The Champaign Police Department released a report on January 5th addressing a 50% decrease in shooting incidents between 2021 and 2022. A shooting incident is counted as any time police officers find evidence of a gun being fired. There were 259 shooting incidents in Champaign in 2021, with that number dropping to 129 in 2022. The report states the department’s…

Kyle Widener took a trip to Washington, DC earlier this week to watch Nathan Gunn perform. Gunn, who is Widener’s voice professor, has finished performances of Sunset Boulevard at the Kennedy Center. Widener says he admires Gunn’s ability to command an audience on stage. “He just embodies everything that I would want to be as a performer. He truly dives…

Unlike many young children, Mikayla Renfrow never dreamed of growing up to become a princess. She never saw herself represented in any of the standard Disney princess films. It was not until she watched the 1997 Cinderella adaptation with Whitney Houston and Brandy that she truly saw someone – Prince Christopher played by Paolo Montalban – who looked like herself…

There is an eerie silence in the room. In the center of an office in the Smith Memorial Hall, you stand before two lyric theatre faculty members and one accompanist. You eagerly await the moment the accompanist begins playing your music: two classical pieces, two musical theatre pieces and one monologue. Hundreds of hopeful applicants audition every year. Only fifteen…

The stage lights dim as the finale number “Raise You Up” draws to a close. She and the rest of the cast rush to their places for curtain call, dripping with sweat after two hours of singing and dancing on stage. The velvet curtain slowly rises as the audience jumps to their feet and erupts with applause. She gazes down…

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage around the world, many industries fight to stay afloat amidst the chaos. Among those industries struggling to re-gain stability are leisure facilities and food services, though many establishments have been able to safely re-open their doors despite the uncertainty of these times.  Huber’s West End Store is a family-owned bar in Champaign, Illinois…

While the coronavirus vaccine becomes more readily available, the nation remains divided over whether to reserve appointments. Over the last several months, vaccination distribution has been in full swing, with many individuals eagerly awaiting their time to receive their shot.  As vaccination availability continues to grow, and while most Americans said they would ‘probably’ or ‘definitely’ receive a COVID-19 shot,…