For Luke Schneider, military veteran, former firefighter and founder of Fire Department Coffee, the mission of his coffee company goes deeper than just a great cup of joe.

From as far back as he can remember, farming and the fire department have been a part Wade Knobloch’s life.

Steve Hirsch has been involved with volunteer fire departments his entire life.

The Badd Axe Ladies firefighter training program is opening up new career options for young women.

When a prospective pharmacy student tells Dr. Heidi Olson that they’ve never thought about pharmacy as a career before, the director of the RPHARM program at the University of Illinois College of Medicine doesn’t take it personally. She’s been there herself.

Whether it’s prescribing antibiotics for an infection, drugs to ease pain after surgical procedures, lifesaving insulin for diabetes or being a health-care provider for a rural community, rural pharmacists have always filled a unique role in the medical community.

When the alarm goes off at 3 o’clock in the morning, volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians answer the call. They roll out of bed, pull on their clothes and speed to the fire station.

If it sounds like the Dixon Police Department was taking summertime fun seriously, that is because they were. And they had the viral social media posts to show for it.

Kyle Kellen doesn’t fly around Lee County in a traffic helicopter, but even so, when he’s off duty and out in public, he’s most likely to be recognized as the road-report deputy.