By Neil Doyle BLOOMINGTON – First round voting to find the state’s best pork chop sandwich is underway in the Illinois High School Association’s and Illinois Pork Producers Association’s (IPPA) Pork and Pigskins Championship. 58 contenders will look to advance out of the first round into the Savory 16. Voting is currently open online here.…… MORE
By Neil Doyle BLOOMINGTON – The City of Bloomington has named a new director of the Miller Park Zoo. Jay Pratte comes to the city after holding positions with the Dallas Zoo, Zoo Atlanta, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium and the Utica Zoo. He replaces Jay Tetzloff who served as the zoo’s director for…… MORE
By 25 News BLOOMINGTON – A Bloomington man faces several arson charges related to an apartment complex fire early Monday morning. 23-year-old Roman Kannaday faces six counts of aggravated arson, three counts of resisting a peace officer, and one count of violating the Illinois Pyrotechnic Use Act. Bond was set at $200,000 Tuesday. Prosecutors say…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – The state’s latest high-profile retiree says … it’s time. “If you were 78 years old,” says Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Anne Burke, “and you had been working since you were fifteen or going to school and raising a family of five, you would think, maybe it’s time to take…… MORE
Illinois State University is setting record numbers for its incoming freshman class, but the school’s top brass is also touting other enrollment numbers.… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – The state’s assessing the damage to the statue of Martin Luther King Jr., on the Capitol complex, while a man faces a charge of criminal damage to state property. “Sunday evening, we estimate about 11:00,” said Dave Druker, a spokesman for the Illinois secretary of state’s office, “a person came…… MORE
By USDA SPRINGFIELD – There were 5.8 days suitable for field work during the week ending September 11, 2022. Statewide, the average temperature was 69.9 degrees, 0.1 degrees below normal. Precipitation averaged 0.79 inches, 0.10 inches above normal. Topsoil moisture supply was rated 4 percent very short, 24 percent short, 70 percent adequate, and 2…… MORE
The McLean County Sheriff’s Office is going digital. A new mobile app will allow users to communicate directly with the Sheriff’s Office for a number of issues.… MORE
The checks will be in the mail. Or in your direct deposit.… MORE
In the pumpkin capital of the world, farmers are feeling the pinch of the high cost of fertilizer and a labor shortage. … 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…