Free Republic

An Illinois woman was arrested after she reportedly attacked a staff member of an elementary school Wednesday — and baggies of cocaine spilled upon the floor sparked the alleged assault, according to authorities. Officers with the Rockford Police Department arrested Shakeda Barfield, 33, on Wednesday after accusations that she battered an elementary school employee. According to WREX, the Winnebago County State’s Attorney’s Office filed the following charges against Barfield: possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, aggravated battery/strangulation, aggravated battery to a school employee, and disorderly conduct.

NEENAH, Wis. - At the Winnebago County Highway Department, a memorial for two men is a reminder of two employees and two family members who are gone too soon. "Today it's been 12 years since he's been gone," Susan Tiffany said. Tiffany lost her brother, Dan Melhorn, on March 7, 2006. Melhorn, along with his partner and friend, Marc Neumeyer, got killed working along Interstate-41. "My sister told me and I just went, 'no, no'," Tiffany said. Tiffany said that after her brother's death, she drives extra slow through work zones. She's not alone in hoping others will follow. Local...

Right now Illinois and Wisconsin are the only two states in the U.S. that entirely outlaw citizens carrying concealed firearms. But two board members are pushing a proposal to change that, starting with Winnebago County. Looking back at recent tragedies like the N.I.U. shooting prompts many of us to ask what could have been done differently. "If there had been a person there, who was of age and who had met the qualifications and chose to have concealed carry and the campus didn't have a problem with it, you might not have as many people dead today as you do...