September is World Alzheimer’s Month, a time to raise awareness of the disease and its effects worldwide. An Illinois scientist may have discovered a new way to restore memory loss from the disease. The University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine conducted a study led by Professor Orly Lazarov, which focused on boosting the production of neurons in the brain cells of mice.  This new research may lead to the possibilities of advancing the current state of Alzheimer’s and dementia.

The hippocampus is the area of the brain that allows individuals to remember things, such as where they have placed their keys. The research conducted at UIC focused on mice with a mutation of Alzheimer’s that impacts the hippocampus area of the brain. Through neurogenesis process, scientists focused on deleting a gene called Bax, by boosting new neurons into cells. These new neurons prompted the memory in mice showing significant improvement in the mice’s function, performance, and ability to remember.  The mice showed enhancements in spatial recognition, which is a skill that helps distinguish spatial relations, such as knowing how to drive home. The contextual memory of the mice also advanced, which is the ability to memorize specific emotions, people and places.

This month, many people raise worldwide awareness to the fact that over 50 million individuals suffer from Dementia, with 50-60% of them suffering from Alzheimer’s. In the state of Illinois alone, Alzheimer’s is growing into a public health crisis, with over 230,000 people aged 65 and older living with the disease. While there is still no cure for Alzheimer’s, this study conducted in Illinois brings great hope on treating and focusing on the diseases cause,  opening the possibilities for new ways to better treat Alzheimer’s. To learn more about this study read here.

Aug. 26 is National Dog Day! Be sure to give your four-legged furry friend some extra love today.

Colleen Paige, a pet and family lifestyle advocate established National Dog Day in 2004. This day is recognized to celebrate dogs of all breeds around the world as well as to honor dogs that keep us safe and bring us comfort. Another important aspect of this day is to bring awareness of how many dogs are currently in shelters. With increasing numbers of pups present in shelters, it is essential for individuals to consider adopting to allow these animals a safe, loving home and to make room for dogs that need to be taken into rescue centers.

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The Robin Roberts Stadium at Lanphier Park in Springfield was voted Best Collegiate Summer League Stadium last week by Ballpark Digest.

Robin Roberts Stadium went head-to-head with Newport, Rhode Island's Cardines Field in the final round of voting, where the Springfield stadium took the cake with more than three quarters of the vote.

The 2022 Best of the Ballparks contest is based on criteria like the stadium's history, geographic factors, editors' personal evaluations of the ballparks, and performance in prior fan contests.

The near century-old stadium on Springfield's north side first opened for use in 1925 under the name Reservoir Park, when the team was named 'The Springfield Senators'. The Senators played in Springfield for a number of years, ultimately retiring in 1951, leaving the Capital City without a professional baseball team until 1978, when the Springfield Redbirds came to town.

In the 1970s, the park was renamed to Robin Roberts Stadium after baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts, a graduate of Lanphier High School in Springfield who played for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1950 to 1955. 

The current league was founded as the Springfield Sliders in 2008 and has been the Stadium's longest tenant. They began playing again in 2022 after a change in ownership in 2021 - now under the name 'Springfield Lucky Horseshoes'. The new name is a nod to a local favorite, the famed Horseshoe Sandwich.

Learn more about the Robin Roberts Stadium on the Springfield Park District's website here.

Mid-July is here – making it the perfect time to see sunflowers during their peak. If you’re a sunflower lover, there are plenty of places in Illinois to explore the beautiful, yellow seasonal flower:

• Stade’s Farm and Market, McHenry, Illinois: This location features “U-Pick” and has two acres of 18 different varieties of sunflowers to choose from. You can also pick fruits ad vegetables at this McHenry-based location.
• Von Bergen’s Country Market, Hebron, Illinois: A sunflower festival is hosted here that goes on now through Sept. 5. They have over 30 acres of sunflowers to walk through.
• New Life Bible Church, Pecatonica, Illinois: Last year, this location had 13 acres of sunflowers around the church and decided to do it again this year! It is free to pick the flowers and take pictures throughout their fields.
• Kuiper’s Family Farm, Maple Park, Illinois: This sunflower farm has an attraction that opens on Aug. 27, called Kuiper’s Sunflower Experience, where visitors can walk through and pick over 20 different kinds of sunflowers among the seven acres the farm occupies.

All of these sunflower fields are worth the drive to other parts of our beautiful state. Make sure to go visit one or more of these locations while sunflowers are in full bloom!

Next year, downtown Chicago will be the site of a new partnership between NASCAR and the city – for the organization’s first ever street course. 

For the first time in NASCAR’s 75-year history, city officials confirmed that Chicago will hold street course races beginning July 2023.

The proposed course is just over two miles long and will cover Lake Shore Drive, Michigan Avenue, Columbus Drive and other streets near Grant Park and the lakefront. The new track will bring drivers past some of the city’s most iconic landmarks, including Soldier Field, the Field Museum, Buckingham Fountain, and, of course, the Chicago skyline.

At the partnership announcement this week, NASCAR officials said the size and demographics of Chicago were some of the factors that drew them to the city, adding that the company was excited to take center stage in the heart of a large metropolitan market.

NASCAR’s Chicago Street Race Weekend is scheduled to take place over the weekend of July 1, 2023. Those who would like to view the full proposed course layout from NASCAR can visit this page for details.

Tickets will go on sale starting Nov. 10, 2022. To purchase tickets, visit www.NASCARChicago.com or call 1-888-629-7223.