Page 11 - Bloomington Normal News Today

There's a campaign to cut the thousands of traffic collisions and hundreds of injuries that happen in Bloomington Normal each year. A strength and conditioning graduate student at ISU hopes to go to a place few women do, the NFL. Saxophonist Lisella Martin never thought she'd play music professionally until one day at church the guitarist tapped her on the shoulder and asked her if she ever thought about it. Martin says she thought she wasn't good enough. Martin was wrong. Hear he...

Bloomington Normal is in the hunt for a massive economic development project...a billion dollar electric battery factory on the west side of Normal. It could bring 32-hundred jobs to the twin cities. There have been rumors for a couple years about what extra business Rivian might bring to Bloomington Normal. Last week there was a hint the community is in the running for a big get. Then today Dick Durbin named the prospect, Samsung. Hear reaction from Bloomington Normal Mayors, economic developme...

The McLean County Emergency Management Agency usually spends a lot of time preparing for disasters. But most of the last year and a half have been consumed by, well, emergencies. And theyre shorthanded. A great tune and a little reinvention has kept this opera popular for nigh on 300 years. MIOpera begins its season in Bloomington Normal with the Barber of Seville. And, the band Good Morning Bedlam has close harmonies on stage and in the rest of their lives.

The latest trend in wind power is taller turbines with longer blades. Thats important for people near two central Illinois wind farms under construction. And a new mental health concern has emerged in Bloomington Normal, re-entry anxiety. A lot of people are eying the sale of Illinois State Universitys 26 acre Shelbourne Apartments in Normal as a big opportunity. Normal City Manager Pam Reece says any new housing should probably not all be single family homes nor perhaps dense student housing. ...

The Bloomington Normal NAACP starts a youth council. Hear what dreams those young people have for change. And one of the things caused by the pandemic that will remain is a good thing; summer food programs. A lot of Bloomington Normal people whose homes were flooded last month cant dig out by themselves. The Salvation Army has pleas for help from 200 people in 80 families. And Bloomington has had three police chiefs and two interim chiefs in the last year and a half. Hear an interview with the ...

Some suggest Illinois use pandemic relief money to reduce a massive unemployment trust fund debt. Governor JB Pritzker says you cant do that. The Governor, though, is wrong. Other States are doing just that. Plus hear about the state budget deficit and the pension problem in an in-depth interview with Governor Pritzker. And weeks after torrential rains caused more than a thousand homes to flood in Bloomington Normal health officials warn the backed up sewage might still be an issue. The McLean ...

A lot of people in Bloomington Normal needed a fur child to relieve the isolation and get through the pandemic. A lot of those kitties and doggies are going back to animal shelters when their humans no longer want the pets. It takes a wage of more than sixteen bucks an hour to afford a two bedroom apartment in Bloomington Normal. A minimum wage earner has to work one and a half jobs just to have a place to sleep. Plus, Jersey Mikes restaurant is set to open. Texas Roadhouse in Bloomington Norma...

A Bloomington Normal doctor says physicians are seeing cancer and pre cancer in younger and younger patients. That colonoscopy you really dont want at age fifty? Yeah, an influential panel recommends you start at 45 instead. A tall building is a lot like a car. You drive it a while the parts wear out and you either do an expensive rebuild or you get a new one. Hear how to assess Bloomington Normal buildings in the wake of the Miami condo collapse. Plus LGBTQ students get a safe space and living...

Connect Transit gave more than a million rides during the pandemic. The head of the board for Bloomington Normals bus system says that alone makes the case transit is a community must have as ridership rises again. Plus, progress to rework the Pantagraph building into a transfer center. Racial violence. Family trauma. The price of security. Its pretty heady stuff for a comic book movie. Scott Jordan is one-half of WGLTs Psych Geeks team -- dissecting the release of Marvels "Black Widow" and its...

McLean County declares local disaster after severe storms Unmute MCLEAN COUNTY (WEEK) - Historic rainfall prompted McLean County Board Chairman John McIntyre on Wednesday to declare the county a disaster area, enabling local officials to determine if the county is eligible for state and federal funding. The declaration is in effect for the next seven days while the county undergoes damage assessments from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA). State Rep...