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.
BELLEVILLE/SWANSEA - Belleville and Swansea police departments took part in the Annual 2026 Illinois Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics, with Belleville officers completing their leg of the run and passing the torch to the Swansea Police Department. The event moved...
ST. LOUIS - Steve Holley, the longtime executive director of St. Louis Guns ’N Hoses, has died at age 70, according to an announcement from St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Tracy and a statement from the organization’s president. Holley was remembered as a leading...
ST. LOUIS - The Saint Louis Zoo announced on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, that Merah, a 57-year-old Sumatran orangutan and one of the oldest of her species in North America, died on Wednesday morning, June 3, 2026. The zoo said Merah was the second-oldest Sumatran orangutan in North America at the...
FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS - The Fairview Heights Police Department said officers responded Friday, June 5, 2026, to a report of a suspicious incident at First Community Credit Union in Fairview Heights, where investigators later determined there was no actual threat after a man entered the bank, raised...
SOUTH ROXANA — Flash flooding in South Roxana on Monday morning, June 8, 2026, was isolated to one intersection, Police Chief Bob Coles said late Monday morning, as authorities urged people to avoid the area until the water recedes. Coles said the flooding was at Madison Street...
ST. LOUIS COUNTY - A 60-year-old St. Louis man died after a motorcycle crash Saturday evening, June 6, 2026, near the intersection of Lemay Ferry Road and Telegraph Road, where St. Louis County police said a motorcyclist collided with a pickup truck making a left turn. Authorities...
ROXANA - Roxana Junior High School athlete Peyton Cincoski won the Illinois Elementary School Association Class 3A state championship in the 100-meter race recently. Cincoski posted a time of 13.08 to finish ahead of Sydnee Nestrick of Vandalia and Maylie Bates of Tolono Unity. The Roxana...
SOUTH ROXANA/ROXANA - Lauren Clendenen, a Roxana High School graduate, is serving the South Roxana community in two public safety roles as a full-time South Roxana police officer and a volunteer lieutenant with the South Roxana Fire Department after completing 16 weeks in the police academy at Southwester...
ST. LOUIS COUNTY - A 22-year-old St. Louis man has been identified as the person killed in a double shooting early June 6, 2026, in Moline Acres, while a second man was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, according to St. Louis County Police. The victim was identified as Demonte Dowd,...
ALTON - The Alton Police Department said a long-overdue renovation is underway at its Command Center, where the department’s communications and operations hub has functioned around the clock for more than 25 years. The Alton Police Department said early in the project that the room had been...
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