CHAMPAIGN — Custodians, assistant teachers and other support staff in the Champaign Unit 4 School District are all making at least $15 an hour, as of July 1. Both the school board and members of the Champaign Educational Support Professionals union approved a new, four-year contract last week. “Knowing what we proposed in the very…
SPRINGFIELD – Illinoisans will receive some modest tax relief starting Friday when the state’s new fiscal year begins. That includes some income tax rebates, property tax rebates, a suspension of the state’s 1 percent tax on groceries, and a six-month pause on the scheduled inflationary increase in the state’s motor fuel tax. Gov. JB Pritzker…
SPRINGFIELD – A state audit released Thursday found nearly $2 billion in federal money intended to help unemployed Illinoisans during the pandemic was lost to fraudulent claims in Illinois. The Illinois Department of Employment Security blamed “insufficient and flawed federal guidance” and a lack of controls on a hastily constructed program put together by the…
CHAMPAIGN – As Champaign Cycle slowly returns to its normal inventory, it’s experiencing price increases in bikes and bike parts that are indicative of the ongoing national bicycle shortage, which began after the sudden increase in sales at the beginning of the pandemic. As of May 13, a report from Statista found that Americans spent…
URBANA — Surveyors will start knocking on doors in rural Champaign County this weekend to ask residents if they are happy with their internet service. Champaign County officials commissioned the survey to find the most efficient way to close internet gaps with $3 million in COVID-19 relief. “There might be a way that we can…
LOUISIANA, Mo. — In the small community of Louisiana, Missouri, it’s not uncommon to see what looks like massive white wings traveling down the road, strapped to flatbed tractor-trailers. Once a bustling commercial port, the historic Mississippi River town 90 miles north of St. Louis has become a hub for an unusual commodity: used wind…
Installing fiber-optic internet in sparsely populated places like western Kansas is extremely expensive, even with government subsidies. But some smaller, local broadband providers are finding ways to make it work where the big national companies have not. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s8/audio/2022/05/050222-dc-sk-ruralbroadband-webmix.mp3 HAYS, Kansas — With a family of five and a farming operation to run, Clay Scott’s home…
CHAMPAIGN – While the nationwide shortage of infant formula is less severe in Champaign County than elsewhere, it has hit low-income families hardest – because of state policy. Brandon Meline is the director of maternal and child health at the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District. He says the relatively high number of grocery stores and pharmacies…
WEST DES MOINES, Ia. — A lot has changed in Jonathan Miller’s life in the past decade, but one thing that’s remained consistent is his house. The brick two-bedroom ranch-style house in West Des Moines, Iowa, is filled with Jonathan’s art, photos, puzzles and a substantial collection of University of Iowa gear, like a handmade…
Rivian is turning to someone outside the automotive industry to become its first chief sustainability officer. Anisa Kamadoli Costa officially joined Rivian on Monday. She will be responsible for the electric automaker’s sustainability roadmap for both the business and its products. Costa spent nearly two decades at Tiffany & Co., where she aligned the company’s…
DANVILLE, Ill. – Residents cheered Tuesday as Danville city officials wearing hard hats shoveled dirt on a patch of land in an industrial park off of Interstate 74. By next spring, that land is expected to be the home of Danville’s Golden Nugget Casino. Former State Representative Lou Lang, who advised Danville officials on the…
The nearly 4 million square feet of space at Rivian’s Normal plant is lined with some of the most advanced manufacturing equipment in the world. It has some of the biggest robots in the automotive manufacturing world too – capable of moving something as humongous as the side panel of a soon-to-be Amazon delivery van….
Ford is electrifying its best-selling F-150 pickup. The F-150 Lightning is a pitch to rural drivers that you don’t need to be an early adopter or environmentalist for an electric vehicle to make sense. Cole Brodine’s been driving a Chevrolet Bolt around rural central Nebraska for about a year. He’s gotten some comments about the…
CHAMPAIGN – The Refugee Center helped more than 50 people from Kabul settle in the Champaign-Urbana area after the Taliban took over that area in August of 2021. They continue to help their clients settle in their new homes in different ways. One of which includes obtaining a job at Guardian West manufacturing. Lisa Wilson…
CHAMPAIGN — Michael Davis describes an ideal client for his new project. An elderly couple is trying to make ends meet with their retirement income. They can’t afford to fix their leaky roof. By the time they pass their house onto their children, the house has mold and is too far gone for repairs. This…