by Cheri Burcham
Extension Educator
U of I Extension                    

Several of our family life educators including Emily Harmon have become certified in teaching Tai chi and have been offering classes. Emily has written this article to explain the benefits. She says: “Tai chi is the practice of slow, gentle movements while having a meditative state of mind and mindful breathing. This form of exercise has been found to be a safe exercise because of the slow, gentle movements. Tai chi was originally founded in China, but you can see it being done worldwide today.”

I’m sure I am like many of you who have seen tai chi being done by others, or maybe you have even done it yourself. It was honestly something I was never interested in for one reason or another. Last summer, a group of Extension Educators were trained in Tai Chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevention. This was completely out of my comfort zone but something I wanted to push myself to do. Going through the training, I learned that this isn’t a high-intensity exercise, like doing a set of high jumps. Just like the definition of tai chi says, it is a very mindful exercise that incorporates your whole mind, body, and soul. 

•April 2, 2025•

Lake Land College is offering a new, flexible program format for all Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration (HVAC-R) classes.

Under the new format, HVAC-R classes start every three to four weeks, allowing students to begin at nearly any time rather than having to wait for a new semester. All classes are held in the evening to accommodate students’ work schedules.

by Tammie Sloup
FarmWeek

Applications are open for a piece of $10 billion in economic assistance available through a new USDA program. The Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) provides payments to help farmers mitigate high input costs and low commodity prices from the 2024 crop year.

Authorized by the American Relief Act of 2025, payments are based on planted and prevented planted crop acres for eligible commodities. To streamline the process, Farm Service Agency (FSA) will begin sending pre-filled applications to farmers who submitted acreage reports to FSA for 2024 eligible ECAP commodities. However, farmers do not have to wait for their pre-filled ECAP application to apply and can visit fsa.usda.gov/ecap to apply using a login.gov account or contact their local FSA office to request an application.

Affordable dental care, referrals and patient education

•April 2, 2025•

by Kara Molzen

The Lake Land College Dental Hygiene Clinic provides preventative dental care to its surrounding communities while also offering its students a diverse range of patient treatments and experiences. With an emphasis on exceptional skill building while focused on patient education, the clinic also provides education and treatment on the prevention of a wide range of oral diseases and dental hygiene treatments. All patients also receive an exam by a dentist, and the clinic will provide referrals for ongoing care as needed, including providers with flexible payment plans and income-based therapy. Many Health Departments provide these referral dental care services.

2015

The Knights lost their third straight game against perennial contender Shelbyville. Ross Ryan pitched four innings of one run baseball before a three-run fifth inning, including a two-run homer, ended his day. Chris Davis finished off the game for the Knights but allowed four runs in the top of the sixth putting the game out of reach.

It may have been a blustery, cold evening in Windsor, but it only gave a reason for third baseman Kayla Wheeler to bust a few dance moves in between Amanda McClain’s solid seventh inning pitches.