The 217 Today Podcast | Illinois Public Media

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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A gray fox perched on a log. Within the last four years, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio have launched gray fox studies to find out why numbers have declined and what may help the species rebound. — Courtesy Of The Ohio Division Of Wildlife.

March 27, 2024

217 Today: A unique tree-climbing fox is on the decline in the Midwest. Researchers want to know why

In today's deep dive, we’ll learn more about how researchers in several states are working to find out what’s behind the decline of the gray fox.

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Chef Jesus Finol prepares a steak arepa at Sabe a Zulia, a Venezuelan restaurant in Chicago. Restaurant co-owner Gerardo Abreu volunteered to help feed the first groups of migrants arriving in the city in 2022. He says they figured out how to cook food that migrants want to eat on a budget, but the city has had some challenges doing the same in its shelters. — Manuel Martinez / WBEZ

March 26, 2024

217 Today: Feeding migrants in Chicago involves balancing nutrition, cost and taste

In today's deep dive, we’ll learn more about how Chicago has been figuring out how to feed thousands of migrants over the last year and a half.

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An IKIDS researcher at UIUC conducts a part of the study with a child participant. IKIDS aims to understand how exposures to chemicals in consumer products can affect children’s physical development and neurodevelopment. — Photo courtesy of Beckman Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

March 25, 2024

217 Today: The IKIDS study is uncovering how prenatal exposure to chemicals can affect a child’s development

In today's deep dive, we’ll learn more about how chemicals used in food packaging may be harming brain development in babies and children.

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Isabelle Dizon contacted her campus counseling center when she hit a low point during her sophomore year of college, but never heard back. Now a junior at the University of Illinois at Chicago, she hopes the school hires someone at the center to, at the very least, pick up the phone. — Lisa Kurian Philip / WBEZ

March 22, 2024

217 Today: She called the number on her syllabus offering counseling. No one picked up.

In today's deep dive, we’ll learn more about how challenging it can be for college students to get the mental and emotional help they need.

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March 21, 2024

217 Today: Long-delayed ‘Falsettos’ production explores family, Jewish identity, LGBTQ+ history

In today's deep dive, we’ll learn more about the musical “Falsettos” coming to the Station Theatre in Urbana.

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Migrants are led to the tents for their temporary stay at the landing zone at 800 S Des Plaines in South Loop, Sunday, March 17, 2024. — Anthony Vazquez / Chicago Sun-Times

March 20, 2024

217 Today: Chicago slowly starts evicting migrants from shelters

In today's deep dive, we’ll learn about how migrants are starting to get evicted from a handful of migrant shelters run by the city of Chicago.

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People hang around outside of a migrant shelter Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago. On Friday, Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration announced it will proceed with evicting those who have been in a shelter for 60 days except for migrant families with children and those who've been affected by a measles outbreak. — Erin Hooley / Associated Press

March 18, 2024

217 Today: Chicago slowly starts evicting migrants from shelters

In today's deep dive, we’ll learn more about the city of Chicago’s evictions of migrants living in shelters throughout the city.

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Troy Thompson raises 2,000 to 3,000 roosters annually on his farm in Oklahoma. The birds are tethered to — Graycen Wheeler / KOSU

March 17, 2024

217 Today: Raising roosters is big business. Now a push to ease penalties for cockfighting is ruffling feathers

In today's deep dive, we’ll learn what people from game fowl and animal rights groups are doing about Oklahoma’s recent efforts to lower the penalties for cockfighting.

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