The 21st Show

Congressman Rodney Davis; Pumpkin Crop Check In; Pumpkin Spice Alternatives; Chicago Film Festival

By Niala Boodhoo, Alan Montecillo, Libby Foster and Robin Linn
 
Congressman Rodney Davis

Seth Perlman/AP

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On the 21st: We check in on this year’s pumpkin crop with some Illinois farmers. Plus, it’s officially Pumpkin Spice season. We talk about the spice some people love, and others love to hate. And, the Chicago International Film Festival has started. Michael Phillips gives us his picks. But first, we sit down with Congressman Rodney Davis a few weeks before the midterm elections. 

Rep. Rodney Davis first took office in 2013 to represent Illinois’s 13th Congressional District. It’s covers many of Central Illinois’s biggest cities, including Champaign, Springfield and Bloomington. Together it’s all or part of 14 different counties across Central and Southwestern Illinois.

He’s running for his fourth term, this time against Democratic challenger Betsy Dirksen Londrigan. We'll be speaking with her next week. 

Congressman Davis joined us in the studio. 

— The 21st (@21stShow) October 11, 2018

Also-

With the leaves beginning to fall and our first 35 degree day around the corner in Urbana, we wanted to give you a little taste of the season.

And what’s more quintessentially fall than a pumpkin? But, did you know that Illinois farmers grow more pumpkins than farmers in any other state?

We wanted to check in on this year’s pumpkin crop with some of our local farmers.

John Ackerman joined us on the line. He and his wife Eve own Ackerman Family Farms in Morton, just south of Peoria. Lynn Rader also joined us on the line. He and his sons operate Rader Family Farms in Normal.

Plus- 

It's officially the time of year when pumpkin spice mania descends upon us. It’s everywhere. In your lattes, in your cookies...even in your beer and your butter!

Whether or not you love pumpkin spice, we thought we would give you some alternatives.

There are certainly no shortage of other spices to choose from. Just ask Patty Erd, owner of The Spice House, and a long time purveyor of all things spicy in Chicago and Evanston for 60 years.

And- 

An endangered roller rink, a Kenyan convenience store and 19th century Manchester England. These are just some of the places you can visit from the comfort of a movie theater during this upcoming Chicago International Film Festival.

It’s almost two weeks of movies from around the world, during what is the 54th year of festival. And with so many titles, it can be overwhelming whether you are a film buff or a casual fan. Luckily Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips joined us in our Urbana studio to give us his picks. 

Story source: WILL