Reba closes fair on a high note
Country music star Reba McEntire graced the stage at the Illinois State Fair on its last day to a sold-out audience. The summer breeze that could be felt in the grandstand was non-existent on the full capacity track area. RCA recording artist Rachel Wammack, born in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, opened the show at 8 p.m. …
Shinedown shines on
Shinedown returned to Springfield on Saturday evening, playing the Illinois State Fair Grandstand after their last visit in May 2013 when the band performed at the BOS Center. The band, based out of Jacksonville, Florida, was founded in 2001, although lead singer Brent Smith and drummer Barry Kerch are the only original members remaining. Opening…
A smokin’ show by Snoop & Friends
Snoop Dogg announced his arrived in Springfield on Friday morning by posting a video on Instagram of an older black female wearing a muumuu, walking along Adams Street downtown. “My mama used to walk around the living room like that, time to clean up when she come out with this shit on,” said Snoop in…
Guns, guns, guns, guns
Missouri can be a weird place. When I lived there, I attended, more than once, the annual International He-Man Conclave in Butts, a tiny burg 100 miles southwest of St. Louis. It was great fun and, as the name implies, the event was limited to men who brought beer, whiskey, chili, porno mags, four-wheelers and…
Letters to the Editor 8/15/19
PARTICIPATE IN ASSISTING THE HOMELESS A recent article covering a proposed Health and Housing Center troubled me (“Done deal? Look before making Ward 2 a dumping ground again,” Aug. 1). The article stressed negativity and discontent. Homelessness in Springfield is a huge challenge and needs answers to questions and positive clarification of facts. Only the…
Editor’s note 8/15/19
President Trump thinks it must have been a conspiracy that allowed Jeffrey Epstein to escape suicide watch to kill himself. It’s true, and here’s more. The Federal Bureau of Prisons has not had a permanent director since May 2018, and the bureau is seriously understaffed. The Metropolitan Correctional Center, where Epstein was housed, is functioning…
KC’s Jackpot is about more than money
I wouldn’t consider myself a gambler. I never learned to play cards, my poker face is the exact opposite of Lady Gaga’s and a night at the horse races never elicited much interest from me. However, for the past five weeks, I have found myself tucking a tiny, white, good luck giraffe into the pocket…
Shop, sip and dine
Summer is still going strong, but you are running out of chances to spend a warm evening strolling through the Moonlight Market. The market highlights local artists and artisans, crafters and vendors from Springfield and central Illinois. It’s a great place to find unique items and locally made products. The market is hosted by Conn…
A Slightly Misremembered Past
Many of us are under an illusion about our prairie state’s past – bison roaming a prairieland fresh from a cleansing glacial scour, the arrival of Native Americans who centered their life around the wondering herds until Euro-Americans arrived and extirpated both bison and Indians, while destroying the prairie. But is this accurate? Bring your…
Walking Across Egypt
New Salem’s Theatre in the Park is closing its season with Walking Across Egypt, a play adapted by Catherine Busch from the novel by Clyde Edgerton and directed by Phil Funkenbusch. The play’s protagonist is Mattie Rigsbee, a 78-year old churchgoing, God-fearing woman. Upon discovering a stray dog on her back porch, she decides she’s…
Old folks. Who cares?
For senior care advocates in Illinois, a state funding increase is a reason for optimism after a prolonged period of government disinvestment. The financial crisis was marked by a crippling two-year state budget impasse which continues to leave its mark on social service providers. But advocates for nursing homes and home-based senior care agree there…
Dicamba is proving a headache for some Illinois farmers
Complaints about a herbicide used by soybean farmers have soared in Illinois. Dicamba isn’t considered harmful to humans, but it has wrought havoc in fields since 2016, when the herbicide, invented in 1967, came into use along with dicamba-resistant soybeans from genetically modified seeds marketed by Monsanto. Concerns have been serious enough that Arkansas and…
State of the street
Last week brought word that the owners of Springfield’s Town & Country Shopping Center are facing bank foreclosure. Business failure is never good news, and this one marks the latest contribution to the ongoing quiet crisis of MacArthur Boulevard. And yet, according to John Eck and others with the MacArthur Boulevard Association, there is room…
WEED-A-LICIOUS
With legal cannabis just around the corner, Springfield can expect at least one more pot shop within city limits in addition to two local medical marijuana dispensaries already in operation, one downtown and the other in Grandview. Chris Stone, CEO of HCI Alternatives that sells medical pot on Adams Street, confirms that his company has…
VOTE FOR KIDS
Compass for Kids needs your help by voting for the organization to receive a $25,000 grant from State Farm. Starting Tuesday, Aug. 14, U.S. residents who are 18 and older with a valid email address could vote for their favorite cause. Compass has until Aug. 23 to rally votes and anyone voting is allowed up…
Too much Bruce nearly dims Light
As a Bruce Springsteen fan, I was really looking forward to Gurinder Chadha’s Blinded by the Light, a film based on the life of writer Sarfraz Manzoor, who cites the musician’s work as a profound influence on his life. Based on the Boss’s songs, which play throughout, the movie follows one young man’s journey towards…
Fair Enough?
As the inimitable entertainment entities of the Illinois State Fair carry on, the local clubs continue to emit large quantities of live music as well, setting us up for a whopper of a weekend, well within your listening grasp. We begin with another loss to our musician community, as we sadly announce the passing of…
Kasey Burton
This 20-year-old singer-songwriter and performing artist hails from Crawfordsville, Indiana, but she’s traveled far and wide on a wonderful and unfolding musical adventure. She decided at the ripe old age of five to devote her life to music and wrote her first songs at age eight. By the time she was 14, Kasey had released…
Fried chicken for the fair
“On fair day my mother would always get up at four o’clock in the morning to fry chicken to take along,” my grandmother mused as we drove along looking for the best parking deal. “She’d pack up a picnic and we’d sit on the hillside and eat.” During the Depression, she explained, outbreaks of food…
encounter drama #1
scene 1: on one side of path, small dog on leash. on other side of path, large turkeymother, a dozen chicks lined up behind. action: dog and turkey eye each other further action: none scene 2, next day: small dog on leash, same spot turkey mom leads chicks past other same spot action: turkey gives…
