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Got questions about Pekin and Tazewell County? Mike Kramer will find the answers

Mike Kramer
Pekin Daily Times
Mike Kramer of The Pekin Times at the Fort Crevecoeur Monument in Creve Coeur.

When I was growing up in Creve Coeur, I couldn’t wait to leave central Illinois.

Let me explain.

I have never hated the greater Peoria area, which was the scene of many fond childhood memories.

I went to see fireworks every Fourth of July either at Mineral Springs Park in Pekin or with family friends in Eureka. I played Little League baseball on the fields next to Lasalle Elementary School and Parkview Middle School in Creve Coeur, and rode in a parade float during a local United States bicentennial celebration. Good times, all of them.

But as Belle sang in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” “there must be something more than this provincial life.” I joined the service to find it, and chose the Navy because it seemed like the branch that offered the most travel opportunities. So, I left central Illinois because I was a young man with a young man's sense of adventure.

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My experiences beyond Illinois

I have traveled to wherever the U.S. Navy took me. I have toured the Alhambra, eaten fried locusts and watched a group of cheetahs in something that looked like a football huddle planning their play against a herd of antelope.

Those experiences have given me perspective I’ve been able to apply to my local reporting since I started working for the Pekin Daily Times seven years ago.

I came back because I was a middle-aged man with family and friends in the area. And because this was where I found work.

So, for the last 15 years, my Life After the Navy has happened in Tazewell County.

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Your questions are important

I've developed an appreciation for local history I did not have when I left. I enjoy the people-watching opportunities at events like Morton's Pumpkin Festival, Tremont's Turkey Festival and Pekin's Marigold Festival. I find myself rooting for the success of new events like the inaugural Pekin bathtub races four years ago. 

But what I want is perspective from area readers.

Do you want to know what's going on at a new construction site? Are you looking for an update on a previous news story or on someone who was recently in the news? Would you like to know the history behind a local building? Do you see something around town that puzzles you or catches your eye?

In short, I want to know what readers are curious about. Let me know at mkramer@gannett.com.