This is the WFHB Local News for Thursday, July 3rd, 2025.

In today’s newscast, we have two profiles of local people. First, WFHB Correspondent Ella Cummings profiles Barbara Restle, a 99-year-old woman who grew up in Nazi-occupied Austria. Restle draws parallels from the authoritarianism she witnessed as a child to U.S. politics today. That’s coming up in today’s feature report.

Also coming up in the next half hour, WFHB Music Director Abby Noroozi speaks with Bloomington-based designer Aaron Lowell Denton, who designed the artwork for our upcoming show, WFHB Past and Present: 50 Years of the Bloomington Community Radio Project, which takes place Thursday, July 10th at the Bluebird.

Feature Reports:

In today’s feature report, WFHB Correspondent Ella Cummings profiles Barbara Restle, a 99-year-old woman who grew up in Nazi-occupied Austria. Restle recounts her childhood experiences in Austria, where she witnessed the deterioration of democracy and the rise of totalitarianism. She describes her family’s escape to the U.S. in 1938 and her father’s role in aiding Jewish refugees. Restle draws parallels between the rise of the Nazi regime and the current U.S. political climate under President Trump. She expressed deep concern over the Trump administration’s disregard for the Constitution and the growing chaos in American politics. For more, we turn to WFHB Correspondent Ella Cummings.

Up next – we hear a segment produced by WFHB’s Music Department. Next Thursday, July 10th, the station will host WFHB Past and Present: 50 Years of the Bloomington Community Radio Project. The show will take place at the Bluebird, and it commemorates 50 years since the station held its first fundraiser in 1975. In this segment, Abby Noroozi, music director at WFHB, spoke with Aaron Lowell Denton who designed the artwork for our poster highlighting the event. For more, we turn to Abby Noroozi.

Credits: