Category Archives: Top Stories

UPDATE: Two Prairie Central high school students identified in deadly ski-related accident

UPDATE: Two Prairie Central high school students identified in deadly ski-related accident

By Jake Fogal and Blake Haas FAIRBURY – According to a newsletter to the school community, two Prairie Central High School students have died in a skiing-related accident. A letter from Prairie Central Superintendant Paula Crane was released earlier this morning saying the accident happened Sunday in Colorado. According to the Daily Leader in Pontiac,…MORE

McLean County leads country in corn production per latest estimates from USDA

McLean County leads country in corn production per latest estimates from USDA

By Jake Fogal MCLEAN COUNTY – Estimates of corn and soybean production for 2022 are being released by the USDA’s National Agriculture Statistic Service. According to the State of Illinois, the top five counties in the US for corn output overall are in Illinois. McLean County lead the country in corn production with roughly 71…MORE

McLean County bringing high-speed internet to rural parts

McLean County bringing high-speed internet to rural parts

By WMBD-TV MCLEAN COUNTY – McLean County is one of five counties participating in the Illinois Soybean Association’s Broadband Breakthrough Program. The goal is to get high-speed internet in rural parts of the county. The county is in the middle of a 16 to 18 week research process. The intent is to explore what bringing broadband…MORE

District 87 cuts seven positions in reduction of force

District 87 cuts seven positions in reduction of force

By WMBD-TV BLOOMINGTON – District 87 School Board approved cutting seven Professional Educator Licensed employees and Educational Support Personnel. Anyone hired after Jan 1. is automatically a reduction in force for the district; meaning their term will end at the end of this school year. This year those positions included, but were not limited to…MORE

Normal reintroducing Moratz Facade Grant

Normal reintroducing Moratz Facade Grant

By WMBD-TV The Normal Uptown Design Review Commission voted to move forward with reintroducing the Moratz Facade Grant on Monday. The grant will allow businesses and property owners to make exterior improvements to their buildings. Owners can receive $1,000 per linear foot for wall areas that are visible to the public. The grant will be…MORE

North Normal cannabis dispensary plans proposed to Town Council

North Normal cannabis dispensary plans proposed to Town Council

By Jake Fogal NORMAL – Town of Normal leaders are being urged once more to ratify plans for a second recreational cannabis business on the town’s north side. The proposal was submitted by Illinois Health And Wellness LLC, who has applied for a special use permit to plant a new dispensary dubbed “Revolution” in a…MORE

Fuel costs trickle down in latest GasBuddy Price Report

Fuel costs trickle down in latest GasBuddy Price Report

By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – Gas prices continue to drop across the state as the latest gas report shows prices at the pump are down less than a cent over the past week. According to GasBuddy, prices in Illinois are 8 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 81 cents a gallon…MORE

Victim Identified: Deadly February crash in McLean County

Victim Identified: Deadly February crash in McLean County

By 25 News MCLEAN COUNTY – Authorities have identified the victim of a Tuesday morning crash on Interstate 55. Cory Geist, 25, has been identified as the driver who died in a two-vehicle crash on I-55 Southbound near LaGrange Road, or mile post 146 near McLean. It was just before 2:00 a.m. when Geist’s box truck…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…