Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation will work with consulting firm to determine future of northern Illinois land
For the first time since the 19th century, a Native American tribe has sovereign authority over land in the state of Illinois. Now, the tribal government has to figure out what to do with it. The Prairie Band Potawatomi, based near Mayetta, Kansas, signed an agreement last week putting 130 acres of farmland in DeKalb County, […]
New facility in Decatur makes animal feed ingredients from insects
A new facility that raises fly larvae for animal feed has opened in Decatur.
Governor J-B Pritzker helped cut the ribbon Thursday for the North American Insect Innovation Center, built by the French biotech company Innovafeed SAS.
The 10,000 square foot facility, with a staff of ten, is the company’s first facility in the Americas. And it is a precursor to a much larger growing and manufacturing plant, with 100 to 300 employees, that Innovafeed plans to build adjacent to the current facility over the next two years.
Newspapers in rural areas are folding, leaving vast news deserts. But there are bright spots
https://play.podtrac.com/npr-1244411030/cpa.ds.npr.org/s60/audio/2024/04/newspapersweb.mp3 The U.S. has lost more than 2,800 newspapers since 2005, many of them in rural areas. Now some journalists are redoubling their efforts to provide local news and trying new models in a difficult industry. First Street in downtown Mount Vernon, Iowa, has the quintessential “Main Street” feel. It’s got a café , bank […]
Quaker Oats is closing its Danville plant, sending pink slips to more than 500 workers
One of Vermilion County’s largest employers is closing down and laying off its workforce. Production has ceased at the Quaker Oats plant in Danville, leaving approximately 510 employees without work. Chicago-based Quaker Oats, a unit of Pepsico since 2001, opened the plant in 1969. In recent years, the Danville plant manufactured Quaker Oats granola bars, […]
A UIUC researcher wants to compare new farmland soil samples to old ones. Objective: learn how farming affects soil over time.
A soil scientist at the University of Illinois Urbana campus is reaching out to landowners and farmers, as he prepares to take soil samples at locations where samples were taken years ago across the state.
New USDA ‘climate-friendly’ farming and ranching practices have yet to be proven, report says
An environmental activist group charges that many “climate smart” farming practices recently added to a list for U.S. Department of Agriculture funding are not yet proven. The Environmental Working Group says funding from the Inflation Reduction Act should not be used to pay farmers for using the practices, until there is more evidence that they work.
Wanted: an airline to fly a leisure route out of Willard Airport
Willard Airport is in the process of raising money to attract an airline that will provide leisure-class passenger service between Champaign-Urbana and tourist destination spots such as Florida.
Downtown Champaign bar manager dies nine days after shooting
Champaign Police are reclassifying the shooting of a downtown bar manager as a homicide, following the death of Brandon L. Hardway. The Champaign County Coroner’s office says the 45-year-old Hardway, of Champaign, died early Saturday at Carle Hospital, due to injuries he received in a shooting on the afternoon of February 8. Police say the shooting happened outside Hardway’s bar, Pour Brothers Craft Taproom, 40 E. University Avenue in downtown Champaign. Police say Hardway had come outside for a cigarette break, and was shot in the back.
Some Midwest states take power to ban wind and solar projects away from local communities
As the number of wind and solar farms increases, so does opposition in the rural areas where they’re being built. While more counties and townships passed restrictions in the last year, some states are responding by passing laws making it harder for local governments to say no to wind and solar. The land in Piatt […]
Kickapoo Rail Trail on track for two-year completion with $11.2 million state grant.
After seven years of construction, less than half of the 24-mile Kickapoo Rail Trail in east-central Illinois has been completed. But now, the project could be finished in the next two years, thanks to a state grant. An $11.2 million grant, awarded through the state’s Rebuild Illinois Capital plan will pay for the completion of the walking and bike path.
A new rail trail planned for rural Piatt County could be part of something bigger.
Plans are in the works to construct a 2.3-mile rail trail in a rural area of Piatt County. As initially reported by columnist Tom Kacich in the News-Gazette, the proposed shared-used path would use the railroad right-of-way originally established for railroad tracks as a route for walking, running and cycling between the small towns of […]
With a ceremony, the U.S. Air Force marks the transfer of the last of its Chanute Air Force Base land to civilian hands.
From 1917 to its closure 30 years ago, the base hosted military aircraft from World War One to the Vietnam War, and training programs for more than one million airmen, including the Tuskegee Airmen, the nation’s first African American Air Force pilots.
Service techs will be trained for AGCO dealerships at new Parkland facility
A new facility at Parkland College in Champaign will train students to become service technicians for farm equipment made by AGCO. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Thursday for the AGCO Training Center.
The Piatt County Board, with reluctance, approves the county’s first wind farm
The Piatt County Board voted 4-2 on Friday to approve a special use permit for a wind farm in the county. But several members made it clear they were approving the Prosperity Wind project reluctantly, as a new Illinois law gave them no real choice in the matter.
During building renovations, a new recording lets the Altgeld Chimes ring on
Altgeld Hall, completed in 1897, is undergoing a multi-year restoration, forcing its chimes to go temporarily silent. But there will soon be another way to hear them.
