Illinois State University’s governing board is being asked to approve a multi-million dollar contract for a campus lab to process COVID-19 saliva tests, while administrators are also seeking the board’s approval to use local hotel space to quarantine students in case of a coronavirus surge.… MORE
McLean County’s largest school district has finalized a contract agreement with its teachers’ union.… MORE
The state announced its daily coronavirus numbers Wednesday, though many on the social media jury believe the government is puffing up the numbers.… MORE
District 87 students in grades 7-12 will continue full-time remote learning for the rest of the fall semester.… MORE
A Peoria man remained jailed Tuesday night in McLean County after prosecutors said police found almost 26 pounds of marijuana in his luggage at Central Illinois Regional Airport.… MORE
By Neil Doyle BLOOMINGTON – McLean County’s rolling positivity rate jumped a whole percentage point Wednesday as local health officials reported 44 new cases of coronavirus. The county’s rolling positivity rate is 4.9%, according to McLean County Health Department Administrator Jessica McKnight. There are 11 people currently hospitalized and 304 are isolating at home.…… MORE
The Normal Public Library is officially reopening Wednesday, with some changes to what visitors can expect.… MORE
Possible frost in the forecast might be incentive for Illinois farmers to step it up in the fields.… MORE
The victim in Monday’s shooting in Bloomington has been identified.… MORE
Construction is now underway at Miller Park Zoo for a new monkey exhibit.… 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…