Civil War

As the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a Lincoln scholar from Bloomington-Normal is saying Abraham Lincoln relied on the Declaration all his life.

There are many myths about the American west. They're wrong yet are remarkably sticky in American cultural consciousness according to historian Megan Kate Nelson. Nelson will speak at Illinois State University on March 19.

Despite the reputation of Bloomington-Normal as a staid, quiet community with nicknames such as "Borington" and "Insuranceville," the Twin Cities has a long history of protests. While there have been a lot of non-violent political protests around Bloomington-Normal lately, some past actions were not so civil.

There's a measure before the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee to name the VA outpatient clinic in Bloomington for Andrew Jackson Smith, a Civil War soldier awarded the Medal of Honor.

U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood has introduced legislation to rename the Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Bloomington. If passed, the community-based outpatient facility would be known as the Andrew Jackson Smith Medal of Honor Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic.

WGLT talks to Raymond McKoski, the author of a new biography of David Davis, whose mansion and historic site in Bloomington attracts thousands of visitors visit each year. "David Davis: Abraham Lincoln’s Favorite Judge" will be out next month from the University of Illinois Press.

It seems like a new biography of President Abraham Lincoln comes out every few years, trying to discern new perspectives of his time and character. Lincoln himself didn't write much about his life, so what he did put down on paper has an outsized importance.

Happy birthday Abraham Lincoln. He’s 216. The McLean County Museum of History is hallmarking Lincoln’s Feb. 12 birthday with the start of a coloring contest to celebrate Lincoln and work on a mural showing a famous speech he made in Bloomington.

Christmas in America wasn't always the huge festive cultural movement we know today. The Puritans made the celebration of Christmas illegal. They thought such demonstrations were sacrilegious.

The county board rejected the proposal as inappropriate for the rules of the area. Separately, the board also approved a pay rise for public health nurses and zoning for Rivian's expansion plan.