By WMBD-TV HUDSON – Timber Pointe outdoor center in Hudson is 170 acres of campground owned by Easterseals Central Illinois. The Center specializes in advocacy for those living with disabilities. Easterseals camps are meant to teach inclusion of everyone. “You get a group of nine-year-olds that want to learn how to applaud in sign language…… MORE
By WMBD-TV NORMAL – At a special meeting on Tuesday, the Unit 5 School Board voted to reinstate the reductions that were approved for the 2023-2024 school year. The reversal comes after the passing of a tax rate referendum from April’s Consolidated Elections. The cuts were approved just in case the referendum failed a second…… MORE
By WMBD-TV BLOOMINGTON – The city of Bloomington is adjusting to the growth in the area. Three drones will be purchased for the police department to help with crime prevention. The total for the drones is $101,675.02 and they will be purchased over the course of five years. “In the past the Chief of Police…… MORE
By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – A 20-year-old male who had been shot was discovered at Bloomington park on Sunday afternoon. According to BPD, the shooting had occurred at Alton Depot Park a little after 2:30 on Sunday. The injured males wound is not thought to be life-threatening. No one has been arrested, and there is…… MORE
By WMBD-TV BLOOMINGTON – A Bloomington man has been arrested in connection to a shooting incident on Sunday. According to a Bloomington police press release, the shooting occurred at approximately 1:45 a.m. near Main and Kelsey Streets. Officers later found evidence that a shooting occurred on the scene. Officers identified Noral Johnson as a suspect…… MORE
By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – Four dollar gas is on the table for the summer of 2023 here in Illinois, and five dollars won’t be out of question as OPEC has cut oil production. OPEC, known as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has announced that it will be cutting production by more than…… MORE
By WMBD-TV NORMAL – Illinois State University was one of four universities to receive Early Childhood Faculty Preparation Grants from the Illinois Board of Higher Education on Thursday. According to a press release, $3.37 million in grant funding will be going to public and private universities across Illinois to implement programs of study for a…… MORE
By WMBD-TV NORMAL – Alex Williams made local history with his win in the consolidated elections on Tuesday. He is the first African-American man elected to Unit 5’s School Board. “It feels great to be the first African-American male to be seated on the school here at Unit 5,” said Williams. “I was aware that…… MORE
By WMBD-TV & Jake Fogal NORMAL – The Unit 5 School District is getting a lifeline in hopes of crawling out of a nearly $12 million deficit. Voters said “Yes” to a tax rate referendum on Tuesday after previously rejecting the referendum in November. In 2024 the education fund tax rate will change from $2.72…… MORE
By WMBD-TV MACKINAW – There are new updates in an alleged October 2021 murder-for-hire plot in rural Mackinaw. Dahlia Bolin, 16, was transferred to adult court on March 31, according to Tazewell County State’s Attorney Kevin Johnson. Prosecutors say Bolin was 15 when she offered money to 20-year-old Sage Raeuber, 19-year-old Nathaniel Maloney and 18-year-old Andre Street…… 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…