Northwest Illinois was hit by a tornado on Friday night, April 18, 2026. While tornadoes happen throughout the country, this area hits me personally as it is part of the area of my professional journalism scope.

Northwest Illinois is also a scenic part of the state, being a portion of the Driftless Area. There is a lot of tourism involved, and it makes up a great portion of the region’s economy. As tourism is what this website is about, I feel compelled to make note of how important tourism is in this region.

I want to open by making a blunt statement. I don’t like making road trips to places SOLELY to gawk at storm damage. I do not feel that is respectful. I feel it’s the wrong reason to make a road trip. People’s lives have been affected, and I think the last thing they need are passersby staring at them – and not stopping to be compassionate or offer assistance. I understand that there are people who get some sort of entertainment out of this kind of “nosiness,” but they should understand that there is a deeply personal side to such situations. They shouldn’t just take from the experience mental images of what they saw; if you’re going to take, you should also give.

With that out of the way … another big thing I want to emphasize is that small businesses should be a part of your road trip experience. Lena, a town of around 3,000 residents in Stephenson County, is at the heart of this damage, but there were many other communities affected as well. Lena is a town that I have written about in several small business articles for our company’s monthly Lake Carroll publication (Lake Carroll is about 15-20 miles south of Lena). Unfortunately, not all of those businesses I wrote about are around today. Lena once had a candy store until recently (link to my 2021 story on Sweetie Me). Lena still has a farm toy store (link to my 2022 story on Down on The Farm). You just don’t find those kinds of businesses in a town its size.

If you travel and just stop at the familiar chain places, you’re really missing out. You see more unique things at smaller businesses. You eat more interesting entrees at the smaller bar-and-grills. Chain places just don’t provide you with that. Just open your eyes a little more. And, yes, sometimes you’re going to pony up a little more money at a small business. However, your contribution will, in a small way, help sustain the memories and moments you took in at the place for people who can enjoy the same thing tomorrow. Not to mention – and it is a fact – that small businesses invest more in their communities than chain places.

There are many ways to help out the communities and businesses affected. Search for chambers of commerce, municipal social media accounts and tourism entities, and you’ll find these avenues – I didn’t want to single any one out because I know I’ll miss someone.

Go to https://www.lenabpa.org to learn more about Lena businesses.

With storm damage, there are several businesses that are closed to recover. Of course, that interrupts revenue flow – something critical for a small business. I also recently found out that a bar and grill in a town in northwest Illinois, owned by a couple I’ve known for more than a decade, lost their food supply due to a power outage. That’s serious money.

If you’re wondering, “How can I help?” … Plan a road trip around the area after some time has passed. Your support, both from the wallet/purse and especially in compassion, goes a long way in the health of the sense of community. Insurance can only do so much. One of the best experiences of a road trip is utilizing a take-and-give experience, where you’re enjoying things, but also contributing to their longterm sustainment.

A couple of other thoughts that have arisen in me while thinking about this …

1) Lena is one of the examples that I often share when I tell people about my belief that high school sports is an economic driver.

The Lena-Winslow Panthers football team has won seven Illinois High School Association state championships since 2010, including this most recent season. In Illinois, playoff games until the semifinal round are played at high schools. If your team is good enough to host playoff games, that brings in opposing crowds of people to town. This is especially true for quarterfinal and semifinal home games, where the crowds are larger and the opponents are unfamiliar and are traveling from a long distance. With these games being on a Saturday afternoon, they’re going to want places to eat at, or somewhere to possibly shop if they arrive in town early.

The first 16 years of my journalism career were spent exclusively on high school sports. I had always wondered if the opposing crowds of people that came to The Panther Bowl at Le-Win High, during games that I would cover, would utilize the local businesses in some way.

The boys track program at the high school is trying to build a premier invitational with its new 8-lane track, promoted as a “speed showcase and a ‘true team’ championship,” where all participants in an event – not just the highest placing ones, like at other invitationals – are scored. Promoters wanted to attract small school programs from throughout the state for this. Unfortunately, this year’s meet was scheduled for today (Saturday after the tornado). They’re hoping to revive it next year.

Long story short: If your program is good enough to attract tough non-conference competition, you’re bringing in a crowd of new people to town.

2) This is more of a journalism note, but I enjoy “walking the beat.” Most recently, for April’s Lake Carroll magazine and our Sauk Valley Living website, I wrote about the Lena Mercantile Co., which is an antique store. I’m still that “old school” journalist who would rather be present at the places I write about in order to take in the full effect, to share that full effect to readers. In an era where working from a desk can have its streamlining benefits, I still feel that “advantages” such as phone interviews, looking at still pictures, and watching short video clips to try to get a feel, just doesn’t work. Visiting Lena Mercantile to conduct this interview involved walking around the store to understand its meaning, with each turn sharing a different story – in other words, you share the story of these turns. Sight triggers thought. At restaurants, even smells trigger thoughts (and the sense of smell is something you absolutely cannot sense online). The story can be viewed below: