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Illinois State University President Larry Dietz is asking state lawmakers for fair, dependable funding.At a Senate higher education appropriations…

Obscured in the last three years of budget struggles in the state of Illinois is a remaining massive unfunded liability in state pension systems—$129…

Some authors published decades ago in a ground breaking ISU based journal of Black Literature are still working today. Hear about Obsidian Literature & Arts. So, you spend a lot of time and effort making your garden look faaaan-tast-ic and get nothing else out of it. Now, you can do that AND grow something you can eat. The pandemic brought fear, uncertainty, stress, boredom, and, it turns out, artistic fuel for a new twin cities exhibit by Susan Emmerson and Lisa Walcott. Finally, hear a hip hop song collaboration between Bloomington and Chicago grassroots art schools.

A lot of people in Bloomington Normal needed a fur child to relieve the isolation and get through the pandemic. A lot of those kitties and doggies are going back to animal shelters when their humans no longer want the pets. It takes a wage of more than sixteen bucks an hour to afford a two bedroom apartment in Bloomington Normal. A minimum wage earner has to work one and a half jobs just to have a place to sleep. Plus, Jersey Mike's restaurant is set to open. Texas Roadhouse in Bloomington Normal will be delayed a bit. Hear about the Bloomington Normal Restaurant Scene with Larry Carius.

Small towns in McLean County would love to have a couple million bucks in pandemic relief money. They're frustrated the Governor's staff haven't filled out the federal paperwork. Lexington alone would get a quarter million dollars to help businesses and improve infrastructure. Bloomington City Council member Jenn Carillo is resigning because she's moving out of the ward. Bloomington city council member Jamie Mathy says he'd like to see mental health workers go along with cops and emergency service workers to respond to people experiencing a psychiatric, behavioral or substance abuse crisis. And get a light and lovely look at lavender.

High schools are puzzling over how to meet new state requirements to teach media literacy. Educators at Illinois State University's school of communication have some tips after producing an online resource to combat fake news and promote civic reasoning. Normal town council member Kathleen Lorenz voted for the underpass project, again, but says it's a nervous vote. Lorenz tells you what she thinks is next. Plus, Arts correspondent Breanna Grow explores what goes right when the casting is all wrong with "Miscast Cabaret" from Community Players.

Stress can affect childhood development. Hear from an expert whether the pandemic may delay kids speech and language. You can "BEE" a fan of plucky pollinators with a visit to Wild Harvest Honey festival in Heyworth. Karen Zangerle masterminded a 2-1-1 hotline to provide access to help in McLean and 48 other Illinois Counties. Zangerle is retiring from the agency after 36 years. Plus, who among homeowners in the Midwest has not experienced the tyranny of the turf?

A Bloomington Normal doctor says physicians are seeing cancer and pre cancer in younger and younger patients. That colonoscopy you really don't want at age fifty? Yeah, an influential panel recommends you start at 45 instead. A tall building is a lot like a car. You drive it a while the parts wear out and you either do an expensive rebuild or you get a new one. Hear how to assess Bloomington Normal buildings in the wake of the Miami condo collapse. Plus LGBTQ students get a safe space and living community. ISU designates a part of Watterson Towers as the Rainbow floor. The head of ISU Pride tells you why it's necessary.

The Bloomington Normal NAACP starts a youth council. Hear what dreams those young people have for change. And one of the things caused by the pandemic that will remain is a good thing; summer food programs. A lot of Bloomington Normal people whose homes were flooded last month can't dig out by themselves. The Salvation Army has pleas for help from 200 people in 80 families. And Bloomington has had three police chiefs and two interim chiefs in the last year and a half. Hear an interview with the latest to leave and why.

Some suggest Illinois use pandemic relief money to reduce a massive unemployment trust fund debt. Governor JB Pritzker says you can't do that. The Governor, though, is wrong. Other States are doing just that. Plus hear about the state budget deficit and the pension problem in an in-depth interview with Governor Pritzker. And weeks after torrential rains caused more than a thousand homes to flood in Bloomington Normal health officials warn the backed up sewage might still be an issue. The McLean County Health Department Environmental Health Director has more.