After six long years of fits and starts, community radio station WQNA is nearly ready to begin broadcasting again, this time from the space in the Myers building in downtown Springfield that most recently housed Prairie State Hemp. In 2019, the Capital Area Career Center unceremoniously pulled the plug on the station which, starting in […]
Scott Faingold
Scott Faingold is a journalist, educator and musician. He has been director of student media at University of Illinois Springfield, founding editor of Activator magazine, a staff reporter for Illinois Times and co-host of Old School Bleep, a music-centered podcast.
Posted inMusic Features
Soaring violin and a Beethoven masterpiece
The Illinois Symphony Orchestra’s 2025-2026 season truly got underway Friday, Nov. 7. After debuting last month with the well-attended “Star Wars Greatest Hits” concert, the ISO seems to be settling into its temporary digs at the First United Methodist Church, 2941 S. Koke Mill Road, with its excellent acoustics and comfortable pews. The church has […]
Posted inArts Features
A horror-comedy for your ears
Springfield native Matthew Brookens has written, produced, directed and starred in “Illinois Hell Hole,” a project he describes as a “two-hour, fully scored horror-comedy audio drama.” This oddball extravaganza aired on NPR Illinois (91.9 FM) in three parts Oct. 28-30 as a uniquely flavored Halloween treat, with spooky humor and voice performers ranging from narrator […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Locally made horror-comedy to air on NPR Illinois
Springfield native Matthew Brookens has written, produced, directed and starred in “Illinois Hell Hole,” a project he describes as a “two-hour, fully scored horror-comedy audio drama.” This oddball extravaganza is scheduled to air on NPR Illinois (91.9 FM) in three parts Oct. 28-30 and promises to be a uniquely flavored Halloween treat, with spooky humor […]
Posted inMusic Features
From Star Wars to the prairie state
This Friday, Oct. 10, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra begins its 2025-2026 season with a program of “Star Wars Greatest Hits.” The pops concert featuring John Williams’ soaring scores to the popular space opera continues in the vein of recent well-received programs featuring music from classic cartoons and the Harry Potter films, but it also acts […]
Posted inOpinion
CWLP adds more solar
Last month, the Springfield City Council approved CWLP’s proposal for a new solar contract. CWLP will enter into a 25-year agreement with Sangamon Solar to spend $13 million to purchase 25 megawatts of energy and capacity, with plans to utilize a new 100-megawatt, 750-acre solar installation to be built to the south of Chatham. The […]
Posted inOpinion
County Market to permanently close pharmacies
The pharmacies in all three of Springfield’s remaining County Market locations, as well as one in Chatham, will permanently close as of June 12. All ongoing prescriptions have been purchased by CVS. Customers will be able to fill their prescriptions at any CVS location in Springfield, according to a spokesperson for Quincy-based Niemann Foods, which […]
Posted inOpinion
UIS faculty union seeks new round of bargaining
The UIS United Faculty union (UIS-UF) officially filed a demand on April 14 to bargain with University of Illinois Springfield administration for a new contract. There are 152 faculty members represented by the union, which is part of University Professionals of Illinois (UPI) Local 4100. A press release from UIS-UF calls the latest demand “a […]
Posted inMusic
ISO’s percussive, significant finale
The Illinois Symphony Orchestra’s 2025 season came to a close on May 3 with an energetic and highly rhythmic performance, which in some ways may signify the end of an era. The University of Illinois Springfield Performing Arts Center, where the ISO has performed in Springfield for many years, will be closed for 15 months […]
Posted inOpinion
A bill to boost beer breweries
A bill currently being considered by the General Assembly is aimed at making life easier – and more profitable – for small craft beer companies throughout the state. “The majority of Illinois liquor law is pretty much from the 1930s, like Prohibition era,” said Brent Schwoerer, owner, founder and brewmaster at Springfield’s Engrained Brewing Co. […]
Posted inNews
Hope Springs eternal for Enos Park housing project
The Springfield City Council unanimously approved a zoning change April 15 that will allow for construction of a housing complex to serve residents with physical and/or mental disabilities. The new facility, slated to be built at 849 N. Ninth St. on the eastern edge of the Enos Park neighborhood, would be an expansion of ongoing […]
Posted inArts & Culture
A high-octane night for the ISO
“His hands look like they’re possessed,” whispered a man sitting near me during the performance by piano virtuoso Aristo Sham at the Illinois Symphony Orchestra’s concert at the UIS Auditorium last Friday, Feb. 7. There was indeed something preternatural about Sham’s playing, with rapturous glissandos and indelible melodies emanating from fingers that seemed to dance […]
