundreds of yellow ribbons on campus trees, a keynote address by an Illinois National Guard general, a flag ceremony and an open house at the […]
Posted inCommunity & Lifestyle
Learning from communities making homelessness rare and brief
In October, seven members of the Heartland HOUSED team and Strategy Board traveled to Seattle, Washington, to participate in the 2026 Built for Zero Learning Session, hosted by Community Solutions. The session brought together communities from around the country to learn from experts and each other about how to move efforts forward to make homelessness […]
Posted inFilm
Godzilla highlights human resilience, musical interludes undo Drummer Boy
Zero puts mayhem and heart centerstage Much as he did with Godzilla Minus One, writer, director and visual effects artist Takashi Yamazaki focuses on the human toll of war and natural disasters in his follow up Godzilla Minus Zero. No new ground is broken regarding the structure of the film and this is a sequel […]
Posted inPoetry
My Dad writes a college friend
Dear Oots, It’s about midnight Sunday. My wife has gone East on a music deal. Our capable Norwegian help has left for Norway and my son Craig is in Rockford sparking his girl. My daughters are all married and away and here I am. I have pulled the dog up next to me, we are […]
Posted inIT Picks
Drama charts path from grief to love and hope
UIS Theatre presents David Lindsay-Abaire’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a happy suburban couple, Becca and David Corbett, whose lives are changed forever when their young son, Danny, is killed in an accident. Months later, according to Concord Theatricals online, “Becca wants to start afresh in a new home and give away their son’s possessions, but […]
Posted inArts & Culture
High school students present “This I Believe”
NPR Illinois brought together the 2026 This I Believe featured authors Nov. 4 at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, where 10 selected student essayists took the stage to share their words live. Their reflections offered a thoughtful and often moving glimpse into the values, experiences and aspirations of young people standing on the […]
