Ben Hage, Innovate Springfield director, shares the new iSPI speaker series that will bring innovators to the capital to discuss their experiences and to network. The series; Founders, Failures, and Fun will also result in a podcast series in partnership with NPR Illinois.

Advocates say the controversial project is necessary to meet renewable energy needs

Dena and Carina Gilley help Springfield area residents and businesses with sustainable organization and decluttering through Gilley’s Organizing. They spoke to Community Voices about their process, their mother-daughter dynamic and the impact of clutter on stress.

Former U.S. Steel plant will host ‘quantum campus’ development

The Crafted Stag Supply is a new store offering men’s clothing and accessories, but unlike other clothing stores, it also offers other services like freshly brewed coffee and a hot shave. Owner Grant Hammer spoke to Community Voices about the Crafted Stag Supply and explained it’s a man cave where customers can not only enjoy the products offered, but also the experience of shopping.For more information visit: https://craftedstagsupply.com/

The Citizens Club of Springfield held a presentation in April titled “Artificial intelligence: How AI Impacts Our Community.” The discussion was moderated by Rob Kerr, Executive Director of Innovation and Opportunity at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS), and featured Dr. Neetu Singh, Associate Professor of Management Information Systems at UIS, and Josh Smith, Software Engineer and Computer Science Faculty Member at UIS. They discussed what AI is, how AI is trained, bias in AI and the future of education.

The Beardstown Ladies Investment Club is an organization which gained worldwide fame after publishing a book on investing in the 1990s. The two remaining charter members Cornell Korsmeyer and Ann Brewer spoke to Community Voices about the history of the club, its rise in popularity, and their legacy of encouraging others to invest.

Jane Cutright is the owner of the Petersburg Observer, a newspaper catering to the Menard County area. Cutright spoke to Community Voices about how she joined her family’s business and the challenges her paper faces in an increasingly digitalized world.

Illinois' legalization of recreational cannabis has resulted in significant revenue and career opportunities. The University of Illinois Springfield Continuing and Professional Education (CAPE) unit now offers educational training to prepare for work in the industry through five different cannabis certificate programs. Rob Kerr, Executive Director Innovation and Opporunity, UIS; and Max Simon, CEO at Green Flower, a cannabis education company; join Community Voices to share the need to understand the complexities of the field.

Sid Stanton and Ed Gonet are the cofounders of Soil Food, a local business out of Cantrall and Petersburg, which produces natural fertilizers made from word castings. Stanton and Gonet explained how the quality of their product stands out among competitors and how their pet tortoise Erma led to the development of their organic worm farm.For more information about Soil Food visit: https://soilfoods.com/