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The McLean County Emergency Management Agency usually spends a lot of time preparing for disasters. But most of the last year and a half have been consumed by, well, emergencies. And they're shorthanded. A great tune and a little reinvention has kept this opera popular for nigh on 300 years. MIOpera begins its season in Bloomington Normal with the Barber of Seville. And, the band Good Morning Bedlam has close harmonies on stage and in the rest of their lives.

Illinois Wesleyan University plans a study of campus culture to root out hazing. A student was badly bruised and cut on his forehead during a hazing incident last month. Sigma Chi will lose its house. Plus, baseball returns to central Illinois. Hear about the rationale behind a big health bill designed to address inequities for African Americans. Learn how central Illinois parents can weigh the pros and cons of sending kids to summer camp when the pandemic is not yet done.

Frank Catalano got his big music break at age 18 and but for his mom it could have happened earlier. She didn't much care for smoky bars and hanging out till the wee hours of the morning. Catalano appears with Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlain this Saturday in Bloomington. Plus, 'Ridin' on the City of New Orleans' and the rest of the Amtrak service in Illinois including through Bloomington Normal will get a little easier as the pandemic ebbs. Unit 5 Superintendent Kristen Weikle says child mental health efforts may get some of the millions in federal pandemic relief money coming to the district. And after protests of new curriculum guidelines by district 87 parents who want their kids in the arts, Bloomington schools are making adjustments.

Yoga is coming back. Acupuncture is up. Reiki is feeling the energy. Hear about non traditional health methods and the pandemic. Plus, it's a booming time for construction and trades unions working at Rivian. Some have been there for three years. But, it's not just the auto maker that's generating work. Tree limbs crack and fall. You might not want to handle the damage by yourself, but it's awfully expensive to have a service do it. Get advice from Sarah Nardi and Patrick Murphy on our gardening podcast GROW. And Arts correspondent Breanna Grow gives us a sneak peek at "Hot Shorts."

Evangelical church leaders say they can only go so far in promoting vaccines to their members. White evangelicals rank first among groups rejecting the vaccine. Plus, Normal City Manager Pam Reece reflects on how the town council addressed unfounded ethics allegations against her levied by one council member. The Human services sector in Bloomington Normal may be understaffed, underpaid, and under-appreciated, but its still a huge part of the twin cities economy. State Senator Dave Koehler talks about being the first Democrat to represent Bloomington Normal in the General Assembly in four decades.

Teens in Bloomington Normal have a fairly low vaccination rate. And there are reasons for that: a need for parental consent, transportation gaps, scheduling around a summer job or a parent's job, and so on. A Bloomington nonprofit hopes to chip away at low vaccination rates among young people. Plus, Pridefest in Bloomington-Normal this weekend continues a long tradition. Hear why it takes on a special significant this year. ISU students have mixed opinions about a potential vaccine mandate to be on campus in the fall term. Finally, some in law enforcement wonder if perceptions about police have turned people away from a career behind the badge.

Rivian employment is now about 1,900. It's heading for 2,500 by year and 3,000 to 4,000 by the end of next year. Heartland Community College's two soccer teams went to nationals for the first time, but it wasn't easy when several got sick. Yet they persevered. Heartland also set a new grade point average record among its student athletes. McLean County Jail inmates connect with their children by reading and recording books on CD. A northern Illinois woman tells you her experience of a chemical plant fire and dark plumes of smoke that made her sick and dizzy.

The Heartland Theatre Company is centering the voices of people of color. It's diverse storytelling out of the box. Plus, the national conversation about paying for healthcare and what kind to pay for continues. Check in with a Bloomington-Normal health executive about how that's going. A community can get a lot of insight by seeing itself reflected in the eyes of an outsider. Eleanor Roosevelt was one such outsider for Bloomington-Normal in 1937. Hear more in our latest episode of the WGLT series McHistory. And the new EP from soul-folk trio 'Sarah & the Underground' released on Father's Day was originally a gift for family.

Nationally ranked disc golfers come to central Illinois for a big tourney. For the record, fon't call it frisbee golf or even worse FROLF. The Illinois Arts Station is close to opening its new home in Normal. At certain long term care facilities in Bloomington Normal less than a quarter of the staff have taken the Coronavirus vaccine. Dive into why that is. Plus, a big long term care facility operator backtracks on its requirement that staff get vaccinated. Heritage Health would love it if the government took the question of mandates out of company hands.

It may not be an impossible dream, but a McLean County man is certainly dreaming a very difficult dream, restoring an old railroad sleeper car to become a business. And there's a new book on backyard prairies. Up to 50 percent of court cases have at least one side representing themselves. A new grant for courts in McLean and neighboring counties will help offer road maps to the courts for those without a lawyer. And, Amazon will build a distribution center near Pekin. Yes, it's hundreds of jobs, but the pay rate makes a difference.