The Redbirds will next face Montana State in the FCS national championship game Jan. 5 in Nashville. Coach Brock Spack said Saturday's win is a real "shot in the arm" for the ISU Athletics program.

The Redbirds — who were unseeded in these playoffs — are the first FCS team ever to win four straight road playoff games. They'll face Montana State in the national championship game Jan. 5 in Nashville.

The union representing players for the Bloomington Bison and other ECHL hockey teams have voted to authorize a strike after negotiating for months on a new contract.

Family and friends enjoyed spending the weekend in the Philadelphia area as Illinois State football prepares to face Villanova in the FCS playoffs.

Sharee Conely applied for the Habitat for Humanity program in 2022 and waited two years before being selected. She said her motivation to stay the course was her children.

Brightpoint runs two long-running programs in the McLean County court system. The nonprofit is about to run out of money for those programs after the federal government cut $150,000 in October.

Bloomington-Normal has already seen over 14 inches of snow this month. An entire winter's worth of snow is around 20 inches.

Student support workers at Illinois State University have filed a petition to form a union. Academic advisors, financial aid counselors, and other support workers want to be a chapter of the University Professionals of Illinois.

Health care systems nationwide are bracing for how the Trump administration's price increase to a visa program used to hire skilled foreign workers will negatively affect their ability hire clinicians. OSF HealthCare is among several Bloomington-Normal employers who hire H-1B visa holders.

The Central Illinois Democrat said he returned millions of dollars to his district through federal grants and constituent assistance. But a looming health care deadline remains unfinished business as lawmakers leave Washington until January.

2025 was a good year for Normal, according to City Manager Pam Reece, noting town achievements include a range of infrastructure projects, opening a refurbished skate park at Fairview Park, and advancing the town's public arts plan.

There are big warning signs in agriculture right now. And many experts are warning an aid package announced by the Trump administration is not likely to go very far or come soon enough