It's that time of the year when Farm equipment is once again back on the road. The Henry County Farm Bureau is reminding everyone to please be patient and take care when passing farm equipment. Of course, the Henry County Farm Bureau has numerous interests all year round one of which is helping you with your cooking. The Farm Bureau is promoting and supporting a virtual cooking class on Monday, April 19th. Visit the Henry County Farm Bureau on Facebook for the Zoom link and details, including needed ingredients for the Make A Monday Cooking Class with the Henry County Farm Bureau. Katie Laleman from the Henry County Farm Bureau joined WKEI on Tuned In to talk about all things Farm Bureau.

The new documentary Brewmance takes viewers inside the history of and the evolution of craft beer. Telling a story on two tracks, Brewmance goes into the history of American beer while also telling the story of a pair of breweries just getting started in the Long Beach California area. These two stories are the result of the history of craft beer, the way beer has captured the imagination of many and how many turned that bit of imagination into something tangible, a business that combines craft, art and commerce.

Danika McKellar, From The Wonder Years to Executive Producer by Regional Media

Relay for Life of The Sauk Valley by Regional Media

Kewanee Mayor Gary Moore joined WKEI to discuss Monday night's Kewanee City Council Meeting. At the meeting, the last full meeting for Kewanee City Council member Mike Yaklich, Mr Yaklich made numerous claims regarding a lack of transparency in the City government and mismanagement on the part of City Manager Gary Bradley. Among the claims made by Mr Yaklich were that the City Manager had been placed on probation by the City Council in January. Mayor Gary Moore stated that no such probation had been ordered or approved of. Mr Yaklich claimed that there would be a review of an 8 page document that was given by the Council to the City Manager and that the review would be conducted on April 25th and Mr Yaklich invited the public to offer comment as part of the review. However, no such review is set to occur nor was a review mandated by the Council, according to Mayor Moore. According to the Mayor in our interview, Mr Yaklich publicly shared details of a series of Closed Session Employee Review of the performance of the City Manager. The council did create the 8 page document for the City Manager to comply with and they would review the results at future employee reviews. Mr Yaklich went on to claim that the Mayor and City Manager were covering up the fact that they are each being sued by former City of Kewanee employees. The Mayor tells WKEI that both he and the City Manager were advised by council not to speak about the lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed on March 19th and Mr Yaklich claimed that the City Council was not informed about the lawsuit, something the Mayor also disputes.

Henry County has suffered its 61st COVID-19 death. A man in his 80s who'd been diagnosed with COVID-19, passed away on Monday. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 Rolling Test Positivity Rate in Henry and Stark County is climbing and it is raising alarm that rollbacks could take place if these numbers continue to rise. RaeAnn Tucker from the Henry and Stark County Health Department joined WKEI on Tuesday to talk about the rising COVID-19 numbers and about more opportunities to get vaccinated with more clinics open at HenryStarkHealth.com. RaeAnn also discussed the April 20th COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic that will be open to teenagers, aged 16 to 18. The clinic will be held at Black Hawk College and registration for the clinic will be handled through the Regional Office of Education.

Kewanee City Council member Mike Yaklich participated in his final full Kewanee City Council Meeting on Monday, April 12th. In his final Council Communications, Councilman Yaklich laid out accusations against City Manager Gary Bradley regarding transparency among other accusations. Mr Yaklich stated that the City Manager was on probation in January of this year regarding practices related to communication and transparency. Finally, Mr Yaklich asked why the Council wasn't informed that the Mayor and City Manager were being sued by former employees Debbie and Rod Johnson.

Wethersfield Schools will have an in-person outdoor graduation in 2021. The Wethersfield School Board approved plans last Thursday at the latest meeting of the Wethersfield School Board for an outdoor graduation with a limited crowd. There will also be an 8th grade promotion ceremony but that will also be different than in the past. This time the promotion ceremony will be a luncheon in the Wethersfield Gymnasium. Finally, the Board approved rapid COVID-19 testing at the school. Nurse Rusk has completed training and with parent approval can do rapid COVID-19 testing that the School hopes will help keep students safe and help keep more kids in school rather than at home due to a potential exposure.

The pandemic caused many to forego needed screenings as going out, especially to a doctor's office or a hospital, wasn't encouraged due to the outbreak. Now however, with more people getting vaccinated the Radiology Department at OSF Saint Luke Medical Center wants to encourage people to come back for those needed screenings. Mammograms and many other types of screenings are once again readily available and vitally important. Josh Bainbrige is the Radiology Supervisor at OSF Saint Luke Medical Center and Connie Nicholson Weston is a Radiology Technician and they both joined WKEI on Monday to encourage people to get needed screenings.

YWCA, Moxie, and a Mission by Regional Media