The city of Springfield’s Public Works Department, in collaboration with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, will host a voucher-only residential Household Hazardous Waste Collection event on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Chamberlain Park, 319 McCreery Ave. Because the event is being held in partnership with the IEPA, it is open […]
Community & Lifestyle
Posted inArts & Culture
Night Glow Festival returns to Southwind Park
The Night Glow Festival returns to Southwind Park from 5:30-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 29, featuring 10 hot air balloons lighting up the evening sky. The family-friendly event hosted by the Springfield Park District will also feature food trucks and music provided by DJ Blake. Visitors are encouraged to arrive early to watch the balloons […]
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Local organizations receive AEDs through HSHS St. John’s Foundation
Ten local organizations now have access to a lifesaving tool that can help respond to sudden cardiac arrest, thanks to the Community AED Program. HSHS Prairie Cardiovascular and the HSHS St. John’s Foundation presented automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to representatives from 10 area organizations from across the region during a Sept. 22 event at the […]
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Building a community where systems work together
Effectively addressing homelessness requires our community to do more than solve individual crises. We have to build deeply connected systems of care with the whole person in mind. In many communities, physical health, mental health, behavioral health and homeless services function as mostly isolated systems of support, leaving people to figure out how to navigate […]
Posted inArts & Culture
5k run promotes health and Latino unity
The Illinois Migrant Council hosted a 5k event on Sunday, Sept. 20, at Washington Park to promote healthy lifestyles and demonstrate Latino unity, amid an anti-immigrant and anti-Latino political climate fueled by the Trump Administration’s policies. Esnider Rojas, a Springfield resident for the last nine years and a Colombian native, said his primary exercise is […]
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Peaches, pears or apricots?
What is it about either or all, that sparks your interest or desire? What impact does each or either have upon your gustatorial delights? What impact does each or either have upon your digestive processes? In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addressed the matter of distinguishing the real from the unreal. He specifically focused […]
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Tree companies donate services at Camp Butler National Cemetery
Five tree service companies from Springfield, Champaign, Bloomington and beyond donated their services at Camp Butler National Cemetery Sept. 16 as part of the Saluting Branches National Day of Service. Saluting Branches—Arborists United for Veteran Remembrance is a nonprofit that holds an annual day of service where volunteers from tree and landscape companies donate their […]
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Mary Lincoln biographer to headline Conference on Illinois History
A complicated first lady, enslaved people starting new lives, women fighting for fair housing, even actors performing on horseback – all those stories and more will be told Oct. 1 and 2 at the Conference on Illinois History, presented by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The highlight of the first day will be […]
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“Okies,” Angela Davis, hope and humanity
I recently re-read John Steinbeck’s deeply researched classic historical novel The Grapes of Wrath. I was reminded of a phrase often misattributed to another author, Mark Twain: “History may not repeat itself but it often rhymes.” It’s the story of families from across the U.S. in the 1930s who became economic migrants in their own […]
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Downtown YMCA to host Mobile DMV
The Secretary of State Office will be hosting a Mobile DMV and Vehicle Services event at the Downtown YMCA in Springfield, 601 N. Fourth St., from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18. The following services will be available: • Renewing your driver’s license• REAL ID• State ID (free for seniors 65+ and homeless individuals […]
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Kidzeum presents first For the Kids Awards
Kidzeum hosted its inaugural For the Kids Awards at a sold-out fundraising dinner at the Inn at 835 on Sept. 10. The event was created to shine a light on people whose commitment, leadership and service are making a meaningful difference in the lives of children and families across central Illinois. Community members nominated 24 […]
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Preparing for the journey
Not to be morbid, but have you thought about death lately? I’ve had plenty of opportunities to do just that recently, having said good-bye to three close Baha’i friends, a nephew and an admired acquaintance since May. That’s quite a tsunami of death, so there was no way for me to avoid thinking about it, […]
