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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — 366 days, thousands of articles, and millions of clicks later: 2024 has wrapped up for us at WCIA.
2024 was filled with countless news stories of all sorts from rescued animals to protests on college campuses and courtroom trials to new government programs affecting the region. Before the New Year kicks off, WCIA wanted to share some of the most read stories we reported on from the past year.
Here are the most popular 10 articles according to our data.
Most read WCIA articles in 2024
| 1. Mahomet community remembers the Masons following triple homicide: Three members of a Mahomet family were shot and killed in December. The suspect later travelled to a Chicago suburb with weapons where he was killed by a police officer. A team of WCIA journalists including Danny Connolly, Heather Robinson, Bradley Zimmerman, and Amanda Brennan shared the latest details from law enforcement and the mourning of the community. |
| 2. Teenagers killed in Shelby Co. UTV crash identified: Three teenage girls died in Strasburg in July after their UTV collided with a grain hauler. WCIA’s Heather Robinson wrote about the accident and the support school officials offered to family, friends and classmates of the girls. |
| 3. Corn production could be causing cancer in Illinois, new study says: WCIA’s Jared Thomas spoke with a professor who published research on the link between pesticides often sprayed on corn and cancer in August. The professor warns that the damage may go beyond farming communities. |
| 4. Endangered species found in Sangamon River 120 years later after last sighting: Two conservation biologists with the found the Salamander mussel in the Sangamon River. The endangered species was last seen there in the 1900’s, according to WCIA’s Molly Sweeney. |
| 5. Several Hardee’s restaurants close across Central Illinois: In late January, multiple Hardee’s restaurants closed suddenly, including five in our viewing area. WCIA’s Danny Connolly and Ivan Porras talked to a spokesperson for the company who said the decision was not made lightly. |
| 6. New Illinois law impacts healthcare, begins in 2025: Hospital billing changes are coming to Illinois residents who live below the federal poverty guidelines at the start. WCIA’s Molly Sweeney penned how it will protect low-income Illinoisans. |
| 7. First responders remove victim from Champaign County grain bin: Grain bin rescue underway in Champaign County: One early July morning several groups of first responders co-operated to rescue a person trapped in a grain bin near Royal. WCIA’s Heather Robinson and Madison Chaney provided the latest details from the scene of the rescue. |
| 8. ‘I don’t know if he’s dead, gone, or in a ditch’: Champaign student with special needs found hours after getting on wrong bus: A Champaign mother recounted to WCIA’s Arriana Williams the stressful search for her five-year-old son with special needs after school officials put him on the wrong bus. |
| 9. Union Pacific ‘Big Boy’ coming to Central Illinois: One of the famous steam engines paid a visit to Central Illinois in September. WCIA’s Bradley Zimmerman shared opportunities for residents to view the historic train across the region. |
| 10. ‘What we walked into was something I had never experienced’: Nearly 120 cats rescued from Iroquois County apartment: More than 100 cats were rescued from a two-bedroom apartment in Danforth in April. WCIA’s Arriana Williams followed the shelter officials who had to herd dozens of cats to safety over two days. |
