State Farm Insurance conducted an “active shooter” drill Monday, but the Bloomington-based company said the exercise is not due to any threats or recent mass shootings.… MORE
Category Archives: Police and Fire
Rally leader: Men must change their thinking about domestic violence
It will take a paradigm shift in thinking to curb domestic violence, according to one of the organizers of a rally in downtown Bloomington Monday to combat the problem.… MORE
Illinois boosts patrols for Halloween
Police statewide are stepping up patrols for the Halloween weekend urge motorists to “drive sober, or get pulled over.”… MORE
Pekin man identified in fatal Friday afternoon crash
The Peoria County Coroner has identified the body of a man killed in a two-vehicle crash Friday afternoon.… MORE
BPD officers find more than 100 grams of ‘spice’
According to a press release from the BPD, 40-year-old Dawn C. Eheart was arrested for multiple counts of manufacturing, delivering near a school, park, and housing areas; in addition to possessing up to 15 grams of a controlled substance.… MORE
Local police departments host prescription drug take-back day
Police departments across Illinois and United States are taking part in the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday.… MORE
Alleged dealer accused of selling ‘smorgasbord’ of drugs at ISU
A Bloomington man, who authorities describe as a higher-level drug dealer, faces multiple felony charges for allegedly selling LSD, cocaine, and ecstasy on the Illinois State University campus.… MORE
Zimmerman jury allowed to hear circumstantial evidence
McLean County prosecutors will be able present to a jury circumstantial evidence about accused killer Kirk Zimmerman’s shrinking finances, and how he may have traveled to Indiana to buy a gun used to kill his ex-wife in Bloomington almost three years ago.… MORE
Rauner discusses public safety bills in visit to Pontiac
Hours after announcing his re-election bid, Gov. Bruce Rauner stopped in Pontiac on Monday to advocate for public safety with State Rep. Tom Bennett (R-Gibson City) and a couple of local public safety officials.… MORE
Firefighters quickly put out Downtown Bloomington apartment fire
Residents of a downtown Bloomington apartment building escaped unharmed from a fire Monday afternoon that swept through one of the dwellings.… 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…