McLean County Museum Of History

Returning from a statewide arts and humanities conference, leaders from Bloomington-Normal's cultural organizations recommit to working together.

Community members gathered over the weekend to honor loved ones who have died at the McLean County Museum of History’s annual Dia de Muertos celebration, filling the museum with music, dancing and colorful activities inspired by the traditional Mexican holiday.

The McLean County Museum of History collaborates with Hispanic Twin City residents to host 5th annual Day of the Dead celebration Saturday, Nov. 1, from 3 -7 p.m.

Nomad Theatre Company will begin its second season as a year-round company by bringing courtroom dramas to a real-life courtroom in Bloomington. One play is based on true events following a group of ax-wielding ladies from Towanda.

McLean County has one Nobel Prize winner — but oh what a one! Modern electronics rests upon Clinton Davisson’s physics experiments bombarding a block of crystalized nickel with electrons.

The matriarch of a prominent Bloomington-Normal business family has died. Linda Shirk was 79.

The coordinated display, arranged on each of the museum's three floors, includes rarely seen items surrounding the theme of death and funerary customs.

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.

The iconic Route 66 will hit the century mark next year. Before it became the "Mother Road," it was Illinois Route 4. And on it was a rest spot for those early motorists on the south side of Bloomington.

The average corn yield last year in McLean County was nearly 247 bushels per acre. That's enough to blow the minds of the grandfathers of today's farmers. Agriculture has changed nearly beyond recognition in less than a century.