Abigail Bottar

I cover agriculture and the environment for Illinois Public Media in Champaign, Illinois, and Harvest Public Media. I previously worked at Ideastream Public Media in Northeast Ohio. My reporting has appeared nationally and internationally, including on the BBC, NPR, MSNBC and Vox’s “Today Explained.”

My work has earned several awards, including a Press Club of Cleveland and Ohio Associated Press Media Editors award for my reporting on the East Palestine train derailment and a Gracie Award from the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation for my reporting on the grand jury decision in the police shooting death of Jayland Walker.

I started in public radio as a news intern at WKSU in Kent, Ohio. I graduated from Kent State University with a degree in political science. A Northeast Ohio native, I spent most of high school and college working at a greenhouse and selling produce at farmers markets. I am passionate about covering rural areas and issues important to the Midwest.

You can reach me at abottar@illinois.edu.