David Blanchette

When freshman Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski has reached across the political aisle for bipartisan support on key issues in her district, she has frequently found that her colleagues have reached back. “To me, bipartisanship is not just a talking point,” Budzinski said. “The work I’ve been focused on is how I can build relationships across the […]

Fertilizer belongs in farm fields, helping crops to grow. It doesn’t belong in drinking water supplies or in the Gulf of Mexico. Central Illinois farmers are adopting more practices to make sure that fertilizers, or nutrients as they are called in the business, stay where they’re supposed to stay, and stay out of the places […]

Stanley Lieber graduated from high school at age 16 and was hired as an editorial assistant for a popular publication. Lieber began to write for the publication, was soon promoted to editor, and simplified his name on bylines for his work. A group of 16 Springfield area teens gathered one recent Saturday morning in Springfield, […]

When a tree falls in this forest, the sound it makes is definitely being heard. A grassroots proposal fueled by opponents of logging and other concerns is gaining traction to transform the 289,000-acre Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois into a national park and the nation’s first climate preserve. Proponents argue the designation would protect […]

Leo the cat was not happy. Leo had been brought into Five Star Veterinary in Springfield because of a severe loss of balance, and he fought with a fury the staff who tried to examine him. The noise that Leo produced was the textbook definition of “caterwauling.” Meanwhile, the Five Star waiting area and the […]

When Market on the Hill opened in 2020 in downtown Mt. Pulaski, its founders took the producer-to-consumer concept of the farmers market one step farther. Now, the community grocery store’s organizers are thinking on a much larger scale. “At the time we were putting the market and grocery store together, we also, on a parallel […]

LuAnn Atkins is 90 years old, she’s lived in her home for ten and a half years, and she’s mad as hell since learning her rent will be raised from $1,667 to $3,000 per month starting Oct. 1. “I’m furious. I’m very angry,” Atkins said. “They haven’t been forthright in getting us ready for this. […]

Mark McDonald’s greatest professional reward is knowing that people enjoy the product he produces. “When I go to the grocery store and people say ‘I love your show,’” McDonald said, “that makes it all worthwhile. I love that.” McDonald has been the only host of the Public Television series “Illinois Stories” since its inception 19 […]

The COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain issues, the war in Ukraine and other developments have brought into sharp focus the global relationships that reach into every part of our daily lives. What happens around the world affects our health and safety, what we can buy and how much we pay for it, and what the future […]

Groups of excited second graders dashed from area to area, clutching notebooks and tablet computers as they explored, documented, measured, calculated and learned. The scene was the Kidzeum of Health and Science in downtown Springfield, and the students were part of the School District 186 STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) Residency Program. This recent […]

Building more emergency shelters and funding more foster homes seems on the surface to be a logical way to start improving a troubled child welfare system in Illinois. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) has been beset by images of children sleeping in department offices because they have nowhere else to go, […]