We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
Sorted by date Results 251 - 275 of 288
Unemployment in Illinois and the U.S. continues to balloon amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. The state reported 81,596 first-time claims in the week ending April 25, during which time more than 3.8 million claims were submitted nationally. That means 818,917 Illinoisans filed for unemployment since March 21, and 681,041 drew unemployment benefits during the week ending April 25. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, that is about 10.7 percent of Illinois’ civilian work force. T...
The Greater Freeport Partnership launched its Partnership Cash program on Friday, April 24 at 7 pm and the program exceeded $10,000 sales of all grant funded purchases before noon on Saturday, April 25, 2020. After just one Facebook Live program introduction, Stephenson County residents pushed the post viral to help promote the program and increase support of small business in the area. Just 18 hours later, the program met its maximum investment allotment of $10,000. The $10,000 investment from...
The Daily Drawing (a cooperative fundraiser) is a drawing for 366 daily cash prizes from October 1, 2019 – September 30, 2020 to those donating for a ticket. Cash prizes vary between $50 and $250. A ticket may win multiple times as each ticket remains in the drawing each day for the entire year, no matter how often it may be drawn. There are nearly 20 organizations working together on the Daily Drawing from Jo Daviess, Carroll & Stephenson County. Sponsoring organizations include: Caring Community of Elizabeth, East Dubuque Music Boosters, E...
CoreFx Ingredients, manufacturers of custom dry dairy and lipid health and wellness ingredient solutions, recently donated Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to local health care facilities in Monroe and Freeport. As CVOID-19 makes its way around the country, thousands of health care workers are putting in long hours, stressing about hospital preparations and worrying about contracting the virus and bringing it home. A lack of PPE has heightened these concerns for most as they appeal to the...
All of us are inundated with daily updates from Pritzker's Office, and New York, and the White House in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic. But if you are anything like me, I wanted the local news. The Illinois Press Association, and Capital News Network sends every newspaper daily stories dealing with the pandemic, from every angle. And to be honest we print very few of them because 1.) With the daily news on television and the radio, by the time it would make it into print on our pages, it would...
The Freeport Community Foundation (FCF) announced today, in partnership with the United Way of Northwest Illinois (UWNWIL), that it will distribute $200,000 in emergency grant funding to northwest Illinois nonprofits via an online application process. Funds from the NWIL COVID-19 Response Fund (NWILCRF) will benefit nonprofits and programs serving the most vulnerable populations of Stephenson, Jo Daviess and Carroll counties affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Fifty percent of the funds being distributed ($100,000) were awarded to the FCF as par...
Two local businesses are working to help their community during the COVID-19 slowdown, teaming up to produce locally sourced hand sanitizer. The Lena-made hand sanitizer will debut Friday with a special social distancing-compliant event from 2 – 7 p.m. at the Lena Brewing Company’s taproom, 9416 W. Wagner Road in Lena. Lena Brewing Company, which has been brewing craft beer in Lena since 2015, is using Adkins Energy 190-proof ethanol to produce a special run of FDA-grade hand sanitizer to help local first responders and residents avoid the COVI...
The Greater Freeport Partnership is pleased to announce the hiring of Mark Williams as its executive director to lead the organization in promoting and supporting business and communities in the City of Freeport and Stephenson County. Williams has more than thirty years of experience in the profession of economic development; as a manager, director and executive director; at the regional public/private and local municipal level; and in rural and urban communities. Most recently, he has been...
Peter Zito recently joined Apple River State Bank as Loan Officer and is located in the Warren office. He worked most recently as the financial manager for Schweigert Family Farms, Cuba City, Wisconsin. Prior to Schweigert Family Farms, Peter served as a credit analyst with Apple River State Bank. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Platteville, Peter is a member of the Apple River Lions Club and Galena Elks. He and his wife Megan, and two children, reside in Scales Mound. "We are please...
Head2Toe Custom Apparel & Design in Lena is taking an idea from a screen printing company in Rockford and implementing it here in this area to help local small businesses. We wanted to find a way to help other small businesses during the time of Covid 19. We are making t-shirts with the small business logo on them and taking pre-orders online for $20. We are getting prior approval from the companies before advertising their business. We will donate $10 from each t-shirt sale back to the small local business. We currently have 17 businesses...
Despite projected increases in corn and soybean plantings this year after a disastrous 2019 planting season, farmers are gripped by uncertainty surrounding spring weather and the economic downturn from the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its annual prospective plantings report on Tuesday, which shows how many acres farmers of major crops intend to plant this spring. Illinois farmers are expected to plant 11.3 million acres of corn and 10.5 million acres of soybeans...
The social distancing guidelines that led Illinois county fairs to cancel off-season events on their grounds through the end of April is one part of a financial impact double-whammy, a trade official said. Many local fairs use revenue from off-season events and activities to “pay the bills,” said Ken Tyrrell, president of the state’s Association of Agricultural Fairs. Guidelines from Gov. JB Pritzker’s office regulating the number of people allowed to congregate shrank over the past few weeks f...
For municipal leaders and community organizers across the state, 2019 flooding presented a host of challenges that tested the capabilities of their emergency response systems and the plans that support them. According to the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, this was the fifth consecutive year that the U.S. experienced ten or more extreme weather events where the economic impact of each exceeded 1 billion dollars. With a disproportionate number of those events impacting the Midwest region, it seems clear that time spent...
For more than 55 years, Law-Jones has operated with values that put the families we serve, and the public, first. We also value our staff, and need their presence in these critical times. The safety and well-being of everyone is our highest concern. Myself and our entire staff are following the CDC guidelines for the prevention of COVID-19 community spread. Our facilities are being disinfected before and after any scheduled service or visitation. This includes all public areas. We are posting signage within our locations and advising visitors t...
Toilet paper and hand sanitizer are in short supply at Illinois supermarkets. At gun shops, firearms and ammunition are flying off the shelves, too. As the outbreak of novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, spreads through the state and the country, Illinois firearms retailers say sales of guns and ammunition have substantially increased over the past two weeks and especially in recent days. “It’s a lot of a panic situation,” said Jim Feagans, who owns J. Gooch Shooting Sports in Sprin...
Before you misread that headline, the annual Voice Awards are still on and set to be presented on March 6th beginning at 7:00 pm at the Masonic Temple in Freeport. However, due to the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament, our biggest fund raiser for the Voice Awards – our NCAA Tournament Party – has been cancelled. For all of the Advertisers who have not yet sent in your entry fee – don't. And for those who have, we are applying the fee to your advertising account here at the Voices so you will...
Monroe Clinic has been named one of the 2020 Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals in the United States by The Chartis Center for Rural Health. Regarded as one of the industry’s most significant designations of performance excellence, Monroe Clinic is proud to have received this recognition every year since 2016. “While winning awards is not the mission of Monroe Clinic, it is satisfying to know that the level of hard work shown by our team is recognized at a national level,” shared Jane Curran-Meuli, Monroe Clinic President. “Our caregiv...
Freeport Area Church Cooperative (FACC) Executive Director Dean Wright has announced his resignation as the head of the local not-for-profit emergency food and shelter organization. After 15 years with the organization, Wright says his resignation is effective Friday, March 20, 2020. “We are obviously sad to lose Dean as our director,” says FACC Board President Laurel Rudolph. “He has given much to the Freeport community through his work at FACC. Dean has been the interface between the community and the most vulnerable in our area and we will...
Central Illinois counties led Illinois in corn and soybean production last year as every region and nearly all counties saw decreases in both crops, according to estimates released last week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Both production and yields for corn and soybeans fell in nearly every Illinois county for which the USDA has data for the past two years, according to an analysis by Capitol News Illinois. The USDA published county-specific soybean figures for 75 of 102 counties and cor...
Stephenson County Soil and Water Conservation District annual tree sale is underway for 2020. Each year the District sells bare root tree, evergreen and shrub seedlings to increase efforts to provide energy conservation and/or habitat cover for wildlife. These plants are for conservation purposes only and shall not be used as ornamentals or for landscaping. Deadline to order is Friday, March 13, 2020 The deadline allows us to adjust pre-ordered quantities with the nurseries. We are hoping this eliminates the “extras” at the end of the sale. Tre...
Limited exhibition space remains for the 2020 Stephenson County Home Show to be held March 21st and 22nd at the Highland Community College / YMCA Sports Complex in Freeport. Show hours are Saturday 9-5 and Sunday 11-4. Admission is free and there will be concessions available. The show annually features area businesses including investment companies, contractors, communications experts, healthcare providers, insurance agents, landscaping contractors, heating and air conditioning contractors, fur...
Monroe Clinic is expanding its orthopedic services to offer the latest advancement in joint replacement surgery, the MAKO Robotic-Arm Assisted Technology System. The MAKO Technology utilizes a preoperative CT Scan to allow for patient-specific pre-operative planning that enables more accurate implant positioning. CT data is used to create a 3D model of the patient's anatomy. An individualized pre-operative plan is created and reviewed by the surgeon prior to the Mako procedure. Throughout each...
The state's climatologist is predicting Illinois farmers are likely to endure more burdensomely wet weather while they try to plant cash crops this spring after suffering major losses as a result of a record-wet planting season last year. April through June is likely to be wetter than normal in Illinois, according to rainfall projections from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, posing a challenge to corn and soybean farmers in the heart of planting season. Right now those farmer...
Tim White has joined Apple River State Bank as Senior Vice President – Lending in the bank's new Hazel Green office. He will be responsible for agricultural banking relationships in southwest Wisconsin. Tim has an extensive agricultural background in banking and insurance. He also worked as a feed consultant and nutritionist for a successful family feed business and as district sales manager for Cargill. "Tim brings strong agricultural and commercial lending experience as well as managerial e...
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois Two of the state’s largest electric utilities owe their customers a combined $543 million in refunds, according to state regulators, but there is sharp disagreement over how much time the companies should have to pay it back. At issue for Ameren Illinois and Commonwealth Edison, also known as ComEd, is money they collected to pay future tax bills before federal tax cuts which took effect in 2018 lowered those anticipated rates. When the corporate tax r...
