Good morning, Champaign.

The Champaign Fire Department will celebrate National Fire Prevention Week by hosting two open houses where visitors can tour fire stations and learn safe charging for lithium-ion devices — one event is Sunday, Oct.

4 at Station 6 and the other is Saturday, Oct. 10 at Station 5.

Champaign is set to sponsor the 16th annual CU Pride Fest from Oct.

11 to Oct. 17 as presented by Uniting Pride — the City will join the Pride Fest Parade in Downtown Urbana on Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. for a free fair featuring local businesses and community events.

Central Illinois farmers expect slightly lower corn yields in 2026 due to heavy rains and summer heat.

University of Illinois Extension expert Reagan Tibbs said early planting helped but later weather — persistent rain and heat — lowered the yield potential.

Kaiyu Guan and Liangfang Zhang — a professor of sustainability and a chemical engineer respectively — were named MacArthur Fellows to receive $800,000 each from the MacArthur Foundation.

Two University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers received nearly $1.6 million from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research to study fertilizer performance under Midwestern growing conditions.

The four-year project will examine nitrogen and phosphorus management, crop response and nutrient runoff on campus to guide farming practices.

The City of Champaign will run its Fall Yard Waste Collection program from Oct.

26 to Dec. 11 — offering three scheduled pickup days for all residences, with Orange Zone pickups beginning Oct. 26 and Blue Zone pickups starting Nov. 2. Residents must place bagged leaves or bundled branches at the curb by 6 a.m. on their scheduled day.

Illinois American Water Company and Shaw Brothers closed the eastbound lane of Green Street between Westlawn Avenue and Draper Avenue Tuesday, Sept.

29 for pavement patching; traffic is detoured and the lane will reopen Friday, Oct. 2 (weather permitting).

University of Illinois students donated blood Tuesday at the Union Building as part of the Big Ten Blood Drive competition that awards $1 million—donors including students, alumni and fans helped ease a nationwide shortage.

The drive, led by Abbott, continues through December.

On September 26, the Champaign County Community Coalition Race Relations Subcommittee hosted the 4th Annual Black Mental Health and Wellness Conference at Parkland College, featuring eight sessions that offered education, resources, and culturally responsive support for mental health in the Black community.