Dr. Robert Cavagnol steps into new president's role at Carle Health in Bloomington-Normal

Last month, Carle Health named Dr. Robert Cavagnol the new president of its central region, which includes Bloomington-Normal. He replaced the retiring President Colleen Kannaday on Feb. 2. Kannaday was president of the service area for over 15 years. Although she was an amazing leader, Cavagnol sa…

Unit 5 adopts new reading curriculum that has classrooms hooked on phonics

A new reading curriculum already used in some other McLean County school districts is coming to Unit 5. The Unit 5 School Board approved districtwide adoption of UFLI [University of Florida Literacy Institute] for K-2 classrooms during its February meeting, to begin in the 2026-27 school year. UFLI…

Crucial water system upgrades are in Bloomington's plans

The City of Bloomington doesn't know what's happening to up to 3 million gallons of water per day — and it could be more during the summer. An aging treatment and distribution system is a root cause.

Museum event lets people consider what ‘life and liberty’ means as America turns 250

Dozens of people gathered Saturday afternoon to dig into the meaning of the Declaration of Independence, and how its principles fit into America’s culture today. The program, focusing on the phrase “Life and Liberty,” was at the McLean County Museum of History and is part of the Democracy Dialogues…

Here Come the Mummies bring the funk to Bloomington

They were mummified a long time ago and only came out once or twice before getting stuck back in their sarcophagi for several thousands of years. Then the band got together in 1999. That’s what Mummy Cass told WGLT in an interview for Sound Ideas. Frontman Cass got together with Eddie Mummy around …

State Farm reports strong growth — and shares some of it with policyholders

State Farm had a good year in 2025 and is sharing some of that with policyholders in a company record dividend.

Meet the Democrats running for US Senate from Illinois

Illinois residents soon have a big choice to make: who should represent them in the U.S. Senate for the next six years? And because Illinois is such a heavily blue state — all eyes are on the Democratic primary in the race to replace longtime retiring US Senator Dick Durbin. WBEZ political reporter…

ISU president recaps university response to first year of Trump's 2nd term and ongoing new budgeting model

It has been about a year since the Trump administration started to ramp up open hostility toward Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion [DEI] in higher education. Initially, Illinois State University signed onto a letter from about 400 university presidents objecting to government overreach. Since then, …

After 65 years, Normal's Music Shoppe can't stop the beat

The Music Shoppe, a family-owned instrument sales and service center headquartered in Normal, is celebrating its 65th anniversary—a rare achievement among family businesses. For the current and previous owners, what began as a summer job became a lifelong commitment to the store. Randy Wood and Jon…

Immigrants in McLean County seeking legal pathway face 'a different kind of fear'

Immigrants with asylum cases are increasingly missing their court hearings, leading to an increase in deportation orders. In McLean County, community members with ongoing immigrations cases said news headlines and social media posts are fueling fear and distrust in the legal immigration system.