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Best photos of 2023: A year of news through the lens of WGLT

WGLT | By Emily Bollinger
Published December 19, 2023 at 3:43 PM CST
Jaimee Harris performing at WGLT Highway 309 LIVE concert at the Normal Theater.
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Jaimee Harris performing at WGLT Highway 309 LIVE concert at the Normal Theater.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
A kid throwing color on someone during Holi Moli Festival in Bloomington-Normal Festival of Colors.
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Hundreds covered each other in powdered color April 8 in downtown Bloomington for the inaugural Holi Moli - A Bloomington-Normal Festival of Colors.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
Sunset on the Longest Day: An act of Restorative Indigeneity, a free outdoor community performance event. An indigenous person is holding a sign over an open flame that reads: "HERE".
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"Sunset on the Longest Day: An Act of Restorative Indigeneity," a free outdoor community performance event held in June at ISU's Horticulture Center in Normal.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
A blue pool filled with nuclear control rods in order to cool them. The pool is very deep and surrounded by technical machinery for the nuclear power plant.
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WGLT visited the Clinton nuclear power plant in August. Nuclear plants have to change out the fuel rods every so often. They come out hot, in a couple senses of the word: temperature and radiation. Workers temporarily store the used rods in a very deep pool of water in yet another room of the plant.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
WGLT reporter Charlie Schlenker interviewing resident inspector Arsalan Muneeruddin at the Clinton, IL nuclear power plant.
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WGLT reporter Charlie Schlenker interviewing resident inspector Arsalan Muneeruddin at the Clinton nuclear power plant in August.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
President Joe Biden giving a speech in Belvidere, Illinois in support of United Auto Workers. Members of the UAW are in the background holding signs that read: 'We stand with the UAW'.
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President Joe Biden giving a speech in Belvidere, Illinois, in support of the United Auto Workers. Members of the UAW are in the background holding signs.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
Members of the Bloomington-Normal Asahikawa Sister Cities program taking a selfie at the Friendship Bridge at Miller Park during their 60th anniversary visit in Bloomington.
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Members of the Bloomington-Normal Asahikawa Sister Cities program take a selfie at the Friendship Bridge at Miller Park during their 60th anniversary visit in Bloomington.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
Emily the Band performing at Highway 309 LIVE concert at the Normal Theater. The guitarist Cami (left), drummer Abbey (center) and ukulele player and singer Emily (right).
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Emily the Band performs at a Highway 309 LIVE concert at the Normal Theater.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
Winner of karaoke competition at Bloomington Pride Fest. Participant is holding a bucket with pride-themed prizes, and they are wearing a silver dress and silver head piece.
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The winner of a karaoke competition at Pride Fest in downtown Bloomington in July.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
Fire Ops 101 participants inside the flashover simulator on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, with growing fire and smoke billowing over their heads.
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Bloomington Fire Ops 101 participants inside the flashover simulator on Sept. 30, with growing fire and smoke billowing over their heads.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
Sherwin-Williams sales representative Andrew Demkovich demonstrates the technique for painting a door. He is painting the side of a door while two participants in the background watch him.
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Sherwin-Williams sales representative Andrew Demkovich demonstrates the technique for painting a door. Sherwin-Williams donated paint kits to spruce up homes on Bloomington's west side, and provided instruction on painting an exterior door in two workshops. In partnership with the West Bloomington Revitalization Project.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
NPR's White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez was the special guest at the 17th annual Radio Faces, held at Illinois State University's Bone Student Center. Ordoñez is speaking at a podium.
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NPR's White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez was the special guest at the 17th annual Radio Faces, held at Illinois State University's Bone Student Center.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
Singer Mattie Mae performs with Front Street Collective at Sweet Corn Circus.
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Singer Mattie Mae performs with Front Street Collective at Sweet Corn Circus in Uptown Normal.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
President Joe Biden giving a speech in Belvidere, Illinois in support of United Auto Workers.
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President Joe Biden giving a speech in Belvidere, Illinois, in support of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
Jugglers in Gamma Phi Circus performing for a crowd at Sweet Corn Circus in Uptown Normal.
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Jugglers in Gamma Phi Circus performing for a crowd at Sweet Corn Circus in Uptown Normal.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
Singer Daneshia Hamilton performing with Mississippi Heat at WGLT's Highway 309 LIVE concert at the Normal Theater.
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Singer Daneshia Hamilton performing with Mississippi Heat at WGLT's Highway 309 LIVE concert at the Normal Theater.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
Gov. JB Pritzker kicked off a statewide launch of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library during a visit to the Bloomington Public Library.
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A new program in Illinois allows every child under age 5 to get a free book every month in the mail through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Gov. JB Pritzker announced the statewide launch of the program during a visit Dec. 5 to the Bloomington Public Library.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
Musician Nick Maestro Jones fist bumping a member of Gamma Phi Circus during his performance with Front Street Collective at Sweet Corn Circus in Uptown Normal. Jones is on roller skates.
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Musician Nick "Maestro" Jones fist-bumps a member of Gamma Phi Circus during his performance with Front Street Collective at Sweet Corn Circus in Uptown Normal.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
Iron Sprit Pro Wrestling performs at Sweet Corn Circus in Uptown Normal. One wrestler is in the air about to land on another wrestler. The other wrestler is sitting on the ground looking at his impending fate.
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Iron Sprit Pro Wrestling performs at Sweet Corn Circus in Uptown Normal.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
From left, John Stark (Illinois Shakespeare Festival), Gail Dobbins (Heartland Theatre Company) and Don Shandrow (Coalescence Theatre Project) at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.
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From left, John Stark (Illinois Shakespeare Festival), Gail Dobbins (Heartland Theatre Company) and Don Shandrow (Coalescence Theatre Project) pose outside the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
Chicago's Mount Carmel High School beat Downers Grove North, 35-10, winning the Class 7A final. Mount Carmel High School football players are holding up the trophy.
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Chicago's Mount Carmel High School beat Downers Grove North, 35-10, to win the Class 7A final football game at Hancock Stadium in Normal. The IHSA finals returned to Normal this year.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
Drag performer at Bloomington Pride Fest. She is wearing a pink wig, pink outfit with tassels, and holding dollar bills.
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A drag performer at Pride Fest in downtown Bloomington.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
Interim Illinois State University President Aondover Tarhule.
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Interim Illinois State University President Aondover Tarhule delivers his State of the University address.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
The Bloomington High School Dance Team met on a day off of school to take full advantage of the empty gymnasium. The team is seen here practicing their "Game Day" routine for nationals this weekend in Florida.
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The Bloomington High School Dance Team met on a day off of school to take full advantage of the empty gymnasium. The team is seen here practicing their "Game Day" routine for nationals in Florida.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT
Illinois State University Mennonite College of Nursing dean Judy Neubrander, interim president Andover Tarhule, Board of Trustees chair Kathy Bohn, and Mennonite College of Nursing advisory board member Steven Smith "break" ground on a site that will house an expanded simulation center next year.
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Illinois State University Mennonite College of Nursing dean Judy Neubrander, interim president Aondover Tarhule, Board of Trustees chair Kathy Bohn, and Mennonite College of Nursing advisory board member Steven Smith break ground on a site that will house an expanded simulation center next year.
Emily Bollinger / WGLT

Take a visual journey through the stories WGLT covered in 2023. The year was filled with cultural festivities, community events, visits by prominent figures, and more.

WGLT photographer Emily Bollinger was there to capture some of the biggest moments of the year. Check out some of their best photos of 2023 in the gallery above.

Throughout the year, photos can be found on WGLT’s Instagram account.
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Local News 2023 in reviewPhoto Gallery
Emily Bollinger
Emily Bollinger is a graduate assistant at WGLT, focused on photography, videography and other digital content. They're also a graduate student at Illinois State University's School of Communication.
See stories by Emily Bollinger