TD Ryan welcomes special guest Harlan Hawkins to “TD Ryan Unleashed” episode 56 to discuss Hawkins’ ongoing mission to clean and restore veterans’ gravestones in DeKalb County, including nearly four dozen markers in Elmwood Cemetery, so visitors can read the names again. Hawkins shares how discovering his great-great-grandfather’s Civil War service led him to the Sons of Union Veterans and to rare Grand Army of the Republic journals found at the DeKalb County History Center, which detail how posts supported veterans through charity, jobs, funerals, and Decoration Day (later Memorial Day). He recounts remarkable local soldiers’ stories, explains Civil War-era markers and burial practices, and describes his careful, VA-approved cleaning process using water, soft brushes, and Wet & Forget. Hawkins plans to continue beyond Elmwood into other cemeteries, emphasizes remembering the war as the “War of the Rebellion,” and notes GAR posts’ integration of Black veterans.

TD Ryan and Dan Lynch open newscast #49 by thanking sponsors Junction Eating Place and Takis To Go, preview upcoming guests, and spotlight Cortland resident Harlan Hawkins’ work restoring Civil War veterans’ gravestones in Elmwood Cemetery. News includes a judge finding Kevin Schmidt unfit to stand trial in the Sycamore killing of his parents Gary and Holly Schmidt; a proposed drive-through “Project Chicken” and Tropical Smoothie Cafe backed by developer John Pappas; a DeKalb DUI arrest in Ogle County that also involved weapon and child endangerment charges; a man arrested near a University Village playground after a loaded pistol allegedly fell while being handcuffed; approval to convert Sycamore’s former Central School building into apartments; DeKalb superintendent Dr. Kristen Campbell proposing five new administrative positions; $100,000 in city-approved repairs for Barb City Manor; and ComEd summer electric rate increases beginning June 1. They share community calendar items, local sports results, obituaries, DeKalb County history notes, and highlight eighth-grader Brighid Reed’s return to the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

TD Ryan welcomes back DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes for a wide-ranging conversation touching on DeKalb’s longstanding local businesses, Barnes’ time at Sergeant Pepper’s and meeting his wife before being called back to active duty for Operation Desert Storm, and his background as an Eagle Scout. Barnes explains his testimony in Springfield on proposed limits for data centers and defends DeKalb’s fast-tracked council vote, citing benefits from the Meta data center including about $19 million annually to the school district, union construction jobs, nonprofit giving, and support for pensions and parks, while addressing noise and water-use concerns and regulatory oversight. He discusses lowering DeKalb’s aggregate tax rate, major road investment, lead pipe replacement, and water quality, credits Chief Byrd for crime reduction and community policing, highlights action against problem landlords, and previews DeKalb’s America 250 events, public art projects, and expanded fireworks, while also noting his children’s military and aerospace careers and urging more grace in public dialogue.