Topic: Gardening and Horticulture

Farmers in a federal class-action lawsuit filed two main complaints this week against agro-chemical giants Monsanto and BASF regarding the herbicide dicamba, which is blamed for millions of acres of crop damage, especially to soybeans, over the last couple years.

Danville’s OSF Sacred Heart Medical Center and its Faith in Action ministry are looking for volunteers and food donations for its Garden Share Program. The initiative starts offering free, fresh produce next week to area seniors.

Urbana lost 500 trees in the last three years because of the Emerald Ash Borer, an insect that infects ash trees. 

No matter the weather, it’s not too early to start thinking about this year's garden. Saturday, Jan. 27 is National Seed Swap Day, and several seed swap gatherings have been scheduled on or near the day around the country.

While many of us hated the cold weather of the last three weeks, thee brutally cold weather DID provide a benefit we’ll see in the spring and summer. 

On the 21st: We learn how winning a scholarship for college could mean your financial aid will take a hit. Plus, we get tips for summer gardening and learn what it's like to be a gameshow contestant.

On the 21st: Following Wednesday's shooting, members from both sides of the aisle have sent messages of support and have called for civility in this heated political climate. We spoke with current and former politicians and a communications expert about political rhetoric, bipartisanship and what this moment means for our country. We also got the latest on an appellate court hearing in southern Illinois over state worker pay and learn about plants that can be toxic to pets.

On the 21st: As summer begins, we launch a series on preventing gun violence across Illinois, beginning with our state capital, Springfield. We also look at what Illinois can learn from other state's budget impasses, and learn about new research on the benefits of trees. 

On the 21st: Law enforcement officials raided Caterpillar headquarters this morning. We talked about that and discussed the collapse of the 'grand bargain' and what's on the horizon for Illinois lawmakers. Plus, we got tips on how to protect your early-emerging plants from the upcoming freezing temperatures and learned about a new digital magazine about the history of Latinos in baseball.

"The long-standing assumption is that fungicides won't be toxic to insects," says May Berenbaum, an entomologist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. But Berenbaum and her colleagues found, in a study published Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that fungicides can harm bees by making it harder for them to metabolize their food.