Northern Illinois small schools conference teaches innovation in the classroom
ROCKTON, Ill. (WIFR) - Hundreds of educators become students for a day with the third annual Northern Illinois Small District Conference. The conference is more than just a meeting; it’s a movement where small school districts unite to become empowered agents of innovation and continuous improvement. This year’s event...
Woman seriously injured in two-vehicle crash in Rockford
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - A car crash Friday night leaves a woman with critical injuries. Rockford Police Department posted an alert on X around 12:30 a.m. that a two-vehicle crash took place at the intersection of Charles Street and Hunter Avenue. An adult woman was taken to a local hospital...
Rockford man accused of DUI hit-and-run in DeKalb
DEKALB, Ill. (WIFR) - A man faces charges after a two-vehicle crash Friday. Christian Lloyd, 52, is charged with driving under the influence, failure to report an accident and improper lane usage. Just before 1 p.m., April 24, deputies were called out to a report of a hit-and-run at the...
Roscoe residents connect with recovery resources after EF-1 tornado damage
ROSCOE, Ill. (WIFR) - Just one week after an EF-1 tornado caused damage across parts of Winnebago County, residents in Roscoe are now beginning the process of recovery with the help of dozens of organizations all in one place. A Multi-Agency Resource Center, or MARC, was held Friday at Life...
Neighbors demand transparency for Monarch Energy’s possible Rockford data center
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - Kelly Lewis fills her dining room table with public records. She labels each stack with a pink Post-It note, with the month and topic inscribed. Each pile represents a month’s worth of emails or documents from early 2025 through mid-April of this year. “It has...
Trial going forward for Rock County woman accused of killing her daughter
Online court records show Tyiece Oninski had a preliminary hearing in Rock County Court on Friday, where Court Commissioner Mason Braunschweig ordered the case be bound over for trial.
This Forgotten Illinois State Park Is The Best Kept Secret In The State
You know that friend who’s always there for you but somehow never gets invited to the big parties?. That’s Rock Cut State Park in Caledonia, Illinois, and it’s time we talked about this spectacular oversight in your outdoor adventure planning. While everyone’s fighting for parking spots at...
Ogle County police chase leads to 1 death, 2 hospitalized
OGLE COUNTY, Ill. (WIFR) - A police chase in Ogle County ends with two people in the hospital and one person dead. On Friday, April 24, the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office tried to conduct a traffic stop on a vehicle it says was occupied by people suspected of multiple burglaries across the county and also had outstanding warrants.
Arturo’s Mexican Restaurant: Building Community from Scratch
Great restaurants don’t manufacture a sense of community. They forge it through grit, personal connection and, sometimes, a small cooler of homemade tamales. Twenty-one years ago, Arturo Torres and his wife, Zulma Rodriguez, bet their future on just $1,700 and a handful of family recipes from Guadalajara, Mexico. An old cooler was their only equipment, its cargo of tamales drawing early crowds who...
Rock Co. mother accused of killing teen daughter bound over for trial
JANESVILLE, Wis. (WMTV) - A Rock County court commissioner found probable cause to move forward in the case against a woman accused of killing her 14-year-old daughter. Online court records show Tyiece Oninski had a preliminary hearing in Rock County Court on Friday, where Court Commissioner Mason Braunschweig ordered the case be bound over for trial.
