As a high school English teacher, I often read aloud to students when starting a new book. For my poorer readers, it was understandable why they liked this: their slow pace prevented them from comprehending but by reading aloud to them, they could follow along, learn words and practice pacing. But, when my best, most […]
Cinda Ackerman Klickna
Cinda Klickna is a former teacher from Springfield and past president of the Illinois Education Association.
Posted inArts & Culture
Joy of Movement
It isn’t your typical dance class, but for those who attend it is a time of joy, movement and camaraderie. Called Joy of Movement, the dance classes are specifically geared for those living with Parkinson’s disease and related disorders. Eve Fischberg, who lives in Loami, started the program in 2016 with one class a week. […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Women leaders in the digital world
New Media Futures – The Rise of Women in the Digital Arts is a 300-page, coffee table-size book that highlights 22 women from the Midwest who have made a difference in digital media. Three women artists collaborated as editors: Donna J. Cox, Ellen Sandor and Janine Fron, all innovative digital artists in their own right. […]
Posted inArts & Culture
ANN FORD
ANN FORD July 26, 1941-Sept. 23, 2018 First Lady of Independent Living If you ever wanted to find Ann Ford, chances are you could find her scooting around the Capitol. Ford, who had contracted polio at the age of 5, used a scooter to get around, but that never stopped her from advocating for the […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Lincoln Library
When William O’Hearn joined the Lincoln Library as the director in July of 2017, he set out to embrace the library’s motto, “Empower/ Connect/ Inspire.” O’Hearn said from the start, “I want people to see us not just as the building, but as part of the community, helping people.” O’Hearn has been around libraries since […]
Posted inNews
Read Local
The holiday season is upon us, a time when people are seeking the perfect presents. Books can be just that and, as everyone knows by now, buying local is better. On Saturday, Nov. 24, eleven local area authors will be discussing, signing and selling their books at the Springfield downtown bookstore, Books on the Square, […]
Posted inNews
Echoes of yesteryear
Where are Elmer, Herman, Bert, Tom, and CharleyAll, all are sleeping on the hillOne passed in a fever,One was burned in a mine,One was killed in a brawl,One died in a jail,One fell from a bridge, toiling for children and wife-All, all are sleeping, sleeping, sleeping on the hill So wrote Edgar Lee Masters in […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Just Judy, a politician we miss
Judy Barr Topinka had a distinguished career in politics, serving as Illinois representative, senator, state treasurer and comptroller. She was often called “colorful” so it is fitting that a new book about her is colorfully designed, from the front cover, filled with items representing her life, to each page bordered in red and filled with […]
Posted inNews
Campaign for soil health
Farmers and environmentalists stand around a deep trench dug in a soybean field listening to Donna Brandt from the University of Missouri Soil Health Assessment Center. She climbs into the trench, digs out a clump of dirt and holds it up. She pulls it apart; the soil breaks off in plates. Moving a short distance […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Free Frank’s City of Brotherly Love
Picture what life was like in the 1830s in western Illinois near the Mississippi River. Although the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 prohibited slavery in the area that became Illinois, residents could keep their current slaves. Across the river in nearby Hannibal, Missouri, slavery was part of the lifestyle. Buying slaves was considered an “investment.” In […]
Posted inNews
History lives here
Restoration of the Governor’s Mansion is wrapping up for a grand opening in July. The mansion is the third-oldest continuously occupied executive mansion in the United States and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976. It has a rich history, in its occupants and frequent restorations. The mansion has witnessed births, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Bringing the world into the classroom
Mention the Galapagos Islands and many think of tortoises or Charles Darwin. Layne Zimmers discovered there is so much more to this area of the world when she was selected as a Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic Grosvenor Fellow and had the chance to spend eight days with photographers, naturalists and storytellers on the Islands […]
