The Sentinel: 05/23/25

Chargers' Noelle Hunt competes at state track

Centennial's Noelle Hunt competes in the Class 2A long jump at state — **CHARLESTON** - Centennial's Noelle Hunt sails through the air during her second jump while competing in the Class 3A Long Jump on Friday. The senior's best jump went 17' 5.5" for a 14th place. Hunt also ran on three of the Chargers' state-qualifying relay squads, including leadoff for the 4x200m and 4x100m, and anchor on the 4x400 relay team. .::. More IHSA state track photos and stories .::.

Tagged: Centennial Chargers, Centennial Athletics, Sports, IHSA state meat, State-qualifier

Decker going the distance, Unity senior in the running for state medals

Unity's Emily Decker competes in the 1600m run at state — **CHARLESTON** - Unity's Emily Decker runs her second lap of the Class 2A 1600m Run during the prelims at the 2025 IHSA Girls Track and Field State Finals on Friday. Decker advanced to the championship race after finishing seventh out a field of 30 with a time of 5:04.23. She will also run in 3200m Run and in the 4x800m relay for the Rockets on Saturday at O'Brien Field. .::. More IHSA state track photos and stories .::.

Tagged: Unity Athletics, Sports, IHSA Girls State Track Meet, High School Sports,

EPG leads the small school division in 4x400 relay prelims at IHSA state meet

EPG's Jaida Reed takes the baton from Teagan Tibbs — **CHARLESTON** - El Paso-Gridley sophomore Jaida Reed takes the baton from Teagan Tibbs, a freshman, while running in the second heat of the 4x400m relay prelims at Thursday's IHSA Girls Track & Field State Finals. The Titans turned in the top time of the day at 4:05.62 ahead of Pleasant Plains (4:05.89) and Lena-Winslow (4:06.02) with the third best time in Class 1A. The anticipation for an exciting title will be high with these three teams in contention for the top three spots on the podium on Saturday.

.::. More IHSA state track photos and stories .::.

Tagged: IHSA track & field, state track, IHSA girls state track meet 2025, 2025 state qualifier, High School Sports, State track qualifier, El Paso-Gridley sports, Girls Sports, EPG Titans

Tuscola's Clodfelder leaps into Class 1A finals at state track

Tuscola's Kenna Clodfelder long jumps in the Class 1A prelims at state — **CHARLESTON** - Tuscola's Kenna Clodfelder sails down the runway during the preliminary round at Thursday's IHSA Girls Track & Field State Finals. The senior advanced to Saturday's championship competition with her best leap of 16' 10", four inches longer than her previous PR of 16' 6" from her sectional performance last week.

.::. More IHSA state track photos and stories .::.

Tagged: IHSA track & field, state track, IHSA girls state track meet 2025, 2025 state qualifier, High School Sports, Tuscola High School, Tuscola Athletics, Tuscola Warriors, Long Jump, State track qualifier

Valmeyer senior takes her shot at a state title

Valmeyer senior Ava McClellan competing in the state long jump — **CHARLESTON** - Ava McClellan jumps 15' 11" on her second attempt during the Class 1A Long Jump at the IHSA Girls Track & Field Finals on Thursday. The Valmeyer senior finished third her flight with her best of three jumps at 16' 07.25".

.::. More IHSA state track photos and stories .::.

Tagged: IHSA track & field, state track, IHSA girls state track meet 2025, 2025 state qualifier, High School Sports, Valmyer High School, Long Jump, State track qualifier

Commentary |
Six ways Trump's budget will damage rural Americans' way of life

Republicans in Congress are jamming through a sweeping bill to fund handouts to the rich - at the cost of jobs, health care, and food in rural America.

by Michael Chameides
OtherWords

Right now, Congress is working on a giant, fast-track bill that would make historic cuts to basic needs programs to finance another round of tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations.

As the Communications and Policy Director for the Rural Democracy Initiative, I’ve been hearing from rural leaders across the country about the devastating impacts this bill would have.

The good news is it’s not too late. But there’s little time to spare.

This dangerous, unpopular bill would increase costs for rural working families by thousands of dollars per year, leaving millions hungry and without health care — all to provide tax breaks and handouts to the wealthy and special interests.

Here are just six of the worst provisions.

1. It guts rural healthcare.

The bill would drastically cut Medicaid and impose new barriers to care. It would take healthcare away from 13.8 million Americans and increase the cost for millions more. In some states, 50 percent of rural children get healthcare from Medicaid. Millions more rely on access to clinics and hospitals that would likely close because of these cuts.

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2. It takes food off the tables of rural people.

The plan includes approximately $290-$319 billion in cuts to SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps) even as the cost of groceries continues to escalate. More than 15 percent of families in small towns and rural areas rely on this support to feed their families.

3. It shifts costs to states and local governments.

State and local governments in rural areas depend more on federal funding from programs like SNAP and Medicaid than other states. Slashing federal funding to states would create new burdens for rural states that are already struggling to provide critical public services like health care, transportation, and emergency response services to local communities.

4. It takes away local control.

Landowners have fought to stop the use of eminent domain for carbon pipelines by passing bans and moratoria, as well as enacting county setbacks and safety requirements to protect their communities.

But this bill would overrule state and local laws and ordinances, override local voices, and deprive residents of a fair opportunity to evaluate the adverse impacts of pipelines. It also sets up a “pay to play” system under which companies can simply pay for pipeline, mining, and drilling permits — and avoid public comment and legal challenges.

5. It ends clean energy and infrastructure funding.

The bill would phase out existing tax credits for wind, solar, batteries, geothermal, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing. It would also take away $262 million in funding for energy efficiency and conservation grants as well as transportation infrastructure.

Ending these tax credits will increase household energy costs, which are already higher in many rural communities. These changes would also reduce new clean energy projects — and jeopardize billions in rural investments in clean energy manufacturing.

6. It gives handouts to agribusiness and mega farms.

Leaders in Congress are using the budget reconciliation process to give big farms a $50 billion windfall. Add the heightened pressures and instability caused by the Trump administration’s erratic trade policy and more family farmers would lose their farms — while Big Ag consolidates more of the market.

In short, this bill would make it harder for rural people to meet their basic needs — all so the wealthy and corporations can avoid paying their fair share of taxes like the rest of us do.

Lawmakers have already heard from the giant corporations who helped write the bill. Now, they need to hear from the rest of us. It’s up to us to alert our communities and tell our lawmakers: Don’t sell rural America out to big corporations and the wealthy.

Michael Chameides is the Communications and Policy Director for the Rural Democracy Initiative. A longer version of this op-ed was originally published by Barn Raiser. This version was distributed for syndication by OtherWords.org.