The Clark Bridge connects the past and the future

The Clark Bridge, linking Illinois to Missouri in Alton, is a cable-stay bridge, unique in its structure in the United States. The bridge is named for explorer William Clark, who helped lead the Lewis & Clark expedition from 1804 to 1806. The bridge is a 4,620 foot gateway inviting visitors to discover the region.

Requiring 8,100 tons of structural steel, 44,100 cubic yards of concrete and more than 160 miles of cable wrapped with four acres of yellow plastic piping, the Clark Bridge is expected to be a part of the area's scenery well into the next century. The bridge is supported by 44 steel cables looped over saddles and perched on top of a pair of ten foot wide concrete pylons 250 feet above the Mississippi River.

Design work on the bridge began in 1985, with construction starting in June 1990. Designed by Hanson Engineers under contract to Illinois Department of Transportation, the Clark Bridge was the first in the United States in which a light steel-framed cable-stayed design was combined with a cable saddle type of pylon. The bridge used 8,100 tons of structural steel, 44,100 cubic yards of concrete, and more than 160 miles of cable wrapped with four acres of yellow plastic piping. The span carries four lanes of traffic and two additional paths for bicycles and pedestrians. It is the northernmost river crossing in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

The new Clark Bridge was built to replace the Old Clark Bridge, which was built by the Alton-St. Louis Bridge Company in 1927 and demolished after the completion of the new bridge in the 1990s. The old bridge was a toll bridge while the new one is not.

The new Clark Bridge is sometimes referred to as the “Super Bridge.” Its construction was featured in a NOVA documentary entitled Super Bridge, which highlighted the challenges of building the bridge, especially during the Great Flood of 1993.

Illinois Air National Guard reaches new heights

• National Guard
• Excellence
• Air Force

The Illinois Air National Guard joined six guard units in receiving the 2020 Air Force Organizational Excellence Award, which serves as one of many means of validating the work and dedication of service members across the country.

Guard aviation units were first mobilized in the early 20th century, but it wasn’t until 1947 that the National Security Act created the United States Air National Guard to respond to domestic and foreign conflict and crises. Since its inception, Air National Guard units have been comprised of driven individuals who take great pride in improving the lives of their communities and country through humanitarian efforts, disaster response and international defense.

The Air Force Organizational Excellence Award recognizes the achievements and accomplishments of U.S. Air Force organizations and their activities. ILANG received this recognition because of the execution of its missions despite COVID-19 response operations, including civil disturbance missions, election support, flood operations and overseas missions. More than 700 members of the ILANG were mobilized in 2020 as part of the largest domestic operations activation in Illinois history. This is the third time ILANG has received the AFOEA, following awards in 1999 and 1986.

ILANG also engages in community service. Airmen volunteered with local organizations to expand health and wellness opportunities in addition to providing education services to communities statewide and donating goods to local libraries and homeless shelters. They also laid wreaths and flags at Camp Butler National Cemetery in Springfield to honor the veterans buried there.

Information about the Illinois Air National Guard and its services can be located on its website.

Jane Addams Day

• Women
• Education
• Museum
• Jane Addams

Jane Addams is recognized annually on Dec. 10 in Illinois for her positive contributions to the lives of women and children. She was born in Cedarville, Illinois, in 1860. As she grew older, she dedicated herself to social work, activism and feminism for women everywhere. She is credited with bringing a Hull House to Chicago to house and educate women in pursuit of social and political reform among the working-class neighborhoods of the city. In addition to being a co-founder of this settlement house, Jane Addams played a formative role in the creation of the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union, which fight to expand civil liberties to all people regardless of their origin, creed, race or background.

Jane Addams is a global figure as well. She was the second woman in the world to win the Nobel Peace Prize and the first in the U.S. to receive the award. James Addams Day was first recognized in Illinois in 2006, making Addams one of few women to have a commemorative day across the U.S.

To observe Jane Addams Day, visit the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, which offers tours, exhibits and workshops that spark conversations about what can be learned from Jane Addams and icons like her. The museum is located in Hull Home, a national historic landmark and one of the original settlement house buildings founded by Addams. It features programs and events beyond Jane Addams to continue her legacy of social reform. Patrons can learn about gender equality, governmental accountability, access to food and civic engagement.

Information about the museum, its events and programs can be found here.

Morrow plots are the oldest experimental crop field in America

The College of Agricultural Sciences on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is home to the oldest and largest experimental crop field in the United States and the second oldest in the entire world. The plots were established in 1876 and continue to be used today, although now with three plots of much-reduced size, instead of the original ten half-acre lots. Some of the land formally included in the plots was used to build the campus observatory or tuned into green space. Now only three plots remain, but they are protected as a National Historic Landmark. The Morrow Plots is one of two such landmarks on campus, achieving its status in 1968. The neighboring observatory also achieved the status of National Historic Landmark in 1989.

The Morrow Plots were started in 1876 by Professor Manly Miles, who established three half-acre fields with different crop schemes. These were expanded to 10 plots in 1879 by George E. Morrow. At first, record keeping was not of the highest caliber, but by the turn of the 20th century, it was clear that crop rotation was a useful component in preventing the depletion of soil quality. In the early 20th century, the number of plots were reduced, and their size was also reduced, in order to facilitate expansion of the university facilities. The northernmost plots are the only ones that date to Miles' 1876 establishment-his other plots are now occupied by the University of Illinois Observatory.

Alumni of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will be pleased to learn that the Morrow plots were instrumental in in gaining knowledge on crop rotation, soil nutrient depletion, and the effects of synthetic and natural fertilizers. With crops being consistently grown in the same place for well over 100 years, research and records on the Morrow Plots continue to provide valuable information for a variety of topics, including soil carbon sequestration and long-term effects of fertilizers on soil bacteria. Corn, wheat, soybeans and other crops are still grown on the plots to this day.