Afton, WI Events and More

Family of four receives first Rock County Habitat for Humanity house since 2015

JANESVILLE — Miguel and Jessica Gardner Rodriguez waited a year after applying for a Habitat for Humanity house before finally getting to experience the thrill of ownership. In the span of about an hour, they signed the papers to buy the house — and then Habitat for Humanity handed over the keys. “This would be the first time we get to actually make a place our home,” Jessica said. “We’re always worried about how rent goes up, something happens. We just haven’t really been able to make a place. I’m so excited.” The house is on Janesville’s south side. Miguel had a tough time explaining the long wait to get to the house, combined with being able to close on the house and being able to pick up the keys the same afternoon. “It was a smooth transition … So it wasn’t pressure. It was warmth and welcome to go through the process,” Miguel said. Jessica is a former EMS dispatcher-turned high school social studies teacher. Miguel has a bachelors degree in health education and is looking into massage therapy as a career. Miguel is a stay-at-home dad for the time being. While at a party one day, Jessica’s aunt

Rock County, WI · 13h

rockrivercurrent.com

Photos | Kauffman’s Country Store in Beloit

BELOIT, Wis. — Kauffman’s Country Store, 9550 W. State Road 81, is a specialty grocery store with homemade-style baked goods, seasonal treats and cooking ingredients. It’s known for its freshly baked pies, cookies, made-from-scratch breads and cinnamon rolls, as well as its variety of bulk goods and seasonal items.

Beloit, WI · 2d

GazetteXtra

partner publisher · 45.6K followers

Rock County aims to ease nursing home subsidies by opening Rock Haven to residents outside county

JANESVILLE – Natalie Rolling-Edlebeck acknowledges that opening up Rock Haven to out-of-county nursing home residents could come at a cost, but she's not yet sure how much. Rolling-Edlebeck's reason behind a shift to accepting out-of-county and even out-of-state residents is to try to create maximum use Rock Haven's 120 beds. Right now, the nursing unit can staff for 112 beds, a formula based on available nurses and the needs of patients now at Rock Haven. But a low tide in residents creates a capacity and staffing cycle that limits the amount Rock Haven can get reimbursed for residents, how many nurses it can hire, and how it can offset operating costs — all factors that drive a subsidy that the county said in its last budget wound up being $750,000. That's down from Rock Haven being more than $2 million underwater in recent past years, in part because Medicaid reimbursements have increased in Wisconsin. But officials argue the ceiling for Rock Haven, which is county run, is low because of how it operates. Rock Haven is one of 10 skilled-care nursing homes in Rock County, but of those 10, Rock Haven is the only one that does not allow out-of-county

Rock County, WI · 1d

We Are Rockford

Former CherryVale Mall Staple Files for Bankruptcy

A former CherryVale Mall retailer has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with some remaining Illinois stores potentially affected.

Rockford, IL · 1d

WJFW-TV

Cheapest gas stations in Janesville

Stacker compiled a list of the cheapest gas stations in Janesville using data from Gas Buddy. Gas stations are ranked by the lowest regular fuel price.

Janesville, WI · 3d

GazetteXtra

Morning Bloom a new breakfast restaurant in the former Sweet Berry location to open

JANESVILLE— A new brunch restaurant, Morning Bloom, is preparing to open in the former Pearl of the Orient and Sweet Berry location, bringing another breakfast and brunch option to the area after Sweet Berry closed just three months after opening. The Alcohol licensing committee Tuesday morning, the committee unanimously recommended a positive approval to the city council for the restaurant's license. Bardil Ahmedi, the new restaurant owner, is opening a similar restaurant that will operate every day from 7 a.m. - 3 p.m. The building at 2701 Milton Ave. housed Pearl of the Orient from late 2022 until early 2024. Rio Brazilian Steakhouse then planned to move into space, but backed out last year. Former owner Tommy Nguyen’s mother Xinh Le owned Sweet Berry. His mom has been the landlord for a building that houses Riverside Family restaurant in Rockford, Ill. Last year, Le had the idea to open a restaurant of her own in Janesville, and the idea blossomed from there. After purchasing the building, they repainted its exterior, repaved the parking lot, cleaned inside and constructed a bakery area that will serve as a mini-café serving items such as pastries, coffee and tea. In October the restaurant abruptly

GazetteXtra

Colony Brands to shutter Janesville packaging facility

Hello, Rock County! Here are your top Wednesday headlines: As the warm season begins to shift to a chillier time, board members of the BID say that the downtown's Designated Outdoor Refreshment area, or DORA, was successful. The business improvement district looks to submit the outdoor cocktail pilot program it started this year for a permanent ordinance. Just outside the Kohl's store at Uptown Janesville mall, you'll find a tortoise and a hare. You'll find a glowing frozen lake. And you'll find an animatronic dragon "melting" a glasslike section of carpet with his flaming breath. It's your job to putt a neon-colored golf ball through all those obstacles en route to breaking par. Colony Brands plans to permanently close its Janesville operations facility by next March, consolidating its food gift packing operations at an existing facility in Sun Prairie. The Monroe-based company disclosed the planned closure of its facility at 200 W. Venture Dr., in an Oct. 30 notice filed with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. Milton High School will debut its fall musical "Mary Poppins," based on the Disney classic, this Friday at 7 p.m. at the Jon Platts Performing Arts Center. There are subsequent showings planned for

GazetteXtra

Janesville teachers' union not thrilled with pay arrangement, seeks district revamp of wage schedule

JANESVILLE — The Janesville School District’s teachers union is not thrilled with the wage agreement it has reached with the district the last few years, and the union is now calling the district to resume substantive talks on a new compensation schedule. The message comes via a public statement the Janesville Education Association released this week following the Janesville School Board approving a certified staff wage increase for union members of 2.63% — a “cost of living” increase in the coming budget year. The pact came out of the lack of a formal agreement between the two sides after three bargaining sessions. JEA President Laura Mattison said that for some teachers, that equates to a cost-of-living increase that leaves them with a salary that’s less than what they earned last year if they factor in the increase they’re also paying for health care costs. Some district employees, like Mattison, a foreign languages teacher with 21 years of educational service, find themselves working second jobs to make extra money — all while working more hours with larger classroom loads and a growing load of professional development responsibilities. “Three negotiation rounds and they didn’t bring a different offer to any of the

Janesville, WI · 19h

GazetteXtra

Rock County District Attorney's office launches court case database in statewide transparency initiative

JANESVILLE — The Rock County District Attorney’s office is now part of a statewide project to give the public data on court cases, a move that’s aimed at boosting transparency. District Attorney Jason Sanders introduced a new database Thursday that he believes serves transparency for the public. The database operates within the bounds of strict rules around prosecutors publicizing individual court cases before resolution. He also pointed out that balancing transparency with the privacy of victims can be difficult as well. “For example, I should not and will not, tell anyone that a particular case did not go to trial on the most severe charge because the victim begged us to resolve it so they did not have to testify and relive their trauma in open court,” he said. He said that’s where the data dashboard comes in handy because it allows information to be released about the number of cases, types of cases, and outcomes of cases within Rock County. He said this will help not only the public, but the county, learn about how cases are handled. “We want to use every tool available to us, including taking a comprehensive look at what the numbers show, to reach

Rock County, WI · 15h

GazetteXtra

Norovirus closes Consolidated Elementary doors until at least Nov. 16

JANESVILLE — The Milton School District closed one of its elementary schools for the rest of the week because of a norovirus outbreak. Norovirus is more commonly known as the stomach flu. Late Wednesday, the district announced the closure of Consolidated Elementary because “more than 35%” of its student population had been sickened by norovirus. The District decided on this course of action after consultation with District Nurse Melissa Forrett and the Rock County Health Department. No other schools have been affected yet, according to the district. The district plans to open the school Monday. Superintendent Jeremy Bilhorn said that at the start of Wednesday, there were 30 students who were absent from the illness. Throughout the day, that number continued to climb as more students were sickened with the norovirus and were sent home. Bilhorn could not confirm the exact total at the end of the school day. “We noticed the numbers rose pretty high today,” Bilhorn said. The district will monitor reported absences at other schools and any ahead of Monday at Consolidated. “The idea is to take in account student safety, and best practice and guidance from our county health department,” Bilhorn said. Consolidated Elementary, the district’s

Janesville, WI · 1d

GazetteXtra

partner publisher · 3.8K followers

Boys basketball: Parker picked to finish seventh, Craig ninth in the Big Eight

The 2026-27 boys basketball season is right around the corner, and the upcoming season is already shaping up to be a wide open year, especially for the Big Eight Conference. Janesville Parker was ultimately picked to finish seventh while Janesville Craig was picked to finish ninth this season by Bound Wisconsin in their preseason conference preview series. Bound Wisconsin boys basketball staff writer Colton Wilson is reaching the conclusion of his preseason series of conference previews for the state of Wisconsin. Each preview includes projected 2026-27 standings, a sleeper team to watch out for, top players to watch as well as conference break out candidates. Parker enters its 2026-27 season with a senior-loaded team, something that will be a huge plus and advantage for the Vikings in an already difficult conference. Javonte Johnson, who was labeled as a player to watch by the outlet heading into the season, is one of the several returners primed to make a jump up this year. The Vikings faced some tough sledding last season, finishing 4-21 (1-17 Big Eight) and last place in the league. However, their returning senior talent and particularly Javonte Johnson’s 14.6 points/game and 7.9 rebounds/game have Parker poised to leap

Janesville, WI · 14h

Q985

Beloit's Holiday Light Show Adds a New Christmas Market

More than a million Christmas lights, holiday activities and a brand-new shopping market are coming to Beloit, Wisconsin, as Home Run Holiday Lights returns to ABC Supply Stadium for the 2026 holiday season!

Beloit, WI · 3d

GazetteXtra

BID member says DORA had a successful 6 months of operation

JANESVILLE —As the warm season begins to shift to a chillier time, board members of the BID say that the downtown's Designated Outdoor Refreshment area, or DORA, was successful. The business improvement district looks to submit the outdoor cocktail pilot program it started this year for a permanent ordinance. This May, the City Council unanimously approved a proposed ordinance that lays out the location of the DORA, where people would be permitted to drink alcohol outdoors along downtown sidewalks. The only change made was to the time of the DORA, crimping its hours from 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. 7 days a week, to noon to 10 p.m. Monday through Sunday. The DORA boundaries, according to a map provided by the organizers, encompass most of the central downtown area, also known as downtown’s entertainment district. The map shows highlighted streets that would be part of the DORA area, including North and South Main streets; East and West Milwaukee streets; parts of North Franklin and South Jackson streets; and blocks of West Court and River streets along the riverfront. The DORA also encompasses the town square where the farmers market and other public events are held. At Tuesday morning’s Alcohol licensing

royalpurplenews.com

partner publisher · 114.6K followers

Citizens vote down school district referendum

*Editor’s Note: Percentages are rounded to the nearest tenth and write-ins are excluded. Whitewater Unified School District $5.5 million four-year non recurring referendum. In addition to political government races, the Whitewater community voted on the Whitewater Unified School District’s (WUSD) $5.5 million four-year nonrecurring referendum. With 47.5% voting...

Whitewater, WI · 4d

Channel3000com News 3 Now

More than $348K raised for Janesville homeless center

JANESVILLE, Wis. — The House of Mercy Charity Ball raised more than $348,000 on Oct. 10 to benefit the House of Mercy Homeless Center and its residents.

Janesville, WI · 3d

GazetteXtra

Children's Museum open delayed while parts for elevator, exhibit remain on hold

JANESVILLE — The highly anticipated opening of the WonderVault children’s museum in downtown Janesville will be delayed one month, Executive Director Kent Anderson said. Anderson said earlier this year that the opening was slated in November. However, the museum continues to wait for a needed elevator part, and installation of an exhibit is also being delayed. The WonderVault is now set to open sometime in December. Anderson said the museum hopes to have a grand opening date soon. The museum is no stranger to waiting. Its journey began in 2008 but, opening the 100 W. Milwaukee St. site stalled during the Great Recession. Community efforts regained momentum in the 2010s through a traveling “Museum on Wheels” program before the COVID-19 pandemic slowed progress once again. In 2022, organizers launched a capital campaign that ultimately raised about $14.5 million to construct the permanent museum. Rather than replicating exhibits found in larger children’s museums across the country, designers built the museum around experiences familiar to children growing up in Rock County. Designers from Memphis, Tenn., visited local farms, conducted community focus groups and developed exhibits centered on three themes: the Rock River, innovative manufacturing and precision agriculture. Those themes appear throughout the

Janesville, WI · 1d

rockrivercurrent.com

The new Cheezy’s at Victory is more than grilled cheese. Here’s what’s different in Loves Park

LOVES PARK — The new Cheezy’s at Victory represents an expansion of the local brand beyond the hearty grilled cheese sandwiches served up on its food truck. Owners Josh Wilson and Dustin DiBenedetto, who just wrapped up their fourth food truck season with Cheezy’s Grilled Cheese, cut the ribbon on Wednesday on their second physical location. It’s on the second floor inside Victory Pickleball, 7003 N. Alpine Road. They also continue to operate Cheezy’s Grilled Cheese inside BJ’s Place at at 2842 11th St. on Rockford’s south side.

Loves Park, IL · 23h

rockrivercurrent.com

Taste the Town | Get Thanksgiving ready with Kauffman’s Country Store in Beloit

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and if you’re starting to plan your holiday menu there’s one local stop you’ll want to add to your shopping list: Kauffman’s Country Store in Beloit, Wisconsin. Kauffman’s, 9550 W. State Road 81, is celebrating 29 years in business. Founded...

Beloit, WI · 17h

GazetteXtra

partner publisher · 39.2K followers

Girls basketball preview: 2026-27 Cougars are an experienced, balanced bunch

Young players in key roles have been a staple in Janesville Craig’s girls basketball program in recent seasons, but that’s not the case this year. Seniors Abbie Claas, Ava Schaffner and Nevaeh Johnson have been on varsity since their freshman years — and at times they even found themselves in the starting lineup as freshmen. Junior Yana-Aaliyah Stevens led the Cougars in scoring as a sophomore and started as a freshman. Junior Adilynn Wellnitz was one of the Cougars’ go-to post players last season and senior Mara Gondreau provided shooting off the bench. While the Cougars dealt with youth and inexperience in the past, the team is brimming with upperclassmen — and that’s one of the reasons why Craig coach Kellan Schmidt is excited about her team this season. “I’m really excited about this group, and I’m really looking forward to this season,” Schmidt said. “I think it’s going to be a really exciting season. We return a lot of key components of what we’ve been building the last few years.” Stevens highlights the returning cast of characters. The junior guard has multiple Division I offers and was a Big Eight Co-Defensive Player of the Year and member of the

Janesville, WI · 19h

Main Street Dollars

Families have two years after a veteran’s burial to claim VA’s $1,032 burial allowance for a non-service-connected death

The Department of Veterans Affairs pays a $1,032 burial allowance and a $1,032 plot allowance for veterans who died on or after Oct. 1, 2026, and families of a veteran whose death was not service-connected have two years after the burial to file. The amounts went up from $1,002 for deaths in the year that […]