SPlog

The Washington Post wrote a fascinating story on U of I professor Fred Kummerow this week. Kummerow has lived for a century and spent the last 60 years researching trans fats and their relationship to …

Per the News-Gazette, the time has come for a new pizza joint in Downtown Champaign. Pizzeria Antica is opening this Thursday, aka tomorrow. A little bit of info on what the menu will look like: …

All kinds of lists happening over the past 24 hours, this time from Business Insider, which put together a list of “The best ice cream shops in every state”. The publication listed Champaign’s own Jarling’s Custard …

We mentioned awhile back that CLAW will be premiering at Mike N Molly’s on Saturday July 11th. Today, they’ve released an official teaser video that was put together by the ever-busy Swede Films. Bookmobile! provides …

Motes wowed us with the sensitive yet cool shoegaze style on their debut LP Keep It In The Dark, released earlier this year. One of the tracks on the record was made into a very …

People love lists. Sure, they are all over the place, all of the time — but when they get a little more specific and focused, I can deal with it. It’s pretty cool to see …

Summer Swing Lessons & Dancing It’s summer, a perfect time to try something new and fun. Come dance with us at the Illini Swing Society’s FREE weekly Thursday night dances, starting June 25th. Social dances …

BodyWork Associates founder Doug Nelson was featured on MassageNerd‘s YouTube channel last week. Essentially, MassageNerd is the ESPN of the massage industry — over 70k subscribers and 43k likes on Facebook. Nelson was featured discussing …

Today is Bloomsday — the date in which James Joyce’s novel Ulysses takes place. Around the world people celebrate by staging marathon readings, hosting presentations on Joyce, or by checking out Joyce-related manuscripts or museum …

Until I lived in Urbana, I had absolutely no idea that people could raise chickens in their backyards. I was fascinated when my neighbors had a coop built and began raising these birds in their …

Weiskamp Screen Printing is hiring a Graphic Designer and a Screen Printer. Come work with fun and creative people! See more details here.

The City of Urbana has partnered with several local restaurants for a second summer for the Local Flavors series.  Here’s the press release: Farm to Table Events Raise Awareness for Local Food The Local Flavors …

The AAUP voted today to censure the University of Illinois administration over the Steven Salaita case. This was to be expected, and not much changes in the grand scheme of things as far as the …

On the heels of announcing a tour with Mineral and Failure, HUM has launched a new website — www.humbandofficial.com. It’s pretty bare right now, but fans can probably expect more content as the band gets …

If you haven’t listened to the Modern Vinyl podcast or checked out their website, don’t wait any longer. It’s a great resource for news and reviews about vinyl records and physical news. This week they …

According to the News-Gazette, Judge Thomas Difanis ordered the U of I to turn over documents related to Steven Salaita’s FOIA lawsuit. Presiding Judge Thomas Difanis said the public interest in knowing whether outside influence …

Well, this is interesting. There’s apparently a local outbreak of mumps happening in C-U. Strangely, mumps has returned to the limelight a bit in the last year or so — even the NHL had a …

Tomorrow (June 12) is an important date in the University of Illinois’s ongoing legal battle with Steven Salaita. At 9:30 a.m., Salaita’s co-counsel at Loevy & Loevy will argue for the release of documents under the …

From a 40 North release: Hua Nian, originally from China, gained her bachelor’s degree in journalism and taught photo-journalism in Jinan University, Guangzhou, prior to her move to the USA. She earned a Master’s degree …

I’m loving these big, inviting outdoor tables at The Bread Company… And that campus isn’t too crowded.

This is a really cool promo video for last week’s Hogchute Opry in Monticello. It was created and edited by Allison Greenwood and features a voiceover from local artist and poet Sean Lamkin. Hogchute Opry from …

The 6th Circuit judges fired Associate Judge Richard Klaus on Wednesday afternoon. It’s not an unprecedented move, but it is highly unusual — it’s the first time in almost 40 years that this has happened …

Consumed is a new feature film that was shot in and around C-U last year. This year it’s been selected to premier at the prestigious LA Film Festival next week. The film is described as a …

Merry-Ann’s annual Celebrity Server and Chef Fundraiser took place June 1-2 at the Downtown and Neil St. locations. 100% of the proceeds went towards the Summer Youth Employment Program from Unit 4 and they managed …

An “All-Star” lineup is set to hit the Champaign Music Festival on July 11th this year. Toad the Wet Sprocket had a number of hits in the 90’s and reunited in 2013 to put out …

Per Facebook, Art Mart (currently located in Lincoln Square Mall, Urbana) will move into 1705 South Prospect, Champaign (former Carter’s Interiors location).  Art Mart first opened its doors in 1958 on the corner of First …

From an official Ripper the Clown press release: Vintage Villains & Ripper the Clown Present the Pop Goes the Culture Variety Show. The place: Vintage Villains, 126. N Vermilion, Danville. The date: Saturday night, June …

Local band Tara Terra have announced their first-ever tour via Facebook which will take them to the east coast. They said more dates may possibly be announced. For now, you can catch them Outside at …

Illini pitcher Tyler Jay suffered a season ending loss against Vanderbilt in the NCAA Super Regional yesterday, but quickly after the game he was taken sixth overall by the Minnesota Twins in the MLB Draft. …

Norden in Urbana is looking for some help. Mission Main Street Grants is a program that helps small businesses get funding, and Norden is one of the applicants for a $100,000 grant.  Voting takes no …

Espresso Royale has unveiled a new way to take your drinks with you. It’s called The Jug and it’s essentially a growler of some of their finest selections. The Jug can be filled with cold …

Congrats to Illini Golf Head Coach Mike Small as he was named one of 6 recipients of the Dave Williams National Head Coach of the Year awards. Small led the Illini to their eighth consecutive NCAA …

Pretty wild news out of HUM’s camp today: They’ve announced a slew of tour dates — a leg with Failure, and another with Mineral. The band was also featured on the initial announce for Chicago’s …

Emily Zurrer was an All-American for the Illini in 2008 and this year she’ll be making her second World Cup appearance for the Canadian Women’s National Team. Canada defeated China 1-0 on Saturday, though Zurrer …

The description of the YouTube video reads, “A fully autonomous robotic bat is coming soon.” Developed by a team of U of I professors including CSL Professor Seth Hutchinson, CSL and Aerospace Engineering Assistant Professor …

MakerGirl has a few spots still open for girls ages 7-10 at their summer workshops. Girls will be introduced to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields through learning how to create awesome objects with 3D …

Hopscotch: Cakes & Confections has an awesome selection of cupcakes today at the Urbana Famer’s Market. All cupcakes are good, of course, but nothing compares to Hopscotch’s strawberry elderflower (pictured below and then eaten hastily …

Neutral Cycle‘s put together a nice little list of 5 places to head to as you start to fill up your calendar this summer. Making the list are a handful of trails, places to picnic, …

V. Picasso will be open for brunch, Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. beginning this weekend. Check out the menu: Images from Facebook.

Lord and Lacy BBQ‘s soft opening is today. Everyone’s been anxiously waiting for this, and it looks like it’ll be great. There is indoor seating and outdoor seating along Main Street. Check out these photos …

If you’re looking for something to read this weekend, consider visiting the cutest free book exchange in town, which currently houses about 20 novels: This book exchange is in front of 804 W. Main in …

Tonight on SP Radio we get tipsy talking about the Uncork Urbana Wine Festival, which takes place Saturday, June 13 from 1 – 9 p.m. Uncork Urbana features wine, food, and music from across the …

An awesome accomplishment for U of I alum and paralympian Josh George today as he set a world record in the T53 800m at the Jutzeler Memorial in Switzerland.  Some days you race fast. Some …

There’s been talk of a high-speed train being developed and built out in Illinois for quite some time, but according to Time Out Chicago, things could be happening fairly soon. The rail would connect Chicago to …

Parkland College is bringing the world’s largest hot rod enthusiast event, the Hot Rod Power Tour, to Champaign on Saturday. Each parking space on campus will be occupied by an automobile modified for performance or …

Aroma Cafe in Downtown Champaign will be featuring live music on their back patio every Thursday throughout the summer. This evening, grab an Italian soda and check out singer/songwriter Kenna Mae Reiss. Or stay for …

Mike N Molly’s will be turning into Suplex City and hosting Champaign Ladies Amateur Wrestling (also known as CLAW) on July 11th. Soundtracking the flying elbow drops, GTSs, and sharpshooters of the Main Event will …

Merchant Street Musicfest is a two-day music festival taking place in Kankakee July 24th & 25th. It might be worth the drive to check it out — for $5 each day, there will be three …