From basement walls to buildings across Illinois, a Polo artist is transforming ordinary surfaces into murals inspired by pop culture and local history.

From vision to woodwork: A Pinterest photo. A magazine idea. A dream kitchen. At Sterling Woodworks, those visions can become reality, and the custom cabinetry and design business is now bringing that creative process closer to Lake Carroll homeowners.

Keeping tradition fresh: Three generations. 84 years. A Rock Falls bakery still rises before dawn to keep a family tradition alive.

In 1926, Sterling and Rock Falls were full of ambition – some of it still thriving today, some of it long gone. A barber chair, a bold Coliseum dream, a vanished golf course, a future NFL player – a century later, the stories still linger in local memory.

Walk through the doors of a Lena business and you might walk into your childhood. With antiques, sweets and even lunch, its antique-loving owners have created a place where shoppers rediscover memories, sometimes in the most unexpected objects.

Nostalgia overload: Wind through the hills of northwest Illinois and southwest Wisconsin, from Scales Mound to Lead Mine, and there are scenic views and a time warp back to life – in the form of old-time stores and taverns – from many decades ago.

A downtown Sterling tavern caters to customers who enjoy coming to its place built on a brick foundation of hospitality, hometown pride and homestyle food.

What some call junk, Melissa Hull calls possibility. Inside her downtown Morrison studio, discarded items become art, and the creative itch in others is inspired.

From sandwich sales to scholarships, Morrison High School’s Key Club is showing how student volunteers are shaping leadership, community and opportunity.