Blake Detherage

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY DAVID BLANCHETTE A three-year collaborative effort to improve the overall health of a specific Springfield neighborhood has received national recognition and is poised to expand into another area of the capital city. The American Hospital Association has recognized HSHS St. John’s Hospital and Memorial Medical Center with the NOVA Award for the […]

DAVID BLANCHETTE John Slayton wants visitors to take in the sights when they step onto the 366-acre fairgrounds during this year’s Illinois State Fair. “You can look in pretty much any direction out here and you’re going to see a need for renovation or improvement,” Slayton said. “It would be nice to have the Illinois […]

Farmers market and Kidzeum energize a block ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY RACHEL JOHNSON They may not be creepy or kooky, but they are coming together as a family on the 400 block of Adams Street. The Old Capitol Farmers Market has been a magnet for 20-plus years, but with the resurgence of downtown and the […]

All Star Kutz is just one of Audrey Austin’s businesses. More to come. BY KAREN ACKERMAN WITTER Audrey Austin considers herself an entrepreneur. She says her father, Andrew Corey, inspired her to develop a career where she could work for herself. Corey was a businessman who owned Corey Rental Leasing for more than 20 years […]

Springfield leaders and thinkers say where we’re going, and where we ought to go Article and photos By David Blanchette The state’s bicentennial observance gives Illinois residents the chance to reflect on how far we’ve come in the past 200 years, but it also asks what the state will be like in 2218. Things will […]

Construction projects underway all over town BY MICHELLE OWNBEY One sure sign of spring is construction projects taking shape all over town, and with the City of Springfield issuing commercial permits worth more than $26 million dollars in the first quarter of 2018, there are plenty of them in progress. Not surprisingly, most of the […]

Springfield’s food trucks are learning to navigate city regulations BY SCOTT FAINGOLD “Last summer, the Illinois Future Farmers of America asked us and AZTCA to come set our food trucks up on the south side of the convention center for an event there,” said Randy Twyford, owner and operator of the Twyford BBQ food truck. […]

They won’t catch up with the coasts. But microbreweries catch on here. By David Blanchette Just eight years ago there were none in Springfield. Now there are five operating microbreweries in the capital city area with a sixth soon to open, and don’t be surprised if you see more in the coming years. Craft beers […]