News

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…

Nature Rambles | Bell Bowl, a Prairie in Peril

Bell Bowl Prairie

In Illinois, the prairie state, finding prairies can be a real challenge. Over 99.99% of Illinois native prairie has been destroyed. Most prairie has been converted to agriculture. The areas that were too hilly to plough or too dry or…

Science Brief | Vaccine Hesitancy

The unvaccinated may not be who we think they are, according to The New York Times. In a recent analysis, The Times reported that the United States has among the world’s highest COVID-19 deaths per capita, but vaccinations are widely…

The Black barber: he dispels vaccine myths as he cuts your hair

Floyd Jackson

With COVID deaths and diagnoses hitting African American and minority populations hard, a new and trusted voice urging vaccinations is emerging: the Black barber. Nationwide, African American barbers are recognized as trusted counselors, friends and advocates for their community. Some…

Riverfront Museum photo exhibit shows 1940s unity, diversity

Frank Williams

When “Railroaders: Jack Delano’s Homefront Photography” opens at Peoria Riverfront Museum on Oct. 9, it will be a return of sorts for Delano, who visited Bradley University in 1988 as the first guest in BU’s Bunn Lectureship in Photography. Delano…

Peoria loses two Civil Rights icons

Sam Polk worked his way up the ranks of the City of Peoria’s Public Works Department. But he built his legacy in the Peoria branch of the NAACP. He was the sturdy and steadfast bridge between the NAACP of the…

School for algebra, language arts and hope

Police Chief Eric Echevarria and students

The pandemic robbed hope from countless students across the country, but 26 young people in Peoria who had been struggling with remote learning got back on track during a special summer program. Then they got an added surprise with an…

Government’s “tragedy of errors” still saved the arts

Corn Stock Theatre

The arts are vital to America, and many culture groups were hit hard during the pandemic, according to Brookings Institution which reported the sector lost $150 billion in revenue and 2.7 million jobs. Fortunately, Washington saw that helping such organizations…

Dissecting Afghanistan

The United States spent more than $74 billion on Afghanistan over the course of a 20-year war, the longest in American history. To many people, the withdrawal of U.S. troops felt messy, dishonorable, chaotic, emotional, disloyal, and terrifying. The Peoria…