Normal Town Council members took action without discussion Monday night on millions of dollars in spending on insurance and infrastructure improvements.… MORE
Category Archives: Local News
Normal’s mayor takes leave for prostate cancer treatment
Normal Mayor Chris Koos is taking a leave of absence to be treated for prostate cancer.… MORE
Democrat Segobiano gives up run for county board seat; will work with GOP to face Watchinski
Veteran McLean County Board member Paul Segobiano won’t run as a Republican or as a write-in candidate to retain his seat, but he will not endorse the woman who soundly defeated him in last month’s Democratic primary.… MORE
Synthetic marijuana suspected in Peoria man’s death
The Illinois Department of Public Health is looking to find the source of the synthetic marijuana that’s sickened dozens, and now killed one Peoria man.… MORE
Local leaders kick off Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Various local leaders gathered outside the McLean County Museum of History this morning to voice their support for sexual assault survivors.… MORE
Books to Benefit volunteer finds marriage certificate in 1880s Bible
Piecing together an old artifact and tracking down its rightful owner may sound like the plot of a movie, but it’s a story that happened to a local Books to Benefit volunteer.… MORE
Midwest Fiber takes over Normal drop-box recycling
A private company has taken over Normal’s drop box recycling program.… MORE
Bloomington alderman worries ‘welcoming city’ ordinance might trigger Fed action
A Bloomington alderman said he’s worried the federal government might single out the city as a place to ramp up deportations.… MORE
Normal to consider construction bids, golf equipment purchases
The Town of Normal is expected to approve a handful of infrastructure projects at tonight’s town council meeting.… MORE
McLean County STEM to host 2nd annual gala
McLean County STEM, short for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, is hosting their second annual STEM gala.… 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…