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JCJ News

Update to Rivers Project Master Plan Receives Final Approval

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Louis District Commander has fully approved the revised “Rivers Project Master Plan” with accompanying “Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)” and “Environmental Assessment (EA)”. The River Project Master Plan is a conceptual document that guides public use and natural resource management of over 48,000 acres of federal lands…

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Good Growing: Keeled treehoppers, the bugs with bodyguards

By Ken Johnson, Horticulture Educator University of Illinois Extension If you take some time to look closely at a plant, chances are you’ll see a variety of different insects. Take sunflowers, for example: many different pollinators can be seen visiting the flowers, from bees and wasps to beetles, butterflies, and flies. Other insects can be…

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Illinois joins suit against Trump administration orders limiting gender-affirming care

By Ben Szalinski Capitol News Illinois Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is joining a multi-state lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administration from limiting gender-affirming care. The lawsuit, filed in Massachusetts district court by 17 states, argues an executive order signed in January by President Donald Trump that directs federal agencies to take “appropriate steps…

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Grain Belt’s $4.9 billion loan cancelled

By Carmen Ensinger Landowners in Greene, Scott and Jersey counties will be thrilled to learn that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) cancelled a $4.9 billion loan for the Grain Belt Express transmission line project.

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Pritzker signs bill to implement mental health screenings in schools

By Ben Szalinski Illinois public school students could soon receive free mental health screenings each year. Gov. JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1560 Thursday, which would require the State Board of Education and a children’s behavioral health team within the governor’s office to develop procedures and make mental health materials available to school districts. The…

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ROBIN WRITES: Small Town Supervision

I was enjoying a slice of pie, skimming the headlines in the paper, when my mouth fell open in astonishment: Well, get over it. I grew up in a small town. My every movement has been recorded since the day of my birth. Yes, it was intrusive. Yes, I sometimes hated it. But there was…

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