Regional Media Podcast Network

The Mayor of Kewanee Gary Moore was our guest on Wake Up Tri-Counties on Tuesday, February 28th, 2023. The Kewanee City Council met on on Monday evening at Kewanee City Hall and among the issues addressed was a potential zoning issue. Several Kewanee residents addressed the Kewanee City Council about a storage facility that is looking to have property near OSF Saint Luke Medical Center rezoned as commercial so that they can open a facility and start a solar farm. The City Council told these residents that the issue has yet to come before the council but when or if it does, they will try to safeguard against a permanent rezoning of the property. Also on the agenda and passing the council was a TIF Agreement between the City of Kewanee and the ownere of Midland Plaza. The owner of Midland Plaza addressed the council regarding TIF funds and the Arby's location at Midland Plaza. Mr. Cohen, the owner of Midland also stated that he has interest in bringing new businesses to the Midland Plaza in the near future. You can hear more about last night's Kewanee City Council Meeting in our conversation with Mayor Gary Moore on Wake Up Tri-Counties.

Scott stopped by to talk about upgrades and some renovations that will be taking place at the theatre in the next few months. Show scheduling will be worked around the process, with work expected to be complete by early fall.

Country Music legend Craig Morgan will headline the Marshall-Putnam County Fair 2023. According to the announcement made Tuesday morning, tickets to see Craig Morgan with opening acts Joe Stamm (Acoustic) and Whiskey Bent, will headline the Fair on Thursday, July 13th in the Grandstands in Henry, Illinois. From the official announcement from Fair organizers: 

"The Marshall-Putnam County Fair Board is excited to announce the headliner for the 2023 Marshall-Putnam Fair! This year, Craig Morgan, a country music icon, TV personality, celebrated outdoorsman, and patriotic Army veteran, is coming to the Marshall-Putnam Fair! As one of country music's best-loved artists, Morgan has charted 25 songs on Billboard and thrills massive crowds with signature hits including “Bonfire,” “Almost Home,” “Redneck Yacht Club,” “International Harvester,” “This Ole Boy,” “Soldier,” “Wake Up Loving You,” “That's What I Love About Sunday” and his faith-filled tribute to his son Jerry, “The Father, My Son, and The Holy Ghost.”

Local favorites Whiskey Bent and Joe Stamm will be opening the show!" 

The concert takes place in Henry, Illinois, at the Marshall-Putnam Fairgrounds. Gates will open at 5:30 PM, and the show will start at 7:00 PM. Tickets will go on sale Friday, March 3, 2023, at 8 AM. Tickets can be purchased at www.marshallputnamfair.org. Drew Herridge with the Marshall Putnam County Fair was our guest on Wake Up Tri-Counties on Tuesday, February 28th, to talk about the announcement of this headline act...

Rachel Gustafson with the OSF Healthcare clinic in Sheffield joined Samantha Rux on Wake Up Tri-Counties on Monday, February 27th, 2023. On the show, Rachel talked about upcoming opportunities for preventative screenings. From Colon Cancer to Breast Cancer to Lung Cancer, there are screenings that you can do, covered by most insurers, that can help detect problems before they truly take root. If you already have risk factors for particular types of Cancer, it is important to take advantage of screenings that can be done to catch any potential illness early on. The earlier you catch a problem, the better chance you have of beating that problem. Get screened early by contacting OSF Healthcare.

The State Bank of Toulon has long been a generous supporter of Relay for Life with survivor and Relay for Life Board member Nichelle Morey being a leader on that front. Nichelle, along with Mark Rewerts from The State Bank of Toulon, joined Wake Up Tri-Counties on Monday to promote their latest Relay for Life team fundraising effort, the annual SBT Trivia Night at the Kewanee Elks Club. Teams of 10 to people, at a cost of $10.00 per person, are invited to attend and take part and compete for prizes while raising money for the SBT Relay for Life team. It's the 18th Annual Trivia Night and it is taking place on Saturday, March 4th, at 6 PM at the Kewanee Elks Lodge. Contact Nichelle Morey for more details at 309-525-1727. And hear about everything else happening at the State Bank of Toulon in our Wake Up Tri-Counties interview with Nichelle and Mark.

Tony joined us by phone this morning from Springfield, with more sessions getting underway this week. We talked about The State of The State Address a few weeks back and the budget introduced at that time.

Tony has been traveling the state with her new role as house minority leader for The Republican party.

Tony also puts together working groups and committee appointments.

At Thursday night's Kewanee School Board Meeting, the Kewanee School Board made the decision not to renew the Coaching contract of Head Football Coach Bradley Swanson. The unanimous decision, one recommended by Dr. Sullens following closed session discussions with the Kewanee School Board, brought to an end four years as Kewanee's Head Football Coach for Bradley Swanson. We talked to Dr. Sullens about that along with news of the approval of the new Kewanee Fieldhouse, a $1.5 million dollar project that will see a new Fieldhouse built to house Kewanee School events.

We heard updates on The Women of Achievement Luncheon, also a few events the West End Moxie will be involved with, and volunteer roles that could be filled.

Items discussed from the city council meeting included, river front development, permits during the upcoming construction and home improvement season, and the city budget.

Today on Wake Up Tri-Counties we were joined by Henry County Board Chair Kippy Breeden and Vice Chair Marshall Jones were our guests to wrap up Thursday night's Henry County Board Meeting. The meeting was taken up with a lengthy conversation regarding an application for American Rescue Plan funds from St. Malachy's School in Geneseo. In the end, the County Board rejected the application for funds. Kippy Breeden and Marshall Jones stated that the reasoning behind the application being rejected was not because it is a school or a religious school, though they did not elaborate on exactly why the application was rejected. The application was the only one of 17 applications for A.R.P funds that was rejected by the Henry County Board.