Regional Media Podcast Network

Rock Falls Tourism presents a 3rd year of Jammin’ on the Rock the first Thursdays of June, July and August. We have awonderful variety of talented musicians lined up for you to enjoy this summer.

The first Jammin’ On The Rock will be Thursday, June 1st, at the RB&W District (201 E. 2nd St., Rock Falls). Our talentedmusicians will take the stage starting at 5pm and will include Angelina Chavez, Barn Ratz, Eli Traum, and Jenn DeSantis.

Food vendors and vendors will be available from 5-8pm. Food vendors include Brother Daryl’s, Brito’s Grill, SundaeFunday, Kona Ice of Sauk Valley, Main Squeeze, and Sweet Butts Cotton Candy. Many other vendors will be setup toshowcase their business.

Arguably the most important and least remembered space mission in world history launched in 1977 and it continues to this day. Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 began their journey through the stars in 1977 and has since returned images and information that have shaped the way we see the universe. It was the Voyager mission that showed us Mars, Neptune, and Uranus up close and for the very first time. If you've seen images of these planets or know things about these planets, that is because of Voyager. But Voyager didn't end with the first images and data up close from Neptune. The mission continued into Interstellar space and the mission continues to make incredible discoveries. Sadly, Voyager will end one day, within the next few years. Thankfully, director Billy Miossi's new documentary, It's Quieter in the Twilight, has provided us with a historic record of the mission and the people behind this history making effort.

The Mayor of Kewanee, Gary Moore joined Wake Up Tri-Counties on Wednesday, May 24th, to follow up on Tuesday evening's Kewanee City Council Meeting. In our conversation we talk about progress on a new City of Kewanee Budget, the success of the recent Citywide Clean Up, and the items on Tuesday's agenda which included selling off excess equipment, among other matters. All things on the agenda passed without objection, though two Council members were absent on Tuesday. Towards the end of our conversation, Mayor Moore addressed questions regarding the health of his wife, Jeanna Moore, a beloved figure in the area. The Mayor said that her recovery is going well and provided an optimistic outlook.

The Levitt Amp Galva Music Series returns this weekend with a pair of terrific bands on the main stage in Galva. Mindi Perkins is the Fundraising Chair for the music series and she joined us on Wednesday, May 24th, to take us behind the scenes on what goes into making Levitt Amp a reality. Fundraising for the event, now that it is established as a staple of the summer in the area, has gotten much easier but there is plenty more to know about the behind the scenes happenings at the Levitt Amp Galva Music Series and Mindi offers some unique insight.

Kool Kats is a small Burger restaurant in Maryville, featuring shaved ice.  Owner David Ackman and co-owner Aaron Valentine decided to send Valentine to the go through the audition process to hopefully represent Kool Kats on the show.  Aaron made the cut and will appear on the show  “Food Stars,” Hosted by Gordon Ramsay on FOX.  Wednesday May 24th.  Listen to the interview and the story behind the how he got there.  Due to technical issues the recording starts about :60 in to the interview with Don and Holly.

Lauren Winebrenner from the IRS joined Wake Up Tri-Counties this week to remind everyone to make an emergency plan for your important documents. You should have an emergency plan in place for your family and your home but don't neglect your important tax documents. Even if you save them in the cloud, it's always a good idea to have a copy you can access in an emergency. Lauren recommends copying important documents and storing them in a waterproof storage. Put them on a flashdrive that you keep with you or at a separate secure location. The IRS can help you if you lose important documents in a disaster but you can protect yourself before a disaster happens if you secure your documents. We talked with Lauren about this topic and more on Wake Up Tri-Counties.

Dr. Haley Ralph and one of her patients, Danielle Williams, along with Samantha Rux, joined Wake Up Tri-Counties on Monday, May 22nd, 2023. The topic of conversation was prenatal care and the urgent importance of prenatal care that you can get at OSF Saint Luke Medical Center. Dr. Ralph talked about the care she provides to soon to be mothers, new mothers, and their babies. Danielle Williams, a new mom who was under the care of Dr. Ralph and her team at OSF Saint Luke Medical Center, gave us some insight into the kind of care you can get at OSF. Not only was Dr. Ralph there for Danielle but care for patients extended to virtual care via providers in Peoria who've been stepping up to fill in gaps, especially in rural areas.

Andrew Dwyer with the Kewanee Parks Department was our guest on Wake Up Tri-Counties on Friday, May 19th, 2023. Andrew Dwyer is getting the word out about Summer Baseball leagues at Kewanee Parks. The baseball season starts soon and kids and parents have this week to get signed up for several age based classes of baseball or softball. Contact the Kewanee Parks Department for more information or to sign up your child. Andrew Dwyer also talked about planting trees in Kewanee Parks, the new play equipment at Chatauqua Park, and the work nearly being complete on repairs and clean-up from the storm that hit late March and closed a portion of the parks.

Macomb Police Chief Hamer returns to talk about the Macomb Police Department's participation in the "30x30 Initiative", a program taking place in police departments across the nation that aims to advance the representation and experiences of women in policing agencies across the United States.

To learn more about the 30x30 Initiative, visit https://30x30initiative.org.

Wethersfield Third Grade students were in our studio for the last time this school year for The Good News on Wake Up Tri-Counties. Today, three of our Kewanee 3rd Graders gave us The Good News about the FFA Petting Zoo at Wethersfield last week.