By Neil Doyle NORMAL – The IHSA football playoffs continue Friday night and Normal Community has a long road trip to face Jacobs in the second round. The Ironmen will have about a 2 1/2 hour drive to Algonquin, which is a northwest suburb of Chicago. In the class 7A bracket, NCHS is coming off…… MORE
By Neil Doyle WASHINGTON – In the first round of the IHSA football playoffs it was Washington over Normal West 14-7 in the class 6A bracket. The Wildcats failed to score until the fourth quarter, but it was a touchdown pass from Jayden Mangruem to Max Ziebarth that cut the defect to one score. The…… MORE
By Neil Doyle NORMAL – Playoff football starts Friday night across the state. Our main game on WJBC is in class 6A as Normal West faces Washington. The Wildcats finished the regular season 6-3 and had a tough loss last week in the Chili Bowl. Head coach Nathan Fincham says the Panthers will present a…… MORE
By WJBC Staff ST LOUIS – The St. Louis Cardinals announced Monday that they have named Oliver “Oli” Marmol as the team’s manager, the 51st field manager in franchise history, and at age 35, the youngest since Marty Marion who piloted the team at age 34 in 1951. Marmol served as the Cardinals bench coach…… MORE
By Neil Doyle NORMAL – In the 27th edition of the Chili Bowl it was Normal Community beating Normal West 45-7. NCHS led 10-7 late in the second quarter but an 80-yard touchdown run from junior Chris Taylor made it 17-7 at the half. Then it was all Ironmen as they scored four times in…… MORE
By Neil Doyle NORMAL – It’s Week 9 of the high school football season and we’ve got Normal West hosting Normal Community to wrap up the regular season. The Wildcats (6-2) need a win to clinch a share of the Big 12 Conference title, while the Ironmen (8-0) can win the conference outright with a…… MORE
By Neil Doyle NORMAL – Week 8 of the high school football season has come to a close and just one week remains in the regular season. Around the Intercity: Normal Community (8-0) remained undefeated with a win over Champaign Centennial 35-13. Normal West (6-2) is now playoff eligible as they beat Peoria Richwoods 54-0.…… MORE
By Neil Doyle NORMAL – The high school football regular season is quickly coming to a close with just two weeks remaining. Normal Community is undefeated and they’ll try to remain perfect Friday night against Champaign Centennial. Ironmen head coach Jason Drengwitz says the Chargers will present some challenges. “On offense they’ve got a quarterback…… MORE
By Neil Doyle NORMAL – Normal West (5-2) scored all 28 of its points before Danville (3-4) got on the board and it was enough for a Wildcats victory 28-14. Normal West junior quarterback Jayden Mangreum scored two rushing touchdowns. The other scores came on runs by junior wideout Matthew Marsaglia and junior running back…… MORE
By Neil Doyle BLOOMINGTON – More than 300 golfers from around the state will compete in the IHSA boys golf state finals Friday and Saturday in Bloomington-Normal. Class 1A will compete at Prairie Vista Golf Course, Class 2A at Weibring Golf Club at Illinois State University, and Class 3A at The Den at Fox Creek…… 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…