Latest news with #Rockford-based
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Rockford hydroelectric project aims to power five homes with clean energy
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — A Rockford-based company wants to harness the Rock River to produce energy to power homes. Latitude Power of Rockford partnered with design firm Studio GWA to create a pilot project that would use hydroelectric generators to create enough clean energy to supply electricity to five homes. 'Essentially, it takes wasted energy that's either flowing over a dam, or anywhere water is falling,' said Jared Cacciatore, Latitude Power co-founder. Rockford's Fordam dam will soon become the pilot program's test site, where a micro hydroelectric generator will be installed. 'We can take that water, that which is potential energy, and turn it into mechanical energy through a turbine and a generator, and then turn that into, you know, electrical energy,' Cacciatore said. Latitude Power received state funding through Illinois' Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) to help develop the project. 'The company here won a nearly $1 million grant to produce hydroelectric power and uses the Rock River to generate electricity, which is a great concept. The Rock River has been a huge asset for this area, so it seems to be the next step in using this asset to generate clean power and provide electricity throughout the area,' said Sen. Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford). Latitude has already done smaller-scale testing, but moving to the Rock River means new challenges. 'It performs pretty, pretty well at the wastewater plant. But this is a new environment. It's a new, you know, there are new challenges. Will it will it be safe from vandalism? Will we be safe from other things we haven't thought of?' Cacciatore said. The company hopes the pilot project will generate enough electricity to power five homes. If successful, it plans to scale up from there. 'We want to help to help Rockford become a beacon of clean energy, a beacon of collaborative community involvement and advocacy for each other and for for the community and for the the greater good for the planet,' Cacciatore said. Once the grant funding is in place, Latitude hopes to have the project done within 18-20 months. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Haiti don't deserve that,' local man worries about hometown amid President Trump's travel ban
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — A Rockford man expressed his personal concerns with President Trump's travel ban on 12 countries. One of the countries impacted is Haiti, where James Casimir was born. Casimir said he moved to Rockford in 1994 for a better life and because of a political downfall in the country, but his family still lives in Haiti. 'I love Haiti, and I love to live there,' Casimir said. 'I always go back to Haiti twice a year. I have brothers and sisters, my mom is here, but all my family, nieces and cousins, people I grew up with are still over there.' Casimir said his house is in Port-au-Prince and his friend is living in it. Within the last two months, Casimir said gangs have taken over the neighborhood, forcing his friends and family members to live on the street. Between this and President Trump's travel ban, Casimir said he doesn't think he'll be able to see them for a long time. 'It's going to affect everybody,' Casimir said. 'A lot of Haitian who been here, they got their green card, got their Haitian passport. They need to go back to their country, see their family and come back. There's a problem.' Chris Weickert is the Executive Director for Hope for Haitians, a Rockford-based organization that provides services to people in Haiti. Weickert said it will be difficult to get work done with the ban. 'Not being able to have our country director, who is a native Haitian physician down there, come into the country and do those meetings will be difficult,' Weickert said. 'It's a very unhelpful thing to do to one of our closest neighbors that has the greatest needs.' Casimir said he hopes the ban will be over sooner rather than later. 'I hope it ends today,' Casimir said. 'This come right now about President Trump is very bad for the country. I know Haiti is bad. I know Haiti has terrorist people, but Haiti not a terrorist country. Haiti don't deserve that. It is unclear how long the travel ban will last, but Weickert said he plans to continue supporting the people of Haiti in any way he can. Hope for Haitians will be having its 23rd annual 'Evening in the Tropics' fundraising event on August 23 at Prairie Street Brewing Co. to raise money to create a new village in Haiti. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Rockford's Keith Country Day School graduates 11
Keith Country Day School hosted its 52nd annual commencement ceremony Thursday, May 29, at Rockford University's Maddox Theatre. The ceremony celebrated the graduation of 11 students from the Rockford-based private college-preparatory school. According to Keith, this year's graduating seniors will attend some of the nation's top-ranked colleges including the University of Illinois, Indiana University, University of Minnesota, Rhodes College and Marquette University, among others. The school also reported that the class of 2025 had collectively earned $3 million in merit-based scholarships. This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford's Keith Country Day School graduates 11
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Meiborg Brothers celebrates more than 40 years in business
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — You've probably seen their trucks scooting around town. Meiborg Brothers has been hauling freight for more than 40 years. Leaders at the Rockford-based business said the future is bright. 'Meiborg companies were founded in 1981 by my father, Bill Meiborg,' said Zach Meiborg, the company's President and CEO. 'He started off as a single truck leasing and with a company out of Milwaukee hauling dry goods to the west coast and produce back.' He said the company has grown over those 40-plus years. 'We've grown the Meiborg company to 200 trucks, 700 trailers, almost 3 million square feet of warehousing, a truckload brokerage and a 24/7 repair shop that has its own wrecker and service truck,' he said. Meiborg gave us a tour of their facilities in Rockford to show us their operations. 'This here is the nerve center of what we do at Meiborg,' he said while walking through the company's offices on Harrison Avenue in Rockford. 'It's our operations floor. We have customer service, we have dispatches, we have planning, we have truckload brokerage, accounting, and even our executive team sits out on the floor here because you can't really run the company if you don't know what's going on in the company. And the best way to know the company is to be in the company. ' He said the company's asset division, which are their trucks, operates primarily out of the Rockford-Chicago market, Houston, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia. 'We do service the full 48 states as well as Mexico, Canada, and we have roundtrips to Alaska. But 80% of all the freight that our assets run go between these three points,' he said. What they haul and warehouse is varried. Products like forklifts, food products, solar panels, are part of what they help move around the country and world. 'Everyday things that you use that come and go by truck or go for export overseas or imports comes through our logistics hub,' Meiborg said. 'Some of the really neat freight that we haul are like concert loads. Today, we have six trucks in the Chicago moving Beyonce's concert into the south side of Chicago there to perform. We've also done Metallica, Taylor Swift, Alabama. We've done some really neat bands over the years. He said his drivers cover a lot of ground each day. 'The goal is to run the truck about 550 miles a day and generate as much revenue as you can in that 550 miles. A driver can legally drive 11 hours within a day, 14 total hours on duty, and within a week, 70 hours maximum,' he said. 'As a company, we generate about $105 million of revenue a year,' Meiborg explained. 'That's not profit, that's revenue. And trucking goes through some wild economic ups and downs. Some years are great years. Other years are not so much. This is why we balance the trucking aspect of our company out with other revenue streams, such as the warehousing, the truck repair, fuel aggregation to blend things out and make it more smooth. Now all of this revenue gets generated and this is the team that sorts it out. This is our accounting team. We have payroll to process. We have taxes that we need to pay, fuel taxes. We have to purchase trucks and pay vendors. So as much money comes in, there's a lot that goes out.' Meiborg said he's proud of where the company came from. 'We're happy with where we're at,' he said. 'The future of our company definitely lies in the next generation. I'm a third-generation truck driver and second-generation owner of the company. My boy here, Luke, is a fourth-generation truck driver and eventually soon will be a third-generation ownership of the company. I'm very proud of what we've accomplished as a company. It's not just me, though. It is absolutely the team effort, whether it's the technicians to the dispatchers, to the drivers, they do a great job of moving the freight forward and making sure that we are the best transportation firm for our customers, employees and vendors.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Cutting-edge tech gives paralyzed Roscoe man a new lease on life
ROSCOE, Ill. (WTVO) — A paralyzed Roscoe man is able to walk again with the help of some one-of-a-kind technology. The technology, , uses microprocessor-controlled sensors to adapt in real time to the wearer's movements, providing stability and control for individuals with lower limb paralysis. Since the C-Brace became widely available, people like Brian Lazansky have been able to benefit. 'The doctor down there told me that when I first talked to him that I would never walk again, to get used to the wheelchair,' said Lazansky. 'In August 2022, I was injured by a herniated disc that exploded into my back. I was paralyzed. I'm a paraplegic.' Now, Lazansky is proving doctors wrong, one step at a time, all while becoming a trailblazer for new medical technology in the area. 'He is probably one of the first ones in the Rockford area, I haven't heard of anybody else,' said Clinician and Owner of Rockford-based Quantum Clinics, Vikram Choudhary. Choudhary met Lazansky after he received a cold call from him, searching for answers. That is when they both agreed the C-Brace was worth a shot. Lazansky's first experience with the brace was an emotional moment. 'The first time I put it on, it was life-changing. The first time I walked in here, I almost cried,' He explained. His clinician said his progress has been unbelievable, but he still has a long way to go. It's just amazing. So, last week he sent me a picture with him carrying all the grocery bags, [which] just put a smile on my face,' said Choudhary. 'It's awesome to get up and actually walk around and go out and make breakfast, and I can go down the stairs and do my laundry now,' Lazansky said. Lazansky said with his rejuvenated mobility, he is looking forward to going back to work as a heavy machine operator and spending more time with his daughter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
