Good morning, Rockford.

A $1.6 million federal Jobs Plus grant will fund job training, career counseling and a rent-protection incentive for about 150 Collier Garden residents so they can increase earnings without higher rent, with services set to begin in March 2027.

Brightpoint expanded services at its Family Resource Center (424 7th Street) and celebrated with a ribbon-cutting open house Thursday, Oct.

29; the center now offers a tech lab, meeting space, food, Penelope’s Closet clothing and diapers, community navigators, and a pilot transportation program.

With Halloween tomorrow, attorney Rusty Reynolds says test costumes for tripping by having kids walk their trick-or-treat route and hem long capes or skip oversized shoes.

He warns homemade treats or prank setups that cause injury can create liability, so take photos, note witnesses, and contact the property owner or an attorney if harmed.

Mercyhealth NICU nurse JoAnn Gorsline has made 52 unique Halloween costumes over the past decade so premature babies and their parents at Javon Bea Hospital-Riverside can celebrate, adding Bluey, Bingo, koala, and cupcake Squishmallow outfits this year (the hospital has the region's only 12-bed Small Baby Unit).

Cheezy’s Grilled Cheeses will open a storefront called Cheezy’s at Victory on Nov.

11 at Victory Pickleball, 7003 N Alpine Road in Loves Park, offering favorites like the Chipotle Philly and Big Cheezy plus new menu items.

Beef-a-Roo reopened Oct.

29 with a 9:30 a.m. ribbon cutting at 6593 Lexus Drive, and new owners 815 Beef-a-Roo say this location is the first of eight they plan to open by spring 2027, creating about 700 jobs.

Manufactured home residents will meet Oct.

31 at Loves Park City Gymnasium, 100 Heart Blvd.; doors open 9:30 a.m. and the meeting runs 10 to 11:30 a.m. Organizers will discuss rent hikes, maintenance, tenant protections and proposed legislation, and State Reps. Dave Vella, Maurice West and State Sen. Steve Stadelman are expected to attend.

NIU geology professor Suzanne Autrey won a $1 million DOE Early Career Research Program grant to bring a spectrometer and a scanning electron microscope to campus and use a new pressure-reconstruction method to study where critical minerals concentrate in natural rocks.

Keith Country Day School students held a mock election on Oct.

29 to cast pretend ballots and learn about candidates, with faculty supervising and older students leading the process so younger pupils learn voting procedures ahead of the midterms.

Flinn Middle School was named Oct.

23 to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s America’s Healthiest Schools list for Bolstering Physical Education and Activity, joining 1,376 K-12 schools nationwide for its PE and student wellness programs.

Stepping Stones of Rockford opened a new corporate headquarters after a ribbon-cutting Thursday, Oct.

29 at 4930 E. State St., moving into a renovated 25,706 sqft building that doubles its space and adds counseling, nursing telehealth, shower and laundry services for clients. The move was aided by $1.5 million from the Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board.