The 217 Today Podcast

217 Today: Monday, Oct. 18, 2021

Dana Cronin and Farrah Anderson
 
Chestnuts at the Missouri Chestnut Roast Festival on Oct. 2. Chestnut farming is a growth opportunity for Midwest agriculture.

Chestnuts at the Missouri Chestnut Roast Festival on Oct. 2. Chestnut farming is a growth opportunity for Midwest agriculture. Jonathan Ahl/Harvest Public Media

Listen (Duration: 10:23)
Download

Oct. 18, 2021

Today's headlines: 

  • By the end of the month, Democrats who control the General Assembly will approve a new map determining Illinois’ congressional district boundary lines for the next decade.

  • The Durga Puja festival took place over the weekend at the Channing-Murray Foundation in Urbana. The annual festival celebrates the Hindu goddess Durga.

  • Nearly every county in Illinois has a shortage of primary care physicians according to a new report from the Illinois Rural Health Summit.

In today's deep dive, more Midwest farmers are turning their cornfields into chestnut trees. As Harvest Public Media’s Jonathan Ahl reports, chestnuts are a growth industry in the region, and offer an option for small-scale, low-effort and, importantly, profitable way to farm.

217 Today is produced by Farrah Anderson. Reporting today contributed by Hannah Meisel, Olivia Vamos, Eric Schmid and Jonathan Ahl.