The WNIJ newsroom is on a mission: serve our listeners through more community-driven reporting. The goal is to strengthen reporting about northern Illinois and increase transparency in journalism by including you in the process.
So let’s talk! What questions do you have about our community? What topics matter to you and your family? Enter your questions and comments below. If we look into your question, a reporter will be in touch with you.
Meet your public radio reporters:
Yvonne Boose- Arts, Culture and Spiritual Expression 
I'm a corps member for Report for America. I cover art, culture and spiritual expression. Do you know of any creative individuals that our listeners need to know about? Perhaps there's something going on in your church community that deserves to be highlighted. Send me an email at yboose@niu.edu to share your story ideas. | |
Maria Gardner Lara- Latinx Community and Local Government 
I'm a 2022-2023 corps member for Report for America. I cover local government and the growing Latino community in northern Illinois. Is there is something you feel that should be covered that isn't being reported on? Have a news tip? Send me an email at mgardner3@niu.edu. | |
Peter Medlin- Education 
Hi! I’m the education reporter and host of the podcast Teachers’ Lounge here at WNIJ. I cover stories from classrooms across our listening area, and interview inspirational educators. I try to find stories that aren’t covered anywhere else, whether it be schools excluding students with a lesser-known form of discipline or a middle school transforming how they teach English. Is there a school story in your community you think we should know about? Or an awesome educator who deserves a spotlight? If so, you can reach me directly at pmedlin@niu.edu. | |
Jess Savage - Environmental 
Jess Savage is a journalist focusing on environmental and queer topics. They recently graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. They were awarded the Pulitzer Center Campus Consortium Fellowship to report on landscape-scale ecological restoration in England and its effects on local farmers. They studied ecology at the University of Vermont as an undergraduate. Send them an email at jsavage2@niu.edu. | |
Susan Stephens and Dan Libman- Under Rocks Podcast 
We're part of the Under Rocks team. Under Rocks is a community driven journalism project where listeners get to ask the big questions: who, what, when, where and why. We explore the oddities, neglected anomalies, and little-known place-makers of our Midwest region. Keep us in mind when you encounter something odd and interesting when you are out and about in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Drop us an email at rocks@niu.edu. |
Read some of the reporting that’s been made possible thanks to community input:
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Last year, a longtime Rockford creative said, “We’ll just do one more show,” during a WNIJ interview. Well, it turns out, that wasn’t the last one. J.R. Sullivan’s Hometown Holiday returns to the city this weekend. -
Hydrilla is a highly invasive aquatic plant. It was recently spotted in northern Illinois. -
Wester Wuori says he knows what's at the center of Democratic losses in the November election. -
Connie Seraphine challenges you to try an experiment with your friends and family during the holidays. -
According to a news release, the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, which is being played for the 28th time in 2024, is the longest-running cold weather bowl game in college football and celebrates the spirit of winter, football and potatoes in the Idaho mountains.
