Dan Brannan is Content Director of RiverBender and EdGlenToday.com. Dan started at Riverbender.com/Edglentoday.com in December 2014. He is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL with degrees in Journalism and Psychology. Having previously served as the Executive Editor of The Telegraph in Alton, his 17-year tenure led the paper to over 350 awards including several General Excellence awards in the Illinois Press Association, Illinois Associated Press, Freedom Communications, Southern Illinois Editorial Association and Journal Register Company contests. Brannan was chosen to lead Freedom Communications' national pilot on social media.
He is the author of eight nonfiction books including: "The Courage to Live," a biography about Donna Gustavel, a young woman with multiple disabilities; "Everyday Angels," an inspirational book of moving human interest stories; "Live Life to the Fullest: Stories of People Coping With Diabetes" which is endorsed by the American Diabetes Association; "Boy Giant: The Story of Robert Wadlow The World's Tallest Man;" "Damn Cold and Starving" written with Sgt. Marion Ray; "You Can't Kill the Dream" co-written with fellow journalist Ande Yakstis; and "A Life in Parts," the story of Loretta Goebel and endorsed by Beatle Paul McCartney.
Dan, an avid exercise enthusiast, is a member of the American Diabetes Association and lives in Maryville. Dan has two children in college - Savannah and Sierra.
SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois House of Representatives has passed a modified ban on high-powered weapons and large-capacity magazines early Friday. The bill passed along party lines in the House Executive Committee Thursday afternoon. The assault weapons legislation quickly advanced to the full House...
ROXANA - A stellar up-and-coming female athlete at Roxana High School is sophomore Norah Washington. Washington went from a jump from No. 4 singles to the Shells' No. 1 player by the season's end. Washington also is a basketball and softball player for Roxana. Norah is a Midwest Members Credit Union...
ALTON - The Hit-n-Run Store at 2345 State Street in Alton owned by Dwight and Teresa Fowler, will reopen at 6 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. A fire broke out in the afternoon of Nov. 22 at that location causing it to be closed for over a month. Firefighters arrived and located the fire that had...
COLLINSVILLE - Senior forward Emerson Weller led the way with 16 points, while senior Kaitlyn Morningstar added 14 points as Edwardsville's girls' basketball team ended the first quarter with a 7-0 run and extended it at the start of the second quarter to 16-4 as the Tigers won over Collinsville 51-3...
WASHINGTON, MO. - The search for a missing rural Washington, MO. man has created considerable attention from where he was last seen on Dec. 27, 2022, cruising on a chunk of ice in the Missouri River near Washington. Aaron Duenke, 34, is the person reported missing and last seen in the river. A group...
TAMPA – A Tampa man was sentenced Thursday in a U.S. District Court to 72 months in prison and a $25,000 fine for his involvement in a bank fraud conspiracy. One victim was from Alton. According to court documents, Jaykumar Patel, 33, worked in Florida moving criminal proceeds for an India-based...
EAST ST. LOUIS – Jaylan D. Quinn, 23, of St. Louis, pled guilty in a U.S. District Court on Wednesday to fatally shooting a security guard while robbing First Bank in East St. Louis in August 2021. “Vicious acts of armed violence in our communities are intolerable,” said U.S. Attorney...
EDWARDSVILLE - Danyel Harrell, a co-owner of Wall to Wall Home & Commercial Furnishings in Edwardsville, said she and her husband feel right at home in the new business because of their Edwardsville background. Recently, the Edwardsville-Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting at Wall...
EAST ST. LOUIS – Larry W. Hale, 54 of Belleville, Illinois, was sentenced to 15 years in the Bureau of Prisons in a U.S. District Court on Wednesday for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and Transportation with Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity. According to court documents, Hale, who...
ALTON - Paul Lauschke Jr., a legendary Realtor/community activist, and a family man died early Wednesday morning, Jan. 4, 2023, at the age of 88. One of his sons, David Lauschke, said late Wednesday afternoon Paul had suffered from heart issues in the last months of his life. Paul was a father to...
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