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Journeying home from Minneapolis as newly trained Climate Reality Leaders, our vehicle was bursting with talk, laughter, tears and singing as we shared experiences and exchanged notes for planning future actions.

What really resonated with me is the reality of choice. We still have significant choices -- and the legacy we leave future generations will bear witness to our actions.

The law allowing recreational marijuana in Illinois takes effect next year, and people are trying to get ready. The law calls for expungement of criminal records for some past convictions involving possession of marijuana. One person working on that is Winnebago County State's Attorney Marilyn Hite Ross, and she has a number of concerns.

When we think of people who changed our lives, I think most view long-term events. But when I look back, I realize that a few people influenced my life with a single act of kindness.

A Marvel character snaps his fingers and half of our population turns into dust. That is an alluring thought for some. What if a large swath of our population not born in the U.S. similarly exited, to “go back home?”  

Every morning at Art Camp, the bell rings at 10:30 and nearly 30 kids from Rockford and Peoria gather in a circle and "sing hello." That means every child is musically greeted by their name so they know they are welcomed, recognized, and loved. After the song, the campers break off into groups organized by age. They learn different disciplines of art including dance, drama, visual arts, gardening and cooking.  This is Ann Rundall's Art Camp. 

My wife’s great aunt married John F. Kennedy’s great uncle. This was in 1928. Jack Kennedy would have been eleven and was likely at the wedding. This means that my wife is only five or six degrees of separation from President Kennedy. It means that I’m only six or seven degrees of separation from President Kennedy. Not that I’m bragging or anything.

Visits to the emergency room for asthma vary widely across Illinois. One reason could be how it's treated.

Asthma is an inflammatory lung condition that can cause bouts of coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. In severe cases, a patient's airways swell shut, requiring a visit to the emergency room.

The Illinois Hospital Report Card tracks these types of visits. Between 2015-2017, Stephenson County had among the highest rates of visits in the state.

Growing older is a fact of life that most people dread. We’re embarrassed to be called old. 

A few years ago, when he was going to Yorkville High School, Matt Pitstick saw college recruiters roaming his school who surprised him and made his friends laugh. They were recruiters from a university more than 700 miles away: the University of Alabama.

"I remember when I first saw it, we all just joked about it -- like 'Haha yeah, the University of Alabama,'" he said. "But then you look into it and it's like, 'You know what, maybe that's not a bad idea.'"

History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes, as Mark Twain reputedly said.  

Some people say there is a season for everything. I reflect on that saying during mundane moments. Routines are followed and no surprises occur. Living in routine time is nice because it’s easy and predictable. I often stop and lavish in the moment of living routinely because I know it won’t last and I will long for routine and predictability at some point. 

Editor's note: The audio portion of this Perspective is incorrect in the number of Americans who are food-insecure. The correct number is 1 in 8, which was in the original script.  

“I’ve never done this before,” a woman tells me as I help her sign up for food assistance at the Grow Mobile pop-up pantry. “My husband has been ill, and I had to quit my job to take care of him.” One of millions of stories. 

Legalized sports betting will soon come to Illinois as part of the state's new gambling expansion law.

Sports wagering is nothing new. But in the U.S., the practice has generally been illegal outside of a few specific venues. That changed last year when the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. It allows states to legalize sports betting.

In Illinois, there are several companies eager to enter the market. But casinos lobbied hard against allowing them unfettered access. State Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) explains.

For the last few weeks, we've been looking at housing problems in the DeKalb area. What does resolution look like as the community works to revitalize struggling neighborhoods?

DeKalb community members have been considering housing conditions when some local buildings were damaged during suspected arsons. 

One of these cases occurred at 808 Ridge Drive in early July. 

Teachers’ Lounge is a new podcast from WNIJ telling the stories of education in Illinois with the help of stories from Illinois educators. Join reporter Peter Medlin every other Friday (payday!) for a new episode. 

If you are a teacher, you know a teacher who you think should be on the show, or have a story about a teacher who inspired you -- send us an email at teacherslounge@niu.edu to join the conversation. 

Also, feel free to send us your ideas for stories and topics for the show to cover.

What causes awe? It’s felt in the presence of nature and incredible feats of human creation. To feel it daily requires wise humility and awareness. 

We are bringing you two sets of music from Miles Nielsen on this week's edition of Sessions from Studio A. Check out his set at Rockford's Prairie Street Brewing Co. with his band, The Rusted Hearts, and then a stripped-down acoustic set recorded right here in WNIJ's Studio A. 

Miles Nielsen & Kelly Steward performing "Over the Moon" in WNIJ's Studio A.

Have you ever struck up a surprisingly close friendship with a stranger you’ve just met on vacation? I call these “firefly friendships.” Fireflies symbolize communication and illumination – two necessary elements for connecting with new friends that we would never have noticed in our usual domestic habitats. 

Student debt forgiveness has quickly risen from the fringes and become one of the most widely discussed topics going into the 2020 election.

Right now over 44 million Americans have student loans worth about $1.5 trillion. 

Many of the Democratic candidates for president have begun floating their plans to forgive some student loans or eliminate them entirely.