One of a dozen opioid-related deaths in McLean County so far this year has led to a criminal charge of drug-induced homicide against a Champaign County man.… MORE
Category Archives: Local News
Twin Cities welcome Special Olympics Illinois Summer Games
The Special Olympics Illinois Summer Games kick off this weekend with more than 4,000 athletes competing in Bloomington-Normal.… MORE
Bloomington public works director welcomes planned Veterans Parkway improvements
Bloomington leaders are welcoming improvements to Veterans Parkway the state is planning over the next five years.… MORE
Normal’s Fritzen: ‘State Farm Effect’ forces community to embrace change
It’s called the ‘State Farm Effect,’ and lately it’s created economic anxiety as the community’s largest employer cuts jobs and shuts down its downtown Bloomington office building.… MORE
Unit 5’s Cleary to resign, becomes second board member to leave for out of state job
A second Unit 5 school board member is resigning to take a job out of state.… MORE
McLean County EMS provides ambulance simulator to students
Students looking to become Emergency Medical Service workers in Bloomington-Normal will be able to get some hands-on training in an ambulance.… MORE
Front Street signals turned off to experiment with pedestrian-friendly layouts
The City of Bloomington has begun experimenting with making a section of a downtown street more pedestrian-friendly.… MORE
West Nile virus found in Bloomington mosquito pool
Mosquitoes with West Nile virus have been found in Bloomington.… MORE
Peoria and NY Catholic Church leaders in war of words over Archbishop Sheen’s remains
A battle within the Catholic Church over the remains of famed Archbishop Fulton Sheen does not appear to be over despite a recent New York court ruling.… MORE
NPD: Robbers hold up Circle K in north Normal
Normal Police are looking for two people who allegedly held up a convenience store and gas station on the north end of town.… 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…