Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara sits down with Steve Summers on This Week in the Stateline to discuss all the biggest developments in the city over 2021.
Laura Gibbs Green, communications manager for the Rockford Park District, joins Steve Summers on This Week in the Stateline to talk about the upcoming Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition Jan. 26-29.
There will be 11 teams competing this year, as well as 11 teams in the high school division.
Last year, roughly 59,000 people drove through Sinnissippi Park to see the sculptures last year, Gibbs Green said.
"When you start to see those snow blocks form at Sinnissippi Park, it's like big wood blocks of snow, basically, then you know that things are looking pretty good," Gibbs Green said.
Listen to the full interview below.
Rock River Current
ROCKFORD — The two-year coronavirus pandemic has created a steady stream of new scams trying to separate you from your money and personal information, according the head of the local branch of the Better Business Bureau.
From pop-up testing sites that rip people off, to counterfeit masks, counterfeit vaccine cards and other methods, the pandemic has created new reasons for consumers to be wary, said Dennis Horton, director of the Rockford Regional Office of the Better Business Bureau.
“Since the pandemic hit, we’ve had nothing but a steady stream, a river I should say, of pandemic scams,” he said on This Week in the Stateline. “We’ve taken to calling them scam variants because there are so many of them.”
The most common scam revolves around online purchasing, with phishing tactics seeking personal information being the second most common, he said.
“There’s always something new," he said. "I’m frequently amazed at the brilliance of these con-artists and crooks."
Last week, Horton's office issued a warning surrounding quizzes on Facebook and other social media. Those quizzes can ask personal questions like “what high school did you attend” and “what is your mother’s maiden name” — the same type of questions you may use to protect bank accounts and other crucial data.
“I’m not saying all the quizzes you find on Facebook are data collection scams, but that’s how they begin,” Horton said. “They’re collecting this information and they can now build a profile about you and, frankly, steal your identity.”
He said always take a skeptical approach to anything asking for personal information online, and keep strong passwords.
“We’re telling people way too much about ourselves while we’re online,” Horton said.
Lastly, don't be embarrassed if you are conned. Contact the Better Business Bureau for help if you're the victim of a scam, he said.
Listen to the full interview below:
John Flanagan of Rockford Hawg Hunters/Benefit Fishing Tourney outlines the return of the annual Open Team Bass Fishing Tournament on the Rock River in April. Proceeds benefit Crohn's and Colitis Foundations in the Rock River Valley area.
Runtime: 4 minutes.
