Our annual REMEMBERING edition, the last issue of the year, reminds us small-town folks that people we thought we knew we didn’t know as well as we wish we had, and those we didn’t know, we wish we had known. It reminds us that many more have died this year than we could possibly write […]
Special Issues
Posted inRemembering
RICHARD DELOSE RINGEISEN
Vision and commitment to UIS Richard Ringeisen arrived in Springfield in 2001 with a big vision as the new chancellor at University of Illinois Springfield. With a doctorate in mathematics, he came from East Carolina University after also working at Colgate, Clemson and Old Dominion universities. Ringeisen wanted UIS to become “the best small public […]
Posted inRemembering
JAMES A. NORVELL
Jim was a special friend to others. He put his friends and family first in his life. If you asked him for help, he was there for you always. He loved to hunt and fish in his free time, going to his brother’s in Montana yearly, hunting deer and fishing in the lakes. He helped […]
Posted inReGen
REGEN – Grownups getting stronger
The articles presented in our special section beginning on page 14 constitute the winter edition of REGEN, for “Grownups getting stronger.” Published quarterly by Illinois Times since 2020 as a standalone magazine, REGEN has highlighted active and energetic seniors (who don’t like being called seniors). The first issue explained, “We reject the notion that older […]
Posted inReGen
Coach and caregiver connect
Latasha Friarson is a caregiver with Abcor Home Health. For the past several months she’s been assisting Mike Suhadolnik, a health and fitness coach, to be more independent after a fall a year ago. Friarson goes to Suhadolnik’s home Monday-Friday, three hours each day. Having a caregiver does not come naturally for Suhadolnik, and he […]
Posted inNews
Old friends
George King and Dick Bilinsky didn’t know each other until they and their wives moved into Concordia Village around the same time in 2023. The couples happened to join each other at dinner one night and, as George says, “We just clicked.” Bilinsky adds, “I knew we were going to be friends when George revealed […]
Posted inNews
Mysteries of central Illinois
Sports, mystery, intrigue – two local authors have recently published novels that have similar ingredients but different themes. Mitchell’s book, Theory Markspurn, takes readers deep into the world of volleyball. Those who know little about the sport will quickly learn terms and rules. Mike Stutz, in his novel Murder in Athens (pronounced Ay-thens), spins a […]
Posted inNews
A museum for the right to vote
When El Paso, Illinois, high school history teacher Michael Melick decided to have his advanced class focus on local history, he didn’t predict it would result in a museum devoted to voting rights in this heart-of-corn-country town, population 2,730. El Paso is north of Bloomington, 87 miles from Springfield. But while Melick initially may not […]
Posted inCapital City Parent
Tips for making gingerbread houses
Few images evoke the whimsical magic of the holidays as much as a brightly decorated gingerbread house, trimmed with snowy white icing and sparkling gumdrops, perhaps nestled in a frosty forest scene with a snowman. Lovely as it sounds, the thought of constructing such an edible display can be as intimidating as it is appealing, […]
Posted inCapital City Parent
Holiday movie and book pairings
Kids of all ages love to be read to, and reading together as a family can boost connection in so many ways. Books allow you to talk about all sorts of different topics and themes with your kids and teach empathy and compassion for different kinds of characters and circumstances. This is such a wonderful […]
Posted inCapital City Parent
Dealing with daytime darkness
Here we go again – daylight savings time. The changing of clocks. The unsettling reality of darkness at 4 p.m. While initially cozy, the drastic reduction in sunlight that our bodies experience during the winter can unfortunately cause mood changes, fatigue and a weakened immune system – not to mention, it’s just sort of a […]
Posted inCapital City Parent
Organized parents, organized children
Corners and countertops are cluttered, you’ve stepped barefoot on a Lego again and you just found your crumpled fun fair assignment in the bottom of a backpack, due tomorrow. Happens all the time. Take a breath and listen to Joe Scruggs’ delightful song “By the Way” from Deep in the Jungle. He gets it. But […]
