This newscast aired at 6:04pm on 6-25-2025 on WGLT.
From the WGLT Newsroom, I'm Ben Howell. A proposed solar farm in rural McLean County would be the largest in the county at 300 megawatts. Deriva Energy hosted an open house in Normal to gauge community feedback around the project. Deriva's public policy coordinator Gervonta Blunt, says McLean County was an attractive location for a solar farm.
We have landowners that are willing to
land for the local government support is there, uh, they've approved past projects. Um, McLean County also has access to high voltage transmission.
Blunt says the area 9 miles southeast of Bloomington also provided ample sunlight and minimal shading for a solar farm. At least 2 nearby residents expressed concerns with how close the farm would be to their property.
A lawmaker who has represented Western McLean County in the Illinois legislature since 2023 is seeking two more years in Springfield. State Representative Bill Hauter, a Republican from Morton, has announced plans to run for a third term. Hauter serves in the heavily Republican district that covers a heavily rural area between Bloomington Normal, Peoria, Decatur, and Springfield. Hauter is the only medical doctor in the Illinois General Assembly.
A new mental health program at Karl Broman Medical Center helps patients discharged from their behavioral health unit transition back to daily life. Social worker Wendy Ashford helps manage Karl Broman's intensive outpatient program, which hosts therapeutic activities. So we have counseling groups, we have educational groups, we have yoga, we have meditation. Daytime sessions are held Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at Karl Broman Medical Center for those referred to the program.
An anchor of downtown Bloomington's gallery scene will close its doors next month. Hanger Art Company owner Santino Lamancua says rising rents and the uncertainty of downtown Bloomington's pending revitalization plans have driven them out of their giant storefront on Museum Square. The gallery plans to
Move to a digital platform while looking for a brick and mortar location. And both lanes of Linden Street at the railroad crossing near Uptown Normal are expected to close beginning Sunday night. All traffic will be detoured using Fell Avenue. Traffic work is expected to be completed on July 2nd. I'm Ben Howell.