The Kewanee Public Library has a new online book club for those interested in a safe and socially distanced way of engaging with a book club. The Mostly Non-Fiction Book Club is set up via GoodReads.com and gives participants the chance to comment as they go about the book being shared among the group. This month's book club selection is Votes for Women by Winifred Conkling. You can get a copy of the book and any needed instructions for the book club by stopping by the Kewanee Public Library. Sara Billiet from the Kewanee Public Library was our guest on Tuned In on Thursday.

Second dose clinics will be announced soon for those who have already had one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. That word from RaeAnn Tucker from the Henry and Stark County Health Department who appeared on WKEI as part of our twice weekly COVID-19 updates from the Health Department. RaeAnn wants everyone to remember that second dose clinics will be separate from other other clinics. Do not sign up for a second dose clinic if you have not already had your first dose. You will not be able to get vaccinated that way. It's very important, second dose clinics will be open only to people in need of their second dose of the vaccine.

Doug Allen Nash by Regional Media

Katie Laleman from the Henry County Farm Bureau was our guest on the WKEI Morning Show and Tuned In on Wednesday. Katie joined WKEi to talk about the upcoming Market Outlook Seminar which will be held next month at the Lavender Crest Winery. The event will cover weather and what farmers can hope to expect in the planting season of 2021. Katie also promoted Farm Bureau scholarships for those looking to go into Ag related fields, a Farm Bureau Scholarship could be a great first step in your education.

Rotary Wednesday on WSDR with Lori Cortez by Regional Media

During his recent visit on Wake Up Princeton on WZOE-AM, Princeton Mayor Joel Quiram talked sewer construction, COVID-19, the new budget and downtown concert series.

The mayor says the Thompson Street sanitary sewer extension work is going well, although it’s been slowed a little by the recent weather. He says they still hope to have the project completed “by the time the spring rains come”.

On the COVID-19 front, Quiram says both testing and positive cases are down locally and the issue now is vaccine distribution. He says the health department is only receiving about 400 doses per week to be divided between St. Margaret’s Hospital in Spring Valley and Perry Memorial Hospital. The mayor says he signed his 82-year old mother up for the vaccine two weeks ago and has yet to hear back.

Mayor Quiram says the city needs to have the new budget filed with the state by May 1. He says the first meeting this year for the Down on Main Street Concert series was held recently. All bands and dates are set with the first about five months away.

Kewanee Mayor Gary Moore joined WKEI following a contentious finish to Monday night's Kewanee City Council Meeting. During Council Communications, Council member Mike Yaklich called out the Mayor and City Manager Gary Bradley's leadership over the lack of financial reporting from the City of Kewanee. Council Members were expecting receive an update of City fund balances but the Mayor told the council in a memo prior to the meeting that that information was not ready yet, something Mr Yaklich claimed was unacceptable. The Mayor of Kewanee didn't speak at last night's meeting but did talk to WKEI on Tuesday and indicated that the issues surrounding firing of former City of Kewanee Finance Director Deborah Johnson has played a huge role in delays in audits and financial information gathering. Johnson was fired at the end of December when it was determined that she had allegedly stolen more than 10,000 electronic files from the City of Kewanee. Johnson has still not been charged with a crime but, the electronic information that was taken from the City has been recovered. However, that information, according Mayor Moore, is a mess and must sorted out and balanced before it can be shared with anyone on the Council or in the public. For her part, Randi Haley, speaking at Monday night's meeting, did not outwardly claim the theft was the issue but did say there were more than a few obstacles to preparing accurate information and that she would not present any information until she is certain that it is the correct information.

Patience continues to be the word of the day at the Henry and Stark County Health Department as the vaccine rollout for COVID-19 continues to struggle with limited supplies of the vaccine and thousands of people eager to get vaccinated. RaeAnn Tucker from the Henry and Stark County Health Department joined WKEI on Tuesday as part of our twice weekly series on COVID-19 in Henry and Stark County. RaeAnn says that while there were issues with the 9 Am sign up on Monday, despite reports otherwise, the Health Department webpage did not crash. Rather, after quickly reaching 600 registrations the Health Department decided to continue signing people up based on the Henry County Office of Emergency Management securing 400 more shots. The Health Department closed registration in the morning at 700 sign ups and re-opened registration for 300 more sign ups in the afternoon.

Actor David Sheftell has the role of a lifetime arriving in many theaters this weekend. Sheftell is co-starring in the new action-horror-comedy Willy's Wonderland opposite Nicholas Cage. Say what you will about Cage's reputation as an actor, having worked with Cage now, David Sheftell gives us his very positive opinion of the legendarily strange Nicholas Cage while also taking us inside the weird, violent and bizarre world of Willy's Wonderland.

Dr Robert Ayers from OSF Healthcare joined WKEI on Monday's edition of Tuned In to discuss the latest news regarding COVID-19. Among the topics was why it has taken so long to get the vaccine out into the public. The reality is that the supply of vaccine has been slow to move. We also discussed the COVID-19 variants which Dr Ayers explained are typical of how a virus tends to work but still worth keeping a close eye on. Johnson & Johnson's vaccine could be approved soon and Dr Ayers explained what is different about this particular version of a COVID vaccine.