An earthquake measuring 4.2 in magnitude struck central Indiana near Kokomo this morning. No damages were reported. more ›

What is understood doesn't need to be discussed. And, if you happened to go outside yesterday, you know that it was pretty bad from about noon through now. But we will share with you what havoc the weather did wreak yesterday, besides raising the heart rates of people who shoveled their sidewalks and driveways (twice right here) or the kids who, like folks at nearby Henry C. Palmisano Nature Park in Bridgeport, took advantage of the weather to toboggan and sled. more ›

I took the bike out for a fifteen-mile ride Saturday, which is nothing compared to surfing Lake Michigan in winter. There is a small band of dedicated surfing enthusiasts who are committed to truly making Lake Michigan the Third Coast, and they won't let rain, snow sleet or hail get in their way. Take a look at this video the next time you want to complain about the weather. more ›

A new survey by the Federal Reserve Bank says that economic growth has picked up in 10 of the central bank's 12 regions. Five regions, including Chicago, Kansas City, Minneapolis, New York and Richmond, experienced economic activity at a "somewhat stronger" pace, while five other regions, including Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Dallas and San Francisco experienced a "slight to modest" pace of economic activity. Only Philadelphia and St. Louis showed mixed business conditions. more ›

What does the Great Lakes region look like on a nearly cloudless day? The above, which was taken on August 28, 2010 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite. Check out this cool interactive feature for viewing the photo. more ›

As clean-up from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill continues, a new, albeit smaller, oil catastrophe is unfolding much closer to home. An oil pipeline that pumps about 8 million gallons of crude oil from Griffith, Indiana to Sarnia, Ontario cracked near Kalamazoo, Michigan on Monday. The pipeline, part of Enbridge Energy Partner's Lakehead System is estimated to have dumped over 800,000 gallons (~19,500 barrels) of oil into a creek leading to the Kalamazoo River, which empties into Lake Michigan at Saugatuk though officials told the AP they don't expect the spill to reach the lake. Enbridge has dispatched crews to contain the spill, deploying booms onto the river. Local officials have already declared a state of emergency and Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Pali Matyas said yesterday afternoon, "It’s all rolling downhill and there are a lot of complications.” Authorities on site say that the spill appears to be contained at Battle Creek. “Oil entered the Tallmadge Creek and found its way to the Kalamazoo River,” Enbridge Chief Executive Officer Patrick Daniel told Bloomberg News. “Teams have been working through the night and day working on the containment and clean up.” Some of the complications mentioned including workers not able to use trucks to help remove some of the oil due to high water levels. more ›

We're just going to go ahead and say that we're pretty sure the apocalypse is nigh. As if the earthquake wasn't enough, it looks like the sky is falling as there were reports of a giant fireball in the night sky over the Midwest last night. The incident occurred around 10 pm last night as a bright flash was seen reported in Wisconsin, parts of western Illinois, eastern Iowa, and even near St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri. There were no reports in the Chicago area. The flash was captured on both film and radar as it headed from west to east. National Weather Service officials believe it to have been a meteorite entering the atmosphere as part of a meteor shower. The National Weather Service in Milwaukee issued a report saying: more ›

The higher cost of feed and farmland is leading some Midwest farmers to raise cows half their normal counterpart’s size. Known as “minicows” they are increasingly popular with farmers trying to save on space and money in a downturned economy, according to the Tribune. more ›

A federal study released today says that more than half of 12–20-year-olds have had a drink. Illinois is in the middle when it comes to underage binge drinking: between 19.1 and 21 percent of underage drinkers in Illinois binge drink, which is better than Wisconsin (between 24 and 31 percent) but worse than Utah (14 to 17.2 percent). more ›

Author Richard Florida looks at America's "psychogeography" and says personality types tend to cluster—and that understanding those clusters can help us understand the economies and futures of different regions. more ›

EPA Midwest administrator Mary Gade has been forced to resign her post. Last summer, Gade invoked emergency powers against Dow Chemical to force the company to clean up three toxic hotspots near their Midlands, Michigan headquarters. She had been fighting the company for years over dioxin-contaminated soil and sediment that extends 50 miles beyond the Midlands plant and into Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron. And when tests revealed that dioxin levels in along a park in Saginaw were the highest in the nation, she ordered more dredging. Dow and the EPA had been working out a deal over the cleanup, but Gade ended those negotiations in January, saying that Dow wasn't taking the steps necessary to protect public health. Company officials appealed to Washington, and Gade was forced from her position yesterday. more ›

A 5.2 magnitude earthquake jostled the Midwest at 4:37 this morning. Even though it's one of the strongest ever in Illinois, it's technically not that big of an earthquake, and no injuries or severe damage have been reported. The quake was centered in West Salem, about 230 miles from here, and people felt the tremors as far as 900 miles away. more ›

Are cougars reemerging in the Midwest? A few years ago, a dead mountain lion turned up in New Boston, IL and last month, a live one made its way through southern Wisconsin. Experts tested DNA from a bloody pawprint the animal left and confirmed that it was indeed a mountain lion, the first in Wisconsin in a hundred years. more ›