WGN Radio’s John Williams and his wife, Brenda, attended Lake Geneva’s Winterfest at the end of January, and was shown around by our friend and Visit Lake Geneva President/CEO Stephanie Klett. Stephanie joined John on WGN Radio to talk all about John’s experience for our latest Best of the Midwest feature.

As you listen, swipe below to see photos from John’s tour of Winterfest and the incredible snow sculptures that John and Stephanie talk about.

• John Williams outside the Visit Lake Geneva Visitors Center. Photo by Michael Piff / WGN Radio
• John Williams and his wife, Brenda, at Lake Geneva’s Winterfest. Photo by Michael Piff / WGN Radio
• John Williams and festival goers on the frozen lake. Photo by Michael Piff / WGN Radio
• John Williams and Visit Lake Geneva President/CEO Stephanie on the ice! Photo by Michael Piff / WGN Radio
• The competing snow sculptures at Lake Geneva’s Winterfest. Photo by Michael Piff / WGN Radio
• The competing snow sculptures at Lake Geneva’s Winterfest. Photo by Michael Piff / WGN Radio
• The competing snow sculptures at Lake Geneva’s Winterfest. Photo by Michael Piff / WGN Radio
• The competing snow sculptures at Lake Geneva’s Winterfest. Photo by Michael Piff / WGN Radio
• The competing snow sculptures at Lake Geneva’s Winterfest. Photo by Michael Piff / WGN Radio
• The competing snow sculptures at Lake Geneva’s Winterfest. Photo by Michael Piff / WGN Radio
• The competing snow sculptures at Lake Geneva’s Winterfest. Photo by Michael Piff / WGN Radio
• The competing snow sculptures at Lake Geneva’s Winterfest. Photo by Michael Piff / WGN Radio
• The competing snow sculptures at Lake Geneva’s Winterfest. Photo by Michael Piff / WGN Radio
• The competing snow sculptures at Lake Geneva’s Winterfest. Photo by Michael Piff / WGN Radio
• ‘Block 4’ Team Mexico with their snow sculpture at Lake Geneva Winterfest. Photo by Michael Piff / WGN Radio
• WGN Radio’s Michael Piff’s daughter on the LOVE Lake Geneva sign. Photo by Michael Piff / WGN Radio
• John Williams with Stephanie Klett and Deanna Goodwin in-studio at WGN Radio. Photo by Tony DeNardis / WGN Radio

For more, follow Visit Lake Geneva on Facebook and Instagram, and check out visitlakegeneva.com.

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Austin Berg, Executive Director of the Chicago Policy Center and author of the The Last Ward on Substack, and recently retired newsman Steve Bertrand, host of the ‘Steve Bertrand on Books‘ podcast. This week the Rascals kick off the podcast talking about Chicago babysitting rates. Babysitters get paid how much?! Next, the Rascals discuss the SAVE America Act and the GOP push for voter ID. Should Democrats throw a bone to the GOP on this issue for ICE reforms? The Rascals also discuss the latest on the Epstein Files. Do the Rascals believe that President Trump committed any crimes? Switching gears to attraction / distraction. What to make of the latest news regarding the Super Bowl halftime show, the Olympics, and the racist video that President Trump shared last week. Locally, what about a Chicago City Council committee approving a revised ordinance that would authorize Chicagoans to use their cellphones to provide recorded evidence of bus, bike lane and crosswalk parking violations. Do the Rascals think this is a good idea? And before we leave, it’s time for red light, yellow light, green light! What are the Rascals recommending (or not recommending) this week?

Recently retired newsman, the great Steve Bertrand, joins John to tell us everything we need to know about his new ‘Steve Bertrand on Books‘ podcast.

Ryan Kelly, Co-Chairman, Chicago Auto Show, joins John Williams to give us all the details on the 2026 Chicago Auto Show!

Carl Prouty, “The Technologist” at Abt Electronics in Glenview, tells John what we should know about door security camera technology in light of the recently released security images of the “person of interest” in the Nancy Guthrie case. How do these security systems work? Where do the images live once they are recorded? How are people notified if one of the sensors goes off? Carl answers all the questions.

John Williams brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to [email protected].

Dr. Jeffrey Kopin, Chief Medical Officer, Northwestern Medicine Catherine Gratz Griffin Lake Forest Hospital, joins John Williams to talk about pacemaker technology, and a new study about coffee intake and dementia risk.

Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, joins John Williams to talk about average babysitting rates in the state of Illinois, a new ordinance that would authorize Chicagoans to take pictures of bus, bike lane, and crosswalk parking violations, what he thought of Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show, and to share his thoughts on the layoffs at the Washington Post.

The great Mr. Fix-It, Lou Manfredini, joins John Williams to tell us the projects we need to be working on this week. Lou talks about how proper attic insulation is the single best way to improve the energy efficiency in your home. Lou also answers all of your home improvement questions!

Listen to HouseSmarts Radio on WGN each Saturday morning at 6 am.

Sam Panayotovich, Fox Sports Betting Analyst and co-host of the sports betting show ‘Chicken Dinner,’ joins John Williams to recap the Super Bowl and to review some of the best wagers he made for the game.