Lauren Warnecke
Deputy News DirectorLauren Warnecke is the Deputy News Director at WGLT. She joined the station as a correspondent in 2020 with a focus on arts and culture and became a full-time staff member in 2023. She became Deputy News Director in 2025.
You can reach Lauren at lewarne@ilstu.edu and 309-438-7869.
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Ameren Illinois employees toured Illinois State University's new College of Engineering campus Wednesday while delivering a ceremonial check supporting its electrical engineering lab. -
The new, voluntary Blue Envelope Program is now part of the Normal Police Department's operations. It's used to improve interactions — usually traffic stops — with people who have autism, cognitive delays, communication differences or other neurodivergent conditions. -
Paul Williams is named with the City of Bloomington as defendants in a federal lawsuit accusing the assistant police chief of misconduct during a June traffic stop. -
A McLean County jury convicted Tomiyale Anderson, 22, on all counts related to the shooting death of 17-year-old Kanye Stowers, a student at Richwoods High School in Peoria. -
Areas south and east of the City of Bloomington were hardest hit by Thursday's intense thunderstorm, but as rain continued to fall, basements started to get wet. That includes several buildings on Illinois State's campus, where classes started today. -
![Brightpoint, a statewide nonprofit serving 37,000 children in Central Illinois, operates Scott Child & Family Center in Bloomington [pictured], plus a crisis nursery for short term respite care.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/bf219eb/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1070+0+185/resize/280x156!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F85%2Ffd%2Fa1954f15486fbbb6e680f1ba3f4a%2F06ee7c4f-47be-4090-bf7a-adbd6029746b.jpeg)
Two childcare providers described an industry where good intentions run into real financial and bureaucratic walls. At least for now, some left standing in McLean County seem more interested in propping each other up than fighting over what's left. -
Brady Stoewer, 24, of Normal was eligible for probation after pleading guilty to one count of criminal sexual abuse of a minor. A judge issued the 4.5-year sentence during an all-day hearing Friday in McLean County Court. -
Erik Nelson was a music producer at Eclipse Studios at 404 Northtown Rd. in north Normal and previously owned Sinewave Studios in Bloomington. Nelson died of cancer on Sunday at age 57.
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The History Channel show sifting through collectors' homes and garages is coming to Illinois and in search of places to film. -
A Cincinnati-based Americana duo which once called Bloomington-Normal home is returning to play in the Twin Cities next month — in a venue they helped launch that's been on hiatus since the COVID-19 pandemic.
![Brightpoint, a statewide nonprofit serving 37,000 children in Central Illinois, operates Scott Child & Family Center in Bloomington [pictured], plus a crisis nursery for short term respite care.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/2b61cfd/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1070+0+185/resize/560x312!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F85%2Ffd%2Fa1954f15486fbbb6e680f1ba3f4a%2F06ee7c4f-47be-4090-bf7a-adbd6029746b.jpeg)
