165 Miles for USO of Illinois

Hit-Mix 88.9 is proud to call Brian Andries one of its own, especially in light of his most recent philanthropic efforts! Andries walked 165 miles from Oswego to Charleston in an effort to raise money for USO of Illinois.

Brian was recently featured in Eastern Illinois University's EIU360 online magazine, and the story includes an on-air interview with our own Rob Calhoun! Make sure you check it out!

Nature & Science Programming

For the viewer who always needs to know more about the world around us, we bring you Nature and NOVA each Tuesday evening.

Tuesday, May 21

Nature: The Private Life of Deer, 8 p.m. - From our kitchen windows we spot them, nibbling away at our gardens and shrubs. They wander along our highways, reminders of the wilderness we have paved our way through. From coast to coast some 30 million white-tailed deer make their home in the United States. But once they retreat from our view, where do they go? What secrets do they carry back into the forest, away from our prying eyes?

Deer are among the most highly-studied mammals in the world; but does any typical homeowner with deer in the yard know how long a deer can live? When they sleep? How many babies a doe can have each year? Working with scientists, special camera equipment, and deer experts and devotees of every kind, NATURE reveals the hidden world of white-tailed deer in a whole new light.

NOVA: Venom - Nature's Killer, 9 p.m. - Venom scientists are in a race against time. Inside the bodies of many creatures, evolution has produced extreme toxic cocktails, all designed for one reason: to kill. It took millions of years to perfect these ultimate brews of proteins and peptides and we have only just begun to discover their potential. Now, the race is on to collect and study them before the animals that produce them disappear.

But how does venom do its deadly work? NOVA reveals how venom causes the body to shut down, arteries to bleed uncontrollably and limbs to go black and die. But nature's most destructive and extreme poisons could contain the building blocks for a new generation of advanced drugs that could treat heart attack, stroke, diabetes, obesity and cancer. VENOM follows scientists on their expeditions to track down and capture the planet's most deadly creatures, risking life and limb just to tease out milligrams of venom and get it back to the lab. Find out how nature's deadliest cocktails could be medicine's brightest new hope.

My WEIU Story - Zach Nugent

My name is Zach Nugent and I co-anchor Black Hills FOX News at 9 weeknights in Rapid City, South Dakota. I first became interested in journalism as a freshman at Eastern Illinois University. An academic adviser encouraged me to take a news writing class as an elective, and I fell in love with the field of journalism.

Shortly into my freshman year, I began volunteering at WEIU and continued for nearly five years as I completed my undergraduate and graduate coursework. I can honestly say I learned more from the hands-on experience I received at WEIU than in any single class I took. Starting behind the cameras, I had a chance to work from the bottom up and get a true feel for every position in a working newsroom. From operating a camera and teleprompter, to live reporting and anchoring, WEIU gave me the opportunity to explore and find my niche.

Upon graduating, I applied to stations across the country and pursued an opportunity as a weekend anchor and producer/weekday reporter in South Dakota, and within 18 months I was promoted to weeknight co-anchor. Everyday I still think of the lessons and values I learned through my time at WEIU. Whether out in the field reporting, behind the desk anchoring or picking up any odd production jobs around my current station, I am able to do it with the confidence and drive that was instilled in my by the staff at WEIU.

We've got graduation covered!

In case you couldn't attend EIU's spring commencement ceremonies and missed our live stream of the events, DVD copies are available in our online store to help you preserve these once-in-a-lifetime memories forever!

• Buy Your Graduation DVD Online

Pioneers of Television

This episode traces one of broadcasting's strongest genres - from its beginnings in radio through its heyday in the late 60s. Bob Barker talks about his earliest work and Merv Griffin details his creation of "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy." Monty Hall recounts his compelling rags-to-riches story and Betty White remembers her role as the first female emcee. Clips for this episode are wide-ranging and include Phyllis Diller's very first TV appearance - as a painfully shy contestant on Groucho Marx's "You Bet Your Life."

Dale von Behrens - Mattoon, IL

"For children’s education, you're tops! A family in this area that has children should definitely be a member of WEIU."

WEIU membership is important to Dale, and you can also be a proud member!

Jessie Meyer - Wood Dale, IL

"My organization is a music service fraternity, so of course we want to support music. That organization, Kappa Kappa Psi, holds a membership here with Hit-Mix."

WEIU membership is important to Jessie, and you can also be a proud member!

Jana Johnson - Membership Manager

When Did You Start at WEIU? August 2006

What Does WEIU Mean to You? Local and national family-friendly radio and television.

Favorite Show on WEIU-TV: Hands down ... Heartland Highways! From the first time I watched, I was hooked; it takes me places in Illinois that I never knew existed. FYI: The hosts of HH (Lori Casey and Kate Pleasant) are as nice in person as they are on the show!

What have you learned while working at WEIU? That local is so important! WEIU has the opportunity to inform and involve the people who live in and around Central Illinois. The staff at WEIU take our jobs very seriously and we believe in communication with our viewers.

Why should someone become a member of WEIU? This is an easy question. If you value family friendly television and radio, then you should be honored to support your local television station. Where else can you have such amazing programming? Turn to WEIU-TV to enjoy educational children's programming, travel around the world and discover music, dance, food and entertainment. In addition to that, tune in to stay informed on what's going on around our community with a LIVE news broadcast Monday-Friday at 5:30 p.m., and watch our local programs such as Heartland Highways, The Paw Report, Four Rivers Ag Report, Being Well, @ Issue, and Hobbies, Crafts and Collectibles. The WEIU radio station is Hit-Mix 88.9. Most days there is LIVE on-air talent from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. Hit-Mix plays the widest variety of the biggest and best artists, and they play a little bit of country as well!

Is WEIU as important to you as it is to Jana? Become a member today!