Sydney Sinks grew up in the Riverbend area and graduated from Southwestern High School. She received a bachelor’s degree from Millikin University in 2022, where she majored in English-Writing with concentrations in journalism and professional writing and a minor in editing.
At Millikin, Sydney wrote and edited for The Decaturian and BURST Magazine. Her writing has also been published in Decatur Magazine, Gateway Journalism Review and others. She has received recognition from the Illinois College Press Association and the Society of Professional Journalists for her work.
EAST ALTON/WOOD RIVER - Brooke Parker advocates for others. For her accomplishments, Brooke Parker is a Fischer Lumber Student of the Month for East Alton-Wood River High School. Parker, a senior, has played basketball for the past four years. It’s difficult to balance academics and...
EAST ALTON/WOOD RIVER - Tamarion Marshall is a well-rounded student with big goals after high school. For his hard work, Tamarion Marshall is a Fischer Lumber Student of the Month for East Alton-Wood River High School. A senior, Marshall has played on the basketball team since his freshman...
SAINT JACOB - Community members can adopt pets, trick-or-treat, play games and have fun at the ninth annual Howl-O-Ween Open House & Pet Adoption event. From 12–3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, Coldwell Banker Brown Realtors and Partners 4 Pets have collaborated to host Howl-O-Ween...
RIVERBEND - In 1978, 23-year-old Steven Kubacki disappeared on Lake Michigan. He woke up in a field in Massachusetts 15 months later, with no memory of what had happened. Or so he said. In his newest book — “The Disappearance: Conspiracy, Revolution, Revelation…The Extraordinary...
ALTON - In addition to a few month-long programs through October , the Hayner Public Library District has several special events planned over the next few weeks. “We’ve got a ton of stuff happening this month,” said Mary Cordes, Hayner’s executive director. From...
RIVERBEND - Diana Maul Halstead never asked her father about the war. She grew up under the shadow of World War II and came of age in the Vietnam era, but her dad, Alton native Henry Maul, never spoke about his experience as a prisoner of war in Germany. When Maul passed away in 1997, Halstead...
GODFREY/ALTON - Community members have come together to make sure no child in the Riverbend region sleeps on the floor. As part of their 175th anniversary celebrations, Evangelical United Church of Christ has collected almost $20,000 worth of items and donations for Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a...
EDWARDSVILLE - During their work session on Oct. 6, 2025, the Edwardsville Community Unit School District #7 Board of Education once again discussed the priorities of the 2023 bond money. At the previous Board of Education meeting on Sept. 22, 2025 , the Board discussed how to spend the remaining...
ALTON - The Hayner Public Library District has three major programs for the month of October. The 2025 Illinois Heartland Library System Library Crawl encourages people to visit different libraries across the state. Similarly, Hayner’s Adult Fall Scavenger Hunt aims to bring...
GRANITE CITY - The Multicare Market encourages community members to join the “health movement.” From 4–7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, Multicare Specialists in Granite City will host their third biannual Multicare Market. Modeled after a vendor fair or farmers’ market,...
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