The family of Jelani Day has announced via Facebook that the Jelani Day Foundation 2nd Annual All-White Remembrance Dinner has been postponed.… MORE
Illinois State Fair preview
This year’s Illinois State Fair, which steps off next Thursday, is about what’s new.… MORE
Susan G. Komen’s 2023 MORE THAN PINK Walk
Susan G. Komen is bringing the MORE THAN PINK Walk back to Bloomington-Normal on September 9 and they’re asking you to join their fight against breast cancer.… MORE
Bloomington-Normal native donates 14 tons of sweet corn to Midwest Food Bank
Nothing is sweeter than giving back to the community – especially when it’s sweet corn.… MORE
Normal police issues 138 traffic citations during Speed Awareness Month
By WMBD-TV NORMAL – Officers with the Normal Police Department spent over 108 hours during Speed Awareness Month enforcing speed related violations throughout the town, according to a news release Wednesday. In the 108 hours, officers issued 138 total traffic citations consisting of 123 speeding citations, two cell phone violation citations, and 12 other vehicle code violation…… MORE
Normal PD adding to their community outreach with ‘Pop with a Cop’
Officers from Normal Police Department took time to connect and cool down with their community on Tuesday when they hosted Pop with a Cop.… MORE
Illinois auctioning off forgotten valuables at State Fair
Valuables left behind – mostly in forgotten safe-deposit boxes – wind up in the state treasurer’s office. And, after at least ten years, they are sold off. Treasurer Mike Frerichs Wednesday announced plans for an auction Saturday, August 19, at the Illinois State Fair.… MORE
Bloomington man arrested for shots fired in July, found with ghost gun
By WMBD-TV BLOOMINGTON – A report of shots fired back in July led to a Bloomington man being arrested Tuesday. A Bloomington police news release confirms officers were originally dispatched to the 700 block of Fairmont Drive on July 22 a little before 1 p.m. for shots fired. A vehicle and a nearby home were…… MORE
ISU football picked 7th in MVFC preseason poll
The Illinois State University football team was picked seventh in the Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason poll voted on by league coaches, media, and sports information directors. … MORE
Chicago church now a national monument
“Without that open casket,” former Congressman Bobby Rush said, “we would not have had that civil rights movement.”… 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…