The newest thing — well, actually, it’s not new at all — at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield a Bible given to President Lincoln in 1864.… MORE
Category Archives: Local News
Uptown road closures for Make Music Normal
There will be several road closures around Uptown Normal this weekend as the town hosts a music festival.… MORE
Council member: Large Connect Transit buses come at a cost
A Bloomington city council member believes there’s a local cost to the large, electric-powered Connect Transit buses even though they’re bought with federal and state dollars.… MORE
Gleason names two interim police chiefs
Bloomington City Manager Tim Gleason has named two assistant police chiefs to serve as the interim chief.… MORE
CIRA conducting full-scale emergency drill
More than 26 emergency response agencies will participate in a full-scale emergency response situation at Central Illinois Regional Airport on Saturday.… MORE
Heartland board adopts tentative budget with narrower-than-forecast deficit
Heartland Community College is facing a smaller-than-expected budget deficit, due in part to the school’s hiring challenges.… MORE
McLean County Board member resigns
A McLean County board member has resigned because he moved from the district he’s represented for the past three years.… MORE
Durbin: Members in Trump administration itching for war with Iran
Illinois’ senior U.S. Senator is weighing in on the situation in the Middle East after recent attacks on two oil tankers, which the U.S. says were carried out by Iranian forces.… MORE
Crop report: corn and soybeans getting close to being fully planted
Weather conditions improved for farming in Illinois for the week ending Sunday, but that’s not saying much.… MORE
Councils scrap nuclear option on Connect Transit budget, bus route compromise proposed for north Normal.
City councils in Bloomington and Normal declined to employ a so-called nuclear option of rejecting Connect Transit’s budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.… 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…