SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WMBD) -- By next week, it's possible students who attended Quest Charter schools could know whether they will continue in their current buildings or attend Peoria Public Schools next year. The State Board of Education will take up the matter of Quest at their May 15 meeting. At issue is Quest's appeal of a decision earlier this year by PPS to shutter the magnet school.  The reasoning was that Quest leadership failed to meet eight of the 11 benchmarks set by the district. Among those benchmarks were: not receiving a commendable rating for the middle schoo ..read more

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) -- Springboard Kitchen will be Peoria's first ghost kitchen. A ghost kitchen is a community commissary kitchen for small food businesses. Food entrepreneurs will be able to rent out the kitchen and use it for selling their food products. Urban Acres is collaborating with St. Paul Episcopal Church to build out the shared commissary kitchen ..read more

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) -- Richwoods High School Principal Billy Robison did a bit of a double take when he saw a man in a kilt playing the bagpipes. It was Thursday, a normal school day at the North Peoria building, and bagpipes aren't typically played in the school's orchestra or band. But it was the last day of classes for seniors and he was being pranked. "I thought it was hilarious," said Robison a day after Scott Whitman followed him all over the school, playing nearly non-stop for an hour ..read more

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) -- Special flower baskets were sold by the Children's Home for Mother's Day. The flowers were planted and assembled by kids in our area at Scott's Prairie in Hanna City ..read more

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) -- The Peoria Riverfront Museum's "Access for All," free admission day lands on Mother's Day this month, and the museum is offering many activities for families this Sunday. According to the Museum, complimentary family photos and create-your-own bouquet activities will be available from noon to 3 p.m ..read more

WEST PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) -- The Peoria County Sheriff's Office is asking for help locating a stolen dog on Friday. According to the Sheriff's Office, a 4-month-old black mini goldendoodle named Phoenix was taken during a burglary of a home near Moss and Cedar Avenues ..read more

EAST PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) -- The Illinois Department of Transportation announced eastbound Interstate 474 will be reduced to one lane between Springfield Road and the I-74 interchange in East Peoria on May 13.  The lane reduction is necessary for crews to perform electrical work in the area and is expected to begin after 8:30 a.m. and last a day.  ..read more

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – President Joe Biden will not be on Ohio’s ballot come November as things currently stand.  State law dictates filing deadlines for candidates, but the timing of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), where Biden will be officially nominated, takes place after Ohio's deadline. The DNC is slated to start Aug. 19, but Ohio's deadline is 90 days before the election, on Aug. 5. According to Secretary of State Frank LaRose, lawmakers had until Thursday to pass and sign something into law to make the fix. Efforts to do that failed.  “We didn’t have a consensus on ..read more

WASHINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) -- The Tazewell County Coroner has identified the woman killed Wednesday morning when she was struck by a pickup truck on U.S. Route 24. Pronounced dead at the scene at 7:32 a.m. Wednesday, May 8 was 20-year old Jacksonville, Fla., resident Hailey Parks, said Coroner Charles R. Hanley. She was in the area visiting relatives in the area. An autopsy was held Wednesday afternoon, and preliminary autopsy findings show the death was caused by multiple blunt force injuries sustained as a pedestrian struck by a motor vehicle. The woman was struck by a maroon Chevrolet pick-up ..read more

Judge Juan Merchan, who oversees former President Trump’s hush money trial, scolded his defense team on Thursday for not objecting more during porn star Stormy Daniels’s most salacious testimony.  On the stand, Daniels went into graphic detail about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump at a 2006 golf tournament, which he denies. Citing those comments, Trump’s lawyers at the end of proceedings on Thursday renewed their demand for a mistrial. Merchan again denied the motion, sympathizing with the defense’s concerns but chastising Trump attorney Susan Necheles for not objecting when prose ..read more