Lena Fall Festival
The Lena Lions Annual Fall Festival, which has been called “The Cadillac of Small Town Festivals”, will be held in downtown Lena this Friday and Saturday, September 6th and 7th.
The Festival is ready for another round of food, music, crafts, and family fun starting this Friday and continuing on Saturday. The action begins Friday night with carnival rides at 6 p.m., live music, and a variety of food options including pork chops on a stick, the Lions’ famous ham stand, and other tasty options. Craft vendors will also be selling their wares.
There is a 5K run/walk on Saturday morning at 8:00, for which you can register at the Lena Park District website through Friday (https://raceroster.com/events/2024/89103/lena-fall-festival), and then the highlight of the two days is the parade at noon Saturday. After the parade the carnival rides fire up again and local bands will play all day in downtown Lena. Go to the Lena Illinois Lions Facebook Page and the Lena Lions Fall Festival events page for more details.
Football season starts for Freeport Pretzels
The Pretzels lost their opening game Friday night to Boylan, but by only one point with a final score of 14 to 13 in Boylan’s favor. However, that was a competitive game compared to the rest of Friday night’s NIC-10 games where the next closest game was Harlem to Belvidere with a score of 21 to 10. The other conference games were pretty much blow-outs, so it was an interesting start to the season for the NIC-10 conference.
The Pretzels’ next Friday night game is September 13th against Belvidere, who bested Guilford 29 to 0 on Friday.
Library grants
The Illinois Secretary of State and the State Librarian have announced that throughout the 45th Senate District, libraries serving a combined 128,000 people have received nearly a quarter of a million dollars in grants. The grants include annual per capita funding as well as newly created one-time technology grants to help libraries most in need to upgrade their technology infrastructures. The Freeport Public Library is receiving just over $63,000, the largest grant in the region by quite a large margin, but many other libraries in Stephenson County are also receiving support.
New business locations
The Greater Freeport Partnership announces the opening and relocation of two businesses in Freeport. Ribbon cutting ceremony at the new location for the Freeport Area Church Cooperative Food Pantry at 890 W. Galena Ave., Freeport will be on Friday, September 6th at noon, and Re-Spun Records & Resale at 119 E. Stephenson St. will celebrate their ribbon cutting on Thursday, September 12 at 2 pm. The public is invited to attend these events and visit these businesses in their new locations!
Stephenson County featured in regional publication
“There’s a buzz about Stephenson County, and it has nothing to do with this summer’s cicadas. It has everything to do with a growing prosperity.” That’s the opening sentence of a positive overview of Stephenson County that appeared in the August edition of Northwest Quarterly. Freeport was the primary location featured. You can find the complete article at the Northwest Quarterly website.
(https://oldnorthwestterritory.northwestquarterly.com/2024/08/19/stephenson-county-builds-momentum/)
FHN nationally recognized for high-quality cardiovascular care
FHN Memorial Hospital has received five American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines® achievement awards for demonstrating commitment to following up-to-date, research-based guidelines for the treatment of heart disease and stroke, ultimately leading to more lives saved, shorter recovery times and fewer readmissions to the hospital.
You can read more about the Guidelines and FHN cardiovascular services at www.fhn.org.
Midwest region gas prices fall
As of August 31st, regional gas prices reached an average of $3.21 per gallon of regular fuel on Monday, down from the previous week's price of $3.32 per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The average fuel price in the Midwest region has fallen about 27 cents since July. A year ago, the average gas price in the Midwest region was 12% higher at $3.64 per gallon.
In Freeport, prices for regular gas at regional and nationally branded gas stations dropped 20 cents in the past two weeks from $3.79 per gallon to $3.59. The Marathon station across from Lincoln Mall has usually been lower and earlier this week regular gas was priced at $3.49 per gallon.
Unemployment claims decrease
The U.S. Department of Labor said that initial filings for unemployment benefits in Illinois have dropped. New jobless claims, a measure for layoffs, fell to just under 8,000 in the week ending August 24th, down from almost 8,200 the week before. Nationwide, U.S. unemployment claims dropped to 231,000 last week, down 2,000 claims from 233,000 the week prior on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Unemployment claims can be either seasonally adjusted or not seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data averages in the types of changes that normally occur at the same times and in about the same magnitude every year – such as seasonal adjustments, holidays, sales, and model changeovers – and takes longer to produce since these changes occur over months.
Data that is not seasonally adjusted can be acquired more frequently, often weekly. For Stephenson County, the not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.7% as of July, compared to a national rate of 4.5% and an Illinois statewide rate of 6.2%. This information is available from the U.S. Department of Labor's weekly reports.
DeHaven Quast appointed to Governor’s Commission
To better inform policymakers on the root causes of poverty and economic insecurity in northwest Illinois, CEO Michelle DeHaven Quast of The Foundation for Northwest Illinois has been appointed to the Governor’s Commission on Poverty and Economic Stability by Illinois House Minority Leader Tony McCombie.
The Commission is made up of 25 members consisting of four members of the State General Assembly, one member of the judiciary, and twenty public leaders who represent key constituencies impacted by poverty. The commission was created to address root causes of economic insecurity, racial disparities, and other contributing social, economic, and cultural factors.
“The overall purpose of the Illinois Commission on Poverty Elimination and Economic Security is not unlike the goals and interests of The Foundation for Northwest Illinois,” stated DeHaven Quast. The Five-Year Strategy to Reduce Deep and Persistent Poverty can be found online at www.ilga.gov/reports.
COVID vaccines are here
The updated mRNA COVID vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer are now available and are free of charge under most health insurance policies. The new vaccines are based on the KP.2 strain, one of the variants that have caused the majority of infections during this summer’s COVID wave.
According to the CDC everyone, especially older adults and those with weakened immune systems or other health issues, should get the new vaccine. Although children six months and older should probably also get the vaccine, parents should check with their pediatrician to see what is recommended for their child.
Remember that the COVID and flu vaccines are not live virus vaccines so you cannot get the disease from the vaccine.
West Nile Virus
In other health news, you may know that Dr. Anthony Fauci was recently hospitalized with, and subsequently recovered from, complications from an infection with West Nile Virus. What you may not know is that late August and September is prime season for this disease. This may seem counterintuitive since mosquitoes are often more associated with hotter summer months, which makes it important to pay attention to what’s happening now when it comes to West Nile Virus.
Although there is no vaccine and symptoms are generally mild and flu-like, some individuals can develop encephalitis, marked by a rapid onset of a high fever with head and body aches, disorientation, tremors, convulsions and, in the most severe cases, even paralysis or death.
There are the three “Rs” in dealing with mosquitos: reduce mosquito habitat, which is primarily standing water; repel them by using DEET and other insect repellents; and report areas that may be harboring mosquitoes to the health department, which can take appropriate actions.
Popular Stephenson County Farm Bureau fundraiser ends
The Prep, Freeze, Cook Fundraiser for Ag In The Classroom fundraiser conducted by the Stephenson County Farm Bureau won’t happen this Fall as the organization that prepared the freezer meals is no longer in business. The funds raised in previous years helped the Agriculture in the Classroom Program teach nearly 8,000 Stephenson County students about agriculture.
If you would like to support the Agriculture in the Classroom program by becoming 2024-2025 program sponsor, donations can be sent to the Stephenson County Farm Bureau at 210 West Spring Street in Freeport. Checks can be made out to Stephenson County Farm Bureau Foundation.
PAWS for Reading
This Saturday, just like the second Saturday of every month, therapy dogs will be at the Freeport Public Library – and they are just waiting for stories to be read to them! PAWS FOR READING is the Library’s therapy dog program where certified therapy dogs listen to any and all kinds of books that young readers might like to share with them.
This event will occur from 11:00 a.m. to noon on Saturday, and we hope there will be plenty of readers to entertain the furry listeners who will be waiting for them!
Movie in the Park
This Friday, September 6th, the Freeport Park District is hosting a free movie outdoors at Krape Park. The featured movie is IF. The movie is rated PG and is about a young girl who goes through a difficult experience and then begins to see everyone's imaginary friends who have been left behind as their real-life friends have grown up.
The showing will begin at dusk at the Koenig Ampitheatre, also known as the Krape Park band shell, but attendees are welcomed beginning at 7:00. In case of bad weather, check the Park District website at https://freeportparkdistrict.org/ for updates.