Welcome to FREE PODa local news source for everyone in the Freeport area. This weekly podcast is brought to you by a large volunteer group dedicated to providing objective, unbiased news specifically for our community.
Meet international visitors in the library
Local citizens have an exciting opportunity to learn more about the Freeport Area International Visitors Council and speak with seven female leaders from Peru who are visiting Freeport in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State.
Those interested should mark their calendars for one of the two sessions next Thursday, August 22, at the Freeport Public Library. The first session will be from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. with the League of Women Voters; the second will be from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. with a roundtable of local women professionals. Both
Meetings will be held in the library’s public meeting room. For more information, contact the library at 815-233-3000.
The Freeport Area International Visitors Council is an organization of volunteers dedicated to providing programs tailored to the specific personal and professional needs of eager participants from a variety of foreign countries. Over the past 64 years, hundreds of visitors from over 80 countries have
have visited Stephenson County and according to Executive Director Kerrylyn Rodriguez, it is consistently the best part of their visit to the USA.
Art walk in Krape Park
This Saturday, August 17th, Art Walk will take place in Krape Park! From 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, visitors can browse for unique, handcrafted treasures at this artisan market.
Artists and artisans from across the region will exhibit and sell paintings, glasswork, photography, jewelry, sculpture, woodwork, crafts and more. There will be live music, carousel rides and tasty refreshments from local food vendors.
The Krape Park Art Walk is free to the public and is designed for the whole family. Other activities that will also be offered include paddling on Yellow Creek in various character paddle boats, mini golf on the new Wing It! mini golf course, and rock climbing and other fun activities in a range of
of play areas.
Classes have begun
Although Freeport children don’t start school until next Wednesday, August 21, Stephenson County students are getting a head start on the new school year. Aquinas children are the first to begin classes today, August 15, followed shortly after by Dakota, Pearl City and Tri-County Christian tomorrow.
Lena-Winslow students will begin Aug. 19, while Orangeville and Immanuel Lutheran will face the Pretzels on Aug. 21. Motorists are reminded to watch for children in crosswalks and school buses with stop signs posted along their routes.
For parents of students in Freeport School District 145, there is a handy “Back to School” guide on the school district’s website with all the information needed to register and prepare students, from school dress codes and bus routes to information on school meals and sports team schedules. Here is the exact URL for the guide: https://www.fsd145.org/domain/1245
You can also easily find it by visiting www.fsd145.org, as the site is accessible via a link from the home page.
Drive-through backpack distribution
As families prepare for school, the Boys and Girls Club of Freeport and Stephenson County is ready to help! The club is hosting a drive-through backpack distribution on Saturday, August 17th to help families prepare for back to school. All backpacks will be distributed in a drive-through manner at King.
Community Campus, 511 South Liberty Avenue in Freeport, starting at 11 a.m. Saturday.
The backpacks are available for students in kindergarten through eighth grade, and each grade-level backpack is filled with the recommended supplies for that grade. There is a limit of three backpacks per family while supplies last. A dozen generous sponsors have provided the materials for this giveaway –
Event sponsors include State Bank, Freeport School District 145, The Helm Group, Dimond Bros. Insurance, The Bocker Group, Spartan Community Education, Honeywell, Dennis and Mary Book, Amity Society, Lions Club, Titan Tire Co. and Sharon Shelton.
Freeport Police provide liaison officers to schools
The Freeport Police Department has partnered with the Freeport School District to provide a School Resource Officer (SRO) beginning part-time this fall and projected to provide a full-time officer in spring 2025.
An SRO provides expertise in dealing with youth involved in crime and substance abuse, participates in prevention programs to deter alcohol and drug use, assists in the prevention of crime within the school, can assist in the development and implementation of the school’s emergency plans, and can also help
Improve students’ perceptions of law enforcement.
In the past, the Freeport Police Department has assigned an SRO to both the Freeport School District High School and Middle School, but due to a shortage of officers, the department was most recently assigned an SRO for the school district in early 2020.
Since 2020, Freeport High School administrative staff has been working with the Freeport Police Department to organize an SRO for the schools once the department is better staffed.
In the spring of 2024, the department posted a position for an SRO with the intent of assigning that officer to schools in the fall. The school district and police department jointly selected an officer to serve as an SRO, and that officer has completed the required training to be a certified SRO in the state of Illinois. The department’s SRO will be provided on a part-time basis until staffing allows for a full-time position, which is currently planned for the spring semester.
No additional funding is required for this position, and the SRO’s salary and benefits costs are split equally between the school district and the police department.
Code Red
We mentioned a free alert service from the City of Freeport last week, and as school starts back up, we want to remind our listeners again how useful it can be. The Code Red alert service can keep you up to date on road closures and other important emergency information from the City, such as weather warnings, boil water notices, and criminal activity.
Signing up for this free service is easy: Just go to the city’s website, www.cityoffreeport.org/, and search for “Code Red” or “Freeport Alerts.” You can also sign up on your smartphone by texting FREEPORTALERTS (all as one word) to 9941. That’s FREEPORTALERTS (all as one word) to 9941. Here’s the exact link to register online: https://public.coderedweb.com/CNE/en-US/BFE9C203F980.
Paint the harbor
The popular community event Paint the Port returns next Friday, August 23. The Freeport Art Museum is hosting this street painting event. Local families and creative enthusiasts can reserve a spot downtown to fill with their artistic creations on Main Street, Stephenson Street, State Street and Chicago Street.
Avenue.
The squares cost $15 each and will be available online at that price until next Thursday, August 22nd at 11:59 p.m.
The website to register is www.painttport.com. Squares will also be available for purchase the day of the event for $20 each, but supplies may be limited.
The Paint the Port registration booth is located at 22 E. Exchange St., the museum’s future new location. There you can pick up your artist bag with everything you need for your masterpiece, including chalk, paint brushes, cups for rinsing brushes, and promotional items from sponsors. The paint provided in the bags is the only paint allowed for this event. Sinks will be set up to provide rinse water, and you can bring a change of clothes for the younger artists on your team, as well as towels or knee pads to protect knees on the road.
Painting work can be carried out at any time between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. and must be completed by 8:00 a.m.
Volunteer shifts are available for both the day before Paint the Port, Thursday, August 22nd, and the day of
the event will take place on Friday 23rd. Volunteer roles will include marking and numbering the squares, filling bags and cleaning up. Details and shift times as well as other useful information about the event can be found on the event website, www.painttport.com. The event also has a Facebook page with more information.
Originally conceived in 2017 as a means of raising funds for downtown revitalization, Paint the Port has since exceeded all expectations. Proceeds raised through the event go toward the development and maintenance of the downtown Arts Plaza, where citizens can gather.
Food & Drink
As we just mentioned in our story about Paint the Port, Eats & Beats is also happening next weekend, Friday and Saturday, August 23rd and 24th. So once you’ve completed your masterpiece or strolled the streets of downtown Freeport admiring others’ paintings, please stay to enjoy the live music and food at Eats & Beats, with proceeds from the event benefiting area nonprofits.
Eats & Beats takes place at the Arts Plaza across from the Freeport Public Library and the beats start at
5pm both days. Enjoy multiple genres of music on Friday including Ukulele Express and The Usual Suspects. On Saturday, Ryan Casey will be followed by Sparks Fly, which will present The Taylor Swift Experience on Saturday.
As for food, there will be 10 stalls offering everything from cotton candy, giant cookies, mini pies and snow cones to nachos and walking tacos, pulled chicken and pulled pork sandwiches, regular and chili cheese fries, stuffed baked potatoes, cheese curds, poke bowls, pizza, and hamburgers and hot dogs.
Freeport High School’s student garden is a leader in community composting
Through a partnership with the Freeport Environmental Study Group, the Northwest Illinois Audubon Society and the University of Illinois Extension, the Freeport Student Garden is expanding its composting program.
The program helps households in the greater Freeport area reduce the amount of food waste they send to landfills. The Freeport Student Garden uses this food waste to make compost, which is a valuable soil amendment and provides nutrients to the soil. The Freeport Student Garden will also
Pilot project to collect compostable waste from the high school cafeteria.
In early August, additional bays for the composting system were built and installed. Want to get involved? Email [email protected] or [email protected]. This expansion was made possible by a grant from the Foundation for Northwest Illinois.
