From the Newsroom: Rockford Register Star Podcast

The Rockford Register Star's coverage of the Chemtool industrial fire incident in Rockton, Illinois. Several representatives from emergency responders and the health department briefed reporters on the latest details regarding health concerns for people and the environment. We'll hear from Rockton Fire Chief Kirk Wilson, Winnebago County Public Health Administrator Sandra Martell, and Craig Thomas, the federal on-site coordinator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

(Produced by Scott P. Yates/Rockford Register Star)

The former Hononegah wrestler, and UFC fighter, Corey Anderson, is now working his way up the Bellator ladder and recently advanced to the semifinals of the light heavyweight Grand Prix, with a $1M prize awaiting the winner. Anderson sat down and talked about his personal life, and his professional career, as well as why he believes he can win the $1M tournament.

The First Free Rockford Worship band performs during a community prayer event at the intersection of South Main Street at Morgan Street Saturday, May 1, 2021, in Rockford. Brother Carlos Chacon, South Side Outreach Ministry and a Spanish language minister with the Salvation Army, who hosted the event, says that community and faith will bring hope to improve the South side of Rockford.

More at RRSTAR.COM.

Kathy Reum is looking for closure. Her 28-year-old son, Patrick Michael Reum, was last seen around 6 p.m. on Dec. 12 walking out of his house in the 400 block of South First Street in Rockford’s Haight Village neighborhood. Kathy Reum and volunteer search teams were mobilized Saturday to walk along both sides of the Rock River while crews in boats equipped with sonar and cadaver dogs scoured the river itself. 

Anyone with information is asked to call Rockford police at 815-966-2900 or Rockford Area Crime Stoppers at 815-963-7867. 

For more on this story go to www.rrstar.com.

Reporting by Ken DeCoster/Rockford Register Star.

Audio recording and production by Scott P. Yates/Rockford Register Star.

Tony Cassioppi, the former Hononegah wrestler who won two state titles with an undefeated record back in his high school days, is starting to make some noise at the top college level now, too. Cassioppi finished third in the Big Ten Championships at heavyweight for the second year in a row, and then this time, when he got his shot, he took third at the NCAA wrestling championships last weekend. Listen to all of his stories.

Head coach Tom Guse and point guard Zach Derus talk about Lutheran's undefeated boys basketball season, and what they could have done with a state tournament this year, during this week's "Not Just a Game" podcast, with host Jay Taft. Then, Winnebago's star post player Ethan Ackerman, who missed the end of the basketball season because he was in quarantine, talks about his excitement as he got out of lockdown just in time to start football practice with the Indians.

Sister Stephanie Baliga used to run competitively for Auburn and then the University of Illinois, but now she does it to help fund the Mission of Our Lady of Angel and its food pantry that feeds over 1,000 people a day. Sister Stephanie, this week's guest on the "Not Just a Game" podcast, organizes a charity team for the Chicago Marathon every year, and her team has raised over $1M for the mission since she's started. Hear her story right here.

Fran Volz carves a mermaid out of snow on the empty lot at the corner of North Church Street and John Street on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Rockford. Volz, a professional sculptor, bought the property after a fire destroyed a home there in the summer of 2020. He began sculpting by making Smurf statues in his yard in his 30s. He wanted to make a snow sculpture this year after his teammates dropped out of the annual Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition to be held at Sinnissippi Park later this year.

Read more from the Rockford Register Star at RRSTAR.COM.

Anthony Billups, the former Hononegah star pitcher who transformed into an artist and musician in the Nashville, Tennessee, scene, talks about his mural-painting business as well as his music career. He just released his third country-music album, and he plays one of his new songs, "Nashville Superstar," near the end of the podcast.

Anthony Billups was a star pitcher for Hononegah back in the late-90s and early 2000s, and went on to pitch his way through college. But a car accident and temporary blindness set him on a path toward art and music, and now he's a rising star in Nashville, Tennessee. Here is Chapter 1 of 2 of Billups' story, starting with his high school baseball days and leading up to his accident and his growing love for art and music. (Chapter 2 is coming soon.)