Category Archives: Local News

Golden Apple Scholar Program extends application period deadline to April 15th

Golden Apple Scholar Program extends application period deadline to April 15th

By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – It’s scholarship season for students in high school and college, and the Golden Apple Scholar Program is looking to assist folks interested in teaching. The Golden Apple Scholar Program has extended their application date from April 1st to the 15th. Chief Program Officer and Golden Apple Scholar Kesa Thurman Stovall…MORE

Latest gas report shows continued drop in prices

Latest gas report shows continued drop in prices

By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – Average gasoline prices in Illinois have dropped almost 9 cents in the last week, averaging $4.34 a gallon. According to GasBuddy’s survey of over 43 hundred stations in Illinois, prices in the state were 24.1 cents lower than a month ago. “Gas prices have continued to move in the right…MORE

Bloomington Police respond to late-night fatal shooting

Bloomington Police respond to late-night fatal shooting

By HOI ABC BLOOMINGTON – Police say a man was shot and killed Friday night in what is being investigated as a homicide. Just after 11:30 p.m., Bloomington police responded to the 400 block of East Mill Street for a disturbance call. Police say just before arriving on scene, gunshots were heard in the area.…MORE

Louisana man arrested in Bloomington for domestic violence & unlawful restraint

Louisana man arrested in Bloomington for domestic violence & unlawful restraint

By HOI ABC BLOOMINGTON (Heart of Illinois ABC) – A man from Shreveport, Louisiana has been arrested for a myriad of offenses including aggravated domestic battery and unlawful restraint after police say the man and his vehicle were identified through the city’s new automatic license plate reader system. Bloomington Police say Louis G. Wiggins, 37…MORE

City of Bloomington Parks and Rec Summer registration begins April 13

City of Bloomington Parks and Rec Summer registration begins April 13

By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – The City of Bloomington’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts department will have Summer Registration open for Bloomington residents beginning April 13th beginning at 5:00 AM. Non-resident registration will begin April 20th. The programs and classes being offered deal with outdoor activities, sports, science, cooking and art classes, and even Zumba…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…