🌱 Patch AM: See how Riverdahl families celebrated students’ perfect attendance this week

Greetings Rockford! We're your go-to source for what's happening in town. Read on to get plugged in! ☀️

In today's newsletter:

• See how Riverdahl families celebrated students' perfect attendance this week
• How a new 2% hotel fee could boost Rockford tourism

Also on today's calendar: The Wellness Retreat: A Festival Where Mind, Body, and Music Meet and 9 more events.

Today's riddle: How do billboards talk? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

• Saturday: Partly sunny and warmer, with a high of 80 and low of 54 degrees.
• Sunday: Turning sunny and pleasant, temps: high: 78, low: 61.
• Monday: Very warm, with a high of 82 and low of 62 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

• Riverdahl students get perfect attendance awards (wifr.com) — Riverdahl Elementary families in Rockford gathered Thursday to celebrate students' strong attendance with free hot dogs, burgers, and paper diplomas, including special perfect-attendance awards. New principal Kyle Heinze used the event to introduce himself, highlight his enthusiasm for Riverdahl, and connect with neighborhood families ahead of more school events this year.
   

• Rockford hotels unite to fund new tourism marketing push (bnd.com) — Rockford's new Tourism Improvement District, approved by the City Council, will add a 2% assessment on larger hotel stays starting December 1 to fund stronger tourism marketing. Hotels in Rockford and nearby communities expect about $1.38 million annually to attract more events, visitors, and overnight stays that support Winnebago County's growing visitor economy.
   

📸 Around Rockford

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🗓 Upcoming Events in Rockford

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★ Featured events ★

Saturday October 17
• The Wellness Retreat: A Festival Where Mind, Body, and Music Meet →
  1521 S. Linn White Dr., Northerly Island, Chicago, IL 60605,
  11:00 am

Want to see your event featured? Click here!

Other local events

Sunday October 11
• Drop-In Recreation →
  UW Health Sports Factory, 305 S. Madison Street, Rockford
  9:00 am
• Burpee Museum BSA: Archaeology Merit Badge - In Person →
  Burpee Museum of Natural History, 737 North Main Street, Rockford
  10:00 am
• Italian Cooking Class →
  Verdi Club, 782 North Madison Street, Rockford
  2:00 pm
• Eerie Autumn Lights →
  Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Garden, 2715 South Main Street, Rockford
  5:00 pm
• Sunday Night Live →
  the rue marche, 620 market st, Rockford
  6:00 pm
Monday October 12
• Drop-In Recreation →
  UW Health Sports Factory, 305 S. Madison Street, Rockford
  9:00 am
• Bridge of Hope Bereavement Care Group - Rockford →
  Northern Illinois Hospice, 4751 Harrison Avenue, Rockford
  10:30 am
Tuesday October 13
• Drop-In Recreation →
  UW Health Sports Factory, 305 S. Madison Street, Rockford
  9:00 am
• The Healing Cup Grief Group →
  Starbucks, 2570 Charles St, Rockford
  10:00 am
Thursday October 15
• Eerie Autumn Lights 2026 →
  Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Garden, 2715 S Main St, Rockford
  5:00 pm
Thursday October 22
• Eerie Autumn Lights 2026 →
  Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Garden, 2715 S Main St, Rockford
  5:00 pm

📣 Rockford Shout Outs!

Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!

Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

 

Thank you 👏👏👏 to these businesses for making Rockford PatchAM possible:

• Mike's Mowing & More Inc — (815) 721-4464
• Beegoshop — 8154468485

Click here to show your appreciation! 💚

Want to see your business here? Click here to connect with local customers.

💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

• Halloween's here, and so are we.
  Come say hi! We've got the good stuff, full-size candy, and things are dressed up for the occasion. #TreatMap (Nextdoor Signal Hill)
• My friend's boy Rufus must have jumped out of the broken window yesterday, sometime after midnight.
  He's never been an outdoor cat and has on a grey collar. He's located near the cemetery off of Summit and Greenwood, if anyone sees him please… (Nextdoor Rolling Green)

• Mercyhealth posted a job opening for Unit Clerk Monitor Technician CNA, Remote Telemetry Surveillance in Rockford. Apply here.
• Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. posted a job opening for Accounting Specialist in Rockford. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Rockford here.

🗞 Nearby News

Loves Park

• Winnebago County opens new early voting site in Loves Park (bnd.com)
• ECONOMIC DRIVERS: Routing Enterprise And Industry Clusters in the Great Lakes (siteselection.com)
• Charles (Chuck) George Grizzell (wausautimes.com)

Winnebago

• The Thread: The Tammy Tracey case (mystateline.com)
• Rockford man accused of strangling woman, charged with attempted murder (wifr.com)

Ok Rockford! 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: "How do billboards talk?" — Sign language (Thank you Ellen S. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!

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