News across Greater Springfield, IL
Super Cows
In the 1980s a Super Cow was bought for a million dollars. Her superness was the amount of milk she produced each year. Now there is word of a second Super Cow, which was bought for four million dollars. It looks like my family was in the right business at the wrong time or just…
Sweet starch science
In 2022, I worked in the research and development lab at Audrey Restaurant in Nashville. Our owner-chef, Sean Brock, and his culinary team were deeply committed to supporting local farmers. When one of our farmers asked if we could find a use for 900 pounds of sweet potatoes he…
North end memories
The neighborhood on Springfield’s northeast side, just north of the one where African Americans lived before it was destroyed in the infamous Race Riot of 1908, was at its peak during the 1950s and early 1960s. It consisted mostly of Italian-Americans who owned businesses there,…
Record diesel prices continue uptrend, surpass $6
The price of diesel fuel has yet to find a ceiling as the national average price surpassed the $6-per-gallon mark Sept. 15, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. While drilling capacity is adequate, refining and distributing systems remain off course due to…
Holy indifference
Moses presented the Ten Commandments around 1300 BCE. These were not the first list of guidelines in ancient history, nor were they the only list. About 400 years earlier Hammurabi, the king of Babylon, bound himself and the people he ruled to 272 statutes, bringing a new order…
Data Center Revolt bus tour stops in Lincoln
Data centers have become a hot-button issue for virtually every politician in the country as proposals for the hyperscale server warehouses continue to spark arguments amongst community members. President Donald Trump has repeatedly backed the idea of developing data centers,…
Letters to the editor 9/24/26
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to editor@illinoistimes.com. POOR CONDITIONS The open letter in the Sept. 3 Illinois Times concerning conditions at the Lincoln Tomb followed just two weeks after…
Healthy trees enrich communities
Fall is an excellent time to assess and care for existing trees in your yard and plant new trees. Too often homeowners don’t pay enough attention to the structure and health of their trees and only discover problems after a storm when trees or limbs fall to the ground (or on the…
Fall maintenance for your yard and garden
Whether planting a vegetable garden, flower garden or pollinator garden, “site preparation is paramount,” says master gardener Susan Helm. “I can’t stress enough how important this is.” There are thriving pollinator gardens all over Springfield, thanks to Helm and a cadre of…
An autumn glow-up for your home
With the autumn season here and winter not far behind, many of us are busily preparing our homes for time indoors due to dark evenings and cooler weather. While we may feel the urge to go all-in on a renovation, budgets and time constraints are realistic impediments to going…
Glorious gratins
A gratin, according to the late chef Julia Child, is simply a preparation in which the top of a sauced dish is browned, usually under a hot broiler. In the first volume of her iconic cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, she describes a gratin as having “a sprinkling of…
Fall Home and Garden 2026
Fall is a great time to tackle yard projects, such as planting bulbs for a spring payoff or potting herbs and other plants you can move indoors for the winter. It’s also helpful to being making plans now for your spring home improvements, so whether you’re dreaming of an outdoor…