WSIU News Morning Update May 11, 2026 in Carbondale, IL

This is Morning Edition. I'm Leah Lerner reporting WSIU News. Community school programs continue to ask for more state funding as Governor J.B. Pritzker proposes a cut in this year's budget. Susan Stanton, Executive Director of Act Now, Illinois, says these in school and after school programs have gone months without contracts. When programs don't have certainty, staff leave, enrollment is frozen, and children are turned away. This isn't about bad intent. This is about a broken system. And broken systems hurt kids. The federal government has also canceled grants for community schools. Act now is suing to get that funding restored. A Northern Illinois University professor contributed to a docu-series that is now available on PBS. Yvonne Boos has more. The six-part series, Life on Earth with Ariel Watman, is streaming on PBS and has been picked up by numerous affiliate stations.

Wesley Swinkley is a microbiologist and N.I.U. Professor. He says he didn't have a hand in the Antarctica part of the series, but he used grants and other money that he received to help with the part about prairies. I earned funding through a supplement to the National Science Foundation, and then I also acquired funding through NIU, just through flipping over couch cushions, and finding money wherever I could. He says he also helped with some script writing, research, and small tasks, like holding a boom mic.

The series focuses on ecosystems, microscopic organisms, and other environmental topics. I'm Yvonne Booz. The Illinois State Museum is opening a new exhibit celebrating Route 66 later this month. Miles of Memories. Stories of Route 66 opens May 23rd in Springfield.

The exhibit highlights what it was like to live, work, and travel along Route 66 during its peak years. Visitors can hear firsthand stories from people who experience the historic highway as part of the museum's Route 66 Oral History Project. The exhibit also features memorabilia, like vintage souvenirs, neon signs, and classic roadside advertising. Route 66, established in 1926, connected Chicago to L.A. and remains one of the most iconic highways in the country. The exhibit will be on display through April 2026. 7.