A new buyer has emerged for State Farm’s building in downtown Bloomington.… MORE
Category Archives: Local News
Former FEMA director speaks in Springfield
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD– Part of the frustration – his word is “passion” – Brock Long feels as a freshly departed administrator of FEMA is a lack of financial education, including among community leaders. “If you are a citizen, you get money from FEMA because you are uninsured. What if Congress started providing incentives…… MORE
Listen to This: Taylor Swift tops herself in sales, but is the album any good?
No one has sold more albums in the first week of release in the past three years than Taylor Swift, except for Taylor Swift.… MORE
City Council to consider large workers’ comp settlement for injured firefighter
The City of Bloomington would pay a retired firefighter almost $129,000 to resolve a workers’ compensation claim, if the city council approves the settlement Monday night.… MORE
Owners: New Uptown brewpub might never have happened without tax breaks
It’s full-speed ahead for a new brewpub and restaurant in Uptown Normal, but that would not have been the case had the Normal Town Council turned down tax rebates earlier this week.… MORE
New Illinois law makes it easier to refill growlers, crowlers with beer
Illinois has made it easier for beer drinkers to refill a growler or crowler.… MORE
Local educator named Teacher of the Year finalist
A District 87 teacher has been named a finalist for the 2020 Illinois Teacher of the Year program.… MORE
NPD: Shots fired late Wednesday night near school grounds
The sounds of gunfire rattled a neighborhood near Chiddix Junior High in Normal late Wednesday night.… MORE
ISU Gamma Phi Circus performers won’t be home for Thanksgiving
When Clifford “Pop” Horton created Gamma Phi Circus 90 years ago at Illinois State University, it would have been hard for him to imagine the student circus performers would someday display their talents on the national stage that awaits them in 12 weeks.… MORE
ISU PD: Social media contacts lead to alleged dorm room rape
A female student at Illinois State University claims another student sexual assaulted her in his dorm room, according to a Wednesday evening crime advisory sent out by the school’s police department.… 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…