Jess Savage
Environment ReporterJess is the environmental reporter at Northern Public Radio based in DeKalb, Illinois. They are a Report for America corps member covering agriculture and the environment throughout the Mississippi River Basin. They also regularly contribute food and farm stories for Harvest Public Media.
Jess recently completed their master's degree from Northwestern University's journalism program, where they specialized in health, environment and science reporting.
Before moving to Illinois, they studied ecology and natural resources at the University of Vermont. For their honors thesis, they researched the impacts of climate change on agriculture systems in New England.
They grew up on the north shore of Massachusetts, where their dad took them out clamming and lobstering on the Parker River. Jess worked on several farms over the years and spend most of their weekends exploring farmers markets throughout Chicago.
If you need to reach Jess, you can always send story ideas, recipes, book recommendations or anything else on your mind to jsavage2@niu.edu.
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Uno nuevo proyecto de ley, presentado a la Asamblea General de Illinois la semana pasada, podría regular el impacto de los centros de datos en el agua, la energía y las comunidades sobrecargadas. Jess Savage de WNIJ estuvo en la conferencia de prensa donde se anunció el proyecto de ley, y tienen más información. -
Illinois fue el mayor productor de soya en Estados Unidos en 2025. Esto es medio de crecientes costos de insumos y a pesar de las condiciones históricas de sequía en el estado. -
Stacy Iwanicki is retiring from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources after 39 years. WNIJ's environment reporter Jess Savage asked her to reflect on her time with the department and at her headquarters, Volo Bog State Natural Area in Lake County. -
Illinois was the No. 1 soybean producer in the U.S. last year. That’s amid rising input costs and despite historic drought conditions in the state.
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A field on the Northern Illinois University campus could soon be transformed into prairie. NIU met with neighbors recently to outline their multi-year plan to complete this project. -
A new bill, introduced to the Illinois General Assembly last week, could regulate data centers’ impacts on water, energy and overburdened communities. WNIJ’s Jess Savage was at the press conference announcing the bill, and they have more.
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The bald eagle used to be a rare sight in Illinois. Now, there are more than 3,000 that spend the winter here. -
Un nuevo análisis de la Unión de Científicos Preocupados muestra que los centros de datos en Illinois podrían representar el 72% del aumento de la demanda de electricidad para 2030. Sin embargo, una nueva legislación podría ayudar a mitigar estos costes. -
January might not be peak golf season, but one conservation group in Rockford is welcoming the community to hit golf ball-sized seed bombs to plant prairie at a former golf course. -
A new analysis from the Union of Concerned Scientists shows that data centers in Illinois could account for 72% of the growth in electricity demand by 2030. But new legislation could help to address those costs.
