Ryan Denham, WGLT-FM (Normal, IL) Journalist Profile

Articles

Rivian to get $16 million in state incentives for new supplier park in Normal

1 week ago | nprillinois.org | Ryan Denham

Rivian will get $16 million in state incentives plus more local tax breaks to help build a new supplier park just west of the electric automaker’s manufacturing plant in Normal, officials said Monday. The project is expected to fortify Rivian’s supply chain and create “hundreds of new jobs” once suppliers move in. Rivian has been working to develop the property west of Rivian Motorway for years. Monday’s announcement adds new details to the company’s plans, including the incentives offered.
ISU and faculty union reach tentative deal, averting strike

1 month ago | nprillinois.org | Ryan Denham

Illinois State University and its faculty union reached a tentative agreement Friday, averting a strike that could have begun at any moment. Terms of the deal were not released. The tentative agreement comes after nearly 50 negotiating sessions between ISU administrators and the United Faculty of ISU union. The union represents 650 tenured and tenure-track faculty and was negotiating its first contract after getting recognition.
How a strike by ISU's faculty would work - and what happens next

1 month ago | nprillinois.org | Ryan Denham

If you’re wondering what it’s like when a university’s faculty goes on strike, talk to Mike Hart. He was the president of the Governor’s State University faculty union — and their lead negotiator — when they went on strike for five days in April 2023. Fresh off a heart operation at the time, Hart said it was a scary, stressful and bizarre time for the small campus just south of Chicago. “I didn’t sleep but maybe two hours a night the entire week, if that,” Hart told WGLT.
'We don’t want to hurt you': Video shows 10-minute standoff before Bloomington Police shot 15-year-old

1 month ago | nprillinois.org | Ryan Denham

Newly released video shows Bloomington Police officers spent 10 minutes pleading with a 15-year-old to drop a gun before fatally shooting him when the confrontation escalated. The McLean County state's attorney says the officers were legally justified in using deadly force. Illinois State Police on Tuesday released video footage showing two angles of the Feb. 25 shooting that killed Cole Turner of Normal.
Road rage incident on Interstate 55 leads to driver being shot

2 months ago | nprillinois.org | Ryan Denham

Authorities are looking for a suspect who shot another driver during a road rage incident that began on Interstate 55 northeast of Bloomington-Normal. Police call it an isolated incident. The incident happened around 9 p.m. Monday on northbound I-55 between Lexington and Chenoa, according to the Livingston County sheriff's office. After the initial incident, the suspect vehicle followed the victim’s vehicle on Old Route 66 in Livingston County, police said.
State Farm's financial results improve, as underwriting losses decline

2 months ago | nprillinois.org | Ryan Denham

State Farm's financial results improved in 2024, though the Bloomington-based company still posted an underwriting loss of over $6 billion. State Farm released its annual financial results on Friday. State Farm says its core property-casualty business posted a $6.1 billion underwriting loss in 2024, much better than the $14.1 billion underwriting loss in 2023. That cut down operating losses from $8.5 billion last year to $111 million in 2024.
WGLT sets spring election events

2 months ago | news.illinoisstate.edu | Ryan Denham

WGLT, Bloomington-Normal’s Public Media and part of the NPR Network, will host three events in one night ahead of the April 1 municipal election. A candidate open house and two mayoral forums will take place Tuesday, March 4, from 5-8 p.m. All events will take place at the Illinois State University Bone Student Center Brown Ballroom.
One dead and another person injured in morning crash on Interstate 74 near Goodfield

2 months ago | nprillinois.org | Ryan Denham

One person is dead and another injured following a crash Monday morning on Interstate 74 near the Goodfield exit, authorities said. That crash was reported just before 5 a.m. Monday. One eastbound vehicle reportedly hit a guard rail and then the overpass at the Goodfield exit, between Peoria and Normal. The male driver was dead at the scene. A second vehicle then collided with the first vehicle stopped in the roadway.
Authorities accuse Monster Pawn owners of organized retail theft ring

Jan 17, 2025 | nprillinois.org | Ryan Denham

Authorities say three pawn shops in Bloomington-Normal were part of an organized retail theft ring that allegedly bought and sold stolen goods still in their original packaging. Seven people face criminal charges related to the alleged scheme, which authorities say operated between November 2023 and July 2024 out of four Monster Pawn locations in Bloomington, Normal, and Springfield, and Midwest Exchange in Bloomington.
Rivian lines up $6.6 billion federal loan to revive Georgia manufacturing plans

Nov 26, 2024 | nprillinois.org | Ryan Denham

The electric automaker Rivian may have found a lifeline for its stalled plans for a new manufacturing plant in Georgia, winning a $6.6 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy in the final weeks of the Biden administration. The loan, announced Monday, is a “conditional commitment” and is not finalized. It’s unclear how the incoming Trump administration, which has been critical of financial assistance for EVs, will approach it.