Kanata Blanket, one of America’s leading manufacturer of premium blankets and promotional products, has announced they will move their North American and U.S. operations to Vandalia, Ill.

The new facility is planned to create 40-50 new jobs in the area in the coming year.

Vandalia and Central Illinois are hubs of automotive, agricultural and industrial manufacturing. Over 70,000 Central Illinois residents work in the industry, and thousands of others rely on the products local manufacturers make and the economic development they generate.

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Pumpkins are a fall necessity! The pumpkin has been a North American staple since long before the arrival of European settlers, and Illinois farmers continue the big orange squash’s long tradition by growing more pumpkins than anywhere else in the world. Illinois grows 90-95 percent of the processed pumpkins in the U.S. Most of the processing takes place in Morton, Ill. – which has claimed the title of “Pumpkin Capital of the World” since 1978.

In 1967, the Morton Chamber of Commerce organized the city’s first Pumpkin Festival to celebrate the beginning of the pumpkin harvest and canning season at the local Libby’s pumpkin processing plant. Today, the festival includes over 30 special events and venues hosted and organized by over 2,000 volunteers. The festival welcomes an estimated 70,000 visitors every September.

Libby’s Morton plant has about 5,000 acres of fertile farm land devoted to producing pumpkins. In 2012, Libby’s became the official sponsor for the Morton Pumpkin Festival!

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Even during the COVID-19 pandemic there are some haunted houses in Illinois that can still be enjoyed this year, with public health safety precautions in place. One such haunted house, is the Boo Crew Haunted House.

The Boo Crew Haunted House is an annual event hosted by the Rochester Lions Club. There are typically both indoor and outdoor portions to the haunted house, but the event will be fully outdoors this year to help maintain social distancing. The Boo Crew promises this “Trail of Lost Souls” will be their scariest trail yet.

The Boo Crew has implemented many health and safety precautions this year to help keep actors and guests safe. Masks will be required, and actors must keep their distance from guests—any up-close scares will be done by animatronics or stationary props. Ticket sales and group sizes are limited this year to keep crowds to a minimum.

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Eastern Illinois University has seen 10% uptick in enrollment this year, mainly as a result of jumps in freshman and local student enrollment. This marks the university’s third year of continued growth thanks to increases in continuing, dual-credit, freshman and graduate students.

EIU is also noticing greater enrollment of high-achieving students, who have boosted the school’s incoming average ACT, SAT and GPA scores as well as resulted in considerably greater eligibility among freshmen for EIU’s Sandra and Jack Pine Honors College.

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