Fall Guide 2026

Route 66 100 Year Anniversary Guide

Friends and Neighbors Apply Now!

Save big on your favorite Springfield places with Springfield Real Deals!

Central Illinois Community Calendar

Upcoming Events

Saturday, November 28th- IL Local Holiday Market

Lifestyle

2 days ago in Lifestyle

Year-end checklist for small businesses: 15 steps to start in November

Intuit QuickBooks reports that one in three U.S. adults plan to start a business in 2026.

2 days ago in Lifestyle

A language of belonging: Advice for learning the mother tongue of your ancestors

Losing a tangible connection to your family's ancestral homeland can bring unexpected sorrow, whether through the death of an older relative, the sale of a property passed down for generations gets sold or the destruction a handful of surviving heirlooms.

1 week ago in Lifestyle

5 unique Thanksgiving main dishes to make on the grill

Wildfire Outdoor Living reports on unique Thanksgiving grilling recipes from Wildfire Outdoor Living, featuring dishes like Five-Spice Rotisserie Pork and Blackened Tri-Tip.

1 week ago in Lifestyle

Shorter days and dark afternoons can trigger depression. Here’s how to fight back

As winter approaches and daylight hours grow shorter, people prone to seasonal depression can feel it in their bodies and brains.

1 week ago in Lifestyle

The daily habits that have the biggest impact on healthy aging

Fatty15 reports that healthy aging relies on consistent daily habits such as a nutritious diet, regular physical activity, sufficient sleep, stress management, and social connections.

2 weeks ago in Lifestyle

Generations of anglers have made the pilgrimage to Montauk to catch striped bass

On most October nights, fishing guide Bill Wetzel can be found navigating the shores of Montauk, New York, in a modified 4x4 pickup truck, rumbling over boulders and thick sand as he scans the surface of the Atlantic for signs of life.

Sports

16 hours ago in Sports

Arch Manning leads Texas into his bayou backyard for a key matchup with LSU

Arch Manning is intimately familiar with Saturday nights in "Death Valley," having been in the stands for some of LSU's biggest games in Tiger Stadium during his childhood in Louisiana.

23 hours ago in Sports

Vikings bring back QB Kirk Cousins in a trade with the Raiders to lift a struggling offense

The Minnesota Vikings reacquired quarterback Kirk Cousins to try to revive their sputtering offense, beating the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday with an agreement to send their 2027 third-round draft pick to the Las Vegas Raiders.

24 hours ago in Sports

Skubal to meet with 6 teams, including Mets, Dodgers and Padres, with December lockout looming

With a lockout looming and team executives vowing to take a business-as-usual approach to the offseason, the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres are among six teams set to meet with top free-agent pitcher Tarik Skubal.

2 days ago in Sports, Trending

PWHL expansion teams get names: Detroit Clutch, San Jose Sea Lions, Vegas Vanguards, Hamilton Havoc

The Professional Women's Hockey League's four new expansion teams finally have nicknames and logos to accompany them in preparing to make their on-ice debuts next month.

3 days ago in Sports

NASCAR’s 2026 season defined by two Kyles: Larson’s playoff surge and Busch’s shocking death

NASCAR's championship weekend started with another Kyle Busch remembrance and ended with another Kyle Larson celebration. The Cup Series drivers will be linked forever.

3 days ago in Sports, Trending

In a wide-open NFL, trade deadline is an opportunity for a few teams to get a big boost

The NFL is wide open at the season's midpoint. The trade deadline will give teams an opportunity to separate themselves from the pack, especially in a season when several teams are in the mix for a Super Bowl run.

National

24 hours ago in National, Trending

More than a dozen key races remain too early to call one week after Election Day

The size of Democrats' majorities in the House and Senate remained undetermined one week after Election Day as more than a dozen races were still too early to call Tuesday.

1 week ago in National

What’s next in the investigation of the Learjet crash in Florida that killed 9?

Investigators are just beginning the lengthy process of determining why a business jet plummeted from the sky in Florida after encountering a thunderstorm and slammed into the ground with such force that it created a crater and shattered the plane.

1 week ago in National, Trending

Democrats usher in a new era with their resounding sweep of the House and the Senate

Democrats are riding their sweep of Congress into a new era, eager to meet voter demands for change with plans to tackle high costs of living and confront President Donald Trump's final years in the White House.

1 week ago in National

A referendum on Trump, election monitors and a Democratic shift: What to watch on Election Day

President Donald Trump has repeatedly encouraged voters to pretend he's on the ballot this Election Day. He's not, of course. But there is reason to believe that Tuesday's midterms, above all, will be a referendum on his performance over the last two years.

Local News from Capitol City Now

2 hours ago in Crime, Health & Wellness, IL State News, Local

Illinois lawmakers demand improved mental healthcare in prisons

Nearly half of the IDOC population are on the mental health caseload.

14 hours ago in Business, Food Scene, IL State News, Local

Cahnman, leaving Sangamon County Board, tries again with recall proposal; introduces anti-plasticware ordinance

FILE - Sangamon County Board member Sam Cahnman, right, takes part in a beam-signing ceremony for the new "The Hub" transportation center in Springfield December 23, 2025.

Cahnman believes the courts will side with recall proposals.

15 hours ago in Agriculture, Business, Farm, IL State News, Local, National

Lame, suffocated and dead: The drug supersizing America’s cattle

One of the largest feedlots in the country is located in Nebraska near the Colorado and Kansas border. photo by Zach Lucero, for Investigate Midwest

Approved by the FDA to reduce pollution from feedlots, Experior has become a lucrative drug in the beef industry’s pursuit of bigger animals. Our investigation reveals troubling safety findings, reports of cattle deaths, and questions about industry influence on the FDA and research universities.

15 hours ago in IL State News, Local, National

Illinois Republicans assess damage from nationwide ‘blue tsunami’

Illinois Republican Party Chair Bob Grogan speaks at Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield in August 2026. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)

Party members offer different paths forward, highlighting internal divisions.

18 hours ago in Crime, Local

Crime of the Week: Help needed identifying shooting suspect

A man is seen in the area of a shooting in Springfield on October 21, 2026. Can you identify him?

A woman was shot in the leg after refusing to empty her pockets during a shooting.

Entertainment

16 hours ago in Entertainment, Music, Trending

The 2027 Coachella lineup is here: Dua Lipa, Tame Impala and SZA to headline

Three acts who are no strangers to Coachella will headline the annual festival in the California desert next April, the organizers announced Wednesday.

24 hours ago in Entertainment

The ‘Hunger Games’ are back, with an A-list cast and brutal origin story for Haymitch

Three years ago, new cinematic life was found in a "Hunger Games" adventure without Katniss. Now, the franchise is back, jumping through time again to check in on another major character from the original films in his teenage years: Haymitch Abernathy.

3 days ago in Entertainment, Trending

‘Grand Theft Auto VI’ is almost here. What to know about the characters, music and billions at stake

"Grand Theft Auto" has never been much for following the rules. Nearly three decades after a video game built around stealing cars, outrunning police and embracing criminal mayhem first arrived, the franchise has survived controversy, transformed open-world gaming and become one of the biggest sellers in entertainment.

3 days ago in Entertainment, Trending

Russell Brand is sentenced to 10 1/2 years in a British prison for rape and sexual assault

Russell Brand was sentenced Monday to 10 1/2 years in prison for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others during a period when his comedy career built around boasts of erotic exploits was taking off.

3 days ago in Entertainment

‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ stomps to a record-setting $31.6 debut, clobbering ‘The Cat in the Hat’

"Godzilla Minus Zero" stomped into movie theaters with a chart-topping $31.6 million over the weekend, scoring a record debut for a foreign-language film at the North American box office.

Upcoming Events

Lifestyle

Sports

National

Local News from Capitol City Now

Entertainment

Like us on Facebook!

What's Happening

Trending