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🌱 Patch AM: Aurora Teacher Ran Entirety Of Mississippi River To Raise $12K For Childhood Cancer Research

Coming up: Yard Sale on the Aurora Patch calendar

Friday August 28th Patch AM (Patch graphic)

Hey there, Aurora! Let's get started with what's happening in and around town. Read on and stay in the loop. ☀️

In today's newsletter:

  • Aurora teacher's 2,139-mile run powers major childhood cancer fundraiser
  • How 4th Ward residents can tap new storm recovery grants
  • How a former Aurora Philips plant ended up in federal court

Also on today's calendar: Yard Sale and 9 more events.

Today's riddle: What did the tree say when Spring arrived? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

  • Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high of 82 and low of 58 degrees.
  • Saturday: Partly sunny, temps: high: 81, low: 64.
  • Sunday: Humid; breezy in the morning, with a high of 85 and low of 67 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. Aurora Teacher Ran Entirety Of Mississippi River To Raise $12K For Childhood Cancer Research (patch.com) — Aurora residents can take pride in local teacher Grant Bell, who spent his summer running the entire 2,139-mile length of the Mississippi River to raise over $12,000 for childhood cancer research. The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy educator completed the journey in just 52 days, unintentionally setting record-breaking marks while honoring his niece's cancer battle and inspiring students, family, and supporters who followed along online.
   

2. Storm recovery funds approved for Aurora's 4th Ward (chicagotribune.com) — Aurora's 4th Ward has new grant money available to help homeowners cover out-of-pocket storm and flood damage costs from this summer, with up to $1,500 per property owner. The City Council also expanded eligibility to all storms affecting the ward and highlighted additional federal and state disaster assistance now open to Aurora-area residents and businesses facing uninsured losses.
   

3. Former Philips engineer convicted of stealing X-ray tube trade secrets for Chinese competitor (dotmed.com) — A former Philips engineer has been convicted of stealing X-ray tube trade secrets tied to the company's Aurora facility, which once developed and manufactured CT components. The case also involves another former Philips engineer from Aurora and highlights fallout from the plant's closure and competition from a China-based firm.
   

4. 3 things cities should do before approving another data center (smartcitiesdive.com) — Aurora is being held up nationally as a model for how cities can rein in data centers' impacts on water, energy use, and utility bills. Sustainability Director Alison Lindburg describes how the city paused new projects, rewrote zoning rules, demanded stricter utility and water plans, and gathered extensive resident feedback after local electricity costs jumped and opposition to data centers grew.
   

5. Two more women injured at Illinois abortion facilities (heartlandernews.com) — Two recent medical emergencies at Planned Parenthood in Aurora led to ambulance transports, including one case where a woman reportedly lost her pulse during a surgical abortion. The article, citing an anti-abortion group, also describes similar incidents at other Illinois clinics and notes the state's permissive abortion laws and rising out-of-state patient numbers.
   

📸 Around Aurora

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🪧 Patch Classifieds

  • Garage sale
    Kids toys, clothes, books and misc. (More info)
  • HUGE tool sale/garage sale
    Delta benchtop planer/jointer, Bosch router table w/ stand, Ryobi miter saw, many power tools, hand tools, all kinds of hardware, saws, clamps,... (More info)

💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • Disabledperson, Inc posted a job opening for Payroll Tax Processor - Remote at Teleperformance USA in Aurora, Illinois in Aurora. Apply here.
  • US Foods Holding Corp posted a job opening for Production Coordinator - Stock Yards in Aurora. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Aurora here.

Ok Aurora! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: What a re-leaf! (Thank you Flo G. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!

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We use a combination of real people and machines to tell you what's happening around town. Learn more about Patch AM.

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