Unit 5 Superintendent Mark Daniel said the end to the school year this week can’t come soon enough in light of recent events of gun violence in schools.… MORE
Category Archives: Local News
Heartland to name quad after retiring president Widmer
Heartland Community College is paying tribute to its retiring president, naming the campus quad after him and also awarding him an honorary degree.… MORE
Expect high gas and crowded roads Memorial Day weekend
AAA Auto Club released a new survey finding nearly 42 million Americans plan to take a Memorial Day getaway. That means five percent more people are traveling than last year. … MORE
The Autism Place will raise money and awareness with yard sale
The Friends of the Autism Place are collecting items for a community yard sale on Saturday, June 2.… MORE
Bloomington seeking feedback on removing traffic signals
The City of Bloomington Public Works Department is seeking feedback from the public on whether to remove the traffic signals on Front Street at Main Street and Center Street.… MORE
Eugene Field School dedicates wheelchair-friendly walkway to former student
Eugene Field School has dedicated a new walkway to a lifelong community member who attended the school years ago.… MORE
Normal’s Koos applauds ‘robust’ debate on Uptown TIF
Politics sometimes makes for strange bedfellows, and that was indeed the case as local taxing bodies decided it was OK to keep certain properties off their tax rolls another 12 years to help spur development in Uptown Normal.… MORE
Search results in arrest of man from Normal on drug distribution charges
Police say a search in Normal resulted in the arrest of a man on drug distribution charges.… MORE
Miller Park Zoo to bid farewell to seals, welcome alligators
Miller Park Zoo will bid farewell to some of its animals this summer, but will bring in a few new faces as well… MORE
Unit 5 board backs TIF extension for Uptown Normal
The Town of Normal now has the blessing of all six affected taxing bodies to keep certain properties off their tax rolls to stimulate Uptown development.… 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…