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Section Feature
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Blackburn and beyond
College increases opportunities for students with diverse abilities By Carey Smith “According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, as of 2021, only 19% of Americans with a disability are even employed,” states Brianna Sutton, director of Blackburn College’s Blackburn and Beyond program. “Disability does not mean inability.” Born from a partnership with Carlinville High […]
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Sportman’s Lounge and Restaurant
By Thomas C. Pavlik I used to be a regular at Sportsman’s in its former iteration, before it got a little long in the tooth and rundown. And then it went dark. Recently, however, a group of friends bought the building and decided to resurrect Sportsman’s, and in doing so, they’ve managed to preserve all […]
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Q and A with Marne Fauser
By David Blanchette What was your first job after graduating from college? I grew up in Peoria, and my first job after college was working at Illini Bluffs High School as a high school teacher and middle school volleyball and basketball coach. I became interested in the nonprofit world after years of working with people […]
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A Q&A with Dana Lyons
By David Blanchette Dana Lyons is a lifelong resident of the Springfield area. When she was a senior at Riverton High School, an employment agency placed her in a receptionist position with Lincoln Land Title and Abstract Company. She later worked for Lexis Document Services and Zelle Title Company before opening The Illinois Real Estate […]
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New strategies for home buyers and sellers
Hot housing market upends traditional advice By Carey Smith “I would love to sell your home, but I have to ask, do you have a place to go? Because I will make you homeless.” That is the first conversation Randy Aldrich, a broker associate with The Real Estate Group, has with potential sellers. The hot […]
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Many downtown redevelopment projects in the works
There is plenty of vacant, multistory space available in Springfield’s downtown and a program that utilizes tax increment financing (TIF) to reimburse owners for a portion of the cost to acquire property, stabilize buildings, redesign and renovate interiors and upgrade exteriors. But developers are experiencing a shortage of contractors available to undertake small and midsize […]
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Notable new construction and remodeling projects
By Catherine O’Connor Hindu temples bring imported spiritual design A new home for The Hindu Temple of Greater Springfield has been erected at 1001 W. Walnut St. in Chatham. An architect from Vastu Consultants in Chennai, India, worked with Rangwala Architects from St. Louis to design and build the concrete Fox Blocks pre-cast building that […]
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Springfield Rail Improvements Project progresses
Businesses between Carpenter Street and Ridgely Avenue will be affected By Carey Smith Land acquisition is steadily moving northward for the Springfield Rail Improvements Project, with a stretch of land between Carpenter Street and Ridgely Avenue being the current focus. While other segments of the 10th Street corridor have focused on widening tracks and creating […]
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Investing trends:
A modern day wild, wild west By Holly A. Whisler In order to understand today’s markets, it is necessary to take a step back and look at the big picture, the trends and stages, explained Michael Lansden, first vice president of investments and branch manager for the Stifel office in Jacksonville. He said the stock […]
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Don’t neglect long-haul COVID in the panic over Delta variant
By Dr. Jeffrey Gold “Long-haul COVID” is one of many scary phrases that have barged into our vocabulary since the pandemic upended global life. Those who have it are afflicted with a COVID that seems never to go away. With the present panic over the Delta variant, there’s a danger that we will not accord […]
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Weaving a legacy
Dan Frachey launches a business to capture seniors’ stories By Carey Smith “People may say they don’t have much of a story to tell, but when people start talking, when they are given permission to share, they start revealing that there is a great narrative over the course of one’s life,” said Dan Frachey, owner […]