Category: Top Stories

In an early press conference Friday morning, Illinois State University announced Dr. Timothy Flanagan as their new president.

Flanagan comes from Framingham State University in Massachusetts, where he served as president since 2006. He also served as a Provost at State University of New York College of Brockport between 1998 and 2006. The Board of Trustees selected him over 40 other candidates. Student Trustee Aaron Von Qualen attributes part of this decision to the fact that Flanagan is a “student’s president.”

Among his goals, Flanagan wishes to sustain the University’s prestige in the state while also helping it grow the way President Al Bowman has over his tenure in the position. He also wants to be active with students and bring faculty members closer with them.

Flanagan will begin his service as ISU’s president on August 15. President Al Bowman will officially step down from the position on May 15.

Five are dead from gunshot wounds in a Southwestern Illinois town. Early this morning, the bodies of a grandmother, young couple, and two small children were found in their home in Manchester, IL. A sixth victim was found alive and taken to the hospital.

The victims are reported to be Joanne Sinclair, 65, Brittany Luark, 22, Roy Ralston, Nolan Ralston, 5, and Bradley Ralston, 1. The sixth person, reported to be Cassidy Ralston, 7, was taken to St. John’s Hospital in Springfield.

They lived in a first floor apartment of a housing development, according to police spokeswoman Monique Bond.

The suspect was apprehended after a ten-minute chase, and shots were fired at 8:00 AM this morning. He was taken to the hospital after sustaining injuries and was pronounced dead. His name has not been released.

Manchester is a town of 300 people 50 miles southwest of Springfield. This is the first murder in over 40 years.

WZND will update this story.

After a massive manhunt that shut down the city of Boston, the man thought to be responsible for the bombings that occurred at the Boston Marathon is believed to be in police custody. NBC was the first network to report the arrests, saying Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev was apprehended by Boston Police. The Boston Police soon confirmed these reports via tweet.

Reporters in the area claimed to hear applause from law enforcement after the arrest was made. The suspect is believed to be alive.

WZND will post more updates as this story unfolds.

Police arresting Dzhokar Tsarnaev

Nearly 22 hours after the MIT shooting Thursday night, the Boston Police end its manhunt of the second suspect in the Boston bombings. Dzhokar A. Tsarnaev, 19,  is in custody of Boston Police, nearly 18 hours after his brother, and second suspect in the Boston bomings,  Tamerlan died in a shootout with police. The standoff occurred in a backyard of a Watertown home. Dzhokar was hiding in a boat in the backyard when police surrounded the subject. The standoff lasted a little over an hour. (more…)

NORMAL - Sigma Phi Epsilon’s National Board of Directors has withdrawn the charter of its Illinois Zeta Chapter at Illinois State University and closed the chapter. The decision is effective immediately.

The fraternity made this decision with the support of the chapter’s Alumni Advisory Council
and in partnership with University administrators. The chapter had violated previous sanctions
and expectations established by both the Fraternity and Illinois State University.

Sigma Phi Epsilon’s mission is to build balanced men. Its leadership programs and educational
efforts are based on the value of respect for self and others.

It remains unknown when the fraternity will rejoin the Illinois Zeta Chapter at ISU.

NORMAL – Four finalists have been announced for the University’s 18th president.

All candidates will visit campus and participate in open forums from 2:30-3:30 p.m. on April 22, 24, 26 and 29 in the Old Main Room at the Bone Student Center.

Karla Hughes is a tenured professor, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Morehead State University in Morehead, Ky. Prior to coming to Morehead in July 2007, Hughes served as the American Council on Education Fellow at East Carolina University, where she also was a professor and founder of the College of Human Ecology, a merger of the schools of Human Environmental Sciences and Social Work and Criminal Justice Studies.

Hughes received a Ph.D. in agriculture from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in 1979. She will be on campus April 22.

Randy Dunn has been president of Murray State University in Murray, Ky., since December 2006. Previously he served as state superintendent of education for the Illinois State Board of Education. Dunn also was a professor in the department of educational administration and higher education at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.

He holds an Ed.D. in educational administration from the University of Illinois. Dunn will visit campus April 24.

Timothy Flanagan has served as president of Framingham State University in Framingham, Mass., since August 2006. He also is a professor of sociology at the university. Previously he was provost and vice president for academic affairs and a professor of criminal justice at State University of New York, College at Brockport in New York.

He received a Ph.D. in criminal justice from the University of Albany, State University of New York. Flanagan has done post-graduate work at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. Flanagan will be on campus April 26.

Larry Dietz has been vice president for student affairs at Illinois State University since June 2011. Prior to coming to Illinois State, he served as vice chancellor for student affairs and special assistant to the chancellor at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.

A tenured associate professor of educational administration and foundations, Dietz earned his Ph.D. in professional studies in higher education administration at Iowa State University. He will be on campus April 29.

“We have a slate of outstanding finalists from a large pool of exceptionally qualified, diverse candidates,” said Michael McCuskey, who chairs the Board of Trustees and search team. “We are confident the next president of Illinois State will continue to strengthen our reputation as one of the top public universities in the nation. I want to thank the board and the entire search advisory committee for their hard work in bringing these candidates to campus.”

The search team’s goal is to have the new president in place prior to the start of the fall semester. Al Bowman, Illinois State’s 17th president, announced in December he would retire after serving Illinois State for 35 years, the last 10 as president.

For more information on the candidates, visit www.IllinoisState.edu/PresidentialSearch.

The presidential search committee includes faculty, staff and students, as well as representatives from the Alumni Association, ISU Foundation and Intercollegiate Athletics. The consulting firm of Greenwood/Asher & Associates, Inc. is assisting in the search.

CHAMPAIGN – The Boston bombings are touching the lives of Illinois runners.

The Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon is altering its security procedures at the  Champaign race.

“We’re going to be going over everything we need to do to make the race run as smoothly as possible,” said Scott Reeland, director of security at the race. “With the bombings, we just want to be prepared with more security.”

A meeting is scheduled for Wednesday to further discuss security operations.

Ten days remain until the marathon and half-marathon. More information can be found on the event’s website.

http://illinoismarathon.com/

The bombing at the finish line of the Boston Marathon has claimed the life of three spectators. Over 140 people were wounded by the two blasts that went off within second of each other around 2:50 ET yesterday.

One of those dead is 8-year-old Martin Richard. Martin’s sister lost a leg in the explosion and his mother suffered serious brain injuries. Both his mother and sister are still hospitalized from their injuries.

The FBI and other local authorities are still investigating the incident. Today, President Barack Obama called the events in Boston “an act of terror”.

Stay tuned to 103.3 WZND or log on to WZND.com for updates on the Boston Marathon bombing

BLOOMINGTON – Skeletal fragments from four individuals have been found at a remote site along the Mackinaw in Gridley Township.

The remains were initially found on April 8th. The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency’s Human Skeletal Remains Protection Coordinator was notified and accompanied members of the McLean County Sheriff’s Department Tuesday afternoon.

Based upon examination of the fragments, the IHPA expert has determined that the remains were redeposited from another location. The bones come from one child, one adult female, one adult male, and a third adult. No origin has been noted, but they could come from as recent as 200 years ago or as old as several thousand years.

More information from IHPA will be released after the investigation has concluded.

The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency’s (IHPA) Human Skeletal Remains Protection Act Coordinator arrived in Bloomington this morning, Tuesday, April 9^th 2013 and accompanied members of the McLean County Sheriff’s Department and Coroner’s Office to the remote site along the Mackinaw in Gridley Township. The site was documented via photography and additional remains were recovered during today’s three hour search. Based upon an examination of the fragments recovered over the past two days, the IHPA expert has formed the following preliminary opinion: the remains more than likely have been redeposited from another location up river; the fragments are from a minimum of four individuals (one child, one adult female, one adult male, and a third adult); and currently the remains are of unknown origin, as recent as 200 years ago or as old as several thousand years. Due to these findings, the McLean County Coroner’s Office is releasing the site to the IHPA and they have taken custody of the skeletal remains in order to further classify. This ends the Coroner’s Office formal inquiry into this matter. Thank you.