Peter Medlin
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Articles by Peter Medlin
For lots of kids, free school lunch is no longer on the menu. It's one of many strains on cafeterias
The story was first published by Harvest Public Media. School districts across the U.S. are facing a financial squeeze. Food costs have jumped about 30% since 2020, including a 3.4% increase in August compared to a year ago. Some products like beef, eggs, and flour have risen even more. Ryan Mikolaycik is in charge of feeding 66,000 kids as the executive director of food service at the Austin Independent School District in Texas.
Free school lunch is no longer on the menu for many kids. It's one of many strains on cafeterias
A student in the Austin Independent School District in Texas adds lettuce to their tray. Districts around the central U.S. are coping with higher food and labor costs, while the number of students automatically enrolled in free lunch is shrinking. | Courtesy of Austin Independent School District School districts across the U.S. are facing a financial squeeze. Food costs have jumped about 30% since 2020, including a 3.4% increase in August compared to a year ago.
Free school lunch is no longer on the menu for many kids. It’s one of many strains on cafeterias
Over 55,000 schools in the U.S. provide free meals to all of their students through a federal program called the Community Eligibility Provision or CEP. Schools qualify if more than 25% of their students use federal food aid programs like SNAP. The higher the percentage, the more schools are reimbursed by the federal government. Schools receive the maximum reimbursement rate if over 62.5% of their students are eligible. Yet over 5 million Americans have lost SNAP benefits since last year.
Free school lunch is no longer on the menu for many kids. It's one of many strains on cafeterias
School districts across the U.S. are facing a financial squeeze. Food costs have jumped about 30% since 2020, including a 3.4% increase in August compared to a year ago. Some products like beef, eggs and flour have risen even more. Ryan Mikolaycik is in charge of feeding 66,000 kids as the executive director of food service at the Austin Independent School District in Texas. “A fruit or a vegetable was about 25 cents a serving; now you're looking at more like 40-50 cents per serving,” he said.
Free school lunch is no longer on the menu for many kids. It's one of many strains on cafeterias
Technology 1 hour ago Math's 'romantic era' is over, UCLA prodigy says Business Insider - Truman Dickerson • 1h AI is upending mathematics. For one top professor, the issue is just as spiritual as it is practical. Terence Tao, a renowned professor at UCLA, said in a recent podcast appearance that the "romantic era" of math is over, thanks to AI tools capable of solving hundreds of problems with some simple … Nuclear Waste 1 hour ago State officials offered to store nuclear waste.
Free school lunch is no longer on the menu for many kids. It's one of many strains on cafeterias
School districts across the U.S. are facing a financial squeeze. Food costs have jumped about 30% since 2020, including a 3.4% increase in August compared to a year ago. Some products like beef, eggs and flour have risen even more. Ryan Mikolaycik is in charge of feeding 66,000 kids as the executive director of food service at the Austin Independent School District in Texas. “A fruit or a vegetable was about 25 cents a serving; now you're looking at more like 40-50 cents per serving,” he said.
Why transportation is getting so much more expensive for Illinois schools
The Freeport School District eliminated one of their bus routes this year. The district's transportation director Dallas Pieper says it used to take around 60 kids to school every day. "It was due to the budget," she said, "We just couldn't afford it." Freeport's transportation budget has been cut nearly 40% over the past two years. At the same time, costs keep going up, so something had to give.
Elgin Community College club supports undocumented students, as court blocks in-state tuition and financial aid Original
Sandra Perez says it felt like her world stopped when she heard the news. She’s not undocumented, but her mom is, and a couple of friends are; friends who now have to rethink their college plans. “It was just genuinely like they couldn't stop thinking about what they could do next in order to continue," she said.
This Rockford middle school disciplines Black students more than any school in Illinois
Schools in Illinois discipline Black students at much higher rates than white students. A Rockford middle school is an outlier. It hands out the most discipline violations per Black student of any school in the state. WNIJ's Peter Medlin has the story in part one of a three-part, statewide series on Black student discipline disparities.
This Rockford middle school disciplines Black students more than any school in Illinois
Schools in Illinois discipline Black students at much higher rates than white students. A Rockford middle school is an outlier. It hands out the most discipline violations per Black student of any school in the state. WNIJ's Peter Medlin has the story in part one of a three-part, statewide series on Black student discipline disparities.
KIDS COUNT data ranks Illinois 7th in the nation in education
The latest edition of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's KIDS COUNT data book ranked Illinois seventh in the nation . It was Illinois’ best-ever education position in the annual report. Loukisha Pennix is with the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, which is partnering with the foundation in Illinois.
A Naperville student is leading legislation to close CPR gender gaps
The Illinois legislative session ends at the end of the month. One bill that worked its way through the Statehouse was created by a Naperville high school student. Ashlynn Goldstein is a senior at Naperville Central High School. She’s going to school for nursing next year and has done a lot of CPR training from Girl Scouts to a CNA course last summer. And last year, she had a realization.
Thousands rally across northern Illinois in 'No Kings' protests Original
There were more “No Kings” protests against the Trump administration this weekend. 1 of 3 — Image (2).jpg Peter Medlin / WNIJ 2 of 3 — Image (3).jpg Peter Medlin / WNIJ 3 of 3 — Image.jpg Peter Medlin / WNIJ In Rockford, several hundred crowded into Rockford City Market, holding up signs decrying everything from the war in Iran and ICE to the Epstein files. Payton Skupien is from Roscoe.
Chemical exposure involving employees reported at Byron Nuclear Plant
The Ogle County Sheriff’s Office says the public is not in danger after a chemical exposure involving employees working during the outage at the Constellation Generating Station located at 4405 N. German Church Rd in Byron, Illinois. According to a release from the Sheriff's Office, multiple ambulances responded to the scene and transported several employees to local hospitals for evaluation and treatment. The injuries are believed to be minor.
Illinois State Senator Karina Villa on the new 'Safe Schools for All' immigration law
The “Safe Schools for All Act” is one of many new Illinois laws that went into effect on January 1, 2026. Democratic State Senator Karina Villa sponsored the legislation. WNIJ’s education reporter Peter Medlin talked with her about what the new law does. Peter Medlin (PM): This new law is meant to ensure kids aren't denied a free public education based on immigration status. How exactly does the law try to do that?
Good gourd! These giant pumpkins weigh as much as a car
Joe Adkins calls his home “The Pumpkin House.” His front door and shutters are painted orange. The dining room walls are adorned with ornate pumpkin paintings. But the backyard garden behind his suburban Chicago home is where The Pumpkin House really earns its name. Towering over a blanket of vines are several massive orange gourds, as big as a small car. “I grow the ones that are under a pound all the way up to hopefully a couple thousand pounds,” he said.
Good gourd! These Midwesterners are raising giant pumpkins that weigh as much as a car
Joe Adkins calls his home "The Pumpkin House." His front door and shutters are painted orange. The dining room walls are adorned with ornate pumpkin paintings. But the backyard garden behind his suburban Chicago home is where The Pumpkin House really earns its name. Towering over a blanket of vines are several massive orange gourds, as big as a small car. "I grow the ones that are under a pound all the way up to hopefully a couple thousand pounds," he said.
Good gourd! These Midwesterners are raising giant pumpkins that weigh as much as a car
His patch is outside; you won’t find any climate controls. But something’s clearly working — he did set the world record, after all. It helps that Gienger’s in Minnesota, where the climate, sunshine and humidity are ideal for growing pumpkins. But even with his experience and know-how, growing outside brings a host of unpredictable factors, particularly the weather. An unseasonably warm spell or early frost can spell disaster for pumpkins.
Good gourd! These Midwesterners are raising giant pumpkins that weigh as much as a car Original
Joe Adkins calls his home "The Pumpkin House." His front door and shutters are painted orange. The dining room walls are adorned with ornate pumpkin paintings. But the backyard garden behind his suburban Chicago home is where The Pumpkin House really earns its name. Towering over a blanket of vines are several massive orange gourds, as big as a small car. "I grow the ones that are under a pound all the way up to hopefully a couple thousand pounds," he said.
Northern Illinois University enrollment up 4% from last year, with a big jump in new freshmen
Fall enrollment at Northern Illinois University is up 4.3% from last year. Total enrollment at the university is now just over 16,000 students. New freshmen were the biggest source of growth with a 22% increase from last fall. The university says this year's is one of the largest freshmen classes in a decade. Re-enrollment — keeping students already enrolled — is another major factor.
More tribal nations are getting their land back
Home Radio Here & Now More tribal nations are getting their land back August 05, 2025 Peter Medlin, Harvest Public Media In 1829, the U.S. government promised the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation about 1,280 acres of Illinois reservation. It instead illegally sold it all to white settlers. In a recent reversal, the Prairie Band got some of their ancestral home back. Harvest Public Media's Peter Medlin reports. This segment airs on August 5, 2025. Audio will be available after the broadcast.
The US sold this tribe's land illegally. It's now the latest Native group to get its home back.
There are more than 500 miles between the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation's tribal reservation in northeastern Kansas and 1,500 acres of mostly prairie in northern Illinois. So, Raphael Wahwassuck has come far to visit the site of a long-gone cabin there. Except it's not an unfamiliar place to him and his kin. Wahwassuck is a member of the Prairie Band's tribal council and a direct descendant of Chief Shab-eh-nay, for whom the state park is named after.
As Illinois lawmakers weigh artificial intelligence rules for schools, here's how Rockford teachers are using AI
Now Trump warns America’s businesses: Eat my tariffs, or pay the price CNN — President Donald Trump is sending a stern warning to Corporate America: He will use his bully pulpit to publicly shame companies that dare to raise prices because of tariffs.
The Art of School Counseling | Teachers' Lounge Podcast
Now Steve Jobs Said Perseverance Separates Doers From Dreamers. New Research Shows How to Persist According to the Apple co-founder, perseverance matters most. Fortunately, there’s a simple way to develop greater resilience. Steve Jobs often talked about how belief can motivate and inspire. Jobs often talked about how important it was to be willing to ask for help.
State Week: Education under Trump
President Donald Trump signed an executive order this week that could gut the U.S. Department of Education. While some applauded the move as returning more power to local residents, others have raised concerns about the impact on programs to help special education along with low-income and rural schools. Trump has also taken aim at higher education through scrutiny of DEI and other programs. It has put college and university administrators in a predicament.
New Illinois law mandates all school staff be trained how to identify and support homeless students
Share A new Illinois law mandates all school staff receive training on how to identify and support homeless students. Jimmy Pawola is a homeless liaison with the Kane County Regional Office of Education . He conducts a lot of these trainings already with administrators and truancy workers who do home visits. But this new law solidifies that everyone in a school needs to know the warning signs of housing insecurity.
More young people are getting into farming and agriculture
The average age of farmers in the U.S. is nearly 60, but there's also an increasing number of young people becoming farmers or showing interest in agriculture.
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