This year’s wet, cool weather is expected to take its toll on the state’s corn and soybean production, although area farmers may fare slightly better. In the northern parts of Illinois, soybean production is expected to be up slightly. Corn, however, continues to vex farmers as long rainy periods, punctuated by days of warm sunshine, have kept farmers weeks behind on their harvests.

Pete Johnson was facing a tough year in 2010 at the pharmacy he owns in Wyoming, a store started by his father more than 80 years ago. He wasn't sure he'd be able to survive, in fact, considering as much as 25 percent of his business came from Caterpillar Inc. employees and retirees - business Caterpillar was poised to take from him in favor of agreements it reached with Wal-Mart and Walgreen's. Johnson's was one of several independent pharmacies in small towns not within a "reasonable distance" from a Wal-Mart or Walgreen's to be informed this week and last that they will stay in the Caterpillar network at least another year.

In the 12-month period ending in October, 11,377 people and entities declared bankruptcy in U.S. bankruptcy court in the district that includes Springfield, Danville and Peoria, according to statistics kept by the Bankruptcy Data Project at Harvard University. That’s 1,860 more filings than during the same time frame the previous year.

There are typically enough dishes that do not contain meat to satisfy most vegetarians at Thanksgiving. If you want to make a thoughtful gesture, however, for a vegetarian or vegan guest, we’ve compiled a list of some of the more popular, seasonal vegetarian entrées.

Although the turkey may be the main event for a Thanksgiving meal, the sides are what make it memorable. Traveling for family gatherings can pose some limitations in terms of what sides to prepare. Warm dishes get cold, cold dishes get warm and messy mishaps are caused by bumpy rides.

It may come as a surprise to some, but not all Thanksgiving turkeys come with a pop-up thermometer. The eastern wild turkey still has a place at the table – as it may have had during the first Thanksgiving celebration in 1621. One of the two written accounts of the first Thanksgiving includes a reference to wild turkeys in abundance around the Plymouth colony. Today, some hunters still insist on getting their turkey from the “great store” of wild turkeys in the Illinois woods instead of that other store with a freezer section.

In his 20 years of cutting hair beneath the big National City Bank building on the Old Capitol Plaza in downtown Springfield, Lonnie Wooden has seen his share of change thanks to the series of multibillion-dollar bank mergers happening above him.

John Ackerman has 33 acres of pumpkins that "look pretty healthy," but he may have to plow them under. Fields are so wet that machines can't harvest pumpkins that are being grown for Libby's, the nation's largest brand of canned pumpkin, said Ackerman. He is one of many area farmers under contract to grow pumpkins for the company, which cans pumpkin at its plant in Morton.

For many retirees, the sunny, sprawling communities in Florida and Arizona have appeal, but one Macomb couple is working to create a sustainable home nestled in the woods of McDonough County. Over the years, Paul and Sheila Nollen have taken several steps to lessen their environmental impact while making the most of what they call “Nollen Park.” These steps range from as simple as line drying laundry and using compact fluorescent lights to installing a geothermal heat pump and restoring an acre of prairie.

Galesburg native Kat Reed and her husband Tim were planning a quiet, courthouse wedding for Aug. 8, 2008, when her father died the day before, Aug. 7. Reed had stayed up all night with her father until he passed away around 4:30 a.m. To handle the logistics of her father’s death — the bills, the accounts and everything of the kind — she depended on an Excel document that she had created after her mother died one year before. The document became the cornerstone of her guidebook, “Begin Here: Helping Survivors Manage.”

Diabetic Christine Rutherford of Peoria listened to the advice that a piece of chicken for dinner be no larger than the size of her hand - that would be the palm only, mind you - and chuckled. Throughout the class of people who came to the University of Illinois Extension Peoria County Unit to learn how diabetics can cope with the holidays, there was plenty of giggling.  As the instructors demonstrated how to make several dishes, they shared tips for cooking and eating healthy all the time, but especially around the food-filled holidays.

Concerned about packing on the pounds this winter? No worries. Here are some helpful hints for staying fit - and safe - during the winter months. Frigid air can pose challenges for outdoor exercise lovers over the next few months, but winter is no reason to hibernate.

To keep unemployment checks coming each week, job seekers have to do two things: be able to work and actively look for it. When school comes into the picture, however, the equation can change. Although the law explicitly states full-time students are considered unavailable to work, there’s often enough flexibility in class scheduling to keep a job seeker both in the classroom and in the job hunt.

During the here and now of peak hunting season, no one wants to look ahead to next year and beyond. But between forays into the woods, there should be time to think about habitat management as a way to guarantee good harvests far into the future – either of timber or game.

About five years ago, Joerg and Wendee Theilemann bought a “cowboy-hat-style shoebox” full of personal mementos at a garage sale in their hometown of Vista, Calif. Now, they’re looking for the rightful heirs to the memorabilia, which dates back to as early as the 1920s.