Illinois Public Media News

As we continue our coverage of ag day at the Illinois State Fair, we want to turn our focus to agribusiness in the state.

At Illinois State Fair, Dept. of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello talked about the impact of inflation, weather, and the COVID-19 pandemic on Illinois agriculture.

As of July 4, the United Nations reports more than 5.2 million Ukrainian refugees have fled across Europe because of Russia's invasion. The 21st spoke to Maryna Teplova, who is originally from the east-central Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

Early in the war between Russia and Ukraine, The 21st spoke with Ian Kelly who is currently ambassador in residence at Northwestern University. We touched back in with him to hear more about how the conflict has progressed and where we are now. 

We spoke to the sculptor of the state fair butter cow, Sarah Pratt to hear more about how it's made. 

Illinois-based Quaker Oats is ending its Aunt Jemima brand, saying it was based on a racial stereotype. Meanwhile, others are working to preserve the legacy of the real-life Chicago woman on whom the character was based.

Like all live performers, from actors to musicians, people who perform drag have had to adapt and change during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 21st was joined by two central Illinois drag performers to talk about different ways that drag artists have had to adjust to performing in the pandemic.

From school and work pressures to the distractions and anxiety that come with having access to social media and everything else on their phones, it can be hard to get sleep as a teenager. In a survey a few years back, 58% more teenagers were “severely sleep deprived” than in 1991.The 21st was joined by two psychotherapists who wrote a book on this sleepless generation and what can be done to help.

Despite the loss of millions of people, mask mandates, and more, neuroscientists say we will forget the pandemic. 

Host Brian Mackey often cites a report from Moody’s Investors Service suggesting central and western Illinois will see the greatest rise in "extreme heat days" in the country. Today he dug into his archives to share, for the first time, an interview with the author of the report.