WGLT's Sound Ideas - Full Episodes

A criminal justice sciences expert says the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin murder trial is a hopeful signpost that may make the next case easier... but he says it is far from a turning point in the national dialog on race and police. ISU's Michael Gizzi joins us. When someone not from Apple replaces a battery in a phone, the software often gives the owner a warning about non brand parts. Electronics Service store owner Terry Ballantini tells you about a right to repair. An African American man is Bloomington-Normal's longest serving plumber and he's still going. Curtis Henry Senior tells you what it's like to deal with pipes and poop for 57 years. Finally, the Mayor of Normal talks bike trails, street resurfacing, and lobbying Springfield.

Funerals may not go back to what they were before the pandemic. Funeral Director Dan Brady says video services, quick burials, and delayed memorials are all here to stay. Plus, Unit 5 is getting ready for summer school as a time to help 800 kids who have fallen behind grade level catch up. Illinois State University research shows education resources are not divided evenly and that can make racial inequities worse. Finally, new Bloomington Fire Chief Eric West talks about job one: diverse hiring.

Kelly Stogner of Normal saw a social media post from someone asking for a kidney, and saw herself in April Post: a single mom, about her age, with a young kid, turned out it was a match. Hear that and other organ donor stories. Plus, restaurant owners say the price for a dinner out might go up because of a worker shortage. There is no beer in outer space, but the Challenger Learning Center in Normal has a beer-related science puzzle game on a virtual space station. Finally, oral histories of Black McLean County residents have inspired a new musical performance.

Automakers can't sell directly to customers in Illinois because of decades-old rules to protect mom and pop auto dealers from the Big Three in Detroit, but auto dealers aren't so mom and pop any more and the old economics might not apply in the case of Rivian. Plus, the Bloomington based quintet Old Smoke offers new music. Finally, a lover of history and economics has left a legacy to the Bloomington Library that helps people discover the military past of their ancestors.

Sean Sherman is a chef who tries to revive Native American Foodways by NOT using colonial ingredients. That includes dairy, beef, pork, chicken, and wheat flour. Sherman says it's gluten free and every other healthy diet you might think of. Plus, the African American community in Bloomington-Normal reflects on revived trauma and skepticism about the coming verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial in Minnesota. Bloomington City Manager Tim Gleason slow rolls a search for a new police chief. Finally, the shortage of restaurant workers in Bloomington-Normal grows oh so much worse.

Bloomington City Manager Tim Gleason says he hopes a council member's promise to make lives of new council members a living hell is just a reaction to allies losing. Gleason says you can talk about social agendas, but the nuts and bolts come first. Bloomington's mayor says there's still need for a water shutoff moratorium. Plus, the Medical Director at OSF Saint Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington says pulling the Johnson and Johnson vaccine is the right move for now.

Bloomington-Normal defense attorneys analyze the Derek Chauvin murder trial in Minnesota and how it would be handled if it happened in central Illinois. Plus, Bloomington-Normal landlords say deadbeat tenants aren't accepting available help on water fees and the property owners are getting stuck with the bill. Finally, it's the WGLT fund drive. If you're listening, you should be supporting WGLT with your financial contribution at WGLT.org.

ISU still can't do a big spring commencement ceremony, but can you still do a bunch of really teeny-tiny commencement ceremonies? Hear from Jill Benson on ISU's commencement team on the new, out-of-the-box Redbird Stage Crossings program. Plus, District 87 has expanded summer offerings after a year disrupted by COVID. Illinois lawmakers are looking at what some other countries do to prevent overdose deaths; create legal injection sites to shoot up. Finally, Gamma Phi Circus still welcomes you under the big top, only on a small screen at home.

On today's episode, a look at what the federal election bill does and doesn't do, and what U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis thinks of it. Plus, the progressive People First Coalition plots its next move after their Election Day losses. Finally, a nursing home resident advocate has a progress report on COVID vaccinations in McLean County.

The election results are in for cities and towns after sometimes heated campaigns. The incumbent moderates won in Normal over a conservative bloc. A slate of progressive candidates in Bloomington could not seal the deal and lost in Bloomington. Bloomington will have its first Black Mayor. We'll bring you the winners and losers. Plus, a political scientist says those who claim virtue for their campaign from a higher than average voter turnout fail to reckon with the fact it was still abysmally low. Finally, the annual day of Holocaust Remembrance begins at sundown. Hear the story of a Holocaust survivor during Yom Hashoa.