Cover Story
Healthy, Wealthy & Wise 2026
Trying to maintain or improve our physical health is an important aspectof being healthy, but certainly not the only one. Our annual health andwellness issue also looks at the importance of mental health and simplesteps we can take to improve not only our diet but our overall well-being. Related
The Muni’s season of love
The Springfield Muni Opera’s Season of Love theme promises to be another memorable summer under the stars with an expanded slate of offerings from four shows to five, including a junior production. The season kicks off with Mamma Mia! opening May 29, followed by All Shook Up opening June 19, The Prince of Egypt: The…
Mercy falls short, Rip cleverly done
Intriguing Mercy ultimately falters Smacking of Steven Spielberg’s overlooked masterpiece Minority Report, Timur Bekmambetov’s Mercy also features a law enforcement officer trapped in a legal system he helped create, trying desperately to prove his innocence. At the heart of the Tom Cruise feature were questions of free will and predetermination. Here, the script from writer…
Something’s Afoot: A musical mystery spoof
Something’s Afoot, written by James McDonald, David Vos and Robert Gerlach, is a silly musical whodunit that lightheartedly pokes fun at, of all things, murder. Specifically, it makes light of the kind of murder mystery conceived in the mind of popular writer Agatha Christie. The show, with a direct nod to Christie’s novel And Then…
Here we have music
Mush, my frigid friends, as we go full frozen tundra time to see what goes on in the Springfield-area scene this weekend. We know that music heats up the fingers, toes, noggin and nose – as well as the heart and soul – so take advantage of any and all opportunities to allow the sounds…
The Phantom of the Opera
This weekend the Hoogland Performing Arts Education Achievers (grades 9-12) present this classic musical. In The Phantom of the Opera. a mysterious, masked figure lurks beneath the Paris Opera House, exercising a reign of terror over all inside. He falls in love with a young soprano, Christine, and devotes himself to creating a new star…
Words
I was an early reader, so I could read the words when I stood by my grandma in church singing the hymns from the large Methodist hymnal shared between us. Yes, I could sing the words, but what did “pavilion in splendor and girded with praise” mean to a six-year-old? For that matter, what do…
State funds $1.8M for local park upgrades
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has awarded $600,000 each for park upgrades to three separate governmental bodies: the city of Springfield, the village of Grandview and the Springfield Park District. The projects being funded include the construction of an outdoor sports complex in Grandview, a playground and pickleball courts at Lake Springfield Center Park…
Editor’s Note
Ryan P. Burge was pastor of an American Baptist church in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, for 17 years before his church closed for good in 2024. Since then he has become an influential political scientist, teaching at Washington University, while writing books about what happened to his church and many others like it. He’s been on…
City has more expenses, less revenue
Generous raises granted in collective bargaining contracts such as those negotiated for police and firefighters, coupled with a rise in headcount and increases in pension costs, threaten to push the city toward a fiscal cliff in three or four years, Springfield’s immediate past budget director says. Without tax increases or cuts in services, the city’s…
Letters to the editor
YES TO LOGAN COUNTY DATA CENTER As a proud Logan County resident, I support our county moving forward with the proposed data center project near Latham (“Data center opposition,” Jan. 7). Logan County has always been built on hard work, progress and providing for the next generation. This project brings over 100 long-term local jobs,…
Dumb. Outmoded. Unusable.
When people who live in the rest of Illinois complain about being fleeced by the sharpers in Springfield, they usually refer to state legislators, but the locals used to be pretty good at it too. Drop by the Levee district a century ago and you were likely to leave a poorer but wiser man, having…
Hangover? Nothing beats “Old Sober”
Two decades ago, I attended an outstanding performance by the Derek Trucks Band at Tipitina’s in Uptown New Orleans. The evening’s most enduring memory, however, wasn’t the music – it was a late-night culinary discovery. Stepping outside for air, I was drawn by an irresistible aroma to a man selling noodle soup out of the…
Take care of your mental health
Every January, a representative from my health insurance company calls to schedule my annual wellness visit. Hard to believe? I thought so too, but it’s true. The calls continue until I’m reached and make an appointment or decline the visit. A couple of years ago, two women wearing white coats and stethoscopes around their necks…
Eat more protein
Stroll down the aisles of any grocery store these days and you’re likely to see a bevy of protein-enhanced snacks, powders and drinks, cleverly packaged to catch your attention. While protein may be the nutritional buzzword of the moment, many people struggle to get the right amount of quality protein in their diets, especially those…
Tips to get through the winter
Winter is upon us and we are going to get through it. Here are ideas for ushering your family through the wintertime with some healthy habits that will hopefully promote peace and well-being in your homes. Indoor games The draw of the sofa/snuggle/screentime trifecta is strong this time of year. And while I have no…
The study of awe
The new year is a good time to read Awe – The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life, the 2023 book by Dacher Keltner. He pioneered the scientific study of awe and demonstrated that people who find everyday awe are more curious and open to new ideas and the…
The effects of long COVID
Though COVID deniers still exist, the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc in our communities in 2020 and beyond. Those unfortunate enough to catch the original strain were more likely to die or be seriously impaired, with over 100,000 Americans dying within the first four months of COVID reaching the U.S. Within a year, 400,000 Americans died,…
