For the first time in 221 years, more than a trillion of two particular periodical cicada broods are set to surface this spring. Brood XIX surfaces every 13 years across the southeastern United States — Missouri, central and southern Illinois, Louisiana, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland. Brood XIII, emerging every 17 years, has its base in the northern half of Illinois and parts of Wisconsin, Ohio and Iowa.
Six years later, there’s increasing pressure to measure Rivian’s record by more than just its headcount. Some former and current workers tell WGLT the plant is a challenging and, at times, unsafe place to work.