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Story category: people
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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people • Russia • University of IllinoisA 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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community life • government • people • politicsTragedy Halfway Around the World and at Home
Story air date: Thursday, May 15, 2008
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.
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China • peopleAthlete/Novelist
Story air date: Friday, February 29, 2008
An accident in her teens left Arley McNeney with only partial use of her legs, but it led her to success in wheelchair basketball. That experience provides the background for the University of Illinois graduate student’s first novel entitled "Post." McNeney played with Canada’s national wheelchair basketball team, which won a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics. Now, her novel is shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize in the "best first book" category. AM 580’s Michael Koliska spoke with McNeney off the court during the National Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Championships in Champaign.
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disability • literature • people • sportsWORLD WAR II: CENTRAL ILLINOIS STORIES Illinois' Tuskegee Airmen
Story air date: Tuesday, February 19, 2008
The story of the Tuskegee Airmen began as an experiment and ended by proving the ability of many African-American servicemen. The military’s first black pilots withstood animosity to fight America’s enemies overseas while continuing to fight racism on the home front. The next in our series looks at the paths taken by two of the first members of the Army Air Corps’ 99th Pursuit Squadron. Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul was the first training ground for these officers. AM 580’s Jeff Bossert spoke with the widows of two men, Bill Thompson and Ellsworth Dansby, who helped pave the way for many others.
