UIS partnering with Green Flower to provide online course for entry into marijuana industry
The following story was published by WMAY on Jan. 9, 2025.
"When Illinois legalized marijuana, a lot of new businesses popped up, and they had a lot of jobs to fill.
The University of Illinois-Springfield is trying to help fill them. The university partnered with the business Green Flower to offer an online course that would end with people getting a certificate that could be used on job applications.
The class is open to anyone – not just UIS students. However, it does not provide any official college credits."
Here's why two UIS Performing Arts Center venues will temporarily close in 2025
The story was reported by The State Journal-Register on Dec. 16, 2024.
"Two University of Illinois Springfield Performing Arts Center venues will be closing for more than a year starting in 2025.
The Sangamon Auditorium and the UIS Studio Theatre, housed within the University of Illinois Springfield’s Public Affairs Center, will be closing in June of 2025 for work to modernize the building's plumbing system.
The work is estimated to take a year and three months, and the Performing Arts Center plans to reopen in September 2026."
Amazon distribution center coming to Springfield
The story was published by WAND-TV on Dec. 10, 2024.
"Amazon is bringing a distribution center to Springfield near I-55, according to Ryan McCrady, President and CEO of Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance.
The distribution center is being built on the southeast corner of Bissell Road and North Dirksen Parkway.
The entrepreneurial spirit is alive in Springfield
The following column as written by Ben Hage, director of the University of Illinois Springfield’s business incubator, Innovate Springfield. It was published by the Illinois Times on Dec. 3, 2024.
"As the director of Innovate Springfield, the University of Illinois Springfield’s business incubator, I’m excited to share the momentum we’re building within our entrepreneurial community. Since joining iSPI in August last year, our team has worked to ignite Springfield’s startup scene with fresh, dynamic programming. Today, I’m proud to say we’re achieving that vision."