Local News

Clinton Chamber of Commerce Hosts Annual Business Expo

The 2024 Clinton Chamber of Commerce annual Business Expo could not have dialed up a better weather forecast the community was there ready for the annual showcase right at 4 pm.

 

Executive Director Janice Peterson feels the early crowds were encouraging but admits things slowed down quickly as the show drew to a close.

 

 

Ed Cicenas is the Chamber Board President and owns EMC Photography in Clinton. He calls the annual expo a connection to the community. He feels it gives the business community a chance to showcase itself.

 

 

The Chamber now turns its attention to the May Days Festival at the end of May.

 

Visit clintonilchamber.com or find the Chamber of Commerce on Facebook. 

 

 

 

 

 

Neighborhood Care Center Readies for First Major Fundraiser

A DeWitt and McLean County non-profit is gearing up for its first big fundraiser as an organization.

 

The Neighborhood Care Center is hosting what it is calling the 'Inspire Gala' next month and Communications Director for the Neighborhood Care Center, Mandi Ries says this is going to be something new for their organization.

 

 

According to Ries, the event is in Heyworth on Friday, April 19. There will be entertainment from dueling pianos. 

 

 

A desert dash will be a fun but entertaining way for everyone in attendance to support the Neighborhood Care Center. Ries feels this will be a unique experience for some that come out.

 

 

Network Director Cody Monkman told Ries when they started planning the event to make it a memorable event. However, while he hopes it is something people come out enjoy, the goal is to obviously raise money but also celebrate the things the Neighborhood Care Center is doing.

 

 

The organization hopes to raise $20,000 and Monkman points out the Neighborhood Care Center hasn't been immune to the rising costs of the last few years. He points out while they have small buildings in Clinton and Heyworth, those small buildings need upkeep.

 

 

The event is again Friday, April 19 at the Hesed House Venue in Heyworth. Doors open at 5:30 pm. Tickets are $50 per person and can be purchased at neighborhoodcarecenter.net. 

University of Illinois Extension Nutrition Educator Highlights Food Waste Prevention

Next week is 'Food Waste Prevention Week' and a University of Illinois Extension Nutrition Educator has some tips for us in hopes of reducing food waste in our homes.

 

On the WHOW Morning Show Wednesday, Caitlin Mellendorf, Nutrition Educator Caitlin Mellendorf says preventing food waste can be simple and every household can do something to prevent it.

 

 

According to Mellendor, each food has its own shelf-life. The Extension website has lots of recommendations and Mellendorf has her techniques for preserving foods in her home.

 

 

In addition to food preservation, there are things that you can do to better store foods and even re-grow food. We'll have more on that next week during food waste prevention week on Regional Radio. 

IDOT Address Bridge Integrity

In the aftermath of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore this week, a spokesman from the Illinois Department of Transportation says they work hard to ensure Illinois’ bridges and roadways are as safe as they can be.

 

 

IDOT's Paul Wappel says the agency has overseen the improvement of more than 530 bridges statewide over the past four years.

Congressman LaHood Addresses Government Funding Vote

An Illinois Congressman wants his constituents to know why he voted against a new government funding package.

 

Republican Congressman Darin LaHood is for the spending towards the border crisis. However, he believes it's important to send a message to other lawmakers about checks and balances.

 

 

In the new trillion-dollar spending bill, Head Start programs received a billion-dollar increase, and cancer research received one hundred twenty million dollars.

 

The new spending plan extends government funding until October.

Clinton Board of Education Approves Federal Grant Application

Last week at the Clinton Board of Education meeting, the Board approved the district's federal grant applications.

 

Superintendent Curt Nettles explains the district applies for several grants and they have to consolidate those into a single application and that was the action they took last week.

 

 

According to Nettles, those grant applications are very important to the district. They fund numerous programs to the tune of roughly $ 1 million.

 

 

While the district will get the grants, Nettles points out they do have to fill out all the paperwork that comes with them.

 

 

Also at last week's Board of Education meeting, the district approved the purchase of a white activity school bus. We'll have more on that purchase coming up on Regional Radio. 

Reunification Drill In Piatt County Wednesday

Several central Illinois entities will be participating in a multi-agency reunification drill on Wednesday in Piatt County.

 

It's part of an effort led by Bement Schools and on the WHOW Morning Show Tuesday, Monticello Police Chief Rob Bross told Regional Radio this isn't necessarily geared toward responses to school violence, it could be any type of emergency that requires organized reunification of students and families.

 

 

According to the Chief, over the past year this process took many meetings and getting all the parties at a table to hash things out. Now it is time to practice the plans they have come up with.

 

 

Chief Bross indicates if you are in the Monticello area on Wednesday, you'll likely notice a few street closures and a few extra first responder vehicles. He notes this will be a part of this drill they are conducting, in hopes of having it wrapped up by late morning.

 

 

Chief Bross anticipates finding things as they go that will need improvement or more clarification but believes they have a good plan in place and looks forward to doing a practice execution of it on Wednesday. 

Illinois Manufacturers Assocation Promoting Makers Madness

It’s March Madness for everyone, including the Illinois Manufacturers Association.

 

Their Makers Madness is underway and headed to Elite 8. It’s a competition to find the coolest thing made in Illinois. IMA President and CEO Mark Denzler says they started with 250 unique products and even he gets awed at the “cool” things that are made right here in Illinois.

 

 

Elite 8 voting is now open at makers madness i-l dot com.

Mushroom Hunting Season Right Around the Corner

The mushroom hunting season will soon be in full swing as those spring temperatures start to warm things up and make mushroom growing conditions ideal.

 

Department of Natural Resources Conservation Police Capt. John Williamson reminds that there is often an overlap between the turkey hunting season and the mushroom hunting season. At Clinton Lake, they have specific rules for those who will be out for both.

 

 

Capt. Williamson anticipates the mushroom hunting season coming a little sooner this year with the warmer spring we've experienced but he notes it is all about the conditions being right for the mushrooms to grow.

 

 

Turkey hunting season opens on April 16 statewide. Capt. Williamson points those wanting more information on mushroom hunting or turkey hunting in aIllinois to visit dnr.illinois.gov for more. 

BBB Warns of Wedding Scams

For those looking to tie the knot in 2024, the Better Business Bureau advises newly engaged couples to research vendors.

 

Don O'Brien from the B-B-B has some tips before saying 'I do' to the contract line.

 

 

According to the B-B-B, most wedding-related scams deal with vendor delays or a failure to deliver quality products on time. Last year, more than 66 hundred people were scammed out of wedding-related business scams.

 

A list of trusted wedding-venue businesses can be found on B-B-B dot-org.

Earthquake Disaster Drill Coming This Summer

A disaster exercise is coming up this summer, and the City of Grafton will play a role. 

 

The Missouri National Guard Mobile River Bridge Company will be in the river town just north of St. Louis between July 15 -17 as part of a mock New Madrid Fault earthquake response exercise. Grafton Mayor Mike Morrow explains the scenario.

 

 

He says the company will use float bridge, ribbon bridge trucks, and Chinook helicopters as part of the exercise. The ferry landings on both sides of the river will be used, and Morrow says this will be a fairly big exercise over the three days.

Illinois Department of Corrections Partnering with Northern Illinois Community Workforce Progam

The City of Kewanee in Henry County is leading the way in a partnership with the Illinois Department of Corrections. Via an agreement between the City and IDOC, inmates at the Life Skills Re-Entry Center in Kewanee are given jobs with the City, in a public works capacity, cleaning cemeteries, picking up trash and so on. These are paid positions and the inmates will have the money waiting for them once they are released says Kewanee Mayor Gary Moore...

 

 

The Mayor says the program has proven so successful that other cities are considering a similar IDOC partnership for Life Skills Re-Entry Center inmates.

Chamber of Commerce Business Expo is Thursday

The Clinton Chamber of Commerce annual business expo is this Thursday at Clinton High School.

 

Executive Director Janice Peterson says this year's Chamber Business expo will have returning demonstrations and the Easter Bunny will be at this year's expo. She says the goal of the expo is to get businesses and non-profits in front of the community.

 

 

This year, the expo will conclude 30 minutes earlier than in years past. Peterson says this is a response to their exhibitors who told them the crowds diminish a lot after about 6:30 pm.

 

 

The Business Expo is from 4 to 6:30 on Thursday evening at Clinton High School.

 

Hear live coverage from the Business Expo this Thursday from 3 to 5 in the evening on WHOW and all its digital platforms then updates from the Expo on 95.9 FM WEZC from 5 pm to 6:30 pm. 

University of Illinois Extension Offering Financial Instruction Courses Starting Next Week

The University of Illinois will begin a couple of separate financial education courses next week.

 

Director of the U of I Extension in Logan, Menard, and Sangamon Counties Terri Miller- Casey indicates the first series begins on April 3 and this course will focus on student loans and managing those loans.

 

 

Another course comes up on May 1 and Miller-Casey points out this course will highlight unhealthy and bad habits around our finances.

 

 

And then finally, April 10 will be a course on financial credit and the pros and cons of it. Miller-Casey explains that is the kickoff an entirely separate but equally as informative series on money.

 

 

Extension.illinois.edu will have these two courses and many others for you to participate in. Miller-Casey reminds many offerings like these are documented and posted to the Extension website so you can revisit them if you missed out when they were offered.

April Showing Warm, Wet Trend

If we can make it through this week of up and down temperatures and only one or two pleasant days, April could be much more pleasant.

 

Ed Shimon at the National Weather Service in Lincoln indicates the outlooks are trending for a warm and wet month.

 

 

An above-normal precipitation signal can be somewhat misleading. Shimon explains in April you start to see an uptick in severe weather and so you may get an inch or more of rain from one system that rolls through.

 

 

The above-normal temperature trend will continue through the summer months. We'll hear more on that later this week on Regional Radio. 

Illinois Farm Bureau Promoting Docuseries

A three-part Illinois Farm Bureau docuseries highlights the diversity of agriculture in the state. It’s called Fields Apart: Rooted Together. IFB Senior Video Producer Scott Anderson involved in the project.

 

 

You can find all three episodes at ilfb.org.

More on Clinton's Water Tower Project

The City of Clinton plans to build a new water tower in the next year and plans are moving along a little quicker than anticipated.

 

City Administrator Taylor Baxter indicates the City will be utilizing EPA loans to help pay for two projects - one at the City's water plant and the other for the new water tower site. Additionally, they plan to use just short of a million dollars to pay for the water plant work.

 

 

According to Baxter, there are a couple of different locations the City could turn to for the site of the new water tower. He explains they are currently working through where would be the best location for it.

 

 

Last week on Regional Radio, Baxter indicated to Regional Radio the architects of the project recommended separating the projects which they felt would give them access to more loan forgiveness opportunities. 

 

He indicates they need to keep in mind timing on the EPA side of the project so they can access those dollars which is moving the project along at a good pace to this point. 

Stalking Increasing in Cases of Domestic Violence

A couple of weeks ago on Regional Radio, we highlighted the increasing occurrences of stalking in domestic abuse situations. 

 

Andrea Kocher is the Executive Director of Willow Tree Missions in Piatt County and explains stalking can have short and long-term impacts on the victim. She notes short-term behavior changes include isolating themselves so friends and family do not get stalked or changing jobs and routes they take every day.

 

 

According to Kocher, roughly 13 million individuals are victims of stalking and roughly one in three women are victims of a stalker. She indicates you're most likely to be stalked between the ages of 18 and 24.

 

 

Kocher is not only seeing an increase in cases of stalking lately but she is also noticing victims downplaying the situation. She hopes to raise awareness that these behaviors are not normal nor acceptable.

 

 

Stalking and harassment can sometimes be hard to differentiate but Kocher says stalking has four telltale signs that cross over from harassment to stalking.

 

 

Kocher hopes if you suspect you may be a victim of a stalker, contact Willow Tree Missions to receive help and talk through your situation. You can find out more about Willow Tree Missions by finding them on Facebook or visit willowtreemissions.org. 

Women's History Month and Social Security

March is Women's History Month and Social Security says there are some things women specifically should consider when it comes to their benefits.

 

One of the biggest financial fears people face in retirement is running out of money. Jack Myers at Social Security says due to longer life expectancies than men, women are at greater risk of this. 

 

 

Good retirement planning is important for everyone, but arguably even more important for women. Myers indicates the longer average life expectancy for women increases their likelihood of exhausting other sources of retirement income, making the inflation-protected Social Security benefit even more important.

 

 

We also have great publications called “What Every Woman Should Know” and “Survivors Benefits”.  You can find them at www.ssa.gov/pubs.

 

 

Myers reminds it is never too early to start your retirement planning. He stresses Social Security was never meant to be your sole source of income in your retirement years so you must consider setting money aside and saving for retirement independent of Social Security. 

Miss Illinois County Fair Queen Enjoying Tmie With Crown

The reigning Miss Illinois County Fair Queen enjoying her time with the crown. Natalie Evans from Morgan County tells RFD Radio that it’s not just about promoting the state fair, but also remembering the roots of the local county fairs.

 

 

Evans is a student at Murray State.

Gov. Pritzker Discusses Sustainable Aviation Fuel at Conference

At a first-of-its-kind conference in Illinois, Governor JB Pritzker recently welcomed leaders in the world of sustainable aviation fuel to the Chicago suburbs.

 

Pritzker says S-A-F has a bright future right here in Illinois.

 

 

The conference featured Illinois manufacturers, the Illinois Corn Growers, and leaders from the nation’s oil companies and the aviation industry.

Warner Library 'Weeding' Collection Ahead of Spring Book Sale

The Warner Library is weeding its collection ahead of this spring's Friends of the Warner Library bi-annual book sale.

 

Executive Director Bobbi Perryman explains this is something they do to their collection to keep from having too much inventory. While it can sometimes come under scrutiny, she believes it is a good thing for the library and the community.

 

 

The Friends of the Warner Library's book sale comes up next month so be on the lookout for specific dates by finding them at vwarner.org/friends-of-the-library.

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