Looking back at 2024

As 2024 comes to an end, here are some of the year's top news stories from Roscoe, South Beloit, and Rockton, Illinois:

• Demolition of South Beloit's Garden Hotel - The owners were fined $8.8 million as Judge Ronald Barch cited 1,657 days of code violations at the long-neglected hotel property.
• Missing Chemtool claims - Many people within three miles of the Chemtool fire were told their claims for property damages had not been received. After public outcry, the claims administrator agreed to extend the deadline.
• Missing Roscoe man - Gil Wierschke wandered away from his home on Aug. 12, 2024 and has not been seen since. Roscoe Police and Winnebago Sheriff are still looking for leads. His wife says, "The wondering is hard to deal with."

• Deaths and obituaries - We remembered several beloved people, including restauranteur Zendel "Neli" Imeri, skating coach Slavka Kohout Button, and 10-year-old Aidyn Hansen.
• An large campaign sign was allowed to remain in a Roscoe yard, despite enforcers of Winnebago County ordinances.
• The Natural Land Institute acquired the Busse Prairie Preserve, just north of NLI’s Lost Flora Fen on Raccoon Creek.

• A seemingly routine school book fair in South Beloit ignited a wider debate about content appropriateness.
• Poison Ivy Pub in Roscoe was sued over music licensing fees. The owner of the Roscoe bar and grill said that bars and restaurants were being treated unfairly by The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).
• Improvements are planned for Main Street Roscoe, including more off-street parking and event spaces so Roscoe can become a destination for visitors.
• In January, a middle-aged South Beloit man died while snowmobiling in Rockton Township, IL
• Nick Sommer never forgot how COUNTRY Financial helped him after their family home in Roscoe burned to the ground. Now he's a COUNTRY Financial agent. Other businesses we celebrated this year: La Croûte Bakery Café, Shorty's Kitchen, Whiskey Hotel Barbecue, and many more.

• In March, a young man fled a traffic stop, stole a car at knifepoint, and led authorities on a car chase into Beloit, which ended in his death at the hands of Roscoe police. Official investigations cleared the officers involved. Our reporting revealed that the suspect was previously arrested for armed robbery.
• A federal lawsuit alleged that an unnamed Hononegah football player became a victim of retaliation after his parent wrote the letter that led to Hononegah forfeiting a game to Harlem.
• Thousands of readers turned to Rockton-Roscoe News for details on the Roscoe Lions Fall Festival. More than 200,000 people visited our website in the second half of 2024.