Park of the Month: Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge and Nature Preserve
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Right outside Lewistown in central Illinois lies Emiquon, one of the Midwest’s largest floodplain restoration projects. At nearly 6,000 acres, the wildlife refuge contains a diverse array of native plant and animal species in a complex system of wetlands and lakes. Additionally, Emiquon’s proximity to Dickson Mounds and its own 149 documented archaeological sites make it one of the richest Native American cultural sites in the country.
U of I Alumnus goes into Space
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Did you know, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has launched Crew Dragon spacecraft “Resilience” to orbit, with a University of Illinois alumnus in tow: Mike Hopkins, the crew commander for the SpaceX mission, is leading a four-person team who will spend the next six months aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Hopkins is a graduate of UIUC, where he played defensive back on the football team and even served as a team captain in 1991. Hopkins, an Air Force Colonel, was selected as an astronaut in 2009. Now, as crew commander, Hopkins is joined by physicist Shannon Walker, Navy Commander and rookie astronaut Victor Glover, and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, who is one of the few people that has rocketed into orbit aboard three different kinds of spacecraft.
Illinois company builds coronavirus-killing robots
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Waukegan aerospace company Astronics Corporation is building coronavirus-killing robots, called the Xenex LightStrike, to help hospitals and health care facilities protect patients and staff from the spread of the virus.
The device is being used by seven Chicago hospitals and 700 facilities worldwide, including in Florida, California and North Carolina.
The robot uses pulsed UV rays to penetrate the virus’ cell walls and destroy the molecular structure, killing the virus. A single robot allows hospitals to disinfect 60 or more rooms, destroying bacteria that can’t be reached through typical cleaning and uses no chemicals or toxic fumes.
Happy National Fast Food Day: McDonald's Franchise began in Illinois in 1955
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Happy National Fast Food Day everyone, it is a day to eat wonderful and delicious food. McDonalds is a major staple of American fast food cuisine. It has been around for decades and is a popular place for families across the country to dine. But, did you know this popular fast food chain’s first franchise restaurant was right here in Illinois?
McDonald’s first started as a small burger joint run by the McDonald brothers — Richard and Maurice — in San Bernadino, Cal. However, Ray Kroc was the one that would turn McDonald’s into the major franchise it is today. Kroc chose to begin that journey in 1955 by establishing a McDonald’s restaurant in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines.
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