Illinois park of the month: Fort Massac State Park

• Park of the month
• Tourism
• Fort Massac State Park
• Metropolis
• Superman

With the leaves changing color, October is a great time to visit Fort Massac State Park in Metropolis.

The park, which is steeped in history dating back centuries, has been preserved since 1908, when it became the Land of Lincoln’s first park.

The unique Fort Massac Encampment attracts approximately 200,000 people and is held for two days each October. At the event, Illinois’ frontier history is re-created by historical actors and skilled craftspeople. People attending can view military camps, see crafts and visit booths with period food and drinks.

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National Coffee Day

On National Coffee Day, we’d like to shine a spotlight on Chicago-based coffee roaster Intelligentsia. Intelligentsia pioneered the Direct Trade purchasing model in which they source directly from coffee roasters and incentivize high-quality cups.

Doug Zell and Emily Manage first opened Intelligentsia Coffee’s doors on Broadway Avenue on Chicago’s North Side in October of 1995. Since then they have expanded from coast to coast, opening shops in LA and New York City.

They have earned several awards for their work and in 2016 were recognized on Thrillist’s list of best coffee roasters in the country.
Intelligentsia works with farmers and coffee producers in 20 countries to develop high quality beans.

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Illinois startups seek to boost online shopping

• Economy
• Entrepreneurship
• Maven
• Business
• E-Commerce

An Illinois-based startup company is hoping to be the next big thing on the web for people looking to shop online. The website, Maven, pays people a commission to recommend certain products that they have to other people.

Being described as “Pinterest with Pay”, the website has partnered with 3,000 merchants and 1,000 “mavens” to recommend goods from fashion to home décor. Mavens can earn a commission of up to 20 percent for recommending goods to people on the web.

Maven CEO Jess Waldeck’s own favorite Mavens are Cheryl Leahy for her suggestions for tassel earrings, and Alison Pittas for her suggestions on food and books.

For more information about Maven visit their website.

Illinois keeps on winning

• Tourism
• Mississippi River Tug of War
• Wall Street Journal
• Port Byron
• Recreation

 Illinois remains decade-long champion of Mississippi River Tug of War

For the past nine years, Illinois has proven its dominance in at least one offbeat contest: Winners in an epic tug of war competition across the Mississippi River itself.

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