The unique geology of Mississippi Palisades State Park in Carroll County offers tourists and locals an excellent location for outdoor activities year round. Every guest will be sure to find something that interests them during their visit.

Due to erosion from the Mississippi River, the palisades are a one-of-a-kind set of geological features that are visible and accessible from the river. This has made the area incredibly popular for boating and canoeing, both for fishing and sightseeing. However, visitors should be careful if they decide to disembark, as some rock formations have been important enough to be designated U.S. National Landmarks.

Did you know Lincoln Park Zoo is the oldest public zoo in the nation? Chicago’s free zoo got its start after New York’s Central Park gifted two pairs of swans to the zoo in 1868.

Today, the zoo is home to nearly 200 unique species from around the world. The variety of animals is endless, from critically endangered eastern black rhinoceroses to Jamaican iguanas – which were previously thought to be extinct.

Lincoln Park has more than 2,000 individual plants representing more than 1,200 species on their 49-acre landscape that creates an urban oasis home to native birds, frogs, fish, turtles, insects and more.

In Decatur, agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is doubling down in the fight against COVID-19. Not only has the company ramped up production of industrial ethyl alcohol—a critical component of hand sanitizer—but they’ve also donated nearly 10,000 bottles of sanitizer to local health and long-term care facilities.

“We’ve seen a huge demand for hand sanitizer on an industrial scale, and we’re appreciative we’ve been able to rely on our longstanding partner ADM to assist by producing a critical component of hand sanitizer - ethyl alcohol,” said Brett Schleder, director of procurement for Sazerac Company, a New Orleans-based beverage company that has begun producing hand sanitizer during the COVID-19 outbreak. “Together, our efforts combined have helped in the battle against the spread of COVID-19 for team members in various industries across the country.”

In the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, widespread face mask shortages are putting front line workers across Illinois at risk. Novias Davila bridal shop in Little Village has joined the fight against the spread of the virus by using their sewing expertise to produce cloth masks for jails, hospitals and many other frontline service providers.

Novias Davila, located at 3535 W. 26th St., has been making bridal dresses for over two decades. The business has always been active in the Little Village community, so when the governor’s Stay at Home Order went into effect, manager Patty Navarro said simply closing up shop wasn’t an option.

“We heard on the news that there was a shortage of masks and we really wanted to help our community the only way we know how,” said Navarro. “So we started making masks in a way to help our community overcome this.”

The small team of eight has been hard at work. According to their Facebook page, from March 20, to April 17 they produced and donated over 17,000 masks.