A Bloomington-based early childhood program for low-income families has won renewal of a critical grant to keep operating for at least another five years. 

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District 87 changed its policy for Bloomington High School that bans cell phones throughout the school day. Unit 5 refreshed its policy to keep student phones away during class in all but a few circumstances.

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The Normal Town Council has reviewed elements of a new strategic plan and approved changes to the Enterprise Zone that would offer development incentives in portions of Bloomington-Normal, including Bloomington's under-performing Eastland Mall.

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Waiting Room Records is hosting its 4th annual free music fest, We’re Just Trying to Do Something Nice, Okay? at the Connie Link Amphitheater at 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30.  The show will raise donations to support Clover’s Cat Club, an animal rescue service in Normal.

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Amid Republican party efforts to gain congressional seats through off-cycle redistricting in Texas, there's an effort to revive a push for an Illinois state constitutional amendment to make political redistricting less ... well ... political.

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The McLean County supervisor of assessments will start publishing assessed value changes and township equalization factors for the 2025 assessment year — some of the ingredients that determine what you property owners in property taxes.

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On today's episode, Unit 5 and District 87 have new policies meant to limit cell phone use, but some teachers are skeptical, there's a new bipartisan effort underway to redo how Illinois draws its legislative maps, property assessments in McLean County are going up again as the housing shortage continues, and Bloomington-Normal record stores take the tunes outside their doors to a free concert.

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Rader Family Farms in Normal invites the public to its sixth annual Sunflower Days Festival.  Adam Rader, of Rader Family Farms, said this year the farm has about 19 varieties of sunflowers for visitors to walk through, take photos with and pick.

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The regional superintendent of schools for McLean, DeWitt, Livingston and Logan counties will not run for re-election.

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On today's episode, the regional schools superintendent is ready to call it a career soon after two decades helping educators, Normal approves expanding an area for tax incentives -- even for projects already approved, and Rader Family Farms shows off more sunflower varieties than you ever thought existed.

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