Latest news with #KnightsofColumbus
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Miami archbishop asks to hold Mass at Alligator Alcatraz. ‘Still waiting' for answer
Miami's top Catholic leader stopped by the state's controversial Everglades detention center for migrants during a Sunday motorcycle ride with dozens of other Catholic bikers. Archbishop Thomas Wenski visited 'Alligator Alcatraz,' Florida's new migrant detention center located in an isolated airstrip near the Big Cypress National Preserve, to pray for for detainees. But the entrance of the facility is as far as he was able to go without approval from officials. 'Sunday PM about 25 Knights on Bikes stopped at entrance of Alligator Alcatraz and prayed a rosary for the detainees,' Wenski wrote on a post on X. 'Archdiocese is still waiting for approval to access to provide Mass for detainees.' Officials at the Archdiocese said they are still awaiting a response from the facility to allow chaplains and clergy to visit and 'offer spiritual care, the sacraments, and the healing presence of Christ to those in detention.' Wenski, who recently denounced the detention center, was joined by around 25 'Knights on Bikes,' a charitable Catholic men's ministry within the Knights of Columbus organization, and shared photos and videos of the pastoral excursion. The Archdiocese of Miami called the visit 'a powerful moment of prayerful solidarity,' that reflects the organization's 'ongoing commitment to ministering to the marginalized and incarcerated.' '...Decency requires that we remember the individuals being detained are fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters of distressed relatives,' Wenski said in a statement. 'We wish to ensure that chaplains and pastoral ministers can serve those in custody, to their benefit and that of the staff.' Sunday's motorcycle visit is the second act of solidarity the Catholic church has shown in recent weeks to oppose Florida's crackdown on deportations. In a prior statement, Wenski said it was 'alarming to see enforcement tactics that treat all irregular immigrants as dangerous criminals.' In the strongly word column posted to the Archdiocese of Miami's website earlier this month, Wenski said 'the apparent lack of due process in deportation proceedings in recent months,' was surprising and called the rhetoric surrounding the 'Alligator Alcatraz' 'intentionally provocative.' Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials have repeatedly defended conditions for detainees at the pop-up migrant camp. Earlier this month, Stephanie Hartman, a spokeswoman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said detainees' stories about problems at the facility — including toilets that don't flush, large bugs and temperatures that fluctuate from icy to sweltering — were inaccurate. 'The reporting on the conditions in the facility is completely false,' Hartman told the Herald. 'The facility meets all required standards and is in good working order.' This story will be updated. This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and from donors comprising the South Florida Jewish and Muslim Communities, including Khalid and Diana Mirza, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Zimmer announces reelection run for Senate District 35
Iowa State Senator Mike Zimmer has announced he will be running for reelection to represent Senate District 35 in the Iowa Senate. 'Back in January, I was honored to be given the opportunity to represent Clinton, Jackson, and Scott Counties in the Iowa Senate,' Zimmer said in a news release. 'Since then, I've hit the ground running for all of my constituents in the Capitol, fighting for stronger public schools, protecting landowners' rights, better wages, affordable housing, and childcare and a future where working families can get ahead, not just get by.' 'The work to bring Iowa values back to the Senate has just begun, and there's so much left to do, like fully funding our public schools and AEAs, expanding Highway 30, raising wages and lowering costs for everyday Iowans. That's why I'm excited to announce that I'm running for re-election in Senate District 35: to bring our Iowa-raised, Iowa values of hard work, fairness and integrity to the state capitol in Des Moines.' Zimmer has been married to his wife Tammy for 42 years and they have five children and 10 grandchildren. Mike is an active member of St. Ann Catholic Church in Long Grove, is a 3rd Degree Knight of Columbus and serves as the volunteer driver coordinator for Humble Dwellings. Click here for more on Zimmer and his campaign. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Chicago Tribune
14-07-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Dog Days event draws thousands of people, hundreds of hounds; ‘It acknowledges how great our furry friends are'
More than 10,000 people filled Cook Park and a closed-off section of Church Street in Libertyville over the weekend for the annual Dog Days of Summer event hosted by the village and Knights of Columbus Council #3674. An estimated 250 dogs were registered to attempt jumps into a pool holding 27,000 gallons of water. Amateurs and professionals of the Dock Dogs National Canine Aquatic Competition went the distance to see which canines could make the longest jump. 'Dog Days is a great family event,' said Mike Lynn, Dog Days of Summer co-coordinator along with John DeReu. 'It's a place where you can bring your family and your dogs, and have a day out and make some splashes.' Dozens of vendors offered pet goods for purchase, as well as giveaways. Food vendors were on-site, as were community booth holders, including pet rescue initiatives promoting responsible pet adoption and ownership. There was an opening ceremony on Saturday, and Sunday featured a pet blessing and a pet parade. Libertyville Mayor Donna Johnson said, 'The Knights of Columbus, for the last 16 years, have done a great job in bringing forth Dog Days of Summer. Our furry friends are not only our best friends, they handle mental health, they're company when we don't have company, and we always want to acknowledge how much they contribute to our lives. 'Dog Days of Summer is a wonderful family event,' she added. 'But more importantly, it acknowledges how great our furry friends are.' The event's fundraising goal was to net $11,000. Beneficiaries have included many Lake County recipients including a Waukegan soup kitchen and the St. Joseph Food Pantry at 112 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Libertyville. 'The reason we do this is for charity,' Lynn said. 'The purpose of the event is to raise money.' The Knights of Columbus supports St. Joseph Catholic Church of Libertyville. Approximately 1,700 families are served by the church's St. Joseph Food Pantry each month. On Saturday, spectators filled the sunny bleachers as other fans sought shade poolside with their pups. Luna Lunardi, 2, of Libertyville, sat on the shoulders of her father Steven near Luna's sister Collins Jo, 4, and the children's mother Margaret. The Lunardi family does not have a dog, so coming to Dog Days of Summer is special, the girls' parents agreed. 'We love coming,' Margaret Lunardi said. 'We love it,' her husband added. Spectator Linda Fons of Libertyville brought her dog Hannah Rose, 5. 'I think it's a great time,' Fons said. 'I enjoy watching the dogs. I think it's a good time to get people together.' Bella Perkins of Libertyville brought pup Rio, 7, to compete. 'I just want to say thank you to Libertyville for supporting dog sports in general, and allowing this really great event for people to come and try,' Perkins said. On the premises was 'Dog Town,' where regular competitors shared open tents, meals and fellowship. Dog Town is where Sue Sentowski of Chicago spent time with friends. Sentowski competed with her pup Duck, 4. 'I've been with this event since its inception,' Sentowski said. 'It's my favorite event. I come every year. It's just the community here. All of our friends come. It's a huge party, and that's literally what we do.' Returning to Dog Days of Summer was competitor Gene Yatchyshyn of Eagle River, Alaska, whose pup Ruger, 10, jumped. 'We just love the area,' said Yatchyshyn, who said he has come to the competition for eight years, 'just to hang out with friends.' 'Dog Town's awesome,' he said. 'The people are great. Anybody that's traveling, we have a spot for you. You'll always be welcomed here.'
Hamilton Spectator
11-07-2025
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Tom Bonneau announced as 2025 Essex Citizen of the Year
As a member of the Holy Name Knights of Columbus (Council 3305), Training Officer with St. John's Ambulance, member of Community Living Essex County's Ruthven Apple Fest Steering Committee, Chief Counsellor for the Columbus Squires, and a retired Captain with Essex Fire & Rescue, Tom Bonneau has been a long-time, multi-faceted volunteer in the community. One of his roles over the years has been as the Knights of Columbus rep on the Essex Citizen of the Year Committee, going over nominations from the community for the annual recognition program, and hosting the fall-based banquet with his quirky jokes and sense of humour. Since he has resigned from the Citizen of the Year Committee, and because he has been nominated for the award a couple of times over the years, the Citizen of the Year Committee decided now would be a great time to bestow this honour onto Bonneau. 'I'm very humbled to be honoured this way,' Bonneau said after Citizen of the Year Committee Chairperson, Morely Bowman, made the announcement on Saturday evening, before Essex Fun Fest main stage entertainment with Aaron Pritchett began. Bowman called Bonneau a 'true person, who has given his life to the community.' Adding, 'it is a well-deserved recognition.' Bonneau is a life-long member of Holy Name of Jesus Church. His contributions to the church community started when he joined the Columbian Squires, where he was an active member and volunteered his time in a wide-variety of projects during his eight-years as a member. When he aged out of Squires, he joined the Knights of Columbus as a member in 1989, where he held many executive positions. Over his 35-years of service, he held a variety of executive positions, including Grand Knight, District Deputy, and Faithful Navigator. He also spent a number of years as the Chief Counsellor of the Alex Chevrier Squires Circle. Over the years, he has organized and overseen many events and programs for the Knights, Squires, and the greater community. His involvement with St. John Ambulance goes back to when he was in high school. When he was appointed Training Officer, he was responsible for the ongoing training of all of the volunteers who provided first aid coverage at public and private events. He was also a first aid and CPR instructor for many years. Bonneau joined Essex Fire & Rescue in 1990, where he was not only dedicated to ongoing life-saving training and responding to calls for service, he also helped organize the Essex Firemen's Association convention when it was held in Essex. He retired from this service in 2023 as a Captain, a role he took on in 2000. 'Tom truly believes in honouring those who give of their time without ever asking for recognition in return,' his nomination letter outlines. Bonneau continues to work as a Funeral Director with Reid's Funeral Home. Having been a part of the selection process in the past, and knowing the calibre of the candidates honoured before him, Bonneau said he does not feel he holds a candle to the dedication they committed to the community. 'I am not one to take the spotlight for anything I do. I do it because I want to,' he said. I do it to help out the community and the people in the community. I don't do it for the accolades.' The annual Citizen of the Year banquet has been hosted as a fundraiser for Heritage Essex, which operates the historic Essex Railway Station, since 1978. This year's banquet will take place at the Essex Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion (Branch 201) on October 25. Heritage Essex teams up to organize the Citizen of the Year program with the Essex Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion (Branch 201), the Rotary Club of Essex, and the Essex Knights of Columbus Holy Name Council (3305). A representative of each of the organizations form the Essex Citizen of the Year Committee, which plans the annual program. It also puts a call out to the community in late spring for nominations, then selects the winner. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Chicago Tribune
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Sun sets on Summer Solstice Festival in Yorkville
The Summer Solstice Festival in Yorkville, which was held in June in the city for more than a decade, is not taking place this year. The two-day music fest, which was first staged in 2013, was always held on the Friday and Saturday in June closest to the summer solstice. The festival was cancelled only once, in 2020 due to the pandemic. Event organizer Boyd Ingemunson, 52, an attorney who lives in Yorkville, said given the current challenges involved in booking bands and having the capital to do it the event had run its course. He decided in January not to put on the festival this June, he said. 'I was the one who always organized and ran this and the goal from the beginning was ultimately to curate a festival that brought bands in from all over the country – touring musicians,' he said. 'It's against the grain of what you normally get in municipal festivals. There, you're getting cover bands and bands that just play around the suburbs and I wanted to do something that really was more geared towards original, independent bands on their way up in the industry.' Ingemunson said over the years 'a wide range of music was curated and that was the main goal behind it all.' 'We wanted to bring something to Yorkville that was unique to all the suburbs,' he said. While the scope of the festival remained fairly consistent, Ingemunson said over time it did 'morph into a program with the local cross-country team that did a road race as part of the event.' There was also some philanthropic work with the Knights of Columbus at the festival. 'But other than that, we kind of stuck true to the event. Obviously, you have vendors and beer and food, but I really wanted the focus of the festival to remain about the music and the musicians that traveled here,' he said. 'We did have some generous sponsors over the years, but you can't go to the well too many times and be hitting up the same people for checks to fund this.' Attendance averaged between 1,500 to a couple thousand visitors each year, he said. Ingemunson recalled a first-year act that has since become a big name in the music business. 'We had Sturgill Simpson here in 2013 and now he's literally one of the largest bands in the entire country,' Ingemunson said. 'He plays headline spots at all kind of places now.' The festival used to be free, but transitioned in the past few years into having to charge for tickets 'because we wanted to be able to attract bigger bands and you need to generate ticket revenue to pay bands more money.' he said. 'That's kind of where it just became difficult to compete,' he said, because some bigger corporate-backed festivals are 'generating millions of dollars of revenue, whereas with me I'm self-financing.' He also said 'it's challenging to get people to pay for tickets in the summer.' 'It just got kind of untenable and way too risky for me to front the financing on it,' Ingemunson said. Last year, Ingemunson said he doubled the band budget but in the end 'things didn't balance on the balance sheet and it just didn't work.' 'It's not like it's over forever. I always keep options open and maybe in some time it will get resurrected, but at this point it didn't make sense,' he said.
