SAA has a new building and new ways to engage the community ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY DAVID BLANCHETTE It’s difficult for most nonprofits to survive year-to-year, so when an organization celebrates its 105th anniversary, you know it must be on to something. “I can tell you what season it is based on what fundraiser I’m [...]
BY ZACH ROTH For over 60 years, Hope has provided care for children with various disabilities. In Springfield, Hope has a residential campus and school on East Hazel Dell Lane, in addition to offering outpatient services at the Hope Pavilion in the former Doctors Hospital building on South Sixth Street. Working with these children requires [...]
BY CATHERINE O’CONNOR Exciting new plans will soon be taking shape at 312 E. Adams St., a three-story building that was donated to the Downtown Springfield Heritage Foundation late last year by the previous owner, Gerry Hughes. The Foundation has just announced that Martin Haxel and his wife, Laurie, were the winning bidders, responding to [...]
These small businesses are surviving, despite competition from online sales Article and photos by DAVID BLANCHETTE Eighty percent survive the first year. Seventy percent are left after two years, 50 percent after five years, and only 30 percent are still around after 10 years. Those 30 percent are the small businesses in the United States [...]
Springfield has many opportunities for small-scale development BY CATHERINE O’CONNOR Governing magazine recently published the results of an in-depth investigation into segregation in Illinois communities, including Springfield. A recent cover story in Illinois Times included excerpts from the lengthy report (“Segregated in the Heartland, Feb. 7), which also focused on income disparity between black and [...]
BY ZACH ROTH Like many other towns in the Midwest and Rust Belt, Springfield has seen significant changes in the makeup of its population in recent years. It has become older, not to mention a little bit smaller. “Since 2010, the indications are that the population is continuing to decline,” said Molly Berns, executive director [...]
BY DAVID BLANCHETTE You see them every day: the restaurants, mobile phone stores, bank branches, nail salons, automobile dealerships, strip malls, apartments and other new or revamped buildings going up throughout the Springfield area. These commercial and multifamily residential structures – costing $2.5 million or under to build – are the bread and butter for [...]
BY ERIC WOODS | PHOTOS BY TERRY FARMER Photo By Terry Farmer Country Lane Memory Care Cari Claussen started Country Lane Memory Care in 2016. She always had a passion to create quality care for elderly individuals. “This drive to make a difference began when I visited my grandmother in a nursing home [...]
BY ZACH ROTH Business people looking for a quick bite to eat often grab some greasy fast food to satiate their appetites before returning to work. As much as people enjoy a double quarter-pounder, one can’t help but wonder about the health risks associated with excessive consumption of fast food, especially by people who sit [...]
COMPILED BY CATHERINE O’CONNOR Photo courtesy of Dewberry Architects University of Illinois Springfield Student Union - Dewberry Architects UIS is seeking U.S. Green Building Council LEED Gold Certification for the new students union’s “living” roof. The 200,000 plants over a sloped membrane provides insulation, helps to lower air temperatures and lasts much [...]
