By USDA SPRINGFIELD – Corn: Planted area is estimated at 10.7 million acres, down 3 percent from last year. Harvested area, forecast at 10.45 million acres, is down 4 percent from 2021. Based on August 1 conditions, the Illinois corn yield is forecast at 203 bushels per acre, up 1 bushel from 2021. Production is…… MORE
By 25 News NORMAL – Connect Transit is getting federal grant money to support the transition to zero-emission and low-emission transit buses. The $13,076,800 going to Connect Transit is going towards its zero-emission service expansion and neighborhood access project, according to a joint release from U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth. “Not only will…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – In his final months of his final year (the 24th) as Illinois secretary of state, Jesse White was called upon to perform an important duty: serve as grand marshal of the Illinois State Fair Twilight Parade, which was Thursday, the opening day of the fair. The Jesse White Tumblers made…… MORE
By 25 News BLOOMINGTON – Voting along party lines, the McLean County Board Thursday night rejected a woman from Normal’s bid to fill a vacant board seat after the head of the sheriff deputies’ union said her “anti-police” views would divide the community. Democrat Krystle Able was the only applicant to replace Matt Coates, who…… MORE
By 25 News BLOOMINGTON – McLean County State’s Attorney Don Knapp will leave office and become a judge September 16 instead of after the November election. The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Knapp to fill the vacancy created by Judge Paul Lawrence’s retirement. Knapp won the June 28 Republican Primary for a judgeship in the 11th…… MORE
The prosecution has rested its case on day four of the Clifford Brewer murder trial in Livingston County.… MORE
Electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive (RIVN) reported a quarterly loss of $1.7 billion in their second-quarter earnings report.… MORE
A $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act is heading to the House of Representatives Friday, but a local financial advisor reports the legislation has little to do with inflation.… MORE
By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – Last week, school leaders and resource officers gathered for a two day conference at Normal Community West High School on how mass school violence incidents can be averted. Data was presented by the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center, with the intention to identify, analyze and act on potential…… MORE
A missing and possibly endangered Normal woman has been identified as a person found deceased in a vehicle in Bloomington.… 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…