An influx of tax dollars has helped produce a 10% increase in Normal’s year-end general fund balance, according to a mostly positive report presented to the Town Council on Monday.
Most of the founding team that first brought the Children’s Discovery Museum into existence 25 years ago will be honored at a two-part anniversary celebration this week in Normal.
Construction is scheduled to begin this fall on the $30 million mixed-use building that will rise on the northeast arc of Uptown circle. It is known as Trail East.
An analysis of the tax increment financing (TIF) district in Uptown Normal indicates the effort to spark development in the city center begun in 1999 has been a good value for taxpayers, according to a consultant.
The Normal Town Council has approved a development agreement with an Uptown business to create a two-story brewpub and rooftop dining establishment using the old Bill's Key and Lock shop property.
The identity of the mystery Uptown Normal mural artist who signed over his rights has been revealed – though the legal fight over the public artwork could soon be rendered moot if the Town of Normal fulfills its promise to safely move it.
UPDATED 3:40 p.m. | The Town of Normal says it has obtained a release and waiver from one of the Uptown mural artists—a potentially significant development in the lawsuit over the public artwork.
Bloomington singer-songwriter Emily Hope is bullish on her sunny outlook and a sense of hope. Matter of fact, the first line in her online bio reads “ … a smiley 23-year-old singer/songwriter, guitarist, and ukulele player.”
A federal judge has denied a request for a temporary restraining order to stop demolition at the Trail East site and ordered the mural’s artists and the Town of Normal to return to court for settlement talks.
A federal judge on Monday said he wants to know more about where the Uptown Normal mural might be moved—and whether it will remain publicly visible—before deciding whether to delay the start of construction at the Trail East site.
The Town of Normal has pushed back against the 13 artists who’ve sued over the Uptown mural, claiming federal copyright law doesn’t protect them because their artwork can be safely moved.
UPDATED 3:40 p.m. | The artists who sued the Town of Normal over their work on the Uptown mural are now asking a judge for a restraining order that would temporarily prevent it from being moved or destroyed.
Thirteen of the artists who created the Uptown Normal mural have filed a federal lawsuit to stop the Town of Normal and a developer from demolishing their work.
Army Ranger Sgt. Josh Rodgers of Normal was on his third tour of Afghanistan before he turned 22. He died in a raid of an ISIS headquarters in Afghanistan two years ago this weekend.
The developer behind the Trail East project said Monday that Afni, an Illinois State University business incubator, and a mystery “multinational technology company” could be among the tenants in the new Uptown Normal building.
UPDATED 9:40 p.m. | A community arts group at Illinois State University plans to renovate and move in to the unfinished ground floor of the College Avenue parking deck in Uptown Normal.
The Normal Town Council granted developer Bush Construction several variances on preliminary design plans for the Trail East building on Uptown Circle.
An attorney who represents 11 artists who created the Uptown Normal mural say federal law requires their permission for it to be demolished—and that compensation may be enough to earn that consent.
Officials in Normal defended the Trail East project against public criticism Monday night, with the council unanimously approving two measures to keep the project moving forward.
A Normal Town Council candidate said she supports the town's economic development efforts but is concerned about the town's recent decision to raze historic buildings in Uptown for the Trail East project.
