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 […]
Community & Lifestyle
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 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 […]
Posted inCommunity & Lifestyle
Refreshing honesty
“My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick. The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead?” – Jeremiah 8:18, 20-22a “To […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Chatham printmaker designs catalog cover
Sow True Seed, an employee-owned seed company based in Asheville, North Carolina, has revealed the cover of its 2027 seed catalog, a linoleum block print by Courtney Farquharson, a printmaker working out of Chatham, Illinois. Gardeners can request a copy of the new edition beginning Nov. 1. Each year Sow True Seed commissions original artwork […]
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UIS students collect 6,220 pounds of food during Trick-or-Treat for Canned Goods
University of Illinois Springfield students collected 6,220 pounds of food during the annual Trick-or-Treat for Canned Goods event on Halloween. Eight teams consisting of 119 students went door to door in Springfield neighborhoods collecting canned goods and other nonperishable food items. The food will benefit the UIS Cares Food Pantry and Central Illinois Foodbank, which […]
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Vampire party benefits local kids
The second annual Vampyre Night at Vele, held Oct. 28, gave adults a fun Halloween event to attend while raising funds to provide some holiday cheer to District 186 students. “We raised over $5,000 to support students within District 186 who need a little extra help around Christmas,” said Grant Hammer, owner of The Crafted […]
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Illinois State Museum to share Mother Road stories for 100th anniversary
The Illinois State Museum will be featured in this month’s virtual Centennial Speaker Series session, “Route 66 at 100 – An American Story,” at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10. The public is invited to join this free session celebrating the rich history and enduring legacy of the nation’s most iconic highway, and registration is available […]
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HSHS St. John’s Foundation invests $25K in new safe sleep initiative for babies
HSHS St. John’s Foundation has committed $25,000 to launch a new Safe Sleep Initiative at HSHS St. John’s Children’s Hospital, giving families the equipment and education they need to protect their babies during sleep. The program is being unveiled during October, National SIDS Awareness Month. Sudden unexpected infant death, or SUID, remains one of the […]
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UIS student Ameilia Hopkins honored with Lincoln Academy Student Laureate Award
University of Illinois Springfield senior Ameilia Hopkins of Pleasant Plains has been named the UIS recipient of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois’ prestigious 2026 Student Laureate Award. Each year, one student from each four-year university in Illinois is selected for the honor. Hopkins, a diplomacy and international relations major with minors in history, political science […]
Posted inCommunity & Lifestyle
Small businesses. Big impact. A communitywide thank you.
If you’ve lived in central Illinois for any length of time, you know these businesses. They’re where we shop and eat, the people we call when we need help with our taxes or our insurance, and the familiar faces who greet us around town. What’s easy to miss is how many of them also quietly […]
Posted inCommunity & Lifestyle
Pardons and forgiveness
However perceived by men, the matter of “pardons” involve actions done which are considered personal, social, political and/or legal. Such actions involve something done which, at the least, are either immoral, illegal, improper, embarrassing, undeserved and/or inconveniencing to another person or group of people. The “pardon” does not deny the truth nor reality of the […]
