Local Business Headlines

  To many, 3D printing evokes images of desktop gadgets spitting out plastic trinkets. In reality, additive manufacturing (AM) now builds metal components for aircraft engines, medical devices and other intricate parts not easily made with traditional methods. The catch? Tiny, hard-to-avoid defects in printed metals can weaken parts and erode manufacturer confidence. Southern Illinois…

The Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA) honored Personal Touch Boutique as the 2025 Illinois Retailer of the Year during the group’s 68th Annual Meeting held Thursday, Oct. 9 at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel. Personal Touch Boutique, a cornerstone of East St. Louis since 1994, has grown into the city’s only locally-owned men’s fashion retailer,…

With pearls gleaming, jazz humming and flappers dancing on the balcony, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Meridian Society ushered in a night to remember with A Golden Age Celebration and a sold-out opening of the play “The Great Gatsby,” honoring 50 years of SIUE’s Department of Theater and Dance. The Dunham Hall Lobby and Theater shimmered…

  As its October 2025 Small Business of the Month, the RiverBend Growth Association has chosen Abs Workout Plans. And with this month’s calendar being full of fun Fall festivities and Halloween sweets, the timing perhaps couldn’t be better. Abby Thurman is the owner of the Godfrey-based Abs Workout Plans. Thurman launched the business nearly…

  SIUE’s Lovejoy Library invites the community to join them online and be one of the first to hear from Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai about her astonishing memoir, Finding My Way. Yousafzai reintroduces herself to the world, sharing how she navigated life as someone whose darkest moments threatened to define her narrative—while seeking…