Articles

Nature Rambles: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza spreading in animals

MIKE MILLER

Take care: HPAI virus strains are now a part of ‘our new normal.’ We will need to adapt our agricultural practices to meet this new challenge. We can only hope that wild bird populations will build some type of immunity, or that the virus evolves to be less lethal to its host.

Voter turnout can be key, but it’s often disappointing

United States sagging in middle of the pack as far as participation in the electoral process: Peoria County has about 135,265 people age-eligible to vote, and since the Peoria Election Commission reports 117,217 registered voters, more than 18,000 Peoria County adults are not even registered.

News analysis: Local media primary coverage decent, April 1 more challenging

BILL KNIGHT

Years ago, election nights were “all hands on deck” in newsrooms. This week the Peoria Election Commission posted primary results at 8:34 p.m. Tuesday. WMBD-TV 31 posted a good story about the unofficial results 22 minutes later. Within hours, WEEK-TV 25 and WCBU-FM 89.9 filed stories on Mayor Rita Ali and John Kelly apparently getting the most votes

Undergound Railroad and its Illinois line

State task force recommends highlighting state’s history in fighting slavery because ‘more freedom seekers came through Illinois, Indiana and Ohio than ever went up the East Coast. But that set of stories has never been fully told.”