Cover Story
Celebrate America
Between this week’s Fourth of July holiday and the America 250 activities taking place throughout the year, there are many ways to celebrate. This special issue looks back at historical observances of the Fourth of July and highlights ways to spend your upcoming holiday weekend.
More than a book about a baseball game
The First All-Star Game: Babe Ruth, FDR and America at the Crossroadsby Randall Sullivan (Grove Atlantic Books, 2026). Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game will be held July 14at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia as part of a nearly weeklong schedule of baseball-related events. The game coincides with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and Major League Baseball has jumped aboard the celebration with full gusto. In…
July music coming in hot
Welcome to July of 2026 as our national holiday weekend celebrating Independence Day in the U.S. of A. comes in hotter than a firecracker on the Fourth of July, to borrow an appropriate phrase for the occasion. I’m sure you’ve heard plenty about the 250th anniversary of America, so let’s move on to the music…
Capital City Comix present Friday Night Live
COMEDY | New local comedy venture begins Get ready, Springfield. For three Friday nights this month, the comedians of Capital City Comix will take over the upstairs stage at Arlington’s for what is billed as a fast-paced night of “unhinged sketch comedy, satirical news and music. … Like SNL, but local, louder and weirder,” reads…
Octopolis: An audacious endeavor
“The only thing between dream and reality is action,” proclaims Adena Rivas, founder of the Creative Reuse Marketplace (CRM) in Springfield. “Octopolis” is the dream of Adena and her sister, Layna Joy Rivas, who lives in northern California. Action is now underway to make Octopolis a reality. Their audacious dream is to build a…
Letters to the editor
THANKS FOR SAVING IT Ken Page and the Prince Hall Masons Lodge are to be commended for saving the former Black Firehouse (“Battling the fires of racism,” June 11). Our elected officials obtaining grants for preservation efforts through the years also play an important role. The 1908 Race Riot Monument and Cultural Area Designation will…
Poetry
Milk Ad My father wrote this milk ad when his son’s family came to visit Beloit: “Perhaps the high point of the visit was a canoe trip down Turtle Creek From the Shopiere Dam to Colley Road. Turtles, Carp, Little Green Heron, Great Blue Heron, Kingfishers, Cedar Wax Wings and Ducks galore! A wilderness area…
America at 250
When I was in high school, I would regularly hitchhike home along a seven-mile trek through Florissant, Ferguson and Jennings in north St. Louis County. On any street, I would walk to the curb, mindlessly extend my right arm straight out and point my thumb up, watching every car go by. It never took long…
Marbold marks 175 years
The Marbold Farmstead Association hosts a yearly fall event and other activities throughout the year at the Marbold Home near Greenview. From 1-4 p.m. on July 12, a special celebration will take place with music, house tours, children’s activities and storytelling. A program, “175 Year Journey: Our Story” will begin at 2 p.m. and include…
Drive-in movie theaters
On a warm summer night in the 1960s, long before Netflix and HBO, I would hop in a car with family or friends and head to the Harvest Moon drive-in theater. Once there, we would crank down the driver’s window, hook a speaker over the glass, grab some snacks and settle in for movie night…
Magical marinades
A well-made marinade makes all the difference when grilling and can transform an otherwise lackluster meal into a stellar spread. Marinades and dry rubs perform two main functions to achieve this, first by allowing salt to penetrate thoroughly and evenly, resulting in a juicy, well-seasoned dish. Second, the acids and enzymes in many marinades can…
