The team that brought you the Bakersville radio play are back at it for Christmas. Jacque Komnick brought her elves together to create "Miracle on Chestnut Street" a Kewanee set original Christmas radio play that will air on WKEI on Wednesday, December 23rd, at 8 Pm. The 1 hour, commercial free presentation will feature local, Kewanee voice talent bringing to life a story written by Jacque herself who joined WKEI on Thursday for the big announcement of the broadcast and some behind the scenes information on how the play came to be.

So, what happened that led Henry County to begin to allow bars and restaurants to open to 25% capacity and then rescind that order 2 days later. Duane Stephens, Director of the Henry and Stark County Health Department joined WKEI on Tuesday along with Henry County States Attorney Cathy Runty, and RaeAnn Tucker to discuss why, ultimately, Henry County had to rescind the amendment to the code and return to no longer allowing indoor dining in Henry and Stark County Bars and Restaurants.

CGH About Your Health by Regional Media

Hometown Holiday Review and a Look to The New by Regional Media

Betty's Garden Memory Care is throwing a Holiday party... sort of. Music is a huge part of life at Betty's Garden and Karissa Nash from Betty's Garden, along with Maisey Link, came up with an idea to celebrate Betty's Garden and the Holiday season with a Betty's Garden Holiday Special. Artists including The Joe Stamm Band, Angela Myer, both former Back Road Music Festival performers along with several local performers including the Cambridge High School Band, are all contributing to the virtual concert that will air on the Betty's Garden Facebook page on December 23rd from 6 Pm to 8 Pm.

Santa Claus was our special guest for a new edition of Kewanee Back When. Our friend Ron Heal arranged for Dave Clark and Sean Kernan to talk with Santa Claus live from the North Pole. Back in the 1970's, when Ron Heal was an employee of WKEI and he got his friend Santa Claus to host a show and chat with kids after school about what they wanted for Christmas. It was an incredibly popular show in the 70's. On this edition of Kewanee Back When, we reminisced with Santa Claus about his time in Kewanee on Kewanee Back When.

Kate Flannery played Meredith on NBC's hit series The Office through the entirety of that shows run. To this day, people stop Kate on the street, call her Meredith and ask if she's a little drunk. What many fans of The Office don't know however, is that Kate Flannery isn't just hilarious, she can sing and loves performing in front of an audience. She along with her good friend, Glee star Jane Lynch, have, in pre-COVID years, toured the country during the Christmas season promoting their swinging Christmas record, "A Swingin Little Christmas."

Kewanee Mayor Gary Moore was our guest on Tuned In on WKEI on Tuesday. The Mayor of Kewanee joined WKEI to discuss issues from Monday night's Kewanee City Council Meeting. Items included in the discussion, the necessity of tax abatements as a way to keep taxes down for residents, discussion of city policy as relates to bids for contracted work for the City of Kewanee and transparency and very good news about the spot for the next Kewanee Mural Project.

Beneficial Ag Center in Princeton is stepping up to help put food on the tables of 50 needy families throughout the area this holiday season.

Employees and businesses within the center are donating $2500 to purchase 50 Sullivan’s gift cards in the amount of $50 each.

You can help. If you know someone in the local area that could use extra help this time of year, you are urged to message the Beneficial Ag Center Facebook page or send an email to [email protected] with the name and contact information for the family in need.

On Sunday, December 20 at 5:00 pm, if more than 50 family names have been received, a random drawing will be held for 50 of the families to discreetly receive their $50 gift card.

Beneficial Ag Center is located at 636 South Main Street in Princeton.  The center's Kevin Bauer was on WZOE’s Coffee with Paul program on Tuesday morning to share the story behind the story.

Kris Noble Sauk Valley Area Chamber by Regional Media