ChimpersCage

   One thing I miss about college men's basketball games is the halftime entertainment. For over 20 years, every game I covered as a photojournalist featured an exciting act. The Gamma Phi Circus was a yearly highlight at Illinois State University, captivating audiences with their dazzling performances. Sadly, if you only follow the games on social media now, you miss out on those unforgettable moments that brought the crowd together. Pictured - Cornell Freeney on the German Wheel

  The sun barely peeked over the horizon in Randolph Township, McLean County, Illinois, casting a golden glow across the frost-kissed fields. This wasn’t just another Wednesday in late March—it was the first day back in the field after a long, quiet winter. The air carried that familiar bite of early spring, a crispness that reminds generational farmers of when they would ride alongside their dad in a rattling old tractor. But today, as he climbed into the cab of his sleek, towering modern Case IH, loaded with GPS precision and climate control, the nostalgia hit differently. The hum of the engine wasn’t the clattering roar of the past; it was a smooth, powerful purr, a sound that bridged decades of memory with the promise of modernity. By noon, the cab’s air conditioning kept the sweat off the brow—a luxury earlier generations never dreamed of. Dust and heat were as much a part of farming as the crops themselves. A paused to sip coffee from a thermos, the same dented one his wife h...

   The vast expanse of the sky shimmered with the soft glow of dawn as the great white pelicans set their course northward. Their long, broad wings stretched wide, catching the spring thermals that carried them effortlessly over rivers, fields, and wetlands. With each beat of their powerful wings, they followed an ancient route, one that had guided their ancestors for generations. As they soared over the Mississippi River, the waters below teemed with fish, a promise of the abundance that lay ahead. Their destination was Emiquon, a vast floodplain in central Illinois, where nature had reclaimed the land and restored it to its former glory. Once a drained agricultural field, Emiquon had been revived into a wetland haven, rich with life and sustenance for the migrating flocks. It was a sanctuary, a place where they could rest, feed, and gather strength for the journeys still to come. As they descended, the pelicans were met with the scent of fresh water and the symphony of life ...