Central Illinois has long been a refuge for healthy populations of Red-headed Woodpeckers. Our plentiful oak woodlands and rich river valleys have long been home to this colorful species. With its bright red hood and black and white body, it…
According to U.S. Census data, the official poverty rate in 2020 was 11.4 percent, resulting in 37.2 million people living in poverty. In addition, Census data indicates that between 2019 and 2020, the poverty rates increased for non-Hispanic Whites and…
If you want to help arrest global warming but are not sure about your best actions, then the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, offers a lengthy list of things to do. Over the next 10 years (2023-32), this breakthrough climate…
Firearm violence has been a major topic across the nation and in our own Peoria area. It is a leading cause of injurious death and has doubled in cases in Peoria from 2020 to 2021. Last month in our Part…
Willie Nelson is “on the road again,” returning to the annual Summer Camp music festival at Three Sisters Park outside Chillicothe this Memorial Day weekend. Nelson — who turned 90 on April 29 — played the popular event in 2009.…
It’s the little things that make the moments of our lives extra special. And it takes a big heart to fill them with love. Serendipity. That’s what Sandra Dempsey Post provided for readers for more than 40 years all over…
It’s one thing to enrich the wealthy through targeted tax cuts, etc., but must government make the poor needier? That’s looking likely since Congress in its Consolidated Appropriations Act, enacted Dec. 29, 2022, set March 31 of this year as…
Creative clothing with a view toward sustainability is the focus of three fashionistas in Peoria. Dana Baldwin creates phenomenal evening gowns, wraps and coats, Aareon Boyd up-cycles vintage wear and Lily Scalf focuses on natural dyes and elegant daywear. Each…
Russian oligarchs are named incorrectly. America has oligarchs, men whose extraordinary wealth can sway governments. As Gilens and Page (2014) show, economic elites and big corporations get their way when Congress crafts legislation whereas ordinary citizens have negligible impact. Wealth…
Firearm violence is taking place in communities across the nation and recently surpassed motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of injurious death in the United States. Peoria is no exception. Firearm homicides of Peoria County residents doubled from 2020…
