Watch now: How this new Hudson trucking program plays key role in region’s economy | Local Education
A classroom cooperative between Heartland Community College and Nussbaum Transportation will lead to jobs for area residents. READ MORE HERE.
David Proeber
HUDSON — Starting this month, drivers in Central Illinois may start seeing a semi with a bright red tractor and muted blue trailer featuring a Nussbaum Trucking Academy logo. Inside will be four CDL students and their instructor, a Nussbaum Transportation employee.
The first class starts Oct. 11, said Jeremy Stickling, Nussbaum’s chief administrative officer, with the goal of preparing drivers to take their CDL tests and be safe semi drivers generally. Classes last four weeks, with the second one starting Nov. 15.
Classes are limited to four students right now, but at least seven people wanted to sign up for the first one, Stickling said. The equipment is there to expand if they want to in the future.
Jeremy Stickling, left, chief administrative officer for Nussbaum Transportation, and Cory Adams, senior instructional administrator, discuss the effects of trailer loads as they use a trucking simulator to train students at the business in Hudson on Wednesday.
“If the enrollment’s there, we could instantly scale up,” he said.
Before starting the academy, Nussbaum already had a finishing program for drivers who recently received a CDL and wanted to work for the company.
“You don’t just take someone with a fresh CDL, put them in a truck and say ‘Good luck,’” Stickling said.
Still, launching a full driving school would require things like more physical space, curriculum development and working through regulatory requirements. That’s where the company’s partnership with Heartland Community College comes in: Nussbaum will coordinate the instruction while the college will handle tuition, transcripts and other bureaucratic parts to having a school.
Heartland had already been offering a CDL course, but the four-week-long courses and small class sizes did not fit well with the college’s broader structure, board of trustee documents said.
Nussbaum drivers Jeff King and Jeff Jackson will be stepping up to teach at the new academy, and several other drivers have also expressed interest. The faculty will also include the current truck driving instructors from Heartland.
Standard semi trucks only come with two seats, though some, with what are called sleeper-lounge cabs, include seatbelts in back. Specialized cabs will let a student drive with an instructor in the front seat and other three students observing from the back.
Along with the physical trucks, students will be able to use a trucking simulator Nussbaum has been using for continuing training for drivers.
Jeremy Stickling, chief administrative officer for Nussbaum Transportation, on Wednesday examines the classroom built into the cab of a semi tractor that will be used to train students in cooperation with Heartland Community College.
Training has changed a lot since King started driving semis in the 1970s, he said. He came home from military service and had always enjoyed driving, so he got into trucking.
“Pretty much that’s all I’ve done since the ’70s,” he said.
King has worked in other CDL schools, but is self-taught himself, having grown up on a farm and learning to drive farm equipment. When he started in trucking, he was driving for mom-and-pop companies, where he took what he already knew from the farm and applied it to the highways.
Truck drivers are delivering the coronavirus vaccine, but they can’t get a shot.
The highways are one of the positive changes King has seen in his time driving. The infrastructure has improved a lot since the 1970s, he said, especially with the expansion of the interstate system. The equipment has also improved, he said: When he started, the trucks did not have air conditioning, GPS or even power steering.
Jeremy Stickling, chief administrative officer for Nussbaum Transportation, stands next to a semi-trailer tractor displaying the company’s cooperation with Heartland Community College.
Laws connected to driving have also changed a lot since the 1970s, King said. Back then, drivers could do almost anything they wanted in terms of hours and tracking logs. While it was hard to switch over to new systems like GPS tracking and automatic travel logs, the new regulations made the roads safer, he said.
New federal requirements called Enter-Level Driver Training take effect in February, requiring all new CDL holders to have gone through a training course. Under current regulations, drivers can simply take the written test and road test and if they pass, they can receive a CDL.
With those changes, it is valuable to have new truckers go through an established school, Jackson and King said.
Jackson came to the trucking industry around five years ago, changing careers after being a police officer in Pekin. He went through CDL school at the Professional Development Institute at Illinois Central College.
While Jackson is newer to trucking, he brings plenty of experience in training to the academy.
A semi-trailer tractor parked at Nussbaum Transportation on Wednesday displays the company’s cooperation with Heartland Community College.
“I like instructing, teaching. I was a master firearms instructor for the police department,” he said.
The Nussbaum Trucking Academy and other CDL programs provide an essential service to keep truckers and the drivers around them safe, Jackson said.
Heartland students on the road to filling truck driver gap
“Now it’s even more so with the new laws going into effect,” he said.
There are business advantages to having an in-house CDL school as well, Stickling admitted. He hopes that some students will decide to work for Nussbaum, and the company also benefits by knowing exactly what the new drivers have learned.
But the the community should benefit, too, he said: The school will be helping to provide trained drivers for other jobs that require CDLs in the area.
Nussbaum plans expansion to north Normal headquarters
“We’re not just looking to fill seats at Nussbuam,” King said.
The influx of qualified drivers should help the trucking industry as a whole, as it is facing a driver shortage, Stickling said. At Nussbaum, pay has gone up by around 15% since last year, and at 450 drivers, the company is still not where it wants to be in employment.
“I think we’re going to hit (our growth target), it’s been a challenge,” Stickling said.
Cory Adams, senior instructional administrator, “drives” a trucking simulator on Wednesday that is used to train students at the business in Hudson.
The trucking industry has also been affected by e-commerce during the pandemic. Long-haul jobs are down, while final-mile jobs from distribution centers to front porches are up, Stickling said. Nussbaum and other long-haul trucking companies are also facing uncertainty due to pandemic-related shutdowns on the supply chain, he said.
Retention has long been a problem for the trucking industry, as well. Drivers may think the job will suit them, Stickling said, until they have to explain to a spouse that they will not be home because their truck broke down, or will not be able to help their children through discipline problems at school.
“It fits some people really well, and others it doesn’t fit,” Stickling said.
One of the goals of the new academy is to help students make that realization earlier in their career, which is better for them and their future employers.
“It’s not a job, it’s a lifestyle,” King said.
69 photos of Bloomington-Normal landmarks under construction
NORMAL CONSTRUCTION
FILE PHOTO: Normal downtown improvement project. 8-8-80 (Pantagraph/CARLOS T. MIRANDA)
NORMAL STREET 3
FILE PHOTO: North and Beaufort Streets in Normal 9-8-81 (Pantagraph/CARLOS T. MIRANDA)
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downtown Normal Construction of the Children’s Discovery Museum in right foreground
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Construction projects in Uptown Normal, such as the Medici’s Restaurant being built next to the Solid Gold Jewelers business at the corner of North and Broadway. Wednesday March 21, 2007 Pantagraph/STEVE SMEDLEY
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The uptown Normal roundabout and downtown area seen from the roof of the Children’s Discovery Museum on Thursday March 11, 2010. (The Pantagraph/STEVE SMEDLEY)
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The uptown Normal roundabout, far left, and business’s along Beaufort Street, looking east from the roof of the Children’s Discovery Museum. The Pantagraph/STEVE SMEDLEY
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The uptown Normal roundabout, looking North along Beaufort Street, shows the new Constitution Boulevard that will run North from the roundabout and connect with College Avenue. The Pantagraph/STEVE SMEDLEY
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The new roundabout being constructed in Uptown Normal is shown Tuesday from the roof of the Childrens Discovery Museum. The roundabout will route traffic between North and Beaufort Streets and the new Constitution Boulevard and will include a water feature. The Pantagraph/STEVE SMEDLEY
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Flemley Dickerson employees John Wilson, Matt Gerig and Cody Coile work on the second level of Medici’s Restaurant in Normal Wednesday, January 31, 2007.
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Owners of Medici’s Restaurant hope to cut down this tree behind the restaurant and move into the courtyard in Normal.
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Josh Behr ofBehr Design Studio in Chicago and Louisville, Ky, talks with Pat Estes, right, of Felmley Dickerson about the angle of the 4 ton mulberry tree placed inside Medici restaurant Thursday morning. (Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK) (March, 15, 2007)
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Artist Dan Nardi shows a model of the structure which will surround the tree to allow diners sit at the base of the 4 ton mulberry tree placed inside Medici restaurant Thursday morning. (Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK) (March, 15, 2007)
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Paul Stegmaier of Bloomington working for JJ Braker and Sons of Morton works with the bricklayers on the front second floor patio at Medici’s Restaurant Monday afternoon. (Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK) July, 3, 2007)
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Medici’s hosts a large lunchtime crowd in uptown Normal Thursday afternoon. (The Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK) (February 14, 2007)
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Medici’s restaurant, which opens in mid January, adds another dining establishment to uptown Normal. (Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK) (January 10, 2008)
Medici, Nov. 1, 2007
The 250-seat restaurant Medici plans to open later this year. New and older business continue to weather the construction of uptown Normal.
Cardinal Court
Workers prepare flashing while completing exterior projects at Cardinal Court, Wednesday, February 8, 2012, at Illinois State University. (The Pantagraph, David Proeber)
Illinois State University campus
The Cardinal Court apartments on the Illinois State University campus in Normal were under construction in this Feb. 8, 2012, photo.
Cardinal Court
The community building at Cardinal Court has a large, sweeping open space that will be equiped with exercise equipment, Wednesday, February 8, 2012, at Illinois State University. (The Pantagraph, David Proeber)
Cardinal Court Dedication
University officials, contractors and others gather to dedicate the new Cardinal Court apartments in August 2012.
DESTIHL
The Destihl Restaurant and Brew Works on 318 South Towanda Avenue in Normal at the Shoppes at College Hills.
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The Destihl Restaurant and Brew Works on 318 South Towanda Avenue in Normal at the Shoppes at College Hills next to the Hampton Inn.
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The Destihl Restaurant and Brew Works on 318 South Towanda Avenue in Normal at the Shoppes at College Hills.
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Construction workers work on top of the Destihl Restaurant and Brew Works construction site on 318 South Towanda Avenue in Normal, Illinois, as the Shoppes at College Hills sign is on display in the left corner.
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A weekday lunch crowd dines at Destihl Restaurant & Brew Works Pantagraph/STEVE SMEDLEY
ISU Student Fitness Center
A laborer works on a wall outside the Illinois State University $60 million Student Fitness Center, expected to open in January 2011. An enclosed walkway bridge connects the new building to a renovated McCormick Hall that will house ISU’s School of Kinesiology and Recreation. (The Pantagraph/STEVE SMEDLEY)
ISU Student Fitness Center
Seen from the 10th floor of the Hamilton-Whitten residence halls, Illinois State University Student Fitness Center is under construction on Wednesday June 23, 2010. (The Pantagraph/STEVE SMEDLEY)
ISU Student Fitness
Grand opening ceremonies for Illinois State University’s new Student Fitness Center were held Sunday evening January 9, 2011. Tours of the facility and the largest game of tag at ISU were the highlights of the opening. (The Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK-NEISLER) (January 9, 2011)
EIU Baseball
Progress continues on Illinois State University Student Fitness Center and McCormick Hall, Monday morning May 31, 2010. (The Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK-NEISLER) May 31, 2010)
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The opening of the new terminal at the Central Illinois Regional Airport will be delayed. Ironworker foreman Dave Formea, of BRH Builders, Springfield, left, spoke with Gayle Thomas, architect representative, Edward Just Associates, Dallas, Texas, during a meeting Thursday outside the terminal.
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The opening of the new terminal at the Central Illinois Regional Airport will be delayed. Ironworker foreman Dave Formea, of BRH Builders, Springfield, left, spoke with Gayle Thomas, architect representative, Edward Just Associates, Dallas, Texas, during a meeting Thursday outside the terminal.
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Nathan Hendrick, left, of Bloomington and Terry Whitecotton of Hudson carry fencing for the uptown Normal hotel project. Beaufort Street between Fell and Broadway is closed for the construction. (Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK) (March, 7, 2007)
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The under construction Marriott Hotel structure Friday (Feb. 8, 2008) from Beaufort Street and Fell Avenue in Uptown Normal. (Pantagraph/CARLOS T. MIRANDA)
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The Marriot Hotel will dramatically change the look of Uptown Normal as work progresses on the project. (The Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK) (July 28, 2008)
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From a walkway at the current OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, construction work is progressing on the new 84,211 square foot building set to open in March of 2004. The new building wirll house a new emergency department , a 30 bed intensive care unit, diagnostic services, cardiac rehabiliatation and Center for Healthy Lifestyles. Photo on 2-26-2003.
OSF CONSTRUCT 2 SAS
Shot from the roof of the OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, construction work is progressing on the new 84,211 square foot building set to open in March of 2004. The new building wirll house a new emergency department , a 30 bed intensive care unit, diagnostic services, cardiac rehabiliatation and Center for Healthy Lifestyles. Photo on 2-26-2003.
OSF CONSTRUCT 1 SAS
Shot from the roof of the OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, construction work is progressing on the new 84,211 square foot building set to open in March of 2004. The new building wirll house a new emergency department , a 30 bed intensive care unit, diagnostic services, cardiac rehabiliatation and Center for Healthy Lifestyles. Photo on 2-26-2003.
OSF CONSTRUCT file 2 SAS
From a walkway at the current OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, construction work is progressing on the new 84,211 square foot building set to open in March of 2004. The new building wirll house a new emergency department , a 30 bed intensive care unit, diagnostic services, cardiac rehabiliatation and Center for Healthy Lifestyles. Photo on 2-26-2003.
OSF CONSTRUCT file 3 SAS
From a walkway at the current OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, construction work is progressing on the new 84,211 square foot building set to open in March of 2004. The new building wirll house a new emergency department , a 30 bed intensive care unit, diagnostic services, cardiac rehabiliatation and Center for Healthy Lifestyles. Photo on 2-26-2003.
Hospital projects advance
BroMenn Construction
Advocate Outpatient
Advocate BroMenn construction project supervisor Tim Bassett talks about the construction progress at Advocate BroMenn Outpatient Center in Bloomington Tuesday afternoon, January 31, 2012. The Central Illinois Regional Airport is the view from the window. (The Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK-NEISLER)
Advocate Outpatient
Advocate BroMenn construction project supervisor Tim Bassett stands by as Melecio Alvarez of Bloomington working for Associated Constructors sweeps up near the end of the work day at Advocate BroMenn Outpatient Center in Bloomington Tuesday afternoon, January 31, 2012. The Central Illinois Regional Airport is the view from the window. (The Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK-NEISLER)
AR Multimodal Transportation Center
Construction continues on the Multimodal Transportation Center in Uptown Normal Wednesday morning February 16, 2011. (The Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK-NEISLER) (February 16, 2011)
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A St. Louis bound Amtrak train calls at the Amtrak station in Normal, while work takes place on the construction site of the new Multimodal Transportation Center in Normal on Thursday Jan. 6, 2011. (The Pantagraph/STEVE SMEDLEY)
MULTIMODAL CENTER GROUND BREAKING
Federal and State officials joined representatives of the town of Normal and Amtrak, for a ground breaking ceremony Saturday August 7, 2010 on the new Transportation Center in Uptown Normal. The Multimodal Transportation Center will be build on the south side of Beaufort Street west of the Childrens Museum. (The Pantagraph/STEVE SMEDLEY)
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A Chicago bound Amtrak train # 302 calls at the Amtrak station in Normal, while work takes place on the construction site of the new Multimodal Transportation Center in Normal on Tuesday Dec. 7, 2010. (The Pantagraph/STEVE SMEDLEY)
AR Multimodal Transportation Center
Construction continues on the Multimodal Transportation Center in Uptown Normal Wednesday morning February 16, 2011. (The Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK-NEISLER) (February 16, 2011)
Multimodal Transport
Work continutes on the new Multimodal Transportation Center and City Hall in Uptown Normal Tuesday afternoon, February 14, 2012. (The Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK-NEISLER)
Multimodal Transport
Work continutes on the new Multimodal Transportation Center and City Hall in Uptown Normal Tuesday afternoon, February 14, 2012. (The Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK-NEISLER)
Uptown Station 1
More than 300 people turned out to mark the opening of the new Uptown Station, Saturday, July 14, 2012, in Normal, Illinois. The $22 million multimodal transportation center and city hall will serve AMTRAK and bus service throughout central Illinois. (The Pantagraph, David Proeber)
Uptown Station 8
More than 300 people turned out to mark the opening of the new Uptown Station, Saturday, July 14, 2012, in Normal, Illinois. The $22 million multimodal transportation center and city hall will serve AMTRAK and bus service throughout central Illinois. (The Pantagraph, David Proeber)
Store closures 1
K’s Merchandise remains closed, Monday, February 28, 2011. (The Pantagraph, David Proeber)
K’s vacancy 2
The weathered entrance sign to the vacant K’s Merchandise building on Veterans Parkway, Tuesday, June 17, 2007, speaks volumes to the difficulty of finding tennants for the large superstores that were once popular in the Twin Cities. (Pantagraph
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Construction on the HyVee store at 1403 North Veterans Parkway, Bloomington, is taking place. Laborers local 362 member Mick Alvis of Bloomington, working for Stark Excating, uses a Terminator floor scraping machine Tuesday, to peel up layers of tile in the former K’s Merchandise building, during preparation work on the 7500 square-foot building.
Real Estate 3
A Stark Excavating excavator recycles building materials from the former K’s Merchandise building as it makes way for a new Hy-Vee store at 1403 N. Veterans Parkway.
Real Estate 2
James Reyes, construction superindendent, walks through the shell of what will be a new Hy-Vee store at 1403 N. Veterans Parkway.
BCPA
Bob Cochran, a maintenance man at Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, inspects damage to the stone masonry on the front balcony of the building, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012. Cochran said weather deterioration has caused some damage to the building’s masonry and workers are preparing to do some needed maintenance. (The Pantagraph, David Proeber)
BCPA
Bob Cochran, a maintenance man at Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, measured stonework on the front balcony of the building, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012. Cochran said weather deterioration has caused some damage to the building’s masonry and workers are preparing to do some needed maintenance. (The Pantagraph, David Proeber)
Convergence
Sculptor Andrew Jumonville, guides a statue of David Davis into position next to Abraham Lincoln, Thursday, October 7, 2010 in front of the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts. “Convergence of Purpose” is the title of the statue that represents the moment Fell and Davis convinced Lincoln to run for president. (The Pantagraph, David Proeber)
Convergence
Sculptor Andrew Jumonville, shears off some flashing while installing the statue of Jesse Fell to “Convergence of Purpose” in front of the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts. (The Pantagraph, David Proeber)
Convergence
Todd Kilgus, project manager for for Flemley Dickerson and sculptor Andrew Jumonville, use an epoxy glue to secure a statue of Jesse Fell to a base containing likenesses of Abraham Lincoln and David Davis, Thursday, October 7, 2010 in front of the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts. “Convergence of Purpose” is the title of the statue that represents the moment Fell and Davis convinced Lincoln to run for president. The formal dedication for the statue will be held on Saturday, October 23 at 9 a.m. Lincoln scholar Michael Burlingame will discuss the moment represented. (The Pantagraph, David Proeber)
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Children depart the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts after attending the Let’s Go Science Fair, part of the Student Spotlight Series of events, held Thursday Feb. 25, 2010. (The Pantagraph/STEVE SMEDLEY)
BCPA
The Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts is shown Thursday July 28, 2011. (The Pantagraph/STEVE SMEDLEY)
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The Ames Library, during Saturday’s dedication cermonies at the Illinois Wesleyan University campus, Bloomington.
IWU buildings to open in January
Workers from Bacon & Van Buskirk Glass Companies, out of Champaign, were installing windows on the top floor of the Ames Library at IWU on Friday.
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The Ames Library, during Saturday’s dedication cermonies at the Illinois Wesleyan University campus, Bloomington.
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The Ames Library at IWU, Bloomington.
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The Ames Library at Illinois Wesleyan University
Contact Connor Wood at (309)820-3240. Follow Connor on Twitter: @connorkwood
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