Belvidere North senior Daryl Kay is different than other NIC-10 swimmers. He was the only swimmer to sweep all four of his events at last week’s conference meet, winning the 200- and 500-yard freestyle titles and swimming on Belvidere Co-op’s winning 200 and 400 free relays. He also never swam in high school until his senior year. That’s because the swimming that he loves most is open water swimming, not swimming in a pool. Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/2N7NeO9 . . . Reporting by Matt Trowbridge; Photo by @scottpyates / @rockfordregisterstar #rockstarzphotos #IHSA #highschoolsports #athlete #swimming #portraitphotography

John Mellencamp plays to a full house on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at @coronadopac in Rockford. The two-month tour of “The John Mellencamp Show" began in early February in Mellancamp's home state of Indiana. Concerts highlight some hit songs and tease some songs from his latest album, “Other People’s Stuff,” released last fall. More photos at www.rrstar.com/photos . . . Photo by @scottpyates / @rockfordregisterstar #rockstarzphotos #johnmellencamp #otherpeoplesstuff

Auburn High School juniors Kristen Zuzga (@thatkilljoyoverthere), 17, and her friend, Vanessa Schoensiegel (@xenimeeckete), 17, not pictured, go "floundering" downhill on the slick and frozen fairway grass on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019, at Sinnissippi Golf Course in Rockford. The recent record-breaking cold snap and ice storm has blanketed much of the region in ice. . . . Photos by @scottpyates / @rockfordregisterstar #rockstarzphotos @rockfordparkdistrict #sinnissippipark #sledding #winteriscoming #featurephotograph

I tried changing into my non-snow boot shoes in the newspaper office to buckled down on some editing. . . . . Immediately called out into the tundra for a car vs. building collision. #newspaperlife #stuffjournalistslike #newswear #canon300mm

"Lincoln" by Windy City Snowmen is on display at the 33rd annual Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019, at @rockfordparkdistrict's #SinnissippiPark in Rockford. The team of Kim McCombs, Mike Dillon and Juan Zelaya earned first place and the State of Illinois Champions Award, and People’s Choice Award. The team will go on to compete in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, in the 2020 U.S. Nationals Snow Sculpting Competition. In all, six state teams, fifteen high school teams, and one exhibition team participated in the competition from February 6 to February 9. For more photos, go to www.rrstar.com/photos . . . 📸 by @scottpyates / @rockfordregisterstar #rockstarzphotos #ilsnowsculpting #AbrahamLincoln

Rockford firefighters responded to a call of a vehicle striking an apartment building shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday. A sedan drove off the road in the 2800 block of Echo Street in Rockford Housing Authority's Orton Keyes neighborhood. The Rockford Fire Department tweeted that there were no injuries reported and the building department was responding to help with the assessment of the structure. 📸 by @scottpyates / @rockfordregisterstar #breakingnews #rockstarzphotos #caraccident #icyroads

Mother Nature is such a flirt. First, she teased the region with a nearly 80-degree temperature swing. Then she dispatched a wintry wallop. The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for Winnebago, Ogle and Lee counties, in effect through 10 a.m. Friday. High winds are expected to drive wind chills to 20 below zero. The cold will be accompanied by a mix of precipitation that is expected to slicken roadways and coat branches with ice. Sunday’s forecast calls for one to three inches of snow during the day. The return of wintry weather came after Rockford recorded a record low of minus 31 on Jan. 31 — and a swing to the 40s five days later. Team members from Windy City Snowmen of Chicago, Kim McCombs, left, and Mike Dillon (photo 1) begin carving their block of snow in the shape of Abraham Lincoln's head for the Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019, at Sinnissippi Park in Rockford. A lone snow plow truck (photo 2) travels along Condon Road at Stillman Valley Road on Thursday in Rockford. And icicles (photo 3) form on the tips of tree limbs at Levings Lake in Rockford. Full story: https://bit.ly/2SyPOBX . . . Reporting by Georgette Braun; 📸 by @scottpyates / @rockfordregisterstar #rockstarzphotos #weather #ILweather #arcticblast #polarvortex #landscapes #snowsculpting #ilsnowsculpting

Frankie Schiro, 17, was diagnosed with Crohn’s — a chronic inflammatory bowel disease — in eighth grade. Since then, she’s become the reason that teams can’t press @boylancatholic on the basketball court. And she’s become quite possibly the fastest soccer player in the NIC-10. She’s Boylan’s floor general in basketball and top goal-scorer in soccer. Schiro poses for a portrait on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019, at the Rockford Register Star photo studio in Rockford. . . . Read the full story by @rockfordregisterstar reporter @helfrich_11 at https://bit.ly/2Gw8vQr 📸 by @scottpyates. #rockstarzphotos #ihsa #highschoolsports #athletics #basketballstar #soccer #portraits

Eye see the Rock River pedestrian bridge at Fordam Dam on 01/31/2019. #theta360 #360photography #rockfordillinois #bluehour #lifein360

Eye see the Rock River pedestrian bridge at Fordam Dam on 01/31/2019. #theta360 #360photography #rockfordillinois #bluehour

Several area fire departments battle a blaze that was reported at about 6:35 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, at the Rockford Township Highway Department. Additional firefighters were requested to be rotated in and out to help battle the blaze. Two Rockford Mass Transit District buses were called to the scene for firefighters to rest inside to keep from prolonged exposure to the extreme cold. Rockford Township Highway Commissioner Dan Conness said there are four buildings on the grounds, but it was not clear which one caught fire. The last employee was out hours before the fire was reported, said Conness. The charred structure will have to be demolished. The cause and origin of the blaze has yet to be determined. Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/2DLuWzc . . . Photos by @scottpyates; Reporting by Chris Green / @rockfordregisterstar #rockstarzphotos #breakingnews #photojournalism #arcticblast #polarvortex2019 #firefighters #ems

Her sport. Her dad’s sport. Their sport together. When Jeremy King drove 30 minutes to the YMCA in downtown Rockford to play pickup basketball with his friends, he did not go alone. He brought along his daughter, Jordan, starting when she was 5 years old. That father-daughter time on the court helped make Jordan, now a senior playing for @hononegahcommunityhighschool, the all-time leading scorer in NIC-10 girls basketball history. She has signed to play Division I college basketball with Marquette University. “I tried out different sports in middle school, but it just wasn’t the same, so I stuck with basketball," said Jordan. Check www.rrstar.com/sports for the full story. . . . Photo by @scottpyates; Reporting by Matt Trowbridge / @rockfordregisterstar #rockstarzphotos #ihsa #nic10 #basketball #athletics #sports

@rockfordregisterstar photojournalist @scottpyates shows what minus 25-degree temperatures look like shortly after sunrise on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, in the North End of Rockford, Illinois. #arcticblast #weather #ilwx #rockstarzvideos

My dad and I judge bad weather by the conditions set on top of Mt. Washington in North Conway, NH. The mountain top often experiences among the most extreme wind and low temperatures on earth. Remembering that, and recognizing that we AREN’T up there, often makes me happier to be in whatever crummy weather I’m currently experiencing. Today, however, I actually wish I were on top of Mt. Washington because the temperature up there is about 50 degrees higher than right now in Rockford, Illinois. #minus24 #arcticblast #rockford #illinoiswx

Condensation freezes on Rockford resident Wendell Bankers' eyelashes while he walks home from errands downtown on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019, on North Rockton Avenue in Rockford. Even before the worst of the polar vortex gripped the Midwest, emergency rooms here already had treated several patients with cold-weather related injuries. Full story: https://bit.ly/2DG6qPN . . . Photo by @scottpyates; Reporting by Georgette Braun / @rockfordregisterstar #rockstarzphotos #weather #arcticblast #RockfordWX #IllinoisWX #photojournalism

Brittany Torres, center, a Rosecrance case manager, and Angie Walker, right, the Point in Time coordinator, interview a man living out of his van on Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, in west Rockford. Community Action staff and Rock River Homeless Coalition members participated in the Housing and Urban Development-required Annual Point in Time Count of the Homeless in Boone and Winnebago Counties. . . . Photo by @scottpyates; Reporting by Chris Green / @rockfordregisterstar #homelesscount #pointintime #homelessness #RosecranceWareCenter #rockstarzphotos #photojournalism

Q&A with Rockford city snow plow operator Christina Loudermilk. Loudermilk, a City of Rockford tree trimmer, snow plow operator and president of the public services employees union AFSCME Local 1058, was out early Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, operating her plow during a 12-hour shift. For the last 20 years, she has been clearing Charles Street and about ten nearby residential streets. Q1: What does it mean to be a woman in this male-dominated field? A1: “I know a lot of times I know people are like, ‘Oh, a woman doing that job.’ They’re really shocked when they see a woman behind this big truck. I think we need more women. I think that they think they can not do this job, but really it becomes just like second nature, like driving a car. You come here. They teach you how to operate it, and yeah, it’s no different. There’s nothing that you can’t do. I would love to see more women get into this field because it is a joy. I love this field.” Q2: Something has to be going right for you to have stayed in this job for 20 years. A2: “I love working outdoors. I love working for the community. My kids have been able to go to college because of this job.” . . . Photo by @scottpyates / @rockfordregisterstar #rockstarzphotos #winteriscoming #photojournalism #journalismmatters #snowdaynoway #womenworking #girlsonthegrind

Reporting on the arctic blast that’s befallen the Midwest this week, I bundled up for this #360selfie on the Chestnut Street bridge over the #RockRiver on Friday, Jan. 25, 2019, in downtown Rockford. #journalismmatters #photojournalism #arcticblast #winteriscoming #rockstarzphotos #theta360 #canon1dx #70-200mm @newswear_bags #newswear