Guy Stephens

Paddle and Trail and the Rockford Park District are seeking public input on what types of winter recreational activities they would like to see offered at the Regional Activity Center on Windsor Lake in Loves Park.   The Park District says tournaments or festivals could be built around some of these winter activities that could draw visitors to the area. 

Several area museums have won awards from the Illinois Association of Museums.

Rockford’s Midway Village won Certificates of Excellence for the educational program “100th Anniversary Titanic Steerage Supper” and for Social Media and Websites. The Sycamore History Museum won a Certificate of Excellence for the exhibit “Why Sycamore Works.”

DeKalb Mayor Kris Povlsen says he will not run for another term. Povlson made the announcement in a press release sent out Friday morning. Povlson says the more than 15 years he has served as alderman and mayor have been a rewarding experience, but it was simply time to to move on. Povlson says he is proud of many things DeKalb's government was able to accomplish during his tenure on the City Council.  

Zambian Matthew Tembo got his bachelor's degree in classical music-playing Bach on the piano. He moved on to become a leading touring and recording artist in both the reggae and Afropop genres. But for the last several years, he's devoted himself to kindling an interest in his countrymen for Zambia's traditional instruments and music. To that end, he founded the Sing Your Own Song Festival, which encourages musicians to create music that embraces that tradition. More recently, he has come to Northern Illinois University, where he is working on master's degree in World Music.