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.
This week, the dream of Doug and Linda Mills is being realized. The Carle Foundation Hospital campus is expanding, with a new 50-million dollar building housing both the Mills Breast Cancer Institute and Carle Cancer Center. AM 580's Jeff Bossert went on a tour of the facility that will soon be seeing patients -- and talked with some of those responsible for starting it.
The number of casualties keeps rising from the earthquake in China's Sichuan province. The devastation is also felt in Champaign-Urbana. Many Chinese residents here have been checking up on family and friends back home to make sure they're alright. AM 580's Michael Koliska talked with four of them -- and he reports that for at least one, the news has been tragic.
In 2004, AM 580 won a national award for its Smile Healthy Project, a collaboration of community partners focused on improving access to dentists for low income residents in Champaign County. What's happened since then? Reporter Lynn Crandall created several stories for the Smile Healthy project - she takes a look at dental access in the county today.
Thousands of women flock to the UI campus for the largest women's conference in the nation, the Biennial Conference for Women. Among this year's guests is Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and novelist Anna Quindlen. She also writes a biweekly column for Newsweek, alternating with conservative commentator George Will. One of Quindlen's present prime topics is the Democratic Presidential campaign. She shared her thoughts on the race with AM 580's Michael Koliska.
More and more gay couples are adopting children. The Urban Institute estimates that 65,000 adopted children are already living in households with same-sex parents. Brandon Bowersox and Kevin Johnson make up one of those households. More than a year ago, they adopted a baby, Garrett (left, with Kevin). Kevin and Brandon say they enjoy being parents. But being gay can make parenthood problematic and frustrating. AM 580 intern Terrell Starr talked with Brandon and Kevin about the joys and dilemmas of adoption and the challenge they face as a gay adoptive couple.
The Veterans Administration hospital that serves central Illinois and western Indiana has a new leader. AM 580's Tom Rogers spoke with Michael Hamilton about two issues VA facilities all over the nation face - maintaining quality and preparing for an influx of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
