Mark and Suzi Pettyjohn live in Rochester. Mark is a retirement asset manager and Suzi is Rochester’s Scholastic Bowl coach. They spoke to Community Voices about their organization, Nature’s Child Academy, which is a nature-based pre-school in Rochester. They also own the Brunchfield Café, and Mark runs the Retirement Peace Project.

Bicycle Doctor owner Robert LaBonte joins Community Voices to update a growing trend in cycling, electric bikes. He also discusses the Springfield bike path network.

The Old State Capitol Art Fair kicks off on May 21. This is also the start of the downtown farmer’s market and the summer festival season. The Phoenix Center’s pride festival is also May 21. Julie Beveridge with the art fair and Kayla Graven with Downtown Springfield Inc. spoke to Community Voices about what visitors to the downtown area can expect.

Donna Jefferson is a local playwright who wrote the play "Mama's Day" after the passing of her mother. The play runs May 20-22, at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. Jefferson spoke to Community Voices about what inspires her writings and how to find inspiration in nature.

China Towne is a "Ceramic & Fired Arts Studio," owned by Kim Votsmier, where people can pick out ceramic pieces and paint them. Votsmier spoke to Community Voices about the special classes she offers, including glass fusing and precious metal clay. She also shared how she learns new techniques and then teaches them at her store. She also tells her story about how she got involved in the world of arts and crafts.

Deepak Dhankher is the CEO of Aggieland Software. The company creates apps and software for companies to help them work more efficiently. Dhankher spoke to Community Voices about his passion for building software and using Artificial Intelligence to automate mundane tasks.

Jane Jackman is a Springfield resident with years of experience working in the medical field as a physician. She spoke to Community Voices about her diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which is a disease that causes scarring of the lungs making it increasingly difficult for patients to breath as the disease progresses. Fortunately Jackman received a much-needed lung transplant, and now she speaks on the need for more research and treatment of pulmonary fibrosis.

The University of Illinois Springfield held a second panel discussion and Q&A with faculty experts discussing the economic consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.The panel featured Ken Kriz, UIS distinguished professor of public administration; Dursun Peksen, professor of political science at the University of Memphis; and Olha Krupa, associate professor and graduate certificate program director at Seattle University’s Institute of Public Service.The panel discussion was moderated by AJ Simmons, research director at the UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership.

Doug Hotle is the new director of the Henson Robinson Zoo. He spoke to Community Voices about his background working with reptiles and exotic animals. He also shared what he is looking forward to at the zoo.

Tracy Dowell is the owner of the Springfield Running Center. She has participated in 12 marathons, including the Boston Marathon, and an Ironman triathlon. She spoke to Community Voices about using her athletic experience to coach Springfield's youth. She also talked about the services offered at the Running Center including shoe fitting, training plans and "Thursday 5Ks."