Stories by Patty Wetli

The National Weather Service has confirmed that a tornado touched down in Rogers Park during Monday’s powerful storm. Thousands of Chicagoans remained without power Tuesday morning. 

Be on the lookout for Perseids on Tuesday night and early Wednesday as the meteor shower hits its peak. Here’s how to maximize your chances of seeing these fireballs streak across the sky.

The inaugural $10 million Chicago Prize grant was awarded last week to a team from Auburn Gresham, which has ambitious plans to bring transformational change to the community.

A large crowd gathered over the weekend along the lakefront, prompting the city to install fencing at Montrose Beach — and the mayor to issue a stern message.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois opened a new health and wellness center in Morgan Park on Monday after renovating a building abandoned by Target.  

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced $2 million in state funds for the Green Era Urban Farming Campus, pushing financing for the project over the top and paving the way for Friday’s groundbreaking in Auburn Gresham.  

Brick of Chicago’s virtual tours of Printers Row, set for Saturday and Sunday, will bring the history of printing to life with a demonstration from Starshaped Press.

Shedd Aquarium volunteer Betty Goldberg took citizen science to the next level, contributing a massive number of hours to a global survey of reef sharks. 

The Chicago Architecture Center’s popular event, now in its 10th year, will stick to the outdoors and offer online programming, with a focus on Chicago’s South and West sides.

Following a May explosion, General Iron has put appropriate controls in place to resume its metal shredding operation, experts say. Neighbors say they have little faith in the company’s commitment to compliance.

The conservation group Openlands started the program in 1991 and has since certified 2,000 TreeKeepers, who play an important role in conserving, protecting and advocating for the Chicago region’s trees. 

Anyone entering suburban Cook County from a designated COVID-19 hot spot — including travelers and returning residents — will have to quarantine for 14 days. The list includes 22 states, and could grow more.

North America has lost nearly 3 billion birds in the last 50 years. A new bird banding station at Big Marsh Park is part of a massive effort to figure out ways to help our feathered friends. 

The organization Environmentalists of Color is teaming up with the One Earth Film Fest to screen a pair of films focusing on the theme of “Outdoors While Black: Unpacking History, Reframing Safety & Taking Action.”

A largemouth bass fished from the Skokie River provided proof of the success of a 2018 dam removal on the Chicago River.

The Chicago Excellence in Gardening Awards has shifted to a video format for 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Submissions are open through Sept. 30, so get those cameras rolling.

The “greatest lake of all time” has a Twitter account to match its swagger, run by a human who speaks not on behalf of the lake but as the lake in a brash, anthropomorphic way. And we can’t get enough of it.

Whether piled up in change jars, cup holders or couch crevices, coins are not circulating, and that makes it difficult for businesses to deal in cash, the U.S. Coin Task Force says. Here’s how to help.

The short film written and produced by Lookingglass Theatre’s J. Nicole Brooks premieres Monday to commemorate the 101st anniversary of the start of 1919 Chicago race riots.

The city outlined a laundry list of rules General Iron would have to abide by in order to start up its metal shredding operation on the Southeast Side, while neighbors continue to push officials to deny the company’s permit application — which has yet to be filed.

The Chicago Parks Foundation has created a citywide volunteer program to help keep the parks clean.

Organizers are moving forward with the outdoor event, which showcases urban livestock and agriculture in its many forms. Prospective hosts have until July 26 to apply to be part of the September 2020 tour, no chickens required.

An audit by the Inspector General’s Office found numerous flaws in the Department of Streets and Sanitation’s system of clearing weeds from vacant lots, including the lack of an up-to-date list of city-owned vacant property.

Students leading the movement to change the name of Douglas Park said they were frustrated to have been left out of the board’s meeting Wednesday, and for their broader campaign to have been ignored. 

It’s time to be strategic, rather than reactive, when it comes to managing a vital piece of Chicago’s infrastructure — it’s trees. 

Opponents of the Lincoln Park metal shredder want General Iron closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but if the facility checks all the right boxes, it could eventually restart operations, officials said.