Welcome People

Doug Cruitt says he hopes to build on his past successes - and his failures - as the new executive director of Peoria's Distillery Labs tech and innovation center.

It doesn't matter if you lived on a farm or not, if you’ve lived in central Illinois for any length of time, you’re probably familiar with Colleen Callahan.

As noted in part one of this story, autism spectrum disorder can present itself differently in every individual who has it. And with more and more children being diagnosed, making sure those with autism, as well as anyone who is neurodiverse, is set up for success in the classroom becomes a top priority for parents and educators.

Peoria artist Peytin Fitzgerald's "Falling in Between" is on view at Joe McCauley Gallery at Heartland Community College. Fitzgerald is a printmaker and self-taught textile artist who learned how to sew as a grad student during COVID. The show explores what is passed down intentionally — and inevitably — through generations.

Jessica Tilton is a former Bradley University biology lecturer, future medical school student and current Miss Illinois 2023.

Whether the label is New Age, ambient or just a way to relax, Adams says it’s the music he chooses to make.

A photography project 20 years in the making aims to capture people's lives through their things, from remote parts of rural China, to the streets of San Jose, to the front yard of a Metamora neighborhood.

Barb Drake grew up in the Peoria area and knew she had an interest in journalism after starting her own neighborhood newspaper with a few friends at just six-years-old. Fast forward to when she attended Woodruff High School, Drake was presented with an opportunity to work on the school’s newspaper full time as an editor. However, not everyone wanted to see that happen.

While some doctors play golf or tennis on their days off, one local emergency room physician spends his free time riding along with the Peoria Fire Department with his camera.

Two Bradley University alumni are the founders of an online art shop that wouldn’t be possible without the help of their children.