By WMBD-TV BLOOMINGTON – The U.S. Route 66 Centennial Commission is accepting ideas to celebrate the iconic routes 100th anniversary. According to Rod Reid, the Chair of the Route 66 Centennial Commission, Congress established the commission to oversee the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Route 66 in 2026. The Commission is looking for submissions…… MORE
Authorities in Dwight want to learn how a vehicle fire claimed the life of an unidentified man.… MORE
By WMBD-TV NORMAL – Pickle Ball players can look forward to new indoor pickleball locations in central Illinois. According to a news release, The Picklr is expanding its indoor pickleball franchise to Bloomington-Normal. It will be located at 1503 E. College Avenue in Normal and is expected to open in Fall 2024. “We are thrilled…… MORE
It’s Black History Month, and Comptroller Susana Mendoza honored five Illinoisans who are helping others.… MORE
By WMBD-TV BLOOMINGTON – No one is injured from an early morning apartment building fire in Bloomington that led to a second alarm being sounded. A second alarm means the initial crew needed more help to battle the blaze at the Brickyard Apartments, 20 Brickyard Drive. Off-duty firefighters and crews from the Normal Fire Department were…… MORE
McLean County Coroner Kathy Yoder has identified the woman who died in a fire Monday afternoon just outside the Twin-Cities.… MORE
The search for Illinois State University’s next President is down to four candidates.… MORE
Bloomington’s top cop recently completed the Executive Leadership Program at the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security.… MORE
By WMBD-TV BLOOMINGTON – OSF HealthCare St. Joseph Medical Center announced a new supply drive to help survivors of sexual assault. According to an OSF news release, the goal is to provide survivors leaving the hospital with more robust clothing options. Until recently, only medical scrubs were provided.$1.45 Million lotto jackpot won in central Illinois…… MORE
By WMBD-TV BLOOMINGTON – It’s been two years since Dylan Meserole died after being shot and police here are asking the public for help in solving the case. The 20-year-old Normal man was pronounced dead at 2:40 a.m., about 40 minutes after he was found in the 1600 block of West Olive Street after he…… 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…