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Rockford is a city in Winnebago County in Northern Illinois. With a population of over 150,000 it is the third largest city in the state. When traveling in the Rockford Region, you will see the rolling hills of Northern Illinois, the Rock River and many trees and forests (Rockford is known as The Forest City). Although Rockford has the population of a larger city, it has a small-town feel. There are many original restaurants, sites, attractions and events that can only be found in Rockford. The Riverfront Museum Park houses three distinct museums: The Burpee Museum of Natural History, home to Jane, the world's most complete juvenile T. rex skeleton; the Discovery Center Children's Museum, ranked fourth in the nation by Child magazine; and Rockford Art Museum, the largest art museum outside of Chicago. Other museums in the area include: Midway Village and Museum Center, Tinker Swiss Cottage, Historic Auto Attractions, Erlander Home Museum and Ethnic Heritage Museum. During the summer, Magic Waters Waterpark, operated by the Rockford Park District, offers families a fun way to cool down in the summer heat. The Coronado Performing Arts Center is a historic atmospheric style theatre that was built in 1927 and fully restored in 2001. The Coronado offers a full season of Broadway shows, concerts and other performances. The MetroCentre, Rockford's downtown 10,000-seat arena, is home to music, athletic and exposition events. In the summer months, Starlight Theatre on the campus of Rock Valley College features classical and contemporary musical productions. The theatre has a unique mechanical roof that opens out like a blooming flower on clear nights. Rockford also has a symphony orchestra, dance company and several theatre companies. Anderson Japanese Gardens is open May through October and was rated the finest Japanese Garden in North America, according to the Roth Journal. Rock Cut State Park is one of the largest state parks in Illinois and features camping, hiking, biking, birding, fishing, horseback riding and kayaking. Klehm Arboretum Botanic Garden has over 500 different species of trees, shrubs and vines. Rockford also has a large variety of low-cost public and private golf courses. In the fall and winter, locals and visitors enjoy many apple orchards and Christmas tree farms. Rockford hosts an annual rock concert during Memorial Day weekend called Wing Ding. Notable bands such as Buckcherry, Saliva, Breaking Benjamin, P.O.D, and Drowning Pool have performed at this concert. The concert is held by WXRX 104.9FM. Every Labor Day weekend, Rockford hosts On the Waterfront, Illinois' largest outdoor music festival, featuring local, regional and national acts on eight different stages. The second weekend of October brings rowers from around the country for the Baird Head of the Rock Regatta, a premiere national rowing competition.

Commissioner Frank Avila of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago discusses the Asian carp problem with Philip B. Moy, Ph.D., a fisheries and non-indigenous species specialist with the Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute. Phil has been with the UW Sea Grant program since 1999 and holds a Ph.D. in Zoology from Southern Illinois University. Phil and Commissioner Avila discuss the five different types of Asian carp present in our waterways: the Common carp, the Black carp, the Grass carp, the Bighead carp and the Silver carp. The Silver and the Bighead carp are the two types of carp that have already negatively impacted the Mississippi river ecosystem and pose a significant threat to the Great Lakes ecosystem. They were both intentionally introduced to fish culture ponds in the United States to maintain water quality, however, due to flooding the Carp swam away and found their way into the Mississippi river. The Bighead and Silver carp pose a significant threat to the Great Lakes ecosystem because of their ravenous feeding and spawning habits. They can eat 40% of their body weight a day. If introduced to the lake, the Bighead and Silver carp would be very difficult to control and would quickly out-compete native species by disrupting their food chain and consequently become the dominant species in the lake. Commissioner Avila and Phil also discuss the electric barriers put in place in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) to prevent invasive species from entering Lake Michigan. During the first week of December, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is planning on performing maintenance on one of the electric barriers. This portion of the CSSC will be shut down to all traffic from December 1st through the 6th. Phil and Commissioner Avila talk about how there is a fear that when the electric barrier is shut down for maintenance that the Silver and Bighead carp will travel through the canal into Lake Michigan. In response to this fear, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources who is working with other environmental agencies as part of the Asian Carp Rapid Response Group will be applying Rotenone, a fish poison, in the canal during the electric barrier shut-down, which will kill the Asian carp. Watch this educational and informative interview about the impending Asian carp crisis.

Pictures from around Frankfort Michigan by Pastor Rick Stevie of Trinity Lutheran Frankfort.

Learn more about the American city known as 'Second City' and 'The Windy City' - Chicago, Illinois.

Bigg Success is life on your own terms. The 5 elements of bigg success are money, time, growth, work and play. Today s focus is play. Bigg goal-getters work very hard to achieve their goals. It s important to take time to rejuvenate yourself so you can keep making your bigg dreams come true. ___ ___ If you can t steal away for a day, steal away for an hour One way to do that is to take a daycation spend a day enjoying one of your favorite activities. Take in a ball game. Go for a hike. Enjoy a drive. Sometimes you can t take an entire day away from work. Synergize look for a way to fit in some fun with the work even if it s just for an hour! We find it therapeutic to be around bigg water. So after a few meetings recently in Chicago, we spent time walking along Lake Michigan before driving home. Experience nature with all your senses When you do stop to enjoy nature, use all of your senses to really take it in. Looking out, we could see almost nothing but water. There was a sail boat on the horizon; a seagull bobbing on the waves. We could hear the waves, coming into shore in rhythm and washing back out. We could feel the breeze, the moisture in the air and the warmth of the sun. A splash from a wave hit our hands. It was cold! Every once in a while, there was that fishy smell with which we re all familiar. It s a reminder of the life we can t see beneath the surface. As we breathed in the smell of the air, the taste in our mouth changed. It was wonderful. It makes your problems seem insignificant when you experience a body of water as massive as this. It s always hard to leave, but we were re-energized in a short time because we really took it all in with all of our senses. Bigg goal-getters give their all to achieve their bigg dreams. But you have to take time to stop and smell the roses (or the fish) to keep pushing towards bigg success. What is your favorite activity? How do you take it all in? Tell us by leaving a comment below, calling us at 888.455.BIGG (2444) or e-mailing us at bigginfo@biggsuccess.com. See a short video mix of the sights and sounds we enjoyed at Lake Michigan. Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed. Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file: http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00440-071809.mp3 Related posts Take Me Out to the Free Ball Game Taking Time Off to Get More Done The Work-Play Tradeoff

I had some video, but nothing to go with it so I asked my husband Mark to write a story for the scene. This is it. I will love this forever because I will always have the sound of my husbands voice telling me a great story. hopefully some day i can get something that makes the audio sound more professional, but for now, this will do. Cast: Loonachic

Charlie, Braxton, and Laiken McCarthy came for a visit. We toured the city all day Saturday. I didn't take much video because I was having too much fun. Good thing Charlie did! Check out his videos of the day. photo motion - vimeo.com/4233167 video - vimeo.com/4245737 Cast: Loonachic, Charlie McCarthy and Braxton McCarthy

Shot on location on Lake Michigan in Grand Haven, MI, Team Clem hooks up with Pawsitive Vybe at the Discdog Bed and Breakfast. Talk about an amazing sunset! Starring: Nadja & Clem Apryl & EZ Ryder Ron Watson & Splitty

On an island a strange rock begins to grow and move. Scientists that observe the phenomena speculate that an ancient meteor that once hit the island is attempting to reassemble itself.