Kathy's #Mailbag, Aug. 28, 2026

This week’s Kathy’s Mailbag touches on tick-borne illness, radio broadcast schedules and local airport charging safety. Chris Stone, a medical entomologist with the Illinois Natural History Survey, says ticks and tick-borne diseases are still expanding across Illinois, with steady increases in reported cases and more submissions early in 2026. He notes different Lyme and Rocky Mountain spotted fever patterns vary by region, but the species that spread them are present in Champaign. The rumor about WDWS ending Fighting Illini volleyball and women’s basketball is addressed: most games will air over the air, with a small number potentially shifting to streaming-only during late-season conflicts. The column also mentions questions about Willard Airport phone-charging stations and “juice-jacking.”