The 217 Today Podcast

Keep up with news in Central Illinois every weekday with 217 Today. Hear the day's headlines, along with one deeper dive, in just ten minutes. Learn about the people and places that make Central Illinois unique with 217 Today.

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The Illinois State Capitol building in Springfield. — Reginald Hardwick/Illinois Newsroom

January 06, 2022

217 Today: Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022

In today's deep dive, we'll take a look at the political polarization throughout the state of Illinois -- which has created "two Illinoises."

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Storm Lake is home to a population where more than a third identify as Latino or Hispanic and nearly one in five identify as Asian. — Natalie Krebs/Side Effects Public Media

January 05, 2022

217 Today: Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022

In today's deep dive, we'll hear the third and final story in a series from Side Effects Public Media on how the pandemic continues to affect rural towns with meatpacking plants

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Amner Martinez runs a staffing agency in Des Moines. His family, who are originally from Guatemala, moved from California to Iowa in the 1990s. Most of his family has worked at the Tyson plant in Perry. — Natalie Krebs/Side Effects Public Media

January 04, 2022

217 Today: Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022

In today's deep dive, we’ll hear the second story in a three-part series on COVID outbreaks at meatpacking plants.

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The Storm Lake Tyson pork plant was the site of a COVID-19 outbreak in May 2020 that affected a quarter of its workforce. — Natalie Krebs/Side Effects Public Media

January 03, 2022

217 Today: Monday, Jan. 3, 2022

In today's deep dive, we’ll hear the first story in a three-part series about how COVID-19 swept through the nation’s meat processing facilities.

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December 23, 2021

217 Today: Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021

In today's deep dive, we’ll get tips for upcoming holiday gatherings from an infectious disease specialist.

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Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

December 22, 2021

217 Today: Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021

In today's deep dive, we'll hear a a conversation with one of the developers of a new curriculum that teaches Illinois middle school students about electricity.

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The Vermilion County Health Department hosts a COVID-19 vaccine clinic outside the Danville Dans baseball game in Danville in summer of 2021. With a vaccination rate of almost 40 percent against COVID-19, the county has been struggling with climbing cases of the virus. — Farrah Anderson/Illinois Newsroom

December 21, 2021

217 Today: Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021

In today's deep dive, we'll hear a conversation with the director of the Vermilion County Health Department about the county's struggles to keep up with contact tracing as cases rise over the holiday season.

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Most people who are hospitalized and dying due to COVID-19 in Champaign County are unvaccinated. — Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting

December 20, 2021

217 Today: Monday, Dec. 20, 2021

In today's deep dive, we'll learn more about the latest wave of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations that have hit Champaign County.

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December 17, 2021

Friday, December 17, 2021

In today's deep dive, we'll learn more about the challenges that students faced with remote learning last year -- including that one in five Illinois students was chronically absent.

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“Crip*” curator Liza Sylvestre introduces the exhibit to a group of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign journalism students. The name of the exhibit refers to Crip theory, which states that society’s understanding of disability depends on the definition of “normal.” — Farrah Anderson/Illinois Newsroom

December 16, 2021

217 Today: Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021

In today's deep dive, we’ll take a tour through an exhibit at Krannert Art Museum that's meant to change the way we think about disability.

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