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Dan Ponce on what makes WGN Morning News unique

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:22 GMT

There’s a reason viewers choose WGN. Morning News anchor Dan Ponce reflects on the spontaneity, inside jokes, and authenticity that makes WGN Chicago’s very own.For more great WGN at 75 stories, check out WGNtv.com/stories

'Star Wars' actor Paul Grant dead at 56: reports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:22 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Actor Paul Grant has died after collapsing outside a London train station, his family confirmed to British news outlets Monday. He was 56 years old. Grant's acting credits include parts in two of the biggest series in movie history, "Star Wars" and "Harry Potter." He played an Ewok in "Return of the Jedi" and a goblin in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." Grant was found by emergency crews Thursday afternoon and taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced brain dead, according to Sky News. He was officially pronounced dead early Monday morning.He collapsed at King's Cross Station – a transit hub made famous internationally by the "Harry Potter" books and movies. Lance Reddick, ‘The Wire’ and ‘John Wick’ star, dies at 60 The Daily Mail reports he leaves behind three children. Grant's daughter, Sophie Jayne Grant, told The Sun, "My dad was a legend in so many ways. ... He always brought a smile and laughter to everyone’s face." According to his IMDb pa...

When Lauren hopped into Paul's van

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:22 GMT

WGN Morning News anchor Lauren Jiggetts remembers the day she got into Paul Konrad's van for his ‘Konrad in a Van’ segment. "How am I getting paid for this?" she thought. Only at WGN.For more great WGN at 75 stories, check out WGNtv.com/stories Sean Lewis tries to live up to viewers expectations

Early voting for Mayoral race in Chicago begins

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:22 GMT

CHICAGO — Voting is underway in Chicago's runoff elections — from the mayor's race to the undecided races for members of city council.Polls opened at 9 a.m. Monday ahead of the April 4 election. Chicago residents can now head to early voting locations across the 50 wards, including the supersite on North Clark Street, to cast their ballot.So far, 192,000 vote by mail applications have been received and the Board of Elections said they expect that number to rise within the next two weeks.Voters are advised to get their application in as soon as possible if they do plan to vote by mail, since applications are due by March 30. Mail ballots must be postmarked no later than April 4 and arrive by April 18.First time voters or those looking to update an address or file a name change, will need two forms of government-issued I.D’s, one of which shows the person’s current address.In an effort to increase voter turnout, there will also be a voting location on a local campus for three days.Ear...

Starbucks CEO steps down early ahead of Senate testimony

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:22 GMT

(The Hill) - Howard Schultz, the former interim CEO of Starbucks, is stepping down from his position at the head of the company earlier than expected, just days before he is expected to testify in front of a Senate committee examining the coffee giant’s treatment of union organizing efforts.Starbucks announced Monday that Laxman Narasimhan, who was selected as the incoming chief of the company in September, was taking over for Schultz immediately. He was originally slated to take over at the beginning of next month.Schultz served three different stints at the top of the company. He was CEO from 1986 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2017. He served as interim CEO from 2022 to 2023.Schultz’s early exit from the company comes about a week before he is set to testify before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions after weeks of back-and-forth between the company and committee Chair Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to secure Schultz’s testimony.Sanders is seeking input fro...

Ramadan 2023: Everything you need to know

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:22 GMT

The holy month of Ramadan celebrated by over a billion Muslims worldwide commences Wednesday night, with a month-long observation full of fasting, charity and community services. Here are some key facts about the sacred month. When Does It Begin?The first of Ramadan is likely to fall on Wednesday evening March 22 with fasting to begin Thursday morning — all depending on if the moon is sighted. The month runs by the Islamic Lunar calendar which begins the at sighting of the crescent moon.Why is the month sacred?Muslims believe that the Quran, the sacred text, was first revealed to the last Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) over 1,400 years ago, Al Jazeera reports.What do Muslims do in Ramadan?Muslims fast from dawn to sunset, abstain from food, water and actions that pollute the soul. It is also a time where people prioritize prayer, spiritual reflection, charity and other acts of goodness.Fasting is known as one of the five pillars of Islam, the other four being declaration...

Austin ISD: How open should superintendent search be?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:22 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Priority number one for the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees is finding a new superintendent, but what will that process look like?“I want to see someone who is generally prioritizing the needs of students and their families here in our school district and our city,” said AISD parent Cuitlahuac Guerra. “Too often the superintendents that come or the ones we have had seem to be using AISD as a stepping stone to the next part of their career.”Some community members have raised concerns about past searches being too closed off and are hoping to see more transparency with this search.“The single lone finalist is named, and we all have to just deal with it,” said Guerra. “That is unacceptable, because the process favors the superintendent candidates, not the people, the children, the students.”In February, trustees met with GR Recruiting, the firm tasked with helping to find the next superintendent. In that meeting, they discussed how open the search s...

St. Paul Public Schools to offer $10,000 signing bonuses to new hires in special education, smaller bonuses for other shortage areas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:22 GMT

St. Paul Public Schools is offering more than $1 million in hiring bonuses in hopes of filling a range of special-education positions and other hard-to-fill jobs for the 2023-24 school year.“In this competitive job market, we need to do everything we can to attract the best candidates to our classrooms,” Patricia Pratt-Cook, executive chief of human resources, said in a news release Monday.In a report earlier this year from the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board, 84 percent of Minnesota school district leaders said they were feeling the effects of the teacher shortage. That’s up from 70 percent two years prior.The St. Paul district, which already has the second-highest average teacher salary in the state, at $85,128 last year, is offering $10,000 bonuses to the first 70 teachers, social workers, psychologists and speech pathologists they hire who are licensed for special education.Up to 50 new educational assistants and 50 teaching assistants in special education wi...

The ‘Warroad elk,’ a familiar fixture for two decades, has died

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:22 GMT

WARROAD, Minn. – Nobody really knows where the bull elk known in these parts as the “Warroad Elk” came from – this isn’t really elk country, after all – but he was a fixture in the area for the better part of two decades.By most accounts, the elk was already a good-sized bull when it showed up in a field north of the Marvin Windows and Doors plant about 20 years ago. It stayed in the vicinity for six or seven years before crossing the Warroad River and venturing a few miles east to an area with a mix of woods and farmland along the south shore of Lake of the Woods.The iconic bull died this month – presumably of old age – in the same area east of Warroad where it had spent the past 13 years. Staff from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources picked up the elk March 9 by a farmer’s hayshed, and it was taken the next day to the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab at the University of Minnesota, said Scott Laudenslager, area wildlife manager for the DNR in Baudette, Minnesota.Veterinary sta...

Bally Sports North to televise 153 Twins games amid financial turbulence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:22 GMT

Bally Sports North announced a 153-game broadcast schedule for the upcoming Twins season, even as its parent company experiences financial turbulence.The remaining nine games will be broadcast nationally, with five games on Fox National, three on AppleTV+ and one on Peacock. For the sixth time in franchise history, all 162 games will be televised.Dick Bremer will be behind the microphone for his 40th season and will be joined by four former Twins: Justin Morneau, Roy Smalley, LaTroy Hawkins and Glen Perkins.Diamond Sports Group LLC, a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group that operates the Regional Sports Networks, announced a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing last week to try to eliminate over $8 billion in outstanding debt.“DSG will continue broadcasting games and connecting fans across the country with the sports and teams they love,” CEO David Preschlack said in a release. “We look forward to working constructively with our team and league partners and all DSG stakeholders...