The Last Five Years is back and impressive as ever at The Hoogland Center for the Arts. After a seven-year hiatus, the two-person musical has returned with the same cast of Mary Kate Smith and Damien Kaplan, along with director Craig Williams. All parties involved wanted to rekindle their past show magic with a fresh […]
Arts & Culture
Posted inArts & Culture
Free colon cancer test kits available
Free take-home screening tests for colon cancer will be distributed at several upcoming drive-thru events in Springfield, Jacksonville, Lincoln, Taylorville and Decatur, sponsored by the Regional Cancer Partnership, which includes Memorial Health, SIU School of Medicine, Springfield Clinic and HSHS St. John’s Hospital. “March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and we encourage everyone to take […]
Posted inCommunity & Lifestyle
A call for humility
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourself. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 2:3,5 During this season of Lent, Christians around the world prepare for holy week which begins with Christ’s humble entrance into Jerusalem on Palm […]
Posted inUncategorized
Opportunities blooming at LLCC’s spring career events
Career fairs and networking events do more than introduce students to employers. They open doors to possibility. At Lincoln Land Community College, connecting students to opportunity is central to our mission of transforming lives and strengthening communities through learning. These experiences extend the learning environment beyond the classroom. Students explore career pathways and strengthen essential […]
Posted inArts & Culture
A history of the Curve Inn
The Curve Inn once sat on an actual curve. The nightspot, housed in a 94-year-old building at 3219 S. Sixth Street Road, was badly damaged by fire in February 2026. The Inn originally was near a long curve that connected northbound Route 66 to Bypass 66 on the south edge of Springfield. (The bypass generally […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Compass receives $230K donation
Representatives from the Asian Indian Women’s Organization presented Compass for Kids with a $230,000 check, funds raised from the most recent India Night celebration. The Nov. 8 event at the Crowne Plaza featured cultural performances, an auction and bazaar. Dr. Richa Pandey, who served as AIWO president last year, told Springfield Business Journal prior to […]
Posted inArts & Culture
State Treasurer Frerichs presents awards for Black History Month
Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs hosted a celebration Feb. 25 to commemorate Black History Month and honor leaders in the African American community. The event, held at the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office in the Marine Bank Building in downtown Springfield, recognized eight downstate honorees, including a Springfield dentist, the CEO and president of the Springfield […]
Posted inFilm
EPIC features unseen Elvis Presley footage, younger set will love GOAT
EPIC showcases the King in his court While in the process of making Elvis, director Baz Luhrmann, was informed there was footage shot for the concert films That’s the Way it Is, and Elvis in Concert, that had never been used. The problem was, no one knew where it had been stored. His production assistants […]
Posted inCommunity & Lifestyle
We can build a mental health system we can all count on
For most of us in Sangamon County, gaps in mental health services are felt in deeply personal ways. A recent survey of every census tract in our community found that four in 10 of our neighbors have had an unmet mental health need in the last three years. While a decade of assessments has warned […]
Posted inIT Picks
High school poets to compete for state championship
This Monday, Jillian Garcia and Ace O’Malley will join 12 other students from around Illinois at the state Poetry Out Loud Contest. Garcia, from Decatur Eisenhower High School, and O’Malley, from Springfield Southeast High School, finished first and second, respectively, at the Feb. 12 regional. The state champion will get a trip to the nation’s […]
Posted inPoetry
Partial Letter, 1979
Dear kids, the sabbatical is going okay except this late blizzard has us all snowed in. I feed the birds every day but the feeder is empty by noon. You can’t see the ground with the pile up of hungry juncos. There are five pheasants nearby – I need to find their spot to leave […]
Posted inFilm
An honest, romantic, queer drama
Embracing its risqué subject matter, Harry Lighton’s Pillon is one of the most honestly romantic films to have graced the screen in the last decade. This queer drama deals takes place within the gay biker subculture, the relationship at its center based on a dominant/submissive dynamic, which will likely be a hard sell to middle […]
