By USDA SPRINGFIELD – There were 5.7 days suitable for field work during the week ending September 5, 2021. Statewide, the average temperature was 70.7 degrees, 0.8 degrees below normal. Precipitation averaged 1.24 inches, 0.58 inches above normal. Topsoil moisture supply was rated 8 percent very short, 17 percent short, 67 percent adequate, and 8…… MORE
By Neil Doyle and HOI ABC NORMAL – Unit 5 is seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases and quarantines. According to the district’s COVID dashboard, in 14 schools there were 47 new positive cases of COVID last week between students and staff, up from 42 the week before. Unit 5 also has 267 people in…… MORE
By Neil Doyle BLOOMINGTON -After shutting down the mass vaccination site in downtown Bloomington earlier this summer, the McLean County Health Department is adding new vaccine clinics starting this week. Thursday, 9/16 from 10am-3pm at Grossinger Motors Arena Thursday, 9/23 from 10am-3pm at Grossinger Motors Arena Thursday, 9/30 from 10am-3pm at Grossinger Motors Arena The…… MORE
By HOI ABC BLOOMINGTON – Bloomington’s ban on utility shutoffs will continue until October 1 following city council action Monday night. Aldermen voted unanimously to extend the moratorium a couple more weeks for people who are late paying their bills for water and other services because of pandemic-related financial hardships. Council member Tom Crumpler initially suggested…… MORE
Months after Sugar Creek Student Apartments caught fire, causing dozens of students to be displayed, a recent Illinois State University graduate is motivated to bring awareness to fire prevention measures. … MORE
The energy legislation which finally passed the legislature Monday could be an example of a debate which leaves you wondering if the lawmakers are talking about the same bill.… MORE
Halloween is around the corner, and pumpkin farmers are beginning to harvest their crops around Central Illinois.… MORE
McLean County Health Department officials report 119 new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend.… MORE
Attorney General Kwame Raoul is announcing a new task force to fight organized retail crime.… MORE
A dirt bike driver remains behind bars in McLean County after Bloomington Police say the driver allegedly had a loaded gun.… 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…