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What’s next for Iraq Christians?
Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over the Islamic State, or Daesh, in early December. Shortly after that, two western Dominican Friars arrived in the country to visit the Iraqi Dominican sisters, brothers and priests with whom the Dominicans of Springfield have built relationships since 2001.

Alternative weeklies, 40 years later
News, investigation, opinion, diversity and press freedom have been shared values of AAN members. But for the most part, then and since, we have accepted that we are cool and courageous journalists, but we could use some help on the business side.

Fed up with corporate-rigged politics?
The professional political observers are like cats watching the wrong mouse hole. They are so fixated on the minutia of Washingtoncentric politics that they’re missing the much bigger story of transformative political changes that have erupted in every region of the country.

LETTERS
Trump says President Obama wasn’t born in the United States. Trump lives just to boast about how many of Obama’s regulations he can kill, and, most of all, he hates Obama’s black skin. To be even clearer, he hates the fact that a black man became president of the United States.

Chris Kennedy isn’t ready for prime time
That thinking goes all the way back to Kennedy’s disastrous performance after a breakfast speech to Illinois delegates during the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Kennedy had a serious freak-out experience in front of TV cameras as reporters jumped on an elevator with him to ask questions.

What lies beneath…is expensive
A study of aging sewers in the downtown area should be complete this week, said Gregg Humphrey, executive director of the Sangamon County Water Reclamation District. Based on that study, the city will be expected to make repairs to reduce the amount of stormwater that enters pipes during heavy rain and causes flooding and sewage backups in basements.

Green in a fight over gold
In the lawsuit, James Hausman, a stockholder and former owner of the business that buys and sells precious metals, accuses his business partners, including Gold Center majority owner Todd Green, of shenanigans that include trafficking counterfeit...

The battle over legalization continues
Dr. Aaron Wiener of Linden Oaks Behavioral Health said, “Good drug policy discourages use, while not harming those already struggling with addiction. I’m very concerned, as we’re currently framing this discussion, our new legislation might not do that.”.

Unwelcoming U.S. tone may add to UIS enrollment woes
A recent decline in enrollment at University of Illinois Springfield may in part be a symptom of dramatic drop in graduate and international enrollment throughout the country. “One of the factors causing those numbers to go down is a perception that the U.

Comeback kid
I first met Pat Quinn when I was a radio news reporter nearly 38 years ago, and interviewed him in person regarding his drive to reduce the size of the Illinois House of Representatives by one-third. At that time I thought the intense, 30-something Quinn was well-informed but a bit crazy.

Paddington 2: A balm for our troubled times
From where I sit, nothing much makes any sense in the world anymore. I understand that I am getting older and find myself committing the sin of doing and thinking all of those things that I said I would never do or think. I understand that I am not changing with the times and am becoming an anachronism with every second that goes by.

Cold weather comfort
I love cooking outdoors, even in winter. The aromas of roasting meat and wood smoke intermingling in the crisp, cold air call out to me and awaken my appetite. Recently, however, the prolonged cold spell we’ve been having has taken away much of the appeal of cooking outdoors.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Porter Union
This wife-and-husband music duo of Cole Michael Porter and Kendra Porter hails from Springfield, Missouri, with a startup history that reads like a country music fairy tale. The two met a decade ago at a bar and struck up a match made in heaven while touring as the Cole Porter Band.

PUB CRAWL
Casey Cantrall’s Jukebox Open Jam.

Fabulous February music
On Friday, Austin, Texas, bar-band breakouts Mike and the Moonpies conjure up a rockin’ country sound at Boondocks as part of a cross-country tour supporting Jason Boland and the Stragglers. The mighty Moonpies are releasing a new record on Groundhog Day and are pleased as punch to be back at Boondocks to tell the folks all about it.

THE CALENDAR
mclimits.com. Mason City Limits Comedy Club, 114 E. Chestnut, Mason City, 482- 5233..

LECTURES | ECCE Speaker Series
On Thursday, Feb. 1, from 7-9 p.m., hear former white supremacist Joseph Pearce chronicle his life from racist revolutionary to his rejection of that ideology.

COMEDY | A humorous hypnotist
On Saturday, Feb. 3, at 7:30 p.m., catch a hilarious performance by professional stage hypnotist Jeff Harpring. Jeff’s comedy hypnosis shows offer an interactive brand of humor where volunteers from the audience join Jeff onstage to experience hypnosis and become the stars of the show.

CHILDREN’S CORNER | The power of puppies
On Feb. 6 and 7, join Ryder and the Paw Patrol pups for an unforgettable live-action adventure during Paw Patrol: Race to the Rescue.