Springfield (Illinois)

Springfield, Illinois, Police Tase Pregnant Woman in Best Buy Parking Lot (VIDEO)

A woman who is eight months pregnant was tased by a Springfield, Illinois, police officer in a parking lot over the weekend in an incident that was caught on tape and has raised questions about the possible use of excessive force. The dramatic footage, on view below, shows some sort of struggle th ... More >>

Don't Eat This Stuff! Recall Roundup for January 14-18, 2013

It has been a quiet week, generally speaking, for food recalls involving the Greater Gut Check Metropolitan Area. A quiet month, for that matter. Maybe it has something to do with New Year's resolutions: Gonna scrub the ol' slaughterhouse and keep 'er spotless this year! A Springfield, Illinois out ... More >>

Former A-B Prez to Open Jamba Juice Stores, Which Do Not Serve Beer

Foodies hoping for a little bit of California flair in St. Louis cuisine may finally get their wish. Sort of. California-based smoothie company Jamba Juice announced January 17 that it's coming to Missouri and Kansas as part of a franchise agreement with ShowMe Smoothie LLC, an investor group led ... More >>

Ben Bedford Makes Midwestern History Sing: Listen

Springfield, Illinois-based songwriter Ben Bedford finds his muse in the Midwest - the landscape, the people, the diction, the names of the rivers and towns. Across three albums, and especially on the just-released What We Lost, he transcends local color and the minutiae of his considerable, even bo ... More >>

Mumford and Sons Goes to Dixon and Brings 15,000 Fans, Doubling the Town's Population: How it Happened

Josh Albrecht is riding through downtown Dixon, addressing the strained trash can situation, directing volunteers to the beer tent and generally attempting to address the endless questions headed his way. A young couple flags down his cart. "Excuse me," she says. "Where is the shuttle to the free ... More >>

The Case Against Holograms, Which in Honor of Freddie Mercury Needs to be Made Right Now

A few days after Tupac Shakur came back from New Mexico appeared as a "hologram" during last month's Coachella festival, cynics wondered aloud about the optical illusion becoming a trend. Somebody even put together a humorous "poster" advertising next year's show, which consisted exclusively of eith ... More >>

Anodes Makes Its Debut with a Tour to SXSW

Since late 2011, the members of Anodes haved pulled their time and energy, and this week the group will lay their efforts bare for all to see. Anodes identifies itself as both post-hardcore and emo, two genres that often share similar musical cues and ethics. The group made its debut in St. Louis at ... More >>

There Can Be Only One Honeybadger in St. Louis! A Vote to the Death [Update: We Have a Winner!]

Update, 11/22/11: Like trying to drink out of a glass lying down, honey badgers are tricky little shits. They might eat your pet cobra or take a leak in your grandma's mouth because that's just how they get down. THEY DON'T GIVE A SHIT. Thanks to everyone who voted. Honeybadger #2 fans helped the b ... More >>

Mourners at City Museum Pay Respects to Bob Cassilly

Kholood EidCassie Smith pays her respects to Bob Cassilly with a quick visit to the City Museum. ​It's a quiet day at the City Museum, despite news breaking earlier of founder Bob Cassilly being killed in an apparent bulldozer accident at Cementland. Still, a group of four friends -- who make a ye ... More >>

Intern Uncovers Previously Hidden Lincoln Papers

image viaDavid Spriegel, super intern.​Dear Interns of St. Louis, We here at Daily RFT know what a disillusioning experience internship can be. You walk in on your first day, full of hope that you will spend the summer accomplishing something meaningful and launching your brilliant career, wh ... More >>

Fire at the Fabulous Fox: Photos of the Damage and Repairs

The fire was contained in this mechanical room on the fourth floor and quickly extinguished. ​About 100 people were hard at work Monday dealing with the aftermath of a three alarm fire that broke out in the wee hours of Sunday morning in the historic Fox Theatre. The blaze started in a mechani ... More >>

Battle Horseshoe: Moore's Restaurant vs. Horseshoe House

​ "What the hell is a horseshoe?" asked far too many people when Horseshoe House recently opened with a menu based on central Illinois' signature dish -- the horseshoe. The basic premise of the horseshoe is a big plate with some form of bread piled with meat, fries and cheese sauce. The origi ... More >>

Lincoln Travelogues

Horseshoe House Now Open in the Loop

D. BenantiThe Buffalo chicken horseshoe at H2.​ Explaining a horsehoe to an outsider -- i.e., someone who doesn't hail from Springfield, Illinois -- can be a wee bit humiliating. Mention a detail such as "golden French fries smothered in white cheese sauce" and you automatically turn off half ... More >>

Really, PD? Liz Taylor St. Louis Connection?

Not from St. Louis stock.​Certainly by now you've heard that violet-eyed multi-marriage movie queen Elizabeth Taylor has died at 79 from congestive heart failure. It's a loss for movie fans, tabloid readers and the beneficiaries of her multiple philanthropic causes.And while we love to localize an ... More >>

Horseshoe House Now Open in East Loop

​In January, Gut Check noticed that something called the Horseshoe House was planning to open at 6100 Delmar Boulevard, the former home of Modai Sushi Lounge. Well, last week the Horseshoe House -- or, as it also calls itself, H Squared Horseshoe & Hookah House -- opened.Being a Midwest transp ... More >>

Twelve Things To Do This Weekend: September 17-19

Dan ZettwochA late 2009 RFT cover featuring KSHE mascot Sweet Meat.​Summer's not over yet! There's still one more week (more or less) to enjoy the last gasps of carefree fun and outdoor hangs. Here are twelve good bets for the weekend -- of course, on top of the events we've already covered he ... More >>

SLSO Youth Orchestra Earns Kudos from New York Times

Image source​The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra Youth Orchestra made a triumphant New York debut last Tuesday, June 8, at a benefit performance in Riverside Church, earning a rave review in today's New York Times. "Significant collective and individual preparation had clearly gone into their ... More >>

'Holy Goalie' Becomes New Springfield Bishop

Saving goals souls one at a time.​The Catholic Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, will soon welcome a new bishop to their flock. Pope Benedict XVI appointed Thomas J. Paprocki to the position yesterday.Paprocki is interesting for several reasons. Fist of all, he is an avid hockey fan and sometimes ... More >>

The Morning Brew: 3.30

The morning brew's a little sluggish this morning -- but hey, it's still morning! Why's everyone hatin' on canned and frozen vegetables? Slate's Daniel Engber takes foodies to the woodshed. "I know it sounds weird," Engber writes. "A crisp salad of watercress and red onions must be more wholesome t ... More >>

Wounded, Laid-Off Lee Enterprises Reporter Gets Hired & Hitched

Todd Smith was the only person wounded in the Kirkwood shootings to survive. ​In case you missed Deb Peterson's schmooze on Todd Smith, the former Suburban Journals reporter who was wounded in the Kirkwood City Hall shooting a year before being laid off by the employer he took a bullet for: Smith ... More >>

Road Trip: Brian Wilson in Springfield, Illinois, Thursday, October 22

All credit goes to Jaime for tipping me off to this show: Beach Boy Brian Wilson is kicking off his U.S. tour tomorrow night at the Sangamon Auditorium in Springfield, Illinois. Tickets are still available, believe it or not. Although Wilson just signed to DIsney Records and plans to record two sol ... More >>

Show Review Photos: Slobberbone and Glossary at Off Broadway, Wednesday, August 12

Before we begin, a pledge. This review will not use the following words which fall like random keystrokes from a chimpanzee blogger's laptop: rock (or its derivations), crunchy, drunk, Americana, twang, testosterone, Neil Young, alt.country (or its derivations), wasted, and/or dudes. In other words ... More >>

World's Most Boring Museum to Open in Springfield, IL

flickr.com/photos/34748725@N00From the Museum of Funeral Customs (RIP). Unreal has long been plotting a brief jaunt up to Springfield, Illinois, not only to satisfy our Lincoln fix, but also to consume horseshoe sandwiches and visit the Museum of Funeral Customs.Alas, while Lincoln's tomb, hous ... More >>

Vamp It Up: Local film Shadowland held over at the Tivoli through August 6

An ode to Michael Jackson; plus, NeighborhoodScout tells us who's bad

14th Street and MLK Drive Named St. Louis' Most Unsafe Neighborhood

In a survey of the nation's most crime-ridden neighborhoods by Dr. Andrew Schiller of the website NeighborhoodScout.com, St. Louis' very own downtown, specifically the intersection of 14th Street and Martin Luther King Drive, ranked fourteenth.How nice that this statistic appears just in time for th ... More >>

The FBI Was Back at East St. Louis City Hall Yesterday

photo of East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks by Jennifer SilverbergThe Belleville News-Democrat reports in a brief story on its website this morning that FBI and IRS agents served a subpoena at East St. Louis City Hall yesterday afternoon and spent several hours collecting "all of the city's tax i ... More >>

Engine Excitement

St. Louis Art Capsules

Jessica Baran encapsulates the St. Louis arts scene

St. Louis Art Capsules

Jessica Baran encapsulates the St. Louis arts scene

St. Louis Art Capsules

Jessica Baran encapsulates the St. Louis arts scene

St. Louis Art Capsules

Jessica Baran encapsulates the St. Louis art scene

The Town that Launched Obama Owns Up to Its Fractured Racial Past

The Wall Street Journal ran a fascinating Inauguration Day story yesterday on Springfield, Illinois.  It was in the Illinois capital -- just 90 miles northeast of St. Louis -- that Barack Obama launched his presidential campaign in February 2007. It was also in Springfield that Abraham Lincoln ... More >>

St. Louis Art Capsules

Jessica Baran encapsulates the St. Louis arts scene

St. Louis Art Capsules

Jessica Baran encapsulates the St. Louis arts scene

St. Louis Art Capsules

Jessica Baran encapsulates the St. Louis arts scene

Over the Weekend: Springsteen, Obama, Festival of Nations, The Lot Concert, South Grand Nightlife

Baseball Card of the Week: Andres Galarraga as an Expo

Did Paul McCartney Stop at a Circle K in Springfield, Illinois, Last Weekend?

Thousand Dollar Baby: By day Jamie O'Hare studies for a master's in social work. Her night job is anything but.

Lincoln Up

2006 RFT Music Awards

Dean C. Minderman|Kristyn Pomranz|Andrew Miller|Kristie McClanahan|Christian Schaeffer|Andrew Miller|Ben Westhoff|Annie Zaleski|Brooke Foster|Jaime Lees|Roy Kasten

Get Baked

Unreal performs a public service for the revelers of Party Cove, meets a guy who's really into whips and finds happiness with a Hazelwood man's Back Washer. Plus, we surf over to the blog of a local cereal connoisseur.

The Back Burner

Restaurant August is a super-fancy bummer

Letters

Week of July 28, 2004

Urban Banjo

The Washington club scene makes way for the eccentric old-time music of Dave Landreth

Who Are You on TV?

Night & Day

June 9 - 16, 1999

Listening Post