Author Archive for Bill Knight

Muralist rekindles towns’ past

Underground Railroad painting

Scott Lindley’s life work has been about forging relationships and building community. And painting. Lindley, 52, heads up “Walldogs,” a group of artists who’ve created murals throughout Illinois, from a standalone piece chronicling Elmwood’s abolitionist past to a series of…

Bill Knight | Farewell to a fine journalist

Journalists don’t pursue their career for thanks. Compensation mostly is indirect, learning issues and interacting with people much more than pay. (A favorite quote about journalism-as-a-calling is from Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist and novelist Anna Quindlen, who said,…

Bill Knight | Trying to please everyone

Even as a Democrat (technically a democratic socialist), it’s difficult to dislike Darin LaHood, akin to scolding a gifted musician’s child for being tone-deaf. But it’s frustrating. The 18th District’s Republican Congressman seems to exalt bipartisanship and express concerns for…

Insect “apocalypse”?

Michael Smice

An “insect apocalypse” could jeopardize plant life. Farming in the 1990s increased use of neonicotinoid insecticides, the neurotoxins that collect in pollen and nectar –– causing paralysis and death for bugs, including bees. However, there’s doubt about bees’ current state,…