Biden has a $369 billion climate plan — and new advisers to get the program running
President Biden is switching up his climate team at the White House. On Friday, Biden announced his national climate adviser,
‘It’s not for everyone.’ How Midwestern states tempt tourists with unpretentious getaways
Mount Rushmore and the Great Lakes are a couple of the Midwest’s tourism magnets, but some states have to work
13th district Republican candidate Regan Deering scores Illinois Farm Bureau endorsement
CHAMPAIGN — Illinois’ 13th district congressional race is heating up as November approaches. The newly redrawn district stretches from the
Corn ethanol is fueling our cars and climate change, study says
Congress passed the Renewable Fuel Standard in 2005, mandating a certain amount of renewable fuel – namely corn ethanol – be mixed in with traditional
As African Swine Fever plagues other countries, the U.S. works to keep it out
Al Wulfekuhle doesn’t take biosecurity lightly. The pork producer showers before he goes into a barn and again as he leaves and asks the same
U of I Chancellor Robert Jones reflects on COVID, higher tuition, agriculture and race
URBANA — For more than 5-years, Dr. Robert Jones has served as Chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is a native of Georgia,
The American Farm Bureau Federation claims it’s the ‘Voice of Agriculture.’ These groups beg to differ.
This story is a collaboration between Investigate Midwest and Watchdog Writers Group. The newsrooms are continuing to cover Farm Bureaus and their influence. Is there an
Indoor farming delivers super-fresh produce to cities, but its energy use creates a ‘conundrum’
Vertical farms stack rows of plants on top of each other. Those indoor farms control the lighting, water and temperature to create ideal conditions to
The air in rural areas may be just as toxic as the pollution in cities
URBANA — A new study suggests the notion of clean, country air might be misleading. Traditionally, air quality has been measured by the size of
NUTRIENT LOSS THREAT: Illinois agriculture continues to battle nutrient pollution
Nutrient loss is one of the most serious pollution threats faced in the U.S., causing a Rhode Island-sized dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico,
NUTRIENT LOSS THREAT: Nutrient pollution is Illinois’ ‘most widespread’ water problem
Editor’s Note: Andrew Adams is a student in the Public Affairs Reporting program at University of Illinois Springfield who is a reporting intern at the
Billions are at stake in how the government defines a place as rural
HOUSTON, Mo. — A town of 1,000 people feels like a rural place to someone from Chicago. To a person living in a town of
Deere Introduces Autonomous Tractor
John Deere has used this year’s Consumer Electronics Show to introduce its first autonomous tractor. Tuesday it put on an hour-long, multi-media presentation showing off
How one small Iowa town continues to deal with the effects of a major COVID outbreak
STORM LAKE, Ia. — Emilia Marroquin has experienced firsthand just how much Storm Lake, Iowa, has changed over the past two decades. On a driving
Meatpacking jobs are attractive to immigrants. COVID made the work even riskier
PERRY, Ia. — Amner Martinez still doesn’t know all the details from when his 74-year-old father Concepcion got dangerously sick with COVID-19 near the beginning