Feature

From Roland Burris’s testimony before the House impeachment committee, to the House impeachment vote, to Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s appearance before the Senate that will soon try him, dramatic events unfolded rapidly at the Capitol last week. Among the many there to record it was Jonathan Kirshner, a Springfield-based photographer who specializes in capturing iconic storytelling […]

Are you tired of even reading about weight loss and fitness, let alone trying to achieve it? So am I. But here I am writing about it! Even the word ‘exercise’ annoys me now. Yet, somehow I managed to keep all my excess weight off for at least 17 years. How, you ask, have I […]

If you are a baby boomer, you probably remember when joggers first appeared in the 1960s. They looked strange, bouncing down the street not going anywhere fast. But in a few years joggers were everywhere. The “tipping point” had been reached, and joggers no longer seemed odd. Racewalking, which may look a bit strange to […]

So seemingly humdrum are the operations of Mission Outreach that one of the most difficult tasks for chief executive officer Bruce Compton is creating promotional materials. “Beyond taking a picture of some guy’s back while he’s loading a truck,” little can really capture the significance of the work going on at the facility, he says. […]

efore deciding to take the plunge and go to a Y’allapalooza, informed readers may be wondering, “What exactly is a Y’allapalooza?” Those up on the contemporary country music scene could likely recognize the moniker from outdoor concerts mostly happening around the Midwest during the last several years. Rockers will get the “palooza” part as a […]

You feel it in the pit of your stomach first: a thumping Latin beat that makes your insides shake and your heel start tapping. But by the end of the hour, you feel Zumba everywhere: your heaving lungs, your pulsing stomach muscles, your swinging shoulders. “It truly feels like you’re dancing with your friends,” said […]

You can do it in the air. Or by sea. You can do it if you’re young. Or old. Or in 100-plus-degree rooms (Bikram yoga). Indeed, yoga, the ancient Hindu practice for the mind, body and spirit, has evolved from breathing exercises and meditative poses to physical therapy to aerial choreography to a new way […]

Fitness professionals hear the same excuse many times: “I’d love to get in better shape, but I’m not a gym person.” So, for people who don’t like conventional exercise programs, what else is there? The answer is simple: plenty. At community centers, church gymnasiums, martial arts centers and the YMCA, there are many options for […]

Voir Il y a Longtemps Que Je T’aime et Auf Der Anderen Seite à Springfield. Translation: See I’ve Loved You So Long and The Edge of Heaven in Springfield. The closing of Kerasotes’ White Oaks Cinema last September was the most recent of several blows to independent and foreign cinema in Springfield. As venues for […]

Gov. Rod Blagojevich better run and hide. The comedians at Donnie B’s Funny Bone in Springfield have him in their sights. The Gov, the minimum wage, fast food, the economy, the Cubs and marriage seem to be the most popular topics at the comedy club’s monthly open-mic contest. Several local comedians compete for the top […]

The proposal to build Hunter Lake has been around for so long that its opponents have come up with plenty of reasons why Springfield can live without it. At a recent hearing held by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, they blasted the proposed 3,010-acre reservoir — conceived in 1965 as a way to buttress Lake […]

Untitled Document Andy leaned diffidently against my office door. “You got a student room to rent?” “Yeah,” I said. “Aren’t you living somewhere now?” “I don’t like my landlord.” “You might not like me.” “I’ll chance it.” So Andy moved in, a couple duffel bags and books. He was getting his master’s in biology at […]