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.

RSS Link

From left to right: Michael Buckner, Kara Poynter, & Katherine Katz — Sycamore Public Schools

October 27, 2023

217 Today: Teachers talk about the art of relationship-building in the classroom

In today's deep dive, we'll learn more about how teachers from different grade levels and with various levels of experience build trust with their students.

Listen

Jazmin Wilkins (Ensemble) and Jimmy Cone (Ensemble/Understudy for Roy and Lord Style) rehearse for — Photo: Owen Henderson / Illinois Newsroom

October 26, 2023

217 Today: Celebrating ’90s Hip-Hop on stage in Urbana – a deep dive with director Aaron Muñoz

In today's deep dive, we'll learn about a theatrical production focusing on nineties hip-hop culture set to be staged this November in Urbana.

Listen

Chicago educator Tinaya York is hopeful a new literacy blueprint for Illinois can make a difference in classrooms across the state. — Courtesy of the University of Chicago Network for College Success

October 25, 2023

217 Today: Illinois is looking to overhaul how kids learn to read

In today's deep dive, we’ll listen to a conversation with Tinaya York about her experience writing the first draft of a new Illinois literacy plan.

Listen

Asylum-seekers, mostly from Venezuela, hang out in front of an encampment outside the Chicago Police District 3 station in the Woodlawn neighborhood. The nonprofit International Institute of St. Louis is partnering with unions and philanthropic leaders to resettle hundreds of migrants in their city. — Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere / Chicago Sun-Times

October 24, 2023

217 Today: St. Louis groups seek to resettle Chicago migrants to boost workforce and population

In today's deep dive, we’ll learn more about how one neighboring Midwestern state wants to help relocate migrants in Chicago.

Listen

Pallets of water are delivered to the Santee Sioux Nation Distribution Center every two weeks thanks to a one time grant from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Residents of Santee, Nebraska have had to drink bottled water since the EPA issued a no drink order to the community in 2019. — Brian Beach / Nebraska Public Media

October 23, 2023

217 Today: Native American tribe fights for clean drinking water

In today's deep dive, we’ll learn more about the barriers to clean water in tribal communities and the fight for infrastructure funding on one Nebraska reservation.

Listen

A butterfly is caught as part of a recent tagging event at the De Soto National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa. In the last three decades, thousands of volunteers have helped tag butterflies to gather more information about their journey to Mexico. — Sheila Brummer / Iowa Public Radio

October 20, 2023

217 Today: Efforts to tag monarchs carry into a third decade — tracking the butterfly’s ‘amazing migration’

In today's deep dive, we’ll learn more about the non-profit group Monarch Watch and how volunteers help scientists learn more about monarch butterflies' migration to Mexico.

Listen