It’s not quite the home stretch of the 2020 farming season in Illinois.… MORE
Category Archives: Local News
Normal police enhancing patrols on Halloween
City officials say no tickets would be handed out to trick-or-treaters this year because of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, but there will be extra patrols.… MORE
UPDATED: Heartland online classes and systems remain down
Online classes and operations at Heartland Community College will remain down Wednesday after computer systems were compromised by an outside source.… MORE
Normal firefighters have new contract
The Normal Town Council has signed off on a union contract that gives the town’s firefighters annual pay raises of almost 2.3 percent.… MORE
McLean County government considers opening COVID-19 call center
McLean County is step closer to opening a COVID-19 call center to answer the public’s questions about the virus.… MORE
43 new COVID cases in McLean County; 3 more hospitalized
Local health officials Tuesday reported 43 new cases of coronavirus as three more McLean County residents are in the hospital.… MORE
City seeks to fill Ward 7 vacancy
Bloomington city council member Scott Black announced in September he won’t be able to complete his term, which expires next spring because he and his wife have bought a home outside of Ward 7.… MORE
Challenger for the speaker’s chair
Now that a House Democrat is challenging Mike Madigan (pictured) (D-Chicago) for the speaker’s chair, House Republicans say there is a good question on which you can pin down Democratic candidates:… MORE
Normal Theater Manager: “It was great to have people back”
After being shuttered since March due to COVID-19, the historic uptown theater reopened to the public last week, and the theater’s manager says he’s relieved to have the doors open.… MORE
Man arrested for alleged stabbing in downtown Bloomington
A Bloomington man was arrested over the weekend for allegedly stabbing another man outside a tavern.… 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…