Join Environmental Almanac’s Rob Kanter on very special bus trip to Starved Rock on Saturday, May 18. 

The environmental advocacy group Prairie Rivers Network holds its annual dinner Friday night at the I-Hotel in Champaign.

Each year thousands of families boat down the Middle Fork branch of the Illinois Vermilion River below an embankment that holds back 3.3 million cubic yards of toxic coal ash sludge stored in three large ponds. Coal ash pollution is leaching into the river, and the riverbank is eroding under the ponds. We examine what's a stake in this investigative report.

This year marks a milestone for the Prairie Rivers Network. The environmental advocacy group is celebrating its 50-year anniversary this year. And they’re marking the occasion with their 50th Anniversary Dinner Gala Friday night at the I-Hotel and Conference Center in Champaign.