Did you know: Legendary Jazz Composer Benny Goodman was from Chicago?

• Arts & Culture
• Jazz

In the 1930s and 1940s, big band “swing” music increased the popularity of jazz music in the United States. Blues and jazz music were first brought to Illinois in the early 20th century by African Americans such as Louis Armstrong, coming to Illinois from the Deep South during the first great migration. Described as the “King of Swing,” Benny Goodman led one of the most popular bands of the WWII era and was a symbol of the successful immigrant narrative.

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NASCAR Cup Series coming to southwestern Illinois!

A NASCAR Cup Series auto race is coming to southwestern Illinois in 2022! The 1.25 mile World Wide Technology Raceway will be in Madison Sunday, June, 5 2022.

NASCAR events have been staged at the track, but this will be the track’s first race in NASCAR’s top division. From 1997-2010, the Xfinity Series ran 15 races at the track. In addition, the Camping World Truck Series competed there from 1998-2010 and from 2014 to present day.

Curtis Francois, owner of World Wide Technology Raceway, has worked to rebuild the track and expand its racing schedule since he purchased the facility nearly ten years ago.

Visit World Wide Technology Raceway’s website to see upcoming events.

University of Illinois’ fight to produce COVID-19 test for school this fall

At the early onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a team at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign immediately began to work on a solution to keep the campus open while keeping students safe and healthy. Quickly, a simple saliva COVID-19 test was created that is now not only being used by students on campus, but organizations across the state.

With the spread of COVID-19 being primarily by droplets from the nose and mouth, scientists decided analyzing saliva seemed logical. At the time of the initial creation of the saliva test, many other tests weren’t publishing results for days. However, the U of I saliva test shows results in mere hours because, the contents are subjected to a molecular chain reaction test to show the presence of COVID-19.

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SIU Carbondale brings in largest freshman class in five years

• Southern Illinois University-Carbondale

Southern Illinois University Carbondale has stopped their downward trend in enrollment by bringing in their largest freshman class in five years. This fall, 1,422 Salukis are starting their college career, bringing an increase of 4.5% from previous years.

“Our faculty, staff, students and alums have gone above and beyond to change the downward trajectory of the declines we have experienced since 2016,” said SIU Carbondale Chancellor Austin Lane. “I want to personally thank each of them for rallying around enrollment and working tirelessly to show the unique opportunities future Salukis have. Today’s news is the result of all that effort.”

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