By Neil Doyle NORMAL – Illinois State men’s basketball head coach Ryan Pedon is adding to his coaching staff. Jason Slay comes to ISU after spending two seasons at the University of South Florida where he was an assistant coach with the Bulls. “Jason came very highly recommended to me early on in our search,”…… MORE
By WMBD-TV NORMAL – Illinois State University Interim President Dr. Aondover Tarhule has named the new Interim Athletics Director that will start May 1. According to an ISU press release, Dr. Jeri Beggs will take over the position. Beggs is a professor in Illinois State’s Department of Marketing and has a history of service to the National…… MORE
By WMBD-TV NORMAL – Illinois State’s star guard and reigning Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Paige Robinson was drafted by the Dallas Wings in the third round of the WNBA Draft Monday night. Robinson is the first-ever Redbird player to be drafted into the league. She amassed more than 2,000 points in four years at…… MORE
By Neil Doyle BLOOMINGTON – After a win earlier this week in the IHSA Class 2A Super-Sectionals over Pontiac, the Central Catholic (25-11) boys basketball team will face the Rockridge Rockets (28-4) in the state semifinals Thursday in Champaign. The Saints are led by head coach Jason Welch who is in his 16th year at…… MORE
By Neil Doyle NORMAL – Some of the best girls high school basketball teams around the state will compete this weekend in Bloomington-Normal for the IHSA State Championship titles. The season started with 674 high school girls’ basketball teams across the state and now only 16 teams remain. Teams from class 1A, 2A, 3A and…… MORE
High school basketball is underway, and Illinois High School Association members are looking at how some tournaments use the shot clock.… MORE
By Neil Doyle BLOOMINGTON – The best basketball this side of March. That’s the saying for the annual State Farm Holiday Classic, which kicks off Tuesday, Dec. 27 and runs through Friday, Dec. 30 here in the Twin-Cities. The tournament is hosted at four venues around town: Illinois Wesleyan’s Shirk Center, Normal Community High School,…… MORE
By WJBC Staff BLOOMINGTON – The brackets for the 43rd annual State Farm Holiday Classic have been released. Brackets can be viewed and downloaded at www.theclassic.org/brackets/. Seedings were determined by a poll of participating head coaches, state-wide media and tournament committee members, with accommodations made to avoid teams playing a conference or regular season opponent through the…… MORE
By Neil Doyle NORMAL – The Illinois High School Association’s Board of Directors on Wednesday selected Bloomington-Normal and Illinois State University as the new hosts for the football state finals. The new hosting agreement will place the event at Hancock Stadium on Thanksgiving weekend for the years of 2023 to 2027. “We appreciate all of…… MORE
By 25 News NORMAL – Bloomington-Normal leaders want to bring back the Illinois High School Association’s state football championship games for the next five years, but three other communities are also hoping to land the premier event that’s held each Thanksgiving weekend. ISU’s Hancock Stadium was the venue for the first 25 years of the…… 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…