A major redesign is planned for the town square in Benton Illinois to improve safety for drivers and pedestrians. Illinois Department of Transportation officials say the outdated traffic circle will be replaced with a modern roundabout featuring clearer signage and marked crosswalks. Franklin County Sheriff Kyle Bacon says the changes are needed to better protect pedestrians, while IDOT District 9 engineer Ben Wills says the project will also reduce driver confusion. Construction is expected to begin in late September and take about five weeks.
Ed Histed
Ed launched his radio career in 1975 and has spent more than five decades in the broadcasting industry. During that time, he has served in a wide range of roles including Air Personality, News Director, Sales Manager, Operations Manager, and General Manager at numerous radio stations in various markets across the country. Beyond on-air and management responsibilities, Ed has also worked extensively on the technical side of broadcasting. His background includes RF engineering and information technology, with particular experience configuring digital automation systems and remote voice-tracking platforms used by stations across the country. Ed was also among a select group of industry professionals invited by Google to its California headquarters following the company’s acquisition of Scott Studios. He was one of just 12 broadcasters nationwide chosen to participate in discussions and provide input during the design and rollout of Google’s digital broadcast automation platform. Although the majority of Ed’s career—spanning roughly four decades—was rooted in music radio, he transitioned into news and information programming in 2012. He says the move into spoken-word broadcasting was a natural evolution after decades of experience in multiple areas of the industry.