By Jake Fogal WASHINGTON – The Town of Normal’s top official is adding his name to the Amtrak Board of Directors. Normal Mayor Chris Koos was confirmed to the Board of Directors Tuesday following the recommendations of Majority Whip Dick Durbin and U.S Senator Tammy Duckworth. “Mayor Koos has a long history as a powerful,…… MORE
Hockey is officially back in Bloomington thanks to a $4 million investment from Hallet Sports and Entertainment.… MORE
A leader in Bloomington’s city government reports that the name of Grossinger Motors Arena will change.… MORE
By WMBD-TV and WJBC NORMAL – Illinois State University will have a late start on Tuesday due to forecasted weather conditions. The campus will open at noon instead of 7 a.m., as previously indicated. The university said the continued closure will give more time for crews to safely clear roads and campus grounds. All classes…… MORE
By Blake Haas NORMAL – A police officer on Normal’s police force is receiving high praise from the department’s top cop. In December, Officer Sage responded to the 400 block of W. College for a man armed with a knife. Officer Sage helped convince the man to put down the knife. According to Normal Police…… MORE
BY WMBD-TV WOODFORD COUNTY – The Woodford County Board is shifting animal control duties to the sheriff’s office. At Tuesday’s meeting the board approved nearly $800,000 for the department to hire more staff and purchase equipment to help fulfill its new duties. Previously, the county would privately contract someone to handle animal control. The new…… MORE
By WMBD-TV BLOOMINGTON – Mark your calendars! The annual Miller Park Stampede will be on March 2 and registration is now open. The stampede is held by the Miller Park Zoological Society to raise money for the zoo, specifically for the project restoring the Miller Park Zoo carousel. There will be a 9:30 a.m. kids run and…… MORE
By Blake Haas BLOOMINGTON – Bloomington Police need the public’s help solving an early Sunday morning shooting. According to a news release, officers responded to the 7-hundred block of West Olive Street for reports of shots fired. During an investigation, authorities found property damage to a home from the shooting. There were no reports of…… MORE
By Blake Haas BLOOMINGTON – A McLean County man remains behind bars after prosecutors say he beat a man unconscious. Late last week, Bloomington police responded to St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington for a patient who left before completing treatment. After a short investigation, police found the man in the 800 block of E.…… MORE
By Blake Haas BLOOMINGTON – Bloomington Police found a handgun on a Bloomington man after responding to a domestic battery incident. According to an arrest report, police responded to an apartment in the 1-thousand block of Arlene Court late Friday night. Once on the scene, police found a woman with a bloody lip and swelling…… 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…