Adding a voice to the words

The changing media landscape is fun, scary, challenging, rewarding, entertaining, and I hope informative. News organizations increasingly work to deliver their content in multiple ways to suit multiple tastes. Recently I posted a link to a 2,000-word article I wrote for Illinois Issues magazine regarding challenges for small-town grocery stores. For any of us who …

Lakefront gem

The Yerkes Observatory sets itself apart in the Wisconsin village of Williams Bay. Set on 77 acres, the massive structure is well off the highway yet also back from the Geneva Lake lakefront. It is the only undeveloped (non-residential) lakefront property. The dome structure establishes itself as a place worth seeing by its broad, visible …

Life in the food desert

When I was in the newspaper business, I once wrote about the challenges full-service grocery stores face in small towns (usually defined 2,000 or fewer population). One premise of the article was that a grocery store is a community cornerstone, much like a school. In an article for the April 2015 edition Illinois Issues, a public policy …

Singing for a crowd

Weekly rehearsals paid dividends Sunday afternoon for the Coles County Barbershop Chorus. Payment wasn’t in a financial way, as the offering from the organization’s 20th annual Lenten Concert was divided among local charities. Rather, payment came in the form a robust audience that dented the spacious sanctuary of the First Baptist Church in Mattoon. No …