DANVILLE – Understaffing at state parks is concerning parks officials, who say park visitation is greater than usual and is a challenge for conservation. Ryan Prehn, chief of parks and recreation at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, says like most of the state and country, the department could use more employees. Across the state,…
MAHOMET – Relief is in sight for some rural residents of Champaign County, whose well water was contaminated by a natural gas leak. They could eventually be hooked up to a nearby public water system. Jodi Eisenman is one of these residents. Jodi, her husband Derric and their children live on a farm located between…
URBANA- Subdivisions and parks throughout Champaign County have been trying to control the goose population for years– using methods ranging from hazing dogs to culling, or killing, geese. Now, a new goose rights organization named Friends of Geese is recommending non-lethal methods for controlling the population. Susan Parenti, a Friends of Geese activist, says the…
Millions of rural residents across the Midwest are at risk of nitrate contamination in their drinking water, but they might not know it. Many rural residents get their drinking water from private wells, which are not regulated by state or federal governments. And if residents aren’t regularly testing their well water, they could be at…
EMIQUON PRESERVE – Fish and wildlife researchers are testing new image recognition technology on the Illinois River to manage invasive carp species. The system is located along the Illinois River, at the Nature Conservancy’s Emiquon Preserve in the Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge near Lewistown in Fulton County. The system first attracts fish onto a device…
Amid a push from the Biden administration for U.S. agriculture to help slow climate change, a new study shows farmers in the Corn Belt are dropping the ball on adopting a climate-friendly practice. A mountain of research shows the benefits of planting cover crops — from sequestering carbon from the environment to keeping waterways…
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Public Health are warning residents to be on the lookout for toxic blue-green algae for those planning summer activities in Illinois’ lakes and streams. The algae has already been detected in the Illinois River at the Starved Rock Lock & Dam. According to the press release, summer…
This is a severe weather blog for June 27, 2021. It will be updated throughout the afternoon. Updated at 5:58 p.m. Updated at 5:00 p.m. Updated at 12:15 p.m. For the third straight day, the National Weather Service in Central Illinois is predicting strong to severe thunderstorms for the Champaign-Urbana area and surrounding communities. Storms…
This is a severe weather blog for June 26, 2021. It will be updated throughout the afternoon. Updated at 6:52 p.m. Updated at 6:42 p.m. The National Weather Service extended the Tornado Watch until 9:00 PM CDT for Vermilion, Champaign, Moultrie and Douglas Counties. Updated at 6:25 p.m. Updated at 6:05 p.m. Updated at 5:56…
Updated Friday at 10:50 p.m. Updated Friday at 10:22 p.m. Updated Friday at 8:56 p.m. Updated Friday at 8:52 p.m. Updated Friday at 8:32 p.m. Updated Friday at 8:21 p.m. Updated Friday at 8:18 p.m. Updated Friday at 8:00 p.m. There are no reports of major damage or injuries after a brief tornado in Central…
OAKWOOD — Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Vermilion County State’s Attorney Jacqueline Lacy announced on Tuesday they were suing Dynegy Midwest Generation over the disposal of coal ash at the shuttered Vermilion Power Station. That coal ash has been in retention ponds near the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River. Later that day, Raoul…
Below are posts as the Illinois Newsroom followed the developing weather situation early Saturday morning. Updated Saturday at 4:24 a.m. After heavy rain and winds passed through Central Illinois early Saturday morning, but the National Weather Service says more severe storms are in the forecast for the weekend. The main severe weather concerns will be…
URBANA – The National Weather Service in Lincoln has issued a Heat Advisory tomorrow from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. for central and southern Illinois. Heat indices are expected to peak at 104 degrees tomorrow in Champaign. According to the National Weather Service, The heat index, also known as the apparent temperature, is what the temperature…
TOLONO — Lin Warfel puts farmland owners in central Illinois into two categories: Those with a deep connection and desire to preserve their land, and those obsessed with short-term money. The 80-year-old still owns the land that’s been in his family since his great-grandfather arrived in Champaign County in the 1800’s. After farming it…
CHAMPAIGN – After lying dormant for 17 years, billions of Cicadas – big insects with big wings are awakening in far eastern Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and other states. Illinois Newsroom’s Reginald Hardwick talked with Katie Dana, the scientific specialist in entomology at the Illinois Natural Science Survey. She says this year’s insect invasion is just a…