Regional Media Podcast Network

Legendary Jazz drummer Louie Bellson has a few connections to Kewanee. First of all, his father, Louie Bellson Sr. owned a music shop in Kewanee in the 1930s and 40s. Also, Louie Bellson's little sister moved to Kewanee in the 1950s and spent the rest of her life in Kewanee. But the question that our friend Dave Clarke tried to answer on this edition of Kewanee Back When was whether or not Louie Bellson ever played a show in Kewanee? We know he played several shows in Rock Falls, where he was born, and in Moline where he grew up. But did he ever play a show in Kewanee? Dave has the answer in this edition of Kewanee Back When. 

Today is Juneteenth, June 19th, 2024 and on Wake Up Tri-Counties we were joined by members of the Kewanee Committee on Human Relations, Etta La Flora and Lakeshia Jones. They joined us for a history lesson on the origin of Juneteenth, the meaning behind the celebration, and the recent Juneteenth celebration that took place here in Kewanee over the weekend at the First Presbyterian Church in Kewanee. The Kewanee Commission on Human Relations is already planning for next year's Juneteenth Celebration as Juneteenth continues to grow as a recognized holiday.

Dr. Chris Sullens oversaw his last Kewanee School Board Meeting on Monday, June 17th. On Tuesday, Dr. Sullens joined Wake Up Tri-Counties to talk about the meeting, the Honors for Kewanee FFA at the FFA State meeting in Springfield last week and three Kewanee Track Athletes who made it to State this year. Later in the interview, Dr. Sullens reflected on his time as Kewanee School District Superintendent and offered a little advice to the new Superintendent Rebecca Baney. Dr. Chris Sullens joined us for the final time as Kewanee Superintendent on Wake Up Tri-Counties on Tuesday.

Mayor Inman returns to the K100 Studios to talk about City of Macomb business surrounding Chandler Park, including last Wednesday evening's Chandler Park Master Plan Public Survey meeting, as well as a look at the upcoming Heritage Days Festival and a special announcement of an event to celebrate Reverend Dr. C.T. Vivian's 100th birthday on Tuesday, July 30th. 

To submit your ideas or concerns regarding improvements for Chandler Park and the Master Plan, take the Chandler Park Master Plan survey. To stay up-to-date on City of Macomb Business, visit the City of Macomb Facebook page or cityofmacomb.com.

OSF On Call is always there when you need it. If you are having symptoms but you don't think you need to go to the emergency room, you can go to OSF On Call online and talk to a provider about your symptoms. Samantha Rux from OSF Saint Luke Medical Center and OSF Saint Clare Medical Center joined Wake Up Tri-Counties on Monday to talk about the many, many ways that OSF Healthcare has expanded the available services via the OSF On Call brand. OSF On Call is available 24 hours a day, 7 days week online via the OSF Healthcare website. It's a great tool for when you have an illness that is not serious enough for an emergency room visit but serious enough that you'd like to speak to a provider immediately. 

Wethersfield School District Superintendent Dr. Andrew Brooks joined Wake Up Tri-Counties on Friday to talk about last Thursday's Wethersfield School Board Meeting. Dr. Brooks talked about the items on the agenda, updates on construction projects and so on. And then we discussed the TIF request made by Wethersfield School District to the City of Kewanee and HVN Capital LLC, the company that will be operating the dispensary at the former location of The Broken Chimney restaurant. Dr. Brooks tells Wake Up Tri-Counties that the request is for TIF Funds to address gaps in school security including fence upgrades and security cameras.