Catrina Petersen

A new year means new ideas, and Bloomington-Normal is generating some big ones.

The pandemic has caused substantial need throughout the community, so State Farm decided to not sell five passenger vans and instead give them to Bloomington-Normal nonprofits.

The need for donated blood doesn’t pause for holidays, game days or a pandemic.

The need for donated blood doesn’t pause for holidays, game days or a pandemic. 

Bloomington-Normal and Peoria, like the rest of the nation, are experiencing a blood shortage.

“There is a national convalescent plasma shortage, and health emergencies, they don't stop there during the holidays, the game days, or even the pandemic, and blood product is needed every two seconds for someone in the U.S. battling injury and illness,” said Red Cross Regional Communications Manager Drew Brown.

The Children’s Discovery Museum will partner with more than 12 other museums and science centers in Illinois and Indiana to continue its annual tradition of providing local children with a Noon Year’s Eve countdown.

Central Illinois demand for gasoline has softened since the beginning of November, declining for four consecutive weeks. Prices also are down, and usually that’d be great for holiday travelers. But this year it makes no difference because fewer people are going places.

For 38 years, the Bloomington-Normal Trades and Labor Assembly and the McLean County Chamber of Commerce have sponsored the “Christmas for Kids” party for low-income families. This year looked a little different due to COVID-19.

Wish Bone Canine Rescue is seeking the community’s help in finding a new home for its shelter.

For three years, the non-profit rescue leased space on Bunn Street, but the property owner now has other plans for the site. 

Two Normal residents are a long way from where they were in 2017 with their Toilet Timer, when they first visited WGLT.

The Town of Normal is using federal funds to launch a Small Business Relief Program that will offer companies with 50 or fewer full-time employees up to $15,000 in grants.

The town has received $450,000 from the Local CURE Economic Support program that uses federal dollars allocated to Illinois through the CARES Act. The City of Bloomington has a similar program.

Heartland Community College in Normal is adding a certification program with an eye on the area’s growing need for mental health support professionals. 

Behavioral health continues to be one of the top three issues in McLean County’s Community Health Improvement Plan through 2022.

The new certificate program will allow students to advance into the workplace directly from Heartland.

The time of giving is upon us, and this year the pandemic has caused local families to need even more support. That’s why The Baby Fold is moving ahead with a hybrid version of its annual Festival of Trees fundraiser, using a new auction website that allows supporters to browse, bid, and buy items safely.

Recyclable items will be making it into Peoria residents’ carts Sunday for America Recycles Day. 

The Holocaust began 82 years ago this week with Kristallnacht, or “the night of broken glass.” Moses Montefiore in Bloomington on Monday participated in a worldwide remembrance of that night by illuminating its temple.

The legacy of Bloomington High School’s swimming coach began in 1979 and will continue long after his sudden death this week. 

Bloomington-Normal residents have several options to avoid harming the environment as they get to work raking or blowing their leaves to the curb this fall.

There have been multiple lockdowns in a Pekin federal prison to reduce the spread of the coronavirus in the facility, with many inmates losing contact with families during the times they are confined to their cells.

And the family of one inmate said the impact on the family and the inmate is high.

Injustices to the Black community have gripped the nation for many months now. The creators of a new mural on Bloomington’s west side say they hope it will permanently remind people to continue the dialogue around racial injustice.