Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs joined WKEI on the Noon Hour program to talk about the successful investments that the state of Illinois has made with the consent of the legislature. Frerichs is touting a targeted investment plan that is returning money to the state of Illinois. The Treasurer then spoke about the ICash Program and how millions of dollars worth of property have been returned to citizens who may not have been aware that they had money being held by the state.

Kewanee Mayor Gary Moore was our guest on Tuned In on Tuesday morning to discuss Monday night's Kewanee City Council Meeting. The Mayor of Kewanee addressed questions regarding Bock Inc and the Waste Water Treatment Plant and discussed the issue of Nuisance laws in the City of Kewanee and whether or not they could be applied to properties repeatedly visited by Police for such violations as repeated noise complaints. Finally, The Mayor paid tribute to an officer and friend who died in the line of duty 19 years ago this week.

Cornerstone Credit Union Rock Solid Advice-March 2021 by Regional Media

Dr Robert Ayers from OSF Healthcare joined WKEI to discuss the latest news regarding COVID-19. According to Dr Ayers, OSF Healthcare just received another 500 doses of vaccine from the Health Department and will be working on getting more patients vaccinated. Meanwhile, about 14% of Henry County has received at least one dose of vaccine, 15% of Stark County has been vaccinated thus far. The Health Department has another first dose clinic registration going on on Monday morning. The Astra Zeneca vaccine is ready to face the FDA for emergency use authorization but Dr Ayers says we likely won't see the Astra Zeneca vaccine in Illinois until May, at the earliest.

Project Now is starting a new conversation about Poverty. It's a conversation that is especially important in the wake of COVID-19 and the number of people who lost jobs and fell into poverty during the pandemic. In this interview WKEI spoke with Reverend Dwight Ford about what Project Now does those in need and the obstacles that sometimes stand in the way of those seeking or needing help. Poverty is not a number, it's not a one size fits all dynamic and the different kinds of poverty in the United States and in our area are part of this conversation regarding Project Now on People to People.

The Henry County Board met on Thursday, March 18th and the Chair of the Henry County Board Kippy Breeden joined WKEI with a wrap up of the meeting on Friday morning. The Chair was joined by Henry County Director of Economic Development Jim Kelly who told WKEI that the money for the COVID-19 Revolving Loan Fund has been completely dispersed to local businesses. Several local businesses snapped up the final low interest loans provided by the CARES Act prior to Thursday night's board meeting.

This week on Special Edition of Sean at the Movies, I attended screenings at the Virtual South by Southwest Film Festival. I had the chance to talk with artists and actors from the buzziest titles at one of the most prestigious festivals in the country.
In this episode
Kelly Kali and Deon Cole discuss, in separate interviews, the much loved festival hit "I'm Fine Thanks for Asking."
Phillip Gelatt and Galen Morgan King are bringing back the genre of Fantasy Animated Adventure for adults with the new animated epic The Spine of Night featuring the voices of Patton Oswalt, Joe Manganiello, Lucy Lawless and Richard E Grant.
TV is also in the spotlight at SXSW as the Canada short form series For the Record is at SXSW hoping to find an American home for it's music based exploration of life and love and relationships.
And finally, one of my favorite movies to come from SXSW is one I actually saw as part of the Miami Film Festival but took the chance to see again at SXSW. It's called Ludi and it's the deeply empathetic story of a Haitian immigrant working, scrimping and saving to care for her family back in Haiti. The film is wonderful sad but also absurd with a strange and poignant sense of humor. I adore this movie.

What does a Dietitian do and what can a Dietitian do for you? We talked with Sara Umphleet, Registered Dietitian at OSF Saint Luke Medical Center about the many things she can do to help many people. More people than you imagine may be able to use the help and expertise of a Dietitian. One thing to remember, the Dietitian is not the food police, a Dietitian isn't there to tell you not to enjoy your favorite food. Rather, your Dietitian is able to help you design a way to eat that is suitable to your goals and that includes not giving up everything you enjoy when it comes to food.

Kiwanis Pancake Day is right around the corner, March 27th at First United Methodist Church. Pancake Day is one of the biggest fundraisers of the year for Kiwanis and Jolene Efnor joined our Tuned In Program to remind everyone to get their ticket for the drive thru Pancake Day, Saturday, March 27th from 7 Am to 1 Pm. Jolene also joined us to talk about Life Insurance and dispel some misconceptions people have about Life Insurance and how it works.

Director Aengus James put his life on the line to tell the story of After the Murder of Albert Lima. Falling in with driven and intense Paul Lima, Albert's son, Aengus and his team found themselves in one of the most dangerous parts of South America, Honduras, where Albert was murdered and where Paul has brought a pair of Bounty Hunters with the goal of kidnapping and arresting the man who was convicted of murdering Albert Lima but now exists in hiding surrounded by fellow villains happy to offer him protection. Can this crazy scheme for justice work? You can find out by watching After the Murder of Albert Lima on the Crackle streaming channel.