On the 21st: The solar panels on one man's Champaign home generate enough electricity for the house and the cars - and feed the grid. Illinois towns and residents are turning toward the sun for power and we talked about howmuch they are saving. Also, a STEM mentorship program helps high school students from across the state get connected with mentors in academia and industry.

Before the embargo - U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba were worth about $600 million a year - in today’s prices.  Others estimate Cuba is a $1.2 billion market for agricultural exports if the embargo and other trade barriers are lifted. Today on The 21st we explored what an open Cuba would mean for Illinois. Also, how a team of Illinois State University researchers and a turtle are changing STEM education. 

Men continue to outnumber women in many fields of science and engineering. One local program - MakerGirl - is trying to narrow that gap by giving young girls hands-on experience with 3-D printing.

The CEO of Ebert Companies - Chaz Ebert - gave us a preview of what films will be featured at EbertFest next month and spoke with us about the role of politics and diversity in Hollywood. We also learned about an effort to get rural schoolgirls more excited about math and science, via MakerGirl’s 3D-printing workshops.