About
Local news, minus the scroll.
The BloNo Bagel is a free weekly email for both halves of the Twin Cities, Bloomington and Normal, plus the rest of McLean County. Every Thursday at 6:00 AM CT: where to eat, what to do this weekend, and what’s changing around town, in about three minutes.
Why a bagel?
Because it lands at breakfast time, and because “BloNo Bagel” is fun to say. Each section is named after part of the bagel. The Schmear is the big story, The Everything Topping is your weekend, and Local Bites is food news.
Two towns, one bagel
Bloomington We cover Downtown Bloomington and the courthouse square, the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, the east side along Veterans Parkway and IAA Drive, Eastland, Tipton Park, Illinois Wesleyan, and City Council decisions.
Normal We cover Uptown Normal and the Circle, Illinois State University, the Normal Theater and Connie Link Amphitheatre, the Children’s Discovery Museum, Main Street and College Avenue, and Town Council news.
Every item gets a town tag, so you can tell at a glance which town it’s in. Constitution Trail connects both, and so do we.
How we work
Every item in an issue links to a public source: city and town notices, venue calendars, and local reporting from outlets like WGLT and The Pantagraph. If we can’t verify it, it doesn’t run. We don’t publish rumors, crime blotters, or out-of-county politics.
Who’s behind it
The BloNo Bagel was started in 2026 for neighbors who want to support local spots but don’t have time to dig through forums and long articles.
The weekly recipe
- 0
The Hook
- 1
The Schmear
- 2
The Everything Topping
- 3
The Neighborhood Radar
- 4
The BloNo Pro Sheet
- 5
Local Bites