The young students sat mesmerized in the gymnasium of Peoria Academy as they watched puppets prance around a pop-up stage during a performance of “Peter and the Wolf” last November. Behind — and beneath — the scenes, six women of…
The Peoria Symphony Orchestra made history Nov. 20th with a world premier during “HerStory: A Musical Tribute to Betty Friedan” at the Civic Center Theater. Manhattan-based Composer-in-Residence Stephanie Ann Boyd composed the score in tribute to the feminist icon from…
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new Toxic Release Inventory shows companies’ data on industrial waste last year, and of all of Peoria’s zip codes, four have businesses that say they released between 12.6 tons to six pounds. Metro Peoria has…
Ninety-nine years means a lot of stories for a reporter. Officially, Theo Jean Kenyon’s career spanned World War II and the first Obama Administration. Elegantly dressed and coiffed, she covered Peoria — from advisory committees to zoning commissions — working…
“I saw that the camera could be a weapon against poverty, against racism, against all sorts of social change wrongs. I knew at that point I had to have a camera,” Gordon Parks. These are the words of Gordon Parks,…
In a letter to employees and a news release to the media, Unity Point Health CEO and President Clay Holderman, announced that the Iowa-based health system had entered into discussions with officials at Carle Health that could see Peoria’s Methodist…
In the spring of 1996 Kent Redfield was a 47-year-old political science professor at the University of Illinois Springfield, where he wrote a report for the Illinois Campaign Finance Project (ICPR) outlining dozens of ways to change how candidates raise…
A new year presents us with many possibilities. And it’s a perfect time to turn over a new leaf, which is exactly what we’re doing at the Community Word. The esteemed Clare Howard has handed off her handle on the…
The Supreme Court heard arguments on Dec. 1st in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, to decide whether Mississippi’s law making most abortions illegal after 15 weeks of pregnancy constitutes an undue burden on the right to abortion established in…
Peoria City Council wrestled with its 2022-2023 biennial budget — and each other — during special meetings this fall. On Oct. 26: Peoria Township officials asked for a tax increase, but didn’t get it. City Manager Patrick Urich said recovery…
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Rebuild Illinois will provide almost $7 million to airports in central Illinois. General Wayne A. Downing — Peoria International Airport will receive $2.8 million in federal money and another $900,000 from the state…
The Lincoln Branch Library marked its 10th anniversary of its expansion and renovation. The addition in 2010 to Peoria’s only Andrew Carnegie library expanded the South Side space from 4,570 to 16,300 square feet with a modern extension to the…
Eureka College is expanding its tuition-free program to qualified students for four years. The Uniquely Eureka Promise Program, which was originally offered to transfer students, is now available to students from all over the state of Illinois, and gives them…
I heard a true story from Peoria County Sheriff Brian Asbell a while ago that sticks with me to this day. He told a story to a group about a man who was in the county jail. This person was…
Iranian-born painter Shahrbanoo Hamzeh moved to the United States in 2018 as a graduate student and completed an MFA in Painting from Illinois State University in the spring of 2021. Since graduation, the artist has continued to expand upon a…
ART Examples of the drawings of the renowned Mauricio Lasansky will be displayed in the Heuser Gallery at Bradley University starting Jan. 19. From the university’s collection, the exhibit will run through March 18. CINEMA In limited theatrical release starting…
No. Just as it was impossible to stitch together an economy with half-slave, half-free labor, a half-nuke and half-renewable energy house is equally impossible. Nuclear and renewable power are irreconcilably incompatible. Yet, the General Assembly and Governor’s 2021 Clean Energy…
The Peoria region is blessed with woodlands along the bluffs of the Illinois River. Many of these have been protected as conservation areas and nature preserves. Places like Forest Park, Detweiller Park, Robinson Park, Camp Wokanda and Singing Woods are…
Playing games has always ranked high for me as a great way to have a good time. I remember playing board games by myself as a child. I would assume the role of the three other players the game was…
It seems that in this time of many changes, another one is happening with the first edition of the Community Word of 2022. There is a new managing editor, a former West Peorian, Brian Ludwig. He spent his formative years…
Ironworkers at G&D Integrated in Morton have voted to unionize, they reported, adding that it’s “just one more example of how collective power can make big change for workers.” At press time, negotiations for a first contract had started. Legendary…
A growing sense of urgency nationwide is focused on a new category of “forever chemicals” called PFAS. Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances include a group of about 5,000 manmade chemicals used in a wide variety of products from fire fighters’ foam,…
