MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – The sting of a single bee has elevated the graduate school project of a Western Illinois University alumnus into a home for an endangered species. Ross Smith received his master’s degree in Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration (RPTA) in 2018. For his final project, Smith transformed two underutilized baseball diamonds in Hampton, IL, into a prairie area for the Rock Island County Forest Preserve District, where he has been employed since 2015. “The baseball diamonds were underutilized, compared to neighboring diamonds and with the Dorrance Forest Preserve... Read More

MACOMB, IL – Just 12 months after Western Illinois University Agriculture Professor Win Phippen announced the award of a $10 million federal grant to investigate the use of Pennycress as a commercial cash crop, a second grant has been awarded that dovetails into the initial grant and helps ensure a consistent version of the alternative crop is produced. WIU will receive just under $1 million of a $13 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant aimed at genetically strengthening pennycress plants for use in sustainable energy work. For WIU’s portion of the grant, the University Farm will... Read More