The village of New Salem and its role in the making of the 16th president are the subject of “Forever This Land,” which opens Friday at Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site. Organizers say this Theatre in the Park production is the first revival of the play since its original two-summer run in 1951 and 1952.

Mike Mrock didn't buy three $100 St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway raffle tickets because he hoped he would win a new house. What would a single, 20-year-old history major who earns spending money delivering Gino's East deep dish pizzas and lives with his parents in suburban Chicago do with a 2,500-square-foot McMansion with a flip-the-switch gas fireplace, three-car garage and four bedrooms upstairs?

The Gates family of Flint, Mich., has countless memories from Cornerstone Music Festival, as they've attended several times over the past decade. But they always get a laugh when telling of the time cows nearly trampled their tent. The Gates family was among thousands who turned out for a weekend of music and Christian camaraderie at the 26th annual Cornerstone Music Festival, which kicked off Monday. Organizers expect between 15,000 to 17,000 to show up through Saturday.

Weekly family rail, with a review of the new “Transformers” movie, tips on volunteering and more.

 Springfield State Journal-Register staff tests new products.

When choosing strawberries, look for brightly colored, plump berries that still have the green caps attached.

Edible flowers were popular during the Victorian era, but you don’t need a complicated recipe to cook with them. In fact, the simpler, the better.

The two rock walls tower 40 feet above the forest floor, daring those in the small clearing below to leave the ground and climb. But the climbers aren't on their own, and that's the point. The course is the new High Elements rope course at Camp Kearney, a free summer camp for disadvantaged kids.

"IDK. My BFF Jill?" may have made for a cute Cingular/AT&T commercial. But in the business world, it leaves some employers wondering if you’re right for the job. In an economy where finding a job is tough, teens may be hurting their chances of getting hired this summer even more by using “text speak” on employment applications.

For two years, Larry Tye pored through thousands of research pages and wrote hundreds of pages about an often-overlooked American icon: baseball great Leroy “Satchel” Paige. Satchel’s story, said Tye, is about overcoming “every obstacle any human being could ever imagine.”

Springfield’s two downtown hospitals — which actively compete for patients and the favor of doctors — both have acquired the newest version of a robotic surgical system that hospital officials say will help physicians provide better experiences for patients. Springfield doctors say the da Vinci Surgical Systems now in place at St. John’s Hospital and Memorial Medical Center will lead to benefits such as shorter hospital stays, faster recoveries and less pain after surgery.

The sanctuary, decorated with blue and green ribbons, was filled with family and friends. Tables and chairs were set up in the church basement for the reception and cupcakes, cookies, sodas and three kinds of potato chips awaited the invited guests. The tuxedoed groom stood at the altar, next to the preacher. "The Wedding March" was cued and ready to go. One final detail remained before the ceremony could begin: Somebody needed to tell the bride it was her wedding day.

When Don Brewer looks back on his life with Grand Funk Railroad, he sees 40 years of incredible highs - and plenty of lows, too. But right now, Brewer says, he's somewhere in the middle.

Staind has always been known as a rock band that produces great ballads. Or is it a ballad band that knows how to rock? The Massachusetts-based group, which formed 15 years ago and has topped the charts with hits like "So Far Away" and "Fade," has managed to appeal to all sorts of fans, from the devout heavy metal heads to the fans who are happy to sing along to the heart-wrenching love songs like "It's Been Awhile."

When consumers toss unused household chemicals and other hazardous items into the garbage, they wind up in municipal landfills, which often are not equipped to handle this kind of waste. But keeping cleaning solutions, insecticides and other items around the house has its dangers. Many household cleaning products, pest-control chemicals and lawn-care chemicals can be replaced with more natural, less toxic methods.