By WMBD-TV PEORIA – The American Red Cross is releasing information on how to avoid cooking fires this Thanksgiving. Jayce Eustice, a Communications Manager for the American Red Cross, said that the day before and the day of Thanksgiving have the highest chance of a cooking fire. Cooking fires happen in 158,000 homes every year,…… MORE
The Busy Corner in Goodfield isn’t letting a fire stop them from delivering Thanksgiving pies.… MORE
One of Heartland Community College’s longest-serving Trustees has announced he’ll be leaving the board.… MORE
By WMBD-TV BLOOMINGTON – More than 400 star ornaments were placed on Christmas trees during a ceremony honoring Gold Star families and their loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice. Hundreds attended the 9th annual Fallen Heroes Tree of Honor ceremony at Central Illinois Regional Airport, where Gold Star Families were recognized and loved ones’…… MORE
By WMBD-TV GERMANTOWN HILLS – One car has been reported stolen after a spree of robberies and break-ins occurred on Friday night. The Woodford County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook that a group of people had been seen walking around Germantown Hills in the Far Hills and Maple Lane areas, looking to see if houses…… MORE
By WMBD-TV BLOOMINGTON – Additional units were needed to battle a house fire in Bloomington on Tuesday, the department said. When members of the Bloomington Fire Department arrived just after 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the house, located near the intersection of the 200 block of Magnolia and Meadowbrook Drives, the saw heavy smoke and flames.…… MORE
The largest farming organization in the country may drop its Illinois branch next month.… MORE
Identity Optical in Normal is shuttering its West College Avenue manufacturing plant by the end of the year.… MORE
The McLean County Board on Thursday voted to pass its budget for fiscal year 2025.… MORE
By WMBD-TV BLOOMINGTON – The Bloomington Police Department on Tuesday warned of a new scam that residents have recently seen. According to a Bloomington police Facebook post, scammers email you your name, phone number and address, then claim to have explicit photos of their victim that they say they will delete if they are given a…… 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…