Category Archives: Event

Toys for Tots: 75th Anniversary

Toys for Tots: 75th Anniversary

Each year Toys for Tots of McLean County collects and distributes toys to thousands of children in need in our area.MORE

Treat Feast in Uptown Normal

Treat Feast in Uptown Normal

Celebrate spooky season in Uptown Normal with the annual family-friendly trick-or-treating event – Treat Feast!MORE

Day of Play on September 24th

Day of Play on September 24th

Uptown Normal is being transformed into one giant playground for the Children Discovery Museum’s Day of Play!MORE

St. Jude Walk/Run to End Childhood Cancer

St. Jude Walk/Run to End Childhood Cancer

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and you can help raise awareness and funds to fight this terrible disease with the St. Jude Walk/Run and We Care Half Marathon on September 17, 2022.MORE

Susan G. Komen More Than Pink Walk 2022

Susan G. Komen More Than Pink Walk 2022

After going virtual for the past two years, the Susan G. Komen More Than Pink Walk returns to in-person at the State Farm Corporate South in Bloomington!MORE

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…