By HOI ABC NORMAL (Heart of Illinois ABC) – The Normal Police Department is investigating a stabbing Friday night that left one person injured. According to Sgt. Brad Underwood, officers responded to the 1000 block of Charlotte Dr., down the road from Fairview Park around 5 pm. Police found a 27-year-old man with a stab…… MORE
By HOI ABC NORMAL – Rivian says 50 people with non-manufacturing positions and who worked at the Normal manufacturing facility were laid off. In a statement, the company says the Normal facility employs around 6,000 people. This comes after the company said six percent of the workforce would be laid off. Rivian statement: This week, Rivian realigned…… MORE
By HOI ABC NORMAL (Heart of Illinois ABC) – The town of Normal shared ideas for the new Uptown south located at the center of town during a Town Meeting. The town revealed the results of a survey that over 800 community members completed. Many wanted the 8-acres to be a walkable, bike-able green space that…… MORE
By HOI ABC BLOOMINGTON (Heart of Illinois ABC) – A $25 to $30 million proposal could renew the ‘Streetscape’ in downtown Bloomington. City Manager Tim Gleason plans to seek approval for the first part of the plan, a $750,000 study already appropriated in the city’s budget, in August. The changes under the proposal are largely…… MORE
By HOI ABC BLOOMINGTON (Heart of Illinois ABC) – Renovations to the Bloomington Public Library have begun. The construction is set to be completed in three separate phases. Bloomington Public Library director Jeanne Hamilton says that the library may face closure during each phase. “It’s really difficult to try to move safely around the traffic…… MORE
Amid a war in Ukraine, commodity prices continue to send investors and farmers on a roller coaster ride.… MORE
By HOI ABC OGALLALA (Heart of Illinois ABC) – A 14-year-old boy was behind the wheel when he hit a mother and daughter. The juvenile was driving a 2006 Chevrolet Blazer down the 1800 block of Stagecoach Trail, Ogallala, NE. 61-year-old Patricia O’Meara and her 28-year-old daughter Katelyn Einck, were walking down the dirt road…… MORE
In a statement, a spokesperson from electric vehicle company Rivian, announced the company will reduce its workforce by nearly 6%.… MORE
The Federal Reserve is hiking interest rates to stave off inflation for the second time in a row.… MORE
A 17-year-old Normal man is facing felony charges after an alleged shooting Tuesday night.… MORE
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.” …
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…
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…
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…