Collinsville

The Ten Best Shows In St. Louis This Weekend: August 17 to 19

Throughout the whole of the English vernacular, nary are there etymological compositions quite so objectionably mellifluous as are those employed in the odious overindulgent offenses of music journalists. Such belittlingly belletristic behavior burdens the reader and introduces intensely inhibitive ... More >>

Cheetos Nachos Sold in Texas Convenience Store, Sign Gut Check Up

Last week Gut Check was so enamored with the news that Subway was test marketing Doritos nachos at select locations inside Wal-Mart stores nationwide that we recreated the dish for taste test purposes. The next day a tipster informed us that several Subway restaurants housed in St. Louis Wal-Mart st ... More >>

Mettle Fest: Got what it takes to tackle this summer's festivals? You will now.

Pitch Sessions: A look back at the wild and wacky local TV ads of yesteryear.

Did Illinois Man Order His Dogs to Kill a Cat?

​Now that authorities have been cracking down on dog-on-dog fighting, will cats be the next victims? Prosecutors in Madison County, Illinois, have charged 47-year-old Denis Soto with aggravated cruelty to animals, after he allegedly ordered his two German shepherds to attack a cat walking acr ... More >>

Ten Best Food Events this Weekend: June 3-5

commons.wikimedia.orgMatt Holliday and a bottle of wine pair nicely in a weekend event. ​It's been a busy week. Why not kick back and unwind with some food and live music at events such as Harvest Sessions at the Tower Grove Farmers' Market or the Second Annual Green Tie Affair at The Green Ce ... More >>

The Painted Ad: Postcard Book Pays Homage to Billboards of Yesteryear

A sign in Collinsville snapped back in 1983. (Images courtesy of The Painted Ad).​St. Louis author and photographer William Stage is out with a new book on one of his favorite subjects: the vanishing, brick-wall advertisements that once decorated buildings across America. Today these signs serve a ... More >>

Michael Stipe Talks St. Louis Punk and Playing Shows Here in Interview Magazine

wikimedia commons​The current issue of Interview Magazine has Christopher Bollen interviewing R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, and their conversation leads them to a couple interesting tidbits about St. Louis. Stipe, as you may be aware, graduated from high school in Collinsville. He tells Boll ... More >>

[UPDATE] Outlaw Blues Closes, Changes to Ravanelli's

Sunday was the final day for Outlaw Blues at 1214 Central Park Drive in O'Fallon, Illinois. The southern-themed restaurant, open since 2008, will reopen as a third outpost of Ravanelli's Restaurant on Wednesday. It's not a huge change, since Steve Edwards of Ravanelli's has always owned Outlaw Blu ... More >>

Fuck Michael Pollan #5: Breaking the Food Rules at "Winter Blows" Swap Meet & Bike Show

Michael Pollan's 2007 best seller The Omnivore's Dilemma documented the industrialization of the world's food supply and whipped the foodie vanguard into a self-righteous froth. His encore, the "Manifesto" In Defense of Food, revealed the author as a proselytizing zealot/minimalist poet. ("Eat food. ... More >>

Ass Clown of the Week: Politicians and Those Unable to Deal with Teenage Relationships

​It's that time of the week. Time to vote for the local newsmaker of the week whose words or actions brought them the most shame/humiliation. In other words, who's the Ass Clown of the Week? And the nominees... 1. John Shimkus: The Republican from Collinsville, Illinois, said this week that he was ... More >>

Devon Alexander and Fairmount Park: A Guide to A Saturday Gambling Bender

Image sourceHopefully Devon "The Great" Alexander doesn't KO the local gamblers. ​The sweet science and the sport of kings. They are hands-down the two greatest sports on which to gamble. Both of them are coming to St. Louis tomorrow, live and in full effect. Devon Alexander will take on Andriy Ko ... More >>

Argument Over Religion Results in Amazing Mug Shot for Timothy A. Neal

This is what has to be a front-runner for most memorable local mugshot of the year (along with the photo of Arvon Brown released yesterday). Madison County Sheriff's Department mugshotOf all the shirts one could be wearing when arrested, this has to be one of the worst.​The (Alton) Telegraph repor ... More >>

And They're Off! Live Racing at Fairmount Park Starts Today

Image viaLocal gamblers will get to see this 52 days this year at Fairmount Park.​After winter filled with labor disputes and political wrangling nearly left the track with just three days of live racing in 2010, Fairmount Park kicks off the first of 52 days of thoroughbred action this afternoon w ... More >>

Ricky Griffin Sr: Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison for Selling Weed

Image viaThat's what Ricky Griffin said.​​Ricky Griffin Sr., a 43-year-old man from Collinsville, was sentenced yesterday to 24 years in federal prison for his "role in marijuana conspiracy." According to a press release from the Southern Illinois U.S. Attorney's office, "The conspiracy operated ... More >>

Tweakers 'N Diggers: Looters are pillaging Native American burial grounds to finance their meth habits

Cock Got Your Tounge? "Rooster Fighting" Story Leaves Local News Anchor At A Loss for Words

Image viaA cowboy with a very big, um, rooster.​Cock. There, we said it. Laugh it up perverts.According to Wikipedia, the word has multiple definitions. Primarily it refers to any male bird, especially a cockerel or male chicken. It's also a verb that means to prepare the hammer of a firearm for f ... More >>

Jackpot! Last Minute Deal Saves Fairmount Park's 2010 Season

Just got off the phone with Lanny Brooks, director of the Illinois Horseman's Benevolent and Protective Association. He confirmed the early reports that Fairmount Park will indeed host 52 days of horse racing in 2010, a full schedule.Image Via​The announcement was made official at a 1:30 p.m. pres ... More >>

Deal to Save Fairmount Park Coming Down to the Wire

Four. That's the number of state union workers at the Fairmount Park racetrack in Collinsville who are at odds with the Illinois Racing Board.Three. That's how many days of racing the track will be limited to in 2010 -- April 27, 30, and May 1 -- if the dispute isn't resolved by February 1.Hundreds. ... More >>

Police Release Names of Victims Killed in Bloody Rampage at North St. Louis Factory

As reported last night, St. Louis police say four people, including the gunman, died yesterday in a deadly assault at the ABB Incorporated plant in north St. Louis. Five others were taken to the hospital where as of last night two remained in critical condition and two more in fair condition. A fift ... More >>

10 Things to Do for $10 This Weekend in St. Louis, January 8-10, 2009

The first full week of work after the holidays is always a killer. Sure, you come in on Monday morning, buzzed and amped for the week ahead, but by Thursday you're as defeated and tired as Dilbert on quaaludes. Re-energize, then, this weekend with some of these inexpensive entertainment op ... More >>

Fairmount Park Could Cash $7-Million Ticket Today

Image via​The owners of Fairmount Park might as well have hit a superfecta, a quadrella, and a pick four in the same afternoon of betting -- the jackpot they're about to cash-in is just that huge.Today, after nearly three years of legal wrangling, the area's only horse track will likely finally re ... More >>

Latest Panacea for Fairmount Park: Internet Gambling

​After trying for years to get slot machines at tracks, the Illinois horse-racing community is hoping the next-best thing will help the troubled industry. Yesterday the Illinois Racing Board legalized online gambling for horse racing. As the Belleville News-Democrat reports this morning, the ... More >>

Fear and Loathing in Collinsville: In Search of the "Real" Randy 'The Ram' Robinson

In the movie The Wrestler, Necro Butcher memorably assaults his opponent Randy "The Ram" Robinson (played by actor Mickey Rourke) with a staple gun, barbed wire and plate-glass window.  And while Rourke is no longer manhandling "heels" inside the square circle, Butcher remains a very real wrest ... More >>

Ten To-Do's for Female Wrestling

Just a Quick Note

Wish you were here!

Taste of St. Louis

Hillbilly Noir

The literary world is abuzz over Daniel Woodrell, bard of the Ozarks.

Planet Granite

Yippee: Unreal finds a way to interact (virtually) with the world's sexiest people! Plus -- Granite City's relative suckiness, McDonald's bad 'tude and Circuit City's parking-lot campers.

Life Cycles

St. Louis-area bicyclists are still bitter over the sentence given to the man who accidentally killed Michael Katz.

Get in the Van

B-Sides reads Johnny O & the Jerks' tour diary, rocks to a scroll and gets to know Shauna Kapica

Letters Column

Week of March 9, 2006

Rack & Roll

The metro east is the corner pocket for some of the nation's top pool sharks. Bring it on, ESPN!

Fantasy Realized

Team tennis in St. Louis

Daddy Dearest

Water you doing for Father's Day?

Behold the Forty

A paean to the big bad bottle

Diane Horner's Country Line Dancing (1992)

Blind Phyllis learns the "Tush Push"

No Hockey?

No, hockey!

Best Jockey

Ramsey Zimmerman

Budweiser/ MDA Poker Classic

A good time is in the cards

Raggedy Dandies

The fashion-forward minds behind Rock Star Rags, St. Louis' invite-only vintage clothing warehouse

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Release the Turtles!

Bathtub-toy race for charity

The Boys Are Back in Town

Gateway Men's Chorus sings out

Fasser-Oh No!

Bullpen bomb-out

Whack Job

Frank Brown was butchered in 1996. His killer still hasn't paid the price.

Chamber of Secrets

Collinsville's Miners' Theater hosts a horrifying spectacle

The Mellowfeathers with Brick Bat and the French New Wave

Sunday, July 29; Ramp Riders Skate Park

Back to the Top

A return visit to Top of the Riverfront

Night & Day

June 30 - July 1, 1999