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.

TD Ryan and Dan Lynch open TD Ryan Unleashed News Podcast #48 by thanking sponsors Junction Eating Place (buffet suspended, open until 8) and Takis To Go catering, then cover the DeKalb community mourning DeKalb High School Class of ’22 graduates Sierra Watson and Heaven Williams, killed in a wrong-way crash on I-88 May 10, with GoFundMe fundraisers and a memorial balloon release Saturday at DeKalb High School. They warn of a DeKalb County jury-duty phone scam, report a Genoa domestic-related shooting with Mark Roland, 67, charged, and a Sycamore domestic dispute where Randy Schaefer of Earlville was arrested after allegedly breaking in while carrying a toddler. They discuss the city’s proposed downtown DeKalb entertainment district “sip and shop” rules and policing concerns, highlight an essay contest from Rep. Tony McCombie and Harlan Hawkins cleaning Civil War veterans’ gravestones, share community calendar events, local sports notes, and area obituaries and DeKalb County history items.00:00 Welcome and Sponsors02:24 Tragic I-88 Wrong Way Crash05:45 Jury Duty Scam Warning06:31 Jury Service Stories10:29 Genoa Domestic Shooting13:10 Sycamore Break In Arrest14:52 Downtown Sip and Shop Debate21:26 Essay Contest Launch22:39 AI Proofing Student Work23:09 Honoring Veterans Graves24:47 Community Calendar Picks26:56 3D Printing Workshop28:25 Local Sports Roundup30:34 Obituaries Spotlight34:02 History Birthdays Wrap35:59 Driving Lessons Stories39:09 Final Thanks Signoff

TD Ryan interviews Fred Hall, an 85-year-old Air Force and National Guard veteran from Malta, Illinois, now running for DeKalb County Board District 1. Hall explains his reasons for running, emphasizing opposition to privatizing government facilities and advocating closer oversight and line-by-line budgeting, particularly for the DeKalb County Rehab & Nursing Center, along with ideas to improve services and awareness. He discusses solar farms, arguing they can coexist with agriculture through grazing sheep or goats and offering long-term benefits, while supporting oversight to ensure companies meet repair and maintenance promises. Hall shares views on county board size, bipartisan cooperation, law enforcement reporting, tinted windows, animal cruelty concerns at events, abortion rights, and limiting powerful military-style weapons. He also recounts military service in Turkey and Japan, meeting his wife, and family background, including his church involvement.

TD Ryan and Dan Lynch welcome Meg McGarry from Stage Coach Players to preview the theater’s production of Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire,” running May 14–24 in DeKalb, with McGarry making her Stage Coach directorial debut. McGarry explains the 1947 New Orleans setting, the clash between Blanche DuBois and her sister Stella’s husband Stanley (played by RJ Secott), and why the unaltered script still raises timely conversations about gender roles, patriarchy, abuse, and domestic violence; the production is partnering with Safe Passage and includes mature-content trigger warnings. News includes an Illinois Department of Agriculture specialty-crop grant program, a DUI rollover crash in Ogle County, Sycamore Fire hiring three recruits amid leadership changes, an Amboy man arrested for disseminating child pornography, and a Malta Elementary teacher winning the 2026 Wertz Award. The episode also shares community events, local history notes, sports highlights, obituaries, birthdays, and a ticket giveaway quiz.

TD Ryan interviews eighth-grader Brighid Reed, joined by her parents Jim and Pam, after she won the DeKalb County Regional Office of Education Spelling Bee again in February, earning a return trip to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC; she also previously competed there in 2025 and is a three-time Little Ten Conference Spelling Bee champion. Brighid shares the Irish origin of her name, her faith, military family background, awards for poetry and essays, love of classic literature and alternative music, involvement in the Children of the American Revolution, and goals to become an English literature professor at Cambridge or Oxford. The family discusses her COVID-era homeschooling and intense study methods, her 2025 Nationals finish and missed word “encomium,” visualization strategies, swimming commitments, her website portfolio, service projects for homeless veterans, and poems honoring her parents and late grandmother.

TD Ryan and Dan Lynch host TD Ryan Unleashed News Podcast #46, thank sponsors Junction Eating Place and Takis To Go, and discuss a rumored May 1 “don’t spend money” action. They cover a DeKalb undercover drug buy leading to felony charges for Randy Baird, and an Illinois State Police update on Joseph Morano, 36, killed after a multi-county pursuit and police-involved shooting on I-88 near Maple Park while reportedly brandishing a gun; they also mention a separate carjacking-related chase and exchange of gunfire ending near I-88. Other items include State Sen. Sue Rezin saying Bears stadium talks are “50/50” Illinois vs. Indiana, Safe Passage’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month “Reclaim the Night” event and statistics, and Route 23 being named the Deputy Christina Mussell Memorial Highway. Shadow Gentry promotes the Opportunity House art show May 6 at Blooming Gardens and Give DeKalb County Day May 7, followed by community calendar notes, local sports, obituaries, and DeKalb County history items.