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Featured Stories

Serving And Hungry: How A Federal Rule Keeps Some Military Members From Food Aid

Two women wheel a grocery cart across the parking lot to a white van, open the door and shove kids’ toys out of the way.

Feds OK Illinois Expansion of Medicaid Mental Health Coverage

Simmering Tensions at WIU BoT Meeting

Fort Madison Approves Amended Amtrak Relocation Agreement

By Jason Parrott • May 3, 2018

The Fort Madison City Council this week signed an amended agreement related to the planned relocation of Amtrak to the historic depot in Riverview Park. There is still some work to do, though, before passenger rail service is offered downtown.

Keokuk Lands $200,000 EPA Environmental Grant

By Jason Parrott • May 3, 2018

The federal government will help Keokuk in its attempt to find a new use for a shuttered manufacturing plant. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the city a $200,000 Brownfield Assessment Grant.

Federal Food Aid Program Difficult To Navigate, But Crucial Service For Mentally Ill

By Madelyn Beck • May 2, 2018

It’s a challenge for people with severe mental illnesses to hold down a job or get the medical help they need. And that extends to when they try to alleviate hunger by getting on the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

Illinois Lawmakers React to Rauner-Backed Fixes for Quincy Vets Home

By Sam Dunklau • May 2, 2018

Governor Bruce Rauner’s administration says a costly rebuild of the Quincy Veterans Home is the best way to get rid of legionella bacteria linked to more than a dozen deaths there. While some state legislators support the move, others remain skeptical.

The Ongoing Fight for Workers' Rights

By Rich Egger • May 2, 2018

It's May. It took a long time getting here, but we're reaching the end of the school year and the beginning of summer. It's time for baseball, cookouts, vacation, and fishing. Macomb's Dairy Queen is open and people are placing bets on whether or not the pool will open. Tuesday I walked with my daughter's second grade class to the West Central Illinois Arts Center and Chandler Park and it finally felt like we've put the cold and snow behind us.

Windbag Lacks Transparency

By Rich Egger • May 1, 2018

Fox News show host Sean Hannity has regularly served as a cheerleader for President Donald Trump but never mentioned the two shared an attorney. He also fawned over HUD Secretary Ben Carson during interviews without disclosing he bought some homes through HUD programs.

Macomb Police Bust Local "Amazon of Drugs"

By Rich Egger • May 1, 2018

Macomb police arrested three people for operating what Lieutenant Lindsey May called "the Amazon of drugs" in Macomb. Police said one of the suspects was taken into custody at his class at Western Illinois University.

Macomb's Longest-Serving Mayor Passes Away

By Rich Egger • Apr 30, 2018

Funeral services are scheduled for Thursday morning for former Macomb Mayor Bob Anstine. He passed away Friday, April 27 in Springfield, IL. He was 81.

Obtaining Federal Food Aid Takes Time, Patience

By Erica Hunzinger • Apr 30, 2018

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the biggest federal program aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty that millions of Americans find themselves in — sometimes for a few months, sometimes for several years.

MDH CEO Resigns

By Rich Egger • Apr 27, 2018

McDonough District Hospital said President and Chief Executive Officer Kenny Boyd will resign this summer. In a statement issued late Friday afternoon, the hospital said Boyd is taking a job at a healthcare facility in Tennessee, which is closer to his family.

Folk Weekend Live in Concert

Mari Black, 7:00pm October 13, 2018 - Vallillo/Holtz Performance Studio

Multistyle violinist and champion fiddler Mari Black is rapidly building a reputation as one of the most dynamic young artists of her generation. Her energetic playing, engaging stage presence, and commitment to bringing people together through music have made her a favorite with audiences across the country and around the world. Equally at home in a wide variety of musical traditions, Mari is the 2015/2013 U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion, 2014 Glenfiddich Scottish Fiddle Champion,...

Mary Flower, 7:00pm April 27, 2019 - Vallillo/Holtz Performance Studio

TSPR wins a Regional Murrow Award

Harvest Public Media

Changes To Federal Food Assistance, Conservation Programs In First Public Farm Bill Draft

By Amy Mayer, Grant Gerlock & Erica Hunzinger & Madelyn Beck & Esther Honig • Apr 16, 2018

Held up over disagreements over federal food stamps, the first draft of the 2018 farm bill arrived Thursday, bearing 35 changes to that program, including starting a national database of participants.

Study: Intensive Agriculture Drives Midwest Climate Changes

By Amy Mayer • Feb 21, 2018

As agriculture intensified in the 20th century, summers in the Midwest became wetter and cooler. An MIT study published this month looked at whether vegetation from crop production, rather than greenhouse gas emissions that are an established source of climate changes, could have driven these regional impacts.

"What Are We Gonna Do With Them?" Livestock Hauling Industry Concerned About New Federal Rules

By Ben Kuebrich • Feb 15, 2018

Ben Kuebrich/Kansas News Service/Harvest Public Media

A new, widely debated federal mandate requires truckers to electronically track the number of hours they're on the road — a rule that is meant to make highways safer. But there is a big difference between hauling a load of TVs and a load of cattle destined for meatpacking plants.

11 Dicamba Damage Lawsuits to be Consolidated in Federal Court in St. Louis

By Erica Hunzinger • Feb 7, 2018

DARRELL HOEMANN / FILE/MIDWEST CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

Lawsuits filed in Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Arkansas against the makers of the herbicide dicamba will be centralized in the federal court in St. Louis.

Farm, Food, Forestry, and More on the Table in the Next Federal Farm Bill

By Amy Mayer • Jan 29, 2018

In the coming months, Congress will map out how it will spend upwards of $500 billion on food and farm programs over the next five years. The massive piece of legislation known as the farm bill affects all taxpayers -- whether they know it or not.