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Art as hope: Champaign County Juvenile Detention Center takes on beautification project
The walls of the Champaign County Juvenile Detention Center are covered with new art, created by the residents in partnership with local muralist Leslie Kimble.

America’s favorite pollinator species is experiencing its biggest loss in history. What’s the buzz?
As the nation’s primary pollinator, the European honeybee is responsible for adding around $15 billion to crop values in the U.S. But nationally, the bees are facing the highest death rate ever recorded, alarming beekeepers and researchers.

Reflections on the life and legacy of Shozo Sato, who founded the University of Illinois’ Japan House
Shozo Sato, founder of Japan House and professor emeritus at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, passed away on May 4 at age 91. Sato dedicated his life to fostering cross-cultural understanding through art and education.

Champaign’s police review board aims to improve policing, but some fear it lacks power to make change
The Citizen Review Subcommittee was created after years of issues involving police misconduct. It’s supposed to improve community-police relations and ensure fair policing practices, but some worry its structure makes it impossible to achieve its goals.

Undermined from the start? A look at the early challenges faced by Champaign’s police civilian review board
The issues with Champaign’s Civilian Review Subcommittee can be traced to obstacles created by officials during the decades-long push for civilian oversight of police in Champaign.

Republicans have Medicaid in their crosshairs and Illinois residents who depend on it are worried
Medicaid provides health coverage to millions of low-income people and those with disabilities. But the Trump administration wants to cut $1.5 trillion dollars in federal spending, which policy experts say won’t be possible without steep cuts to Medicaid.

More than just a garden: how the Red Oak Rain Garden manages floods and inspires students
Average rainfall in the Champaign-Urbana area has risen in the past century, according to the Illinois State Climatologist, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources considers flooding to be Illinois’ most prominent natural disaster.

Accidental drag queen: Ceduxion Carrington reflects on nearly 30 years in drag
A friend of hers, drag queen Anita Mann, was putting together a pageant in Peoria and had only two contestants. At the time, Carrington was a frequenter of the shows but had no sights on becoming a queen herself.

How artificial intelligence helps astronomers in the era of ‘big data’
We are in what many astronomers are calling the era of “big data” in astronomy. As observation technology advances, the amount of data collected grows, resulting in data sets that are astronomical.
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