Troy’s Mertz as Illinois Air National Guard’s new top enlisted leader: ‘Get all the training you can’
By Tribune Staff SPRINGFIELD – New State Command Chief Master Sgt. Christopher Mertz’s priorities as he settles into his new job as the Illinois Air National Guard’s senior enlisted airman might be summarized into one six-letter word: PEOPLE. “You have to have quality, trained, people,” said Mertz, who lives in Troy and works as a…
Read MoreTriad alumna working on NASA’s project to return astronauts to moon
By Bruce Darnell • When Karla Bailer graduated from Triad High School in 1983, she immediately began work at a factory in Highland. Two years later, she joined the United States Air Force and started working on jets. Now, she is an inspector for one of the biggest spaceships in the world. Since 2016, Bailer…
Read MoreKahok bowlers compete at Mt. Vernon Sectional
By Mark Jurgena In the Mt. Vernon Sectional at Nu Bowl, Collinsville couldn’t quite reach the previous heights they attained at the regional. They finished 10th out of the 12 qualifying teams in the sectional. Southern Illinois is always the standard in boys’ bowling, with this year being no exception. Waterloo took the sectional crown,…
Read MoreTriad Middle School Math Team takes second place overall at Belleville East competition
Kahok girls’ basketball team knocks off East St. Louis
By Mark Jurgena The Collinsville girls’ basketball squad picked up a win in four starts in the past couple of weeks. They won at East St. Louis while dropping a Southwestern Conference battle to Alton and non-conference games with Granite City and at Waterloo. ESL victory Collinsville picked up its sixth win of the season…
Read MoreJackie L. Spears
December 16, 1951 – January 27, 2026 Jackie L. Spears, age 74, of Troy, died Tuesday, Jan, 27, 2026, at Anderson Hospital in Maryville. He was born on Sunday, Dec. 16, 1951, in East St. Louis, the son of Robert and Mary (née Clark) Spears. On Saturday, April 11, 1981, he married Deborah Mae Spears,…
Read MoreTroy man accused of threatening to kill ICE agents in Minneapolis
EAST ST. LOUIS – A Troy man is facing a federal charge for threatening to kill federal agents working for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minneapolis, according to a media release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois. A federal complaint charged Jeffrey A. Mullinix, 67, with one count of…
Read MoreTroy to host data center forum on Feb. 10 at Triad High
Updated on Jan. 29, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. Residents and other people who live in the region who are concerned about data centers should mark their calendars for Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. at Triad High School, located at 703 East US 40, in the cafetorium. That’s when and where the City of Troy will…
Read MoreAs America Approaches 250: train service in Maryville started at turn of 20th Century
By Kathy Turner • Trains started serving the residents of Maryville in August 1901. The train ran along what is now Illinois Route 159. It connected St. Louis with the communities to the west, including Maryville. Called the East St. Louis and Interurban Railway, it was in reality a streetcar; the line would later become…
Read MoreGet to know Ameren Illinois’ new president; reflection on his journey from lineman to leadership
By Patrick E. Smith, Sr. • Growing up in East St. Louis and graduating from Assumption Catholic High School, I never imagined that one day I’d be named president of Ameren Illinois. But as I prepared to step into this role on Jan. 1, 2026, I found myself reflecting on the journey that brought me…
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