Jenna Dooley: This is WNIJ. I’m News Director Jenna Dooley. I’m here with environment reporter Jess Savage to get caught up with Rockford’s Davis Park renovations, which just got underway. Jess, we were in Rockford this week. Can you explain what we saw?
Jess Savage: Hey Jenna, we were! There’s a lot of activity going on right now at Davis Park — a large crane and construction workers. We watched with fascination as a backhoe lifted an old park bench straight out of the ground. The park’s closed off to visitors now, and the waterfront path has been rerouted for the time being.
JD: Tell me more about the role of the park in the city.
JS: It’s Rockford’s only city-owned park, and it’s located right downtown up against the Rock River. Davis Park is the site of many community gatherings, like Friday Night Flix in the summer and the city’s annual Ironman race. This summer’s Ironman was actually the last major event before the park was closed for renovations…