Northwest Quarterly Magazine

09/21/2026

Hana has a winner! Congratulations to Linda Bartelt, who sniffed out our Director of Corporate Happiness and earned a gift certificate to Tavern on Clark Restaurant & Bar.

Now Hana has wandered off again, somewhere in the Fall 2026 issue of Northwest Quarterly. Find the page where she's hiding and enter by Oct. 16 for a chance at a $100 gift certificate to Tavern on Clark.

09/18/2026

When Black Hawk's warriors rode on Apple River Fort, most of the men were "away on business" in Galena. A cattle herder named Elizabeth Armstrong got the women loading muskets and the children making musket balls.

Settlers built a second story to an old cabin at Apple River Fort, leaving holes to aim their ri**es (Chris Linden photo). It was already a faint trail, but the gusting snow made it impossible to see. Except for the oak groves and brush, there was little else 13-year-old John Thurston spied on th

09/16/2026

Therapy doesn’t always have to happen in an office. At Willow Creek Counseling, clients can find support through traditional counseling as well as nature, animals and equine therapy.

Julie Rylatt founded Willow Creek Counseling in Rockford in 2020. Since then, the practice has grown to 22 therapists who treat clients of all ages. Life can be tough. Sometimes, even the strongest among us need a little boost to get through a bout of depression or anxiety, or to talk through a c

09/11/2026

The three bronze figures at West State Street and Kilburn Avenue carry the counts: the police officers, firefighters and medics who died on Sept. 11, 2001. They stand on a pentagonal platform, facing two steel beams salvaged from the World Trade Center — 1,000 pounds each, driven back to Rockford in March 2011 by two men from the memorial board.

Getting the steel took a year of letters and phone calls. Getting the memorial built took five more years and $600,000. One condition came with the beams: whatever Rockford built had to be free and open to anyone.

Gone, but never forgotten. This Rockford memorial recognizes far more than the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001. It also pays tribute to the emergency responders in Winnebago County who've made the ultimate sacrifice.

09/09/2026

The best part of a drive is usually the stop nobody planned. Eight southern Wisconsin towns and the detours worth taking in each — the last Limburger made in America, the world's largest refracting telescope and a cryptid on a country road outside Elkhorn.

Dancing Horses Theatre (photo provided). Sometimes, a spur-of-the-moment detour becomes the best part of your day. To help you on that detour, here’s a look at southern Wisconsin cities that offer their own mix of local history, scenic trails, unique attractions and hometown traditions. The ne

09/04/2026

For the animals that arrive scared, injured or alone, Lisa Beardsworth of Lisa's Little Rescue is often their best chance at survival.

Lisa’s Little Rescue cares for small mammals like possums, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, woodchucks, and the occasional fox or coyote. Before sunrise on an early June morning, Lisa Beardsworth slips into a spare bedroom in her Winnebago County home where seven baby 13-lined ground squirrels hudd

08/24/2026

Some love stories live on long after the people who inspired them.

In Savanna, Illinois, Havencrest Castle stands as a remarkable tribute to the enduring love, creativity and imagination of Alan and Adrianne St. George. From Victorian-era costumes and elaborate gatherings to Alan’s painstaking recreations of Titanic sculptures, the castle is filled with stories of a life shared and a love that continues beyond it.

For those who enjoy a good love story, make-believe and fairy tales, there’s still a place where dreams come true. It’s hidden upon a hilltop in Savanna, Ill., and it’s a place where reality turns to fantasy. In reality, it’s where a husband and wife were very much in love and enjoyed entert...

08/21/2026

When a b**r company gave The Olympic Tavern a bicycle to use as a promotional prize, Zak Rotello had a better idea: instead of giving the bike away to a handful of regulars, why not use it to bring the neighborhood together?

Fifteen years later, that idea has become Tour De North End, a 12-hour bicycle crawl through Rockford’s North End that now includes 16 businesses — and no longer just bars and restaurants. Florists, a dog groomer and a vintage shop have joined the route, while longtime participant Kegel’s Bicycle Store brings a crew to offer free bike repairs along the way.

What started with a few passports and a prize bike has grown into a neighborhood tradition, complete with costumes, food, music and the occasional Scandinavian fish dish.

Tour De North End returns Sept. 26, when cyclists will once again take to the North End — not to race, but to see how much of the neighborhood they can discover.

Tour De North End’s 16 participating businesses include bars, restaurants, shops, florists and a dog groomer. (Photos Provided) When a b**r company’s sales rep offered The Olympic Tavern a new bike for a promotional prize, Zak Rotello got an idea. Rotello, who had recently returned home to run h...

08/19/2026

Some ice cream shops sell desserts. Others sell memories.

At Zammuto's in Rockford, a century-old Sicilian recipe is still taught by watching, doing and tasting. In Freeport, generations of families still line up for a scoop at Union Dairy. Over in Rockton, Brent Murray still folds every swirl by hand at Dairyhäus. And at Meggy Moo's Dairy Ripple, nobody has quite figured out who invented the famous widgets.

Across our region, these are the people keeping generations of summer tradition alive — one scoop at a time.

Meet the people who preserve generations of flavor, memory and summertime tradition. On any given night, in any given town in America, there’s a line at a walk-up window that stretches down the sidewalk. Children count quarters, a couple splits a malt on a tailgate and somebody’s grandfather stu...

08/19/2026

Have you gotten your hands on the Summer Issue of the Northwest Quarterly Magazine yet? We are excited to be featured in the magazine!

Stop by any one of our six offices to pick up a copy today. Happy reading! 😀📕