Sweaty Corn Making Summer More Humid
'I prefer the dry heat we get from wheat.' Brandon Heckman, Montage Splicer
'Can't Monsanto make us some corn that pants?' Parker White, Patio Sweeper
'It's nice of nature to come up with a vegan option to meat sweats.' Mia Haider, Glue Bottler
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Chicago Tribune
3 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Children have a ball despite Grayslake parade cancellation; ‘We still got to come out and have some fun'
Heavy rains forced the last-minute cancellation of Saturday's Grayslake Summerfest parade, but some in attendance still managed to have a ball, or two. At the corner of Whitney Street and Center Street, children set to march in the parade got a surprise when a parade participant released dozens of red and white beach balls from a truck which were apparently to be given away at the event. 'The kids are having a good time,' Tanya Blum of Island Lake said. 'This is so much fun.' Grayslake Colts youth football players ended up kicking around beach balls instead of footballs. 'We were down here for some team bonding before the parade, so we ended up actually having some fun and having some team bonding done before the storm came in,' Grayslake Colts football coach Micah Montondo said. 'Despite the parade being canceled, we still got to come out and have some fun.' Grayslake SummerFest, formerly known as Grayslake Summer Days, has kept the parade as a tradition for more than three decades and is sponsored by the Grayslake Chamber of Commerce. The parade was set to feature more than 50 entries, but was cancelled about 45 minutes before its scheduled start when a storm front moved in, forcing community partners to batten down the hatches and secure vendor tents. The gusty winds caused one large white barricade fixture to move on Whitney Street. The heavy metal partition stopped along a parking lot curb and did not ram into nearby parked cars. Vendor Samantha Schenk of Beer Bazaar of Grayslake was set up for beverage sales under a large tent on Whitney Street and watched the kids have a ball. 'The rain will pass,' she said. 'It happens. It's the Midwestern weather. It's bound to happen.' Meanwhile, personnel began clearing the parade route of safety cones. Robert Frank of Lake Villa made sure to keep larger American flags secure in the back seat of a 1967 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport. The collectible car was supposed to appear in the parade. 'It's gonna ride the storm out,' Frank said of the dark mustard yellow classic wheels. 'We've seen a few hailstorms in our lives. She's been around for a while.' Frank was there to volunteer at the beverage station staffed by the National Exchange Club. The club has a program that offers children complimentary American flags to wave. Those smaller 2,000 flags reserved for the parade will be saved for another day. No word yet whether the chamber's summer parade will be rescheduled. 'We never let them go to waste,' Frank said. 'Oh, they'll be handed out.'
Business Insider
13-08-2025
- Business Insider
We moved from the Midwest to Florida 5 years ago. Living here has been filled with surprise expenses and unexpected weather.
I moved from the Midwest to Florida with my husband five years ago, and it's come with surprises. Summers are more brutal than we expected, and we've been surprised by the high cost of living. We were also surprised by the Panhandle's strong Southern culture and wooded landscape. I'd always dreamed of moving to sunny, tropical Florida, especially after growing up in South Dakota's frigid winters. Every year, my family would head south to cruise or visit relatives in Orlando, and I quickly fell in love with the state. At one point, I even considered heading south for college. But my dream didn't become a reality until after graduation, when my Minnesota-born husband was stationed at a military base in the Florida Panhandle. Although we had both visited Central Florida's tourist hot spots, neither of us knew much about the quieter, more rural Panhandle. Sometimes it still feels surreal that we can visit the beach in December, but the blistering-hot summers keep us humble. After five years in Destin, we've learned a few surprising things about living in Florida as two Midwesterners. Florida isn't hot all year, especially in the Panhandle. We moved to Florida in July, so the intense summer heat didn't surprise us. However, the chilly winters caught us off guard. Destin is about 300 miles north of Miami, so our seasonal changes are more drastic. Late fall and early spring bring cool, crisp air, and the winters have lows in the 20s Fahrenheit. Our winters in the Panhandle are mild compared to the Midwest, but we still didn't expect Florida to have noticeable changes each season. In fact, our pipes froze during our first Christmas in our home — and this January, we even had several inches of snow. Our Midwestern hearts were bursting with joy seeing the neighborhood covered in snow and our pups having the time of their lives. Worrying about hurricanes is more stressful than we expected. Most longtime Floridians are accustomed to hurricanes, often unfazed by any storm below a Category 3. However, my husband and I still get super anxious about storms after braving Hurricane Sally just a few months after we moved. We lost power for three days, and without air conditioning or electricity, it felt like we were camping inside our own home. My parents happened to be visiting, so we kept the generator running and passed the time playing board games. Grappling with the threat of hurricanes is just part of living in Florida — and it's especially stressful knowing my husband could be required to evacuate military aircraft. This would require me to brave the storm alone or evacuate without his help. Generally, living in Florida is more expensive than we thought. One of the biggest shocks of moving to Florida was the high cost of living, and it feels like it's only getting worse. It's considered one of the most expensive states to live in. As Midwesterners, we had never dealt with highway tolls. Imagine our shock when we learned we'd be paying $4 each way to visit Destin from our home in Niceville. If we want to visit the beach, eat at our favorite restaurants, or shop at the national retailers, we have to swallow this toll — or drive an extra hour to avoid it. We also couldn't believe the high cost of home and auto insurance in Florida. We recently scrambled to find a new home-insurance policy when our original coverage would be more than doubling. Our auto insurance is also much pricier than it was when we lived in the Midwest. Over the last five years, the annual policy prices have steadily increased. Florida summers are brutal for us Midwesterners. Back in the Midwest, summer is the start of beautiful weather and long evenings outside. After braving freezing temperatures and snow for months, summer was always a welcomed change. In Florida, it's the opposite. Now, we dread the miserably hot summers where temperatures can head into the triple digits. By July and August, the humidity is stifling and unbearable, so we retreat inside with the AC running constantly. Ironically, staying inside to escape the heat feels a lot like how we used to hunker down during brutal Midwest winters. However, we've learned to make the most of Florida's hot summers. We love cooling off in the pool or lounging on the local white-sand beaches. And, unlike the snowy Midwest, we don't need to worry about icy roads or blizzards derailing our plans. The state is bigger and more diverse than we realized. After moving from the Midwest, we were surprised by how diverse and vast the state is. The Florida Panhandle is rural with forests and wooded land — a stark contrast to the swampy Everglades and theme parks of Central Florida. The state itself is about 450 miles long, meaning the drive to Key West would take us 11 hours from Destin. If we're going south of Orlando, we typically book a flight instead of driving. Even the culture changes drastically, too. In the Panhandle, there's a strong Southern influence thanks to our proximity to Georgia and Alabama. Compare that to the Cuban and Caribbean influences of South Florida, and it's hard to believe we live in the same state.
Los Angeles Times
10-08-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Flooding cancels last day of Wisconsin State Fair as severe storms knock out power and close roads
MILWAUKEE — Flash flooding canceled the final day of the Wisconsin State Fair on Sunday as continued heavy rainfall in half a dozen Midwestern states forced motorists to abandon their vehicles, cut power to thousands of households and closed busy roadways. Organizers of the fair said they were scrapping the final day of the 11-day event after rains flooded the fairgrounds in West Allis, Wis., just outside Milwaukee. 'We are saddened we cannot deliver this final day of the Wisconsin State Fair, but know that this is the best decision with current conditions and the forecast ahead,' organizers said in a statement. The National Weather Service issued flood watches and warnings for parts of Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois and Wisconsin. After rainfall began Saturday, forecasters predicted 'repeated rounds of heavy rain' in some areas along with hail, damaging winds and isolated tornadoes into Monday. Among the worst hit was the Milwaukee area, where as many as 12 inches of rain had fallen in some areas by Sunday, according to the National Weather Service, which also noted river flooding in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties. Some motorists left their stranded cars on roads. Nearly 47,000 customers of We Energies lost power in southeast Wisconsin. In the suburban village of Wauwatosa, an overflowing and fast-moving Menomonee River submerged a popular playground. 'Really unfortunately, it's just a really bad overlap of circumstances in terms of how all this rain fell, but then fell over such a populated area,' said Andrew Quigley, a National Weather Service meteorologist. Firefighters responded to more than 600 calls including for gas leaks, flooded basements, electrical outages and water rescues, according to the Milwaukee Fire Department. Meanwhile, city crews worked overnight to clear surface water. 'We're still in the middle of it,' Fire Chief Aaron Lipski told reporters Sunday. 'We're still catching up right now.' USA Triathlon canceled its Sprint and Paratriathlon National Championships in Milwaukee, where thousands of athletes were expected to participate. Meanwhile, the Sunday afternoon Brewers-Mets game at American Family Field was expected to continue as scheduled even as the parking lot remained inaccessible to traffic. 'We will not be able to guarantee parking for all fans, even those who purchased parking in advance,' the Brewers said in a statement. City officials warned residents to avoid driving or walking in the standing waters. 'It remains dangerous,' the City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works said in a statement. On Saturday, strong winds led to the death of one person in eastern Nebraska after a tree fell on a woman's car. In the state capital of Lincoln, the storms damaged two housing units at the Nebraska State Penitentiary, displacing 387 prisoners, the state Department of Correctional Services said. The agency said all staff and incarcerated people were safe and accounted for.
