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A Student Reporter's Experience in Georgia
Story air date: Thursday, August 14, 2008
Terrell Starr’s summer in the republic of Georgia has ended earlier than he had expected. Fighting between Georgia and Russia has prompted the University of Illinois graduate student – and former AM 580 news intern – to leave Georgia for neighboring Armenia, along with hundreds of other Americans who evacuated on Monday. Starr talked with AM 580’s Tom Rogers about his experiences over the past week.
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Story categories: people • Russia • University of Illinois
New Energy Worries, New Vehicles
Story air date: Monday, August 04, 2008
In small towns across the country, many people have decided that a cheaper way to get around is to leave the car in the garage and pile into the golf cart. Golf carts and other small slow-speed vehicles are becoming more appealing to people living in areas where traffic is low, but gas prices are high. In Illinois, several small towns are allowing golf carts on their streets --- while others are holding back. AM 580’s Jim Meadows reports.
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Story categories: business • community life • economy • energy • government • lifestyle • urban planning
Revival for an Old Nursing Home
Story air date: Friday, July 11, 2008
It only took a year, but what could have been an empty and decaying complex in Urbana is now a training ground for homeland security teams. A couple of days in advance of the official opening, AM 580’s Tom Rogers got an advance tour of the building that was once the Champaign County Nursing Home with the head of the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System, Jim Page (left).
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Story categories: crime • government • Champaign County • Illinois
A Pivotal Former Mayor Leaves Rantoul
Story air date: Friday, July 11, 2008
It’s been 20 years since the federal government announced that Chanute Air Force Base would be closing its doors. That cost over a thousand jobs and decimated Rantoul’s population, but the effort to redevelop the land has produced a number of success stories. Katy Podagrosi served as Rantoul’s mayor through much of that time. This week, the village’s leader for more than 12 years -- and resident for nearly 50 -- is leaving the community. She spoke with AM 580’s Jeff Bossert (click below for the full interview)
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Story categories: community life • government • people • politics
The Next Page for Champaign County's Nursing Home
Story air date: Thursday, July 10, 2008
The head of a St. Louis-based consulting firm hired to manage the Champaign County Nursing Home says there will be no quick turnaround for the facility. But Management Performance Associates President Michael Scavotto also says the home is also getting a bit of a bad rap due to a massive debt… empty beds… and an uneven number of Medicaid and Medicare residents. Scavatto just completed his first visit to the Nursing Home, getting a first-hand look at the facility and meeting with staff. AM 580’s Jeff Bossert spoke with him.
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Story categories: disability • government • Champaign County • health care
A Small Hospital Rebuilds -- but Builds Small
Story air date: Thursday, June 19, 2008
One of Illinois’ smallest hospitals wants to expand and offer new services over the next few years. But the chief executive officer of John and Mary Kirby Hospital in Monticello says to do that, they’ll need a brand new hospital at a brand new location. AM 580’s Tom Rogers talked to him.
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Story categories: business • community life • health care
Shaky Ground for Housing
Story air date: Thursday, June 12, 2008
The Mortgage Bankers Association says of all the homes in the country, nearly 2 1/2 percent of them are in foreclosure. Illinois’s foreclosure rate is even higher --- the 7th highest in the nation. Home foreclosures also appear to be on the rise in the Champaign-Urbana area. But as AM 580's Jim Meadows reports, it may not have reached the crisis level ... yet.
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Story categories: business • economy
Champaign County's Nursing Home Woes
Story air date: Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The Champaign County Board is discussing recommendations from a consultant for improving finances at the Champaign County Nursing Home. County officials say they understand that they have to act quickly and decisively to fix the nursing home’s precarious finances. But even with those changes, many are saying that more tax money will be needed to balance the books. AM 580’s Jim Meadows reports.
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Story categories: business • government • Champaign County • health care • politics
