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Even as a man gunned down kids in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, a University High School student in Normal had parked a truck in the school lot close to Main Street and with a female friend displayed a large Confederate flag. On the flag were images of assault rifles and the words "Come and Take It."

BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL, Ill. (WMBD) — Disappointment in the twin cities following an electric vehicle battery manufacturer choosing to not locate in the area. Stellantis, the parent company of Jeep and Chrysler as well as its partner Samsung announced the location for their joint operation on a $2.5 billion electric vehicle (EV) battery plant will be in Kokomo, Indiana.

BLOOMINGTON (Heart of Illinois ABC) - A Chicago man was still being held in the McLean County Jail early Friday after Normal Police say shots were fired during a robbery attempt near the Illinois State University campus. The getaway vehicle, a white SUV, was stolen three days earlier in a...

NORMAL (Heart of Illinois ABC) - Normal Police officers are being honored for way they handled an active shooter situation last summer at a mobile home park that left three people dead. However, local leaders believe the officers’ bravery and courage prevented others from being hurt or killed in a...

PAXTON — The Paxton-Buckley-Loda school board approved the hiring of Tom Shallenberger as interim high school principal during a special meeting Thursday night. Shallenberger will work up to 15 days as PBL High School’s interim principal prior to July 1, when Principal Travis Duley leaves his position to become the school district’s associate superintendent. Shallenberger will then work 120 days during the 2022-23 school year at a salary of $60,000.

Families kiss and hug their kids goodbye Wednesday morning as they head into Middletown Prairie Elementary. But getting ready for the day was harder than usual. Parents like Christina are heartbroken after she heard how the families of the murdered children in Uvalde, Texas were preparing for what seemed to be an average day.

NORMAL (Heart of Illinois ABC) - Normal Mayor Chris Koos believes the community will someday attract a battery plant, to be located near Rivian’s electric vehicle-making factory. Samsung had looked at Normal as a possible site, but chose Kokomo, Indiana instead for a $2.5 billion battery plant in a...

Normal Police early Wednesday morning responded to a call of shots fired at the intersection of Main and Willow streets, near the Illinois State University campus. Responding officers ended up chasing down an SUV and then pursuing the suspects on foot. Two men were arrested, though one was later released.

The U.S. reported over 736,000 new cases of coronavirus over the seven days ending May 24, bringing the total count to more than 82.4 million confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been more than 994,000 COVID-19-related deaths — the highest death toll of any country. New cases continue to rise at a faster rate. In […]

NORMAL, Ill. (WMBD) — Six police officers in Normal were honored Thursday for their actions in two separate incidents within the last year. State Rep. Dan Brady (R-Normal) appeared at the Normal Police Department Thursday morning with awards in hand for six officers. Officers Evan Easter, Shane Bachman, Corey...

Four candidates are campaigning to succeed U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger in the newly drawn 16th Congressional District and keep the seat in Republican Party hands. Kinzinger, who was one of 10 House GOP members that voted to impeach former President Donald Trump, announced in October 2021 he would not seek re-election. He's finishing his sixth term as Congressman.

MADISON – Wisconsin is set to open its 2022 football season at night. The Badgers’ Sept. 3 opener against visiting Illinois State is scheduled to start at 6 p.m., with FS1 carrying the game. Details of more than 50 games involving Big Ten teams were announced Thursday. Here...

Prairie Central's Class of 2022 went through graduation ceremonies on May 27 with Irene Wilken and Lincoln Steidinger in the lead. Wilken and Steidinger were named Class of 2022 valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively. According to PC Principal Wade Czerwonka, Wilken and Steidinger challenged themselves “with rigorous coursework taking numerous Advanced Placement and Dual Credit courses.”

Game times were set Thursday for five of Illinois’ 2022 games, including Homecoming vs. Minnesota. The season opener against Wyoming will air at 3 p.m. Aug. 27 on Big Ten Network. The Illini will play the next week on Friday, Sept. 2 in Bloomington against Indiana. Kickoff for that...

(Heart of Illinois ABC) - Thursday brought us regional semifinal action in Class 3A baseball. Big 12 champion Bloomington got their postseason run off to a good start with a 6-0 win over Danville. Brady Alexander tossed a complete game shutout for the Purple Raiders. Normal West’s regional semifinal against Champaign Central got moved from their home turf to Illinois Wesleyan and got moved back four hours but it didn’t stop the Wildcats from starting well. They put up four runs in the first inning on the power of a Sam DesCarpentrie grand slam. Normal West did, however, lose the ball game 6-5 thanks to a seventh-inning rally from Champaign Central.

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — Ian Johnson hit a go-ahead solo home run in the fifth inning to lead LeRoy past Illini Bluffs, 5-3, in a class 1A baseball sectional semifinal at Illinois Wesleyan University on Thursday. LeRoy advances to play Delavan for the sectional title on Saturday. Bloomington advanced with a 6-0 win over Danville […]

The unemployment rate decreased over-the-year in all fourteen Illinois metropolitan areas in April according to preliminary data released today by the the Illinois Department of Employment Security. Jobs were up in all metro areas with the exception of the Danville area. The metro areas which had the largest over-the-year percentage...

UPDATE 12:36 P.M. - Normal Police say one person was arrested - a man from Chicago - in what police say was an aggravated robbery incident. Malik Alexander-Romello Wilson, 23, was arrested for reckless discharge of a firearm, aggravated robbery, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and criminal trespass to vehicle.

Bloomington-Normal leads Illinois in job growth over the last year. The area's workforce grew by 5.4%. That's the highest among all 14 metro areas in the state, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES). Rockford saw the second-best improvement at 5.2%. The Bloomington-Normal market area reported 94,200 nonfarm...