Melissa Ryan-Rock River Hospice and Home by Regional Media

A Couple of 1st Day at The Fair Notes by Regional Media

Sterling Mayor Lee and City Manager Schumard by Regional Media

On the latest edition of Kewanee Back When, Sean Kernan and Dave Clark welcomed Nelson lay, the founder of the Hog Days Stampede, to talk about how the Hog Days Stampede became part of Kewanee Hog Days and a tradition among runners across the area and even across the globe. The first Hog Days Stampede took place on September 3rd 1977 and even as the pandemic kept the traditional race under wraps, the Stampede rolled on as a virtual event.

Kewanee Hog Days is coming soon, Labor Day Weekend, the first weekend of September. Kewanee City Council Member Mike Komnick is also a member of the Hog Days Committee and he joined WKEI on Wake Up Tri-Counties to put out a call for volunteers. Volunteers are needed in the pork chop tent to cook, season and bag pork chop sandwiches. The need for volunteers is even greater this year as the committee hopes to offer a drive thru pick up option for the first time in Hog Days history.

Emily Hendrickson, Director of Clinic Operations at Memorial Medical Clinics, joined MacombNewsNow.com for a conversation about the rising rates of COVID-19 in McDonough and Hancock County. The rising hospitalization rate can be directly attributed to the fact that McDonough and Hancock County are lagging behind the rest of the state of Illinois in terms of the percentage of residents vaccinated. Both counties are under 40% of eligible residents that are vaccinated and it's causing a brand new outbreak of COVID-19 via the dangerous and more transmissible Delta Variant. Worse yet, if the vaccination rate doesn't go up, it creates more opportunity for the virus to continue to mutate and become even more dangerous. The message is clear, GET VACCINATED.

The Kewanee School Board met on Monday evening in the Peterson Auditorium at Kewanee High School. During the meeting the Board was brought up to date at the latest improvements at Kewanee Schools including progress on bringing air conditioning to Brockmann Gymnasium, a long term goal nearly completed. Bond sales were announced and the cost to Kewanee residents is nothing. Existing sales tax revenue will be used and the Bonds will allow for more new projects including a new Ag Science curriculum. WKEI Wake Up Tri-Counties spoke with Superintendent Dr Chris Sullens about the latest news from the Kewanee School Board.

Kris Noble-Sauk Valley Area Chamber of Commerce by Regional Media

Bone density diminishes with age but how much your bone density diminishes can be related to lifestyle factors. Connie Weston and Samantha Rux from OSF Saint Luke Medical Center were our guests on WKEI's Wake Up Tri-Counties on Monday, August 16th to talk about the causes of Osteoporosis and what you can do to protect your bone density as you get older.

How do you know when you need grief counseling? It's not as simple as saying when someone dies. Rather, the necessity of grief counseling comes to everyone in different ways. Some may not need the supportive outlet others might not recognize that they need grief support. Pastor Jim Reynolds with OSF Hospice and Grief Support talked to WKEI about the subtle ways to identify when someone might need grief counseling or a grief support group.