Abigail Bottar
Champaign County officials vote down Mahomet-led effort to ban leaf burning
Mahomet officials were asking the Champaign County Board to ban leaf burning within 1,000 feet of the village.
Data center companies have approached Champaign County for projects in Sidney, Tolono
Both proposed sites fall outside of the villages’ boundaries and are under the jurisdiction of the county.
Mahomet ends talks with data center developer after community backlash
Mahomet officials were in talks with Clean Cloud Energy about a potential data center in the village.
Diesel has never been more expensive. That’s squeezing farmers as harvest begins
Conflicts in Iran and Russia are causing diesel prices to spike globally. That’s especially hurting U.S. farmers as they head into harvest season, the most fuel intensive period of the agricultural year.
Danville residents rally behind proposed Kickapoo Rail Trail expansion
Trails of the Grand Prairie, a nonprofit working to expand the Kickapoo Rail Trail, is applying for a state grant to extend the trail to Danville.
U.S. farmers lost conservation experts in Trump’s federal cuts. Now they’re hurting for help
The Natural Resources Conservation Service lost nearly a quarter of its staff nationwide in 2025 after the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal government. Many were local experts that help farmers with soil and water conservation efforts.