Increases in charity care and bad debt plagued two Rockford hospitals in 2008, and the third hailed a change in an insurance company’s practices as the reason it had an easier time collecting unpaid medical bills.

Ronnie Brust’s vision for a self-sufficient desert camp includes a kitchen, a living room and a giant projector screen hanging between scaffolding towers. At the center of the camp will be a 32-foot geodesic dome, the frame of which Brust spent Wednesday building in his mother’s yard at Sixth and Miller streets. He will transport the structure to Burning Man, the annual arts festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, later this summer.

When first lady Michelle Obama broke ground in April for an organic fruit and vegetable garden on the White House’s south lawn, she did more than help plant lettuce and beans. She inspired others to do the same.

The first time Dave Alvin performed with the Guilty Women, last year at a bluegrass festival in San Francisco, the musicians did not rehearse until an hour before they went on stage. But with this particular group of pros, Alvin didn’t have any fears.

I laughed at some of the gags in Mel Brooks' "The Producers," but I also felt uncomfortable with many of the portrayals. I wrote this in my notebook: “Gay minstrel show.”

The village of New Salem and its role in the making of the 16th president are the subject of “Forever This Land,” which opens Friday at Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site. Organizers say this Theatre in the Park production is the first revival of the play since its original two-summer run in 1951 and 1952.

Mike Mrock didn't buy three $100 St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway raffle tickets because he hoped he would win a new house. What would a single, 20-year-old history major who earns spending money delivering Gino's East deep dish pizzas and lives with his parents in suburban Chicago do with a 2,500-square-foot McMansion with a flip-the-switch gas fireplace, three-car garage and four bedrooms upstairs?

The Gates family of Flint, Mich., has countless memories from Cornerstone Music Festival, as they've attended several times over the past decade. But they always get a laugh when telling of the time cows nearly trampled their tent. The Gates family was among thousands who turned out for a weekend of music and Christian camaraderie at the 26th annual Cornerstone Music Festival, which kicked off Monday. Organizers expect between 15,000 to 17,000 to show up through Saturday.

If you’re traveling during the July 4 weekend, chances are you’ll find a lot of bargains. Most travel costs are down from a year ago, some significantly.

The nation’s farmers planted the second-largest corn acreage in more than 60 years this spring and set a record for soybean acreage, based on a federal report that took both forecasters and commodity markets by surprise on Tuesday.

The two rock walls tower 40 feet above the forest floor, daring those in the small clearing below to leave the ground and climb. But the climbers aren't on their own, and that's the point. The course is the new High Elements rope course at Camp Kearney, a free summer camp for disadvantaged kids.

"IDK. My BFF Jill?" may have made for a cute Cingular/AT&T commercial. But in the business world, it leaves some employers wondering if you’re right for the job. In an economy where finding a job is tough, teens may be hurting their chances of getting hired this summer even more by using “text speak” on employment applications.

Along with a range of heavy-duty machines, Caterpillar Inc. also has been busy rolling out a line of simulators that allow one to experience what it's like to operate a motor grader or excavator. The Morton company that's handling the building, marketing and distribution of these simulators is Simformotion, a division of CSE Software.

Beef isn't just what's for dinner. In Illinois, it's about jobs and business. The Washington, D.C.-based American Meat Institute recently released an economical impact study of the nation's meat and poultry industry, noting that the industry contributes $830 billion to the U.S. economy. The total economic output of Illinois' meat industry was third in the country.

Kristy Moore is a resident of Heyworth, just south of Bloomington, who travels the country spreading the word about ethanol - behind the scenes, that is. As director of technical services for the Washington, D.C.-based Renewable Fuels Association, Moore works to make sure ethanol meets exacting specifications as larger quantities of the renewable fuel reach out to new U.S. markets.