Category Archives: Local News

Bat tests positive for rabies, Tazewell County health officials say

Bat tests positive for rabies, Tazewell County health officials say

By WMBD-TV TAZEWELL COUNTY – The Tazewell County Health Department announced Wednesday that it found and tested a bat for rabies in the county. According to a news release from the health department, this is the second year in a row that a bat has tested positive for rabies within the county after another bat…MORE

YouthBuild getting new open space from Lowe’s grant

YouthBuild getting new open space from Lowe’s grant

By WMBD-TV MCLEAN COUNTY – YouthBuild McLean County has some building going on, all thanks to the Lowe’s Hometowns Program. YouthBuild is a program for low-income youth and adolescents, where the kids are able to build, learn and develop skills for adulthood, and the YouthBuild location in Normal has an open space next to its…MORE

Man sentenced to 123 years for Bloomington murder

Man sentenced to 123 years for Bloomington murder

By WMBD-TV BLOOMINGTON – A man was sentenced to more than 100 years in prison on Monday for the death of Jaleel Johnson in Oct. 2020. According to McLean County Circuit Court records, Malcolm J. Johnson, 31, was sentenced to serve 123 years in prison. That breaks down to 75 years for murder, 45 years…MORE

CR-V rollover crash in Tazewell County injures 1

CR-V rollover crash in Tazewell County injures 1

By WMBD-TV TAZEWELL COUNTY – One person was injured as a result of a Wednesday morning single-unit rollover crash in Tazewell County. According to a crash report from Genelle Jones, a trooper and public information officer with Illinois State Police, the incident happened just before 9 a.m. Wednesday on Interstate 74 headed westbound near milepost…MORE

Latest crop report shows above average rainfall over past week

Latest crop report shows above average rainfall over past week

By USDA SPRINGFIELD – There were 4.7 days suitable for fieldwork in the week ending July 21, 2024. Statewide, the average temperature was 72.3 degrees, 4.5 degrees below normal. Precipitation averaged 1.76 inches, 0.83 inches above normal. Topsoil moisture supply was rated 3 percent very short, 13 percent short, 78 percent adequate, and 6 percent…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…