Steve Vogel's Clippings

It was 50 years ago tonight a tornado struck DeWitt County, Ill., killing four people and causing extensive damage.  It was also 50 years ago tonight I “cut my eye teeth” as a journalist. As a college student (I was still a couple weeks away from … [Read more...] about Fifty years ago tonight

As we approach Memorial Day, I offer a column I wrote three years ago about a remarkable family of patriots who came from my hometown.  I'm sorry to report that Norbert "Nubs" Petri, quoted in this 2015 column, died in February of 2018.  And sadly, … [Read more...] about Worth remembering

I’ve finished reading former U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper’s book, “Facts and Fears,” just as President Trump is about to hold his first bilateral summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. I picked up this thick and … [Read more...] about The Clapper book

I had a close encounter with Art Bell, the radio host who kept much of America up well into the night for a lot of years.  Art died yesterday at the age of 72. In 2008, my wife Mary and I had the honor of sitting next to Art at a black tie dinner … [Read more...] about RIP Art Bell. Steve remembers him…

In 2017 I wrote a column in The Pantagraph remembering a Martin Luther King Jr. speech at my alma mater... Read the column at:  King speech of 51 years ago echoes at IWU … [Read more...] about Steve remembers MLK speech given at alma mater Illinois Wesleyan