Adam Elpayaa was recognized as one of the top pizza makers at the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. The event hosted 780 competitors from around the world.

The City of Bloomington and Central Illinois Regional Airport [CIRA] have both said there are no redevelopment plans at the location rumored to become a data center in southeast Bloomington.

The YWCA of McLean County is ending a nearly 40-year-old program that coordinates volunteers for nonprofit organizations in the community. This comes in the face of changing federal priorities and the administration campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion [DEI] and its ‘War on Woke.’

Jeff Gerald is a member at Farrell’s Extreme Bodyshaping gym in Bloomington, and recently won their yearlong national body transformation challenge with a grand prize of $10,000.

The exhibition is on view at the McLean County Arts Center alongside the center's popular emerging artist exhibition—something curator George Woodworth calls "huge" for the artists' journeys through and out of addiction.

The Department of Justice quietly reassigned its senior attorneys off of the Recognition and Accreditation Program, which provides training and standards for non-attorneys to give legal advice and sometimes litigate issues. The Immigration Project in downstate Illinois has 30 DOJ reps.

A new half-hour true-crime special set to debut on April 7 takes a look at new evidence unveiled in the unsolved murder of ISU student Jennifer Lockmiller in 1993. She was the ex-girlfriend of the wrongfully convicted Alan Beaman.

Pope Leo XIV has told the mayors of Bloomington and Normal that authority must be understood as service. The Pope referred to the example of Christ, who came “not to be served but to serve.”

The Illinois State Credit Union, in partnership with the Bloomington Public Library, is offering financial literacy sessions next month. The financial education sessions are offered in both languages to ensure accessibility. The English session is on April 14, and the Spanish session is April 21.

Student winners of this year's City of Bloomington Black History Essay Contest wrote about everyone from civil rights icons to artists, musicians and little-known scientists. The young people have chosen heroes to admire and people who speak to them.

Marcus Folks, 43, appeared for a sentencing hearing which stretched more than three hours Friday. Prosecutors called Folks' complaints a "self-inflicted wound" caused by his choices to fire a public defender three times and not show up for trial.

"No Kings" rallies were held Saturday in Bloomington, Normal and Peoria as part of a nationwide day of protests against the Trump administration. Big crowds turned out at each location, with attendees carrying signs addressing issues like immigration, health care, women's rights, and executive overreach.