The 217 Today Podcast

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.

Study participants shared
Pixabay

217 Today: Friday December 11, 2020

In today's deep dive, for many mothers giving birth during the pandemic, pregnancy has not gone as planned. To learn about these experiences, a pair of researchers is collecting pandemic birth stories from across the country.

Flooding has been a longstanding problem in Grafton, Illinois. In this file photo from 1993, U.S. Vice President Al Gore, center, Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar, right, with glasses, and Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, left, of Gore, listen as Grafton Mayor Gerrald Nairn, seated next to Gore, talk about the town’s flooding problems as they ride a boat down Main Street.
Seth Perlman/AP

217 Today: Wednesday December 9, 2020

In today’s deep dive, the Mississippi River town of Grafton, Illinois has had issues with flooding over the years, but we’ll learn from Illinois Newsroom’s Lecia Bushak how those flooding events are happening more frequently and more severely in recent years.

Maddi Dale focuses on her remote French class in her bedroom in Lake Oswego, Ore., Oct. 30, 2020.
Sara Cline/AP

217 Today: Monday December 7, 2020

In today’s deep dive, the past eight months have taken a toll on Illinois’ teachers, who were already in short supply prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. A new report from the University of Illinois’ Institute of Government and Public Affairs highlights the challenges teachers are facing and recommends specific actions to hire and retain quality educators.