One of the longest traditions is back at the University of Illinois Springfield.

Springfest is planned by multiple student organizations and features a variety of activities for students across campus.

"Fun that's what it's geared towards," said Springfest chairwoman Paige Williams. "Fun and I think the service project is fun. A lot of other students here think that the service project is fun, so the entire week is geared towards fun but we do set aside one day in the week to give back."

This year the University of Illinois Springfield softball team made each game played count. The Prairie Stars are having a remarkable season on the field, but it's because of how the team acts off the field that is leading to all of their success.

"We just knew from the fall that this was our year to shine," UIS senior pitcher Payton Long said.

Gale Myers is the owner of Davidsan’s Japanese Maples. She is retiring and has closed the business which owns thousands of Japanese maple trees. Myers is gifting the trees to Springfield locations including the University of Illinois Springfield.

Myers and Dr. Jonathan GoldbergBelle, who is the director of the UIS Study Away Program, spoke to Community Voices about the donation to UIS and an event on April 30 to celebrate the trees and Japanese culture.

The University of Illinois Springfield has placed pinwheels around campus to recognize National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Watch the video on WAND News from April 1, 2022.

University of Illinois Springfield & Live Nation has announced that John Mulaney's From Scratch is coming to UIS Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, May 18, 2022.

An Illinois State University professor will be the director of the University of Illinois Springfield School of Education starting this summer.

UIS announced Tuesday that Beth Hatt, a professor of educational administration and foundations at Illinois State, would start as director on June 16. She has spent the past 10 years with the ISU College of Education and holds a doctorate in culture, curriculum and change from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. 

The University of Illinois Springfield is raising awareness for sexual assault awareness month.

Students placed hundreds of flags for the more than 400,000 people who become rape and sexual assault victims every year.

The goal is to raise awareness and show support for survivors on campus.

The story aired on WICS Newschannel 20 on April 6, 2022. Watch the online report.

University of Illinois Springfield undergraduate students can now earn both their bachelor’s degree and a law degree in six years. That is compared to the typical seven years.

This is thanks to a new agreement with the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.

The University of Illinois Springfield is making changes to its COVID-19 testing policy.

Starting April 11, employees, faculty, staff, and long-term guests who have not yet been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will only have to test once per week.

Previously, they had to get tested twice per week.

Testing is optional for those who are up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccine.

Changes are also being made to the hours of operation of the SHIELD saliva-based testing site.

The University of Illinois Springfield baseball team beat Southern Indiana 9-2 then 19-2 in Saturday's doubleheader. UIS' Colton Hale became the school's all-time wins leader.

This story aired on WICS Newschannel 20 on April 9, 2022. Read the entire article online.