Bison used to be a familiar part of the prairie landscape. But today, North America has only about 350,000 bison, mostly on private land.
A 30 year experimentfound the animals can help insect and plant populations and, possibly, make the prairie more resilient to climate change.
Also this week:
* Peter Medlin reports more school are using software to monitor students when they're online.
* Maureen McKinney speaks with U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth on her efforts to have the site of the 1908 Springfield Race Riot a national monument.
* Yvonne Boose tells us about a northern Illinois city's celebrations of Martin Luther King Jr. Day to reach youth in the community.
![Rep. Nabeela Syed](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/940b64e/2147483647/strip/true/resize/880x^/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fec%2F46%2F234778c848e98e7602d15f4e5302%2Fsyed.jpg)
Chicago Sun-Times
* We recap Gov. JB Pritzker's comments at his inauguration ceremony.
![Murder victim Carol Rofstad photo](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b060087/2147483647/strip/true/resize/880x^/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F63%2F39%2F0728200f41dba83ba564627405cb%2Frofstad.jpg)
'Who Killed Carol Rofstad' Facebook Group