Peoria Riverfront Museum is host to the worldwide traveling debut of “T.REX: The Ultimate Predator” created by the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Now through Sept. 6. The Peoria Art Guild will be hosting live demonstrations…
Art & Justice | Raising awareness for abducted women
Editor’s Note: The REDress Project was conceived by Canadian artist Jaime Black to commemorate murdered and missing indigenous women. The REDress Project was displayed at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in 2019. Eliida Lakota brought the concept…
Science Briefs | June 2021
Environmental Racism: “Toward the Fossil-Free Future: Food, Farming, Fracking, Climate & Justice” was the topic of a recent zoom lecture by scientist and writer Sandra Steingraber. Fossil fuel extraction is a form of environmental racism, Steingraber said. Factories, refineries and…
Heat Waves — In Red and Black | Is Large-Scale Ecological Restoration Possible? The Loess Plateau Experiment, Part 2
China’s Loess Plateau experiment successfully restored depleted farmland in the less arid parts of the plateau. One precondition for success required an end to free-range grazing by goats, a major cause of soil erosion. The breakthrough came when a county…
Serendipity | Less is best
Organization does not come easily to me. It doesn’t come to me at all except for those times when generous loved ones offer suggestions after I’ve asked their advice. My oldest child told me once I’m a rather unique disorganized…
West Peoria News | Fourth of July parade cancellation
Sadly, the City of West Peoria made the decision to postpone the Fourth of July parade and flag raising ceremony a second year due to the pandemic. Parade arrangements must be made several weeks ahead of the Fourth and forced…
Labor Roundup | June 2021
Elon Musk added to list of labor-law violators. Tesla Motors and owner Elon Musk, have joined the ever-lengthening list of rich corporate moguls breaking labor law. In Musk’s case, it was with a tweet, and his Twitter account had at…
Chinquapin Oak: “The spirit of our region”
To know the Chinquapin Oak is to know something about our region’s ecological history and our own ecological geneology. Chinquapins are hallmark trees of the Central Illinois River Bluff. Slow growing with dense wood and a gray-brown bark, the tree…
Peoria Park District: Solar works in Peoria and saves money
The Peoria Park District is loudly proclaiming its values in a series of solar roof panels on the Bonnie Noble Center, Lakeview Recreation Center, Owens Center and RiverPlex Recreation & Wellness Center. The panels testify: We are fiscally responsible and…
He went from waiting to die to feeling empowered
Autumn 2020 was exceptionally beautiful, but what Bill Conger remembers from that time is exceptionally terrifying with significant gaps in his memory. Conger, 53, is curator of collections and exhibitions at Peoria Riverfront Museum. He and his wife Michelle were…
The Lion’s Den | The Language of Our Lives
“We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.” This quote is from Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech given on Dec. 7, 1993. Morrison…
Straight Talk | Congratulations to Rita Ali!
Peoria has a new mayor. After a short stint as a member of the City Council, Ali was elected mayor, defeating fellow Councilman Jim Montelongo. It was a close race. At the end of election day, Tuesday, April 6, Montelongo…
Bill Knight | “Punks in Peoria”
Given the general characteristics of status-quo Peoria and youths’ attraction to exciting punk music on both coasts, those forces were destined to Clash. (So to speak.) Out in June, “Punks in Peoria: Making A Scene in The American Heartland” from…
Editorial | How art can change the world
Peoria should bring Preston Jackson’s whale sculpture, “Shirley Armstrong,” to the Peoria Riverfront in the green space to the east of Peoria Riverfront Museum. The whale is a beautiful and haunting reminder of the interconnection between the sometimes careless actions…
OpEd | The Proposed Federal Infrastructure Bill: Continuously Investing in the Water and Wastewater Systems that Serve You
BY ERIC LARSON Senior Manager of Operations and Production, Western Division, Illinois American Water Co. American Water appreciates President Biden’s and his administration’s recognition of the need to invest in our country’s water and wastewater systems. Water and wastewater infrastructure…
The Watch | May 2021
Government business slogged forward in March as a fourth corona-wave appeared imminent. On March 9, after several delays, Peoria City Council updated the city code for short-term rental uses. Before this action, short-term rentals such as Airbnb and VRBO were…
Real Talk | Protected Terror
What we thought was 8 minutes and 46 seconds of terror and torture was actually, 9 minutes and 29 seconds. We know now that was how long former police officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on the neck of George…
Nature Rambles | On Summer Tanagers
May is known for its colorful flowers. Trees also are in bloom and insects are becoming more numerous. With all of this activity, the stage is set for the peak of songbird migration. Many of these birds are migrating north…
Inland Art | Welcome, Nichole Gronvold Roller
Editor’s note: After more than four years writing Inland Art for Community Word, Paul Krainak is focusing on other projects, notably a blog “Bad at Sports” accessed at http://badatsports.com/2021/sub-rural/. He recommended Nichole Gronvold Roller as his replacement. Her column will…
Art: What is it Good For? | Mural making workshop for kids
How do you spell art? On April 17, more than 15 young children would have answered F-U-N. That’s the day Big Picture Initiative and The Peoria Playhouse Children’s Museum co-hosted a mural making workshop. Artists Megan Couri and Jaci Musec…
Art Alerts | May 2021
Fine Arts Society of Peoria presents lecture by Dr. Robert McCarter “The Architecture of Carlo Scarpa: Recomposing Place, Intertwining Time, Transforming Reality,” 10 a.m. May 13 via Zoom. Register at FineArtsSociety.net. “Seen but not Felt” will be virtually exhibited all…
Reflections from an Existential Lens | Religion, Secularism, and the Meaning of Life, Part IV
What is the meaning of life? Last time I suggested that we instead ask whether life is lived meaningfully. This phrasing doesn’t assume meaning must come from somewhere outside, written in words of fire. As Viktor Frankl says, “Questions about…