Dan Brannan is Content Director of RiverBender and EdGlenToday.com. Dan started at Riverbender.com/Edglentoday.com in December 2014. He is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL with degrees in Journalism and Psychology. Having previously served as the Executive Editor of The Telegraph in Alton, his 17-year tenure led the paper to over 350 awards including several General Excellence awards in the Illinois Press Association, Illinois Associated Press, Freedom Communications, Southern Illinois Editorial Association and Journal Register Company contests. Brannan was chosen to lead Freedom Communications' national pilot on social media.
He is the author of eight nonfiction books including: "The Courage to Live," a biography about Donna Gustavel, a young woman with multiple disabilities; "Everyday Angels," an inspirational book of moving human interest stories; "Live Life to the Fullest: Stories of People Coping With Diabetes" which is endorsed by the American Diabetes Association; "Boy Giant: The Story of Robert Wadlow The World's Tallest Man;" "Damn Cold and Starving" written with Sgt. Marion Ray; "You Can't Kill the Dream" co-written with fellow journalist Ande Yakstis; and "A Life in Parts," the story of Loretta Goebel and endorsed by Beatle Paul McCartney.
Dan, an avid exercise enthusiast, is a member of the American Diabetes Association and lives in Maryville. Dan has two children in college - Savannah and Sierra.
O'FALLON, IL. - O’Fallon Township High School District 203 lifted a soft lockdown at 10:15 a.m. Thursday, March 19, 2026, after a threatening phone call to its Milburn campus was traced by police and determined to be a swatting incident, the district said. The call was received “shortly...
Larry F. Stahl, an 84-year-old Belleville native who played Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1964 to 1973, died Tuesday, March 17, 2026, at Caseyville Nursing and Rehab in Caseyville, Illinois. Stahl was born June 29, 1941, in Belleville. Cremation services were held, the obituary...
COLLINSVILLE — A truck struck a utility pole just outside an Ameren Illinois substation in Collinsville on Thursday afternoon, March 19, 2026, knocking out power to about 700 customers, according to Ameren Illinois. The Collinsville Police Department said the crash happened around 3:45 p.m....
BELLEVILLE - Belleville Police say they will increase enforcement in and around city parks on Saturday, March 21, 2026, after a large gathering last weekend at Citizens' Park involved “reckless driving near bystanders, fights, reports of possible firearms, and an officer being...
ROXANA - Roxana recorded its second win of the young softball season Wednesday, March 18, 2026, with a 16-7 victory over Waterloo Gibault Catholic at Roxana, piling up 16 hits and building an early lead. Ava Cherry was a catalyst for the Shells and had four hits and scored five runs for the Shells...
GRANITE CITY - Catcher Ayden Cooper's one-out RBI single in the bottom of the sixth drove home pinch runner Hunter Dickerson with the winning run as Granite City opened its 2026 baseball season on a winning note, taking a tight pitcher's duel over Waterloo Gibault Catholic 2-1 in a game played Wednesday...
EDWARDSVILLE - Madison County prosecutors have filed a Class X felony charge against a Wood River man accused of sending an email to an Illinois legislator threatening to kill the lawmaker, police officers, and members of the government, State’s Attorney Tom Haine announced Thursday, March...
EDWARDSVILLE - Audrey De La Torre Crux had three hits, including two home runs, and drove in six runs, while Remi Werden had two hits, including a solo home run, as Edwardsville scored seven times in the second, and five more times in the fourth to take a big 16-1 win over Freeburg in a softball gam...
ST. LOUIS COUNTY - The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has issued charges against Sam Thang, 38, of the 4600 block of Hamburg Avenue in St. Louis, accusing him of statutory sodomy or attempted statutory sodomy and two counts of child molestation involving a victim who was...
EDWARDSVILLE - A jury on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, found Victor S. Dantzson, a 52-year-old Granite City man, guilty of breaking into a woman’s home on Benton Street in Granite City and attacking a police officer who responded, after jurors deliberated for less than an hour. Madison County...
Did you know Riverbender.com is free for you thanks to our awesome advertisers? We noticed you're using an ad block software. Please give our sponsors some exposure by disabling your ad blocking service for Riverbender.com.
