Illinois

Kinziger has breakout freshman season at Illinois State – The Press

Published

2 years ago

April 27, 2024

Kinziger has breakout freshman season at Illinois State – The Press

Former De Pere High School star Johnny Kinziger had a breakout season for the Illinois State University men’s basketball team. The freshman Kinziger had a season-high 31 points in one game and also recorded a game-winning bucket as time expired in another. Dennis Banks photos

By Rich Palzewic

Sports Contributor

NORMAL, ILL. – Former De Pere Redbirds boys’ basketball standout Johnny Kinziger had quite the collegiate season playing for the Illinois State University (ISU) men’s basketball team this year.

After helping lead De Pere to an undefeated (30-0) WIAA Division 1 basketball state championship in 2023, Kinziger headed to Normal, Illinois, to play for Division I ISU – also known as the Redbirds.

Kinziger, who scored 2,314 career points at De Pere, averaged 24.7 minutes and 8.7 points per game — third most among ISU players — during his freshman season in Normal.

“There were some ups and downs, but it was a good season for me overall,” Kinziger said. “It’s what I expected coming in and knew it would be an increase in physicality, smarts and skills. I knew I had to work hard to crack the rotation and stay in there. We had a decent season (15-17 overall, 9-11 Missouri Valley Conference), but I wish we had won a few more games. My first season taught me a lot, especially how hard it is to win in college. You can’t take the wins for granted.”

Going from winning 30 games his senior season at De Pere to winning half that many in college, Kinziger said it was an adjustment.

“During the season, we went on a six-game losing streak,” he said. “It was the mental part of that – learning from the losses and moving on. We have great teammates and a great coaching staff who helped us with that.”

During a five-game stretch later in the season, Kinziger averaged 20 points per game, helping the Redbirds to a 4-1 record during that span.

“I got put into the starting lineup, and the opportunity was there and I took advantage of it,” Kinziger said. “It was huge that my coaches and teammates believed in me going out there as a freshman. I learned a lot during that stretch and how to be a leader on the court.”

Included in that strong five-game stretch, Kinziger went off for 31 points on Feb. 13 against Indiana State in an 80-67 win.

Kinziger hit 10 of 12 shots from the field and went 9 of 11 from the free-throw line.

Indiana State, which finished 17-3 in MVC play, ended the season 32-7 overall and advanced to the championship game of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), losing to Seton Hall, 79-77, after blowing a late lead.

In another game later in the season on Feb. 28, Kinziger hit a buzzer-beating shot to help the Redbirds beat Missouri State, 75-74.

“That was a fun moment,” Kinziger laughed. “It was my mom’s birthday, too, so that made it even better. Our team was battling, and coach drew up one of our out-of-bounds plays we work on daily. A few teammates set some great screens, and it’s one of my go-to shots — a mid-range shot and it was executed perfectly. We were building momentum at that point and we wanted to keep that going.”

Kinziger said he has several things to work on this offseason.

“For starters, I have to get my shot off quicker,” he said. “I shot threes pretty well this past season from a percentage standpoint (40 of 102 – 39.2%), but my coaches want me to get more threes off next season – that means getting my shots off quicker. I’m also working on extending my range, working on my own pace and putting on some (muscle) weight. I’ve been working hard on that.”

As for next season, Kinziger said nothing is guaranteed.

“I’m working hard to hopefully play a lot (of minutes) like I did toward the end of this past season,” he said. “We have a lot of good pieces coming back and got some nice pieces via the transfer portal. I’m excited for next year. I’m hoping we can turn the program around and make the (NCAA) tournament – that’s always the goal. With the pieces we have and coach’s plan, I think we can improve a lot.”

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Illinois

Over 81K deer harvested in Illinois firearm deer season

Published

4 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Over 81K deer harvested in Illinois firearm deer season

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (KWQC) – Early numbers show more than 81,000 deer were harvested during Illinois’ firearm deer season this year.

Officials said preliminary totals show 91,225 deer were harvested during the seven-day season that ended on Dec. 7, according to a news release.

This is down from the 82,496 deer harvested during the firearm season last year, officials said.

Local firearm deer season totals:

Rock Island County: 728
Whiteside County: 699
Jo Davies County: 1,336
Knox County: 1,057
Henry County: 572
Mercer County: 873
Warren County: 516
Bureau County: 909

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Illinois

Bears again expand stadium search, including outside Illinois

Published

16 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Bears again expand stadium search, including outside Illinois

CHICAGO — Three days before hosting their biggest game at Soldier Field in years, the Chicago Bears are exploring moving outside the city for which they are named.

In an open letter to fans Wednesday evening, team president and CEO Kevin Warren said the Bears will explore other locations — including outside of Cook County, where the team owns a 326-acre property in Arlington Heights, Illinois — to build a domed stadium.

That includes moving the Bears out of Illinois altogether.

“In addition to Arlington Park, we need to expand our search and critically evaluate opportunities throughout the wider Chicagoland region, including Northwest Indiana,” Warren said. “This is not about leverage. We spent years trying to build a new home in Cook County. We invested significant time and resources evaluating multiple sites and rationally decided on Arlington Heights.

“Our fans deserve a world-class stadium. Our players and coaches deserve a venue that matches the championship standard they strive for every day. With that in mind, our organization must keep every credible pathway open to deliver that future.”

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker pushed back against a potential move of the team out of the state.

“Suggesting the Bears would move to Indiana is a startling slap in the face to all the beloved and loyal fans who have been rallying around the team during this strong season,”Pritzker spokesperson Matt Hill said in a statement. “The Governor’s a Bears fan who has always wanted them to stay in Chicago. He has also said that ultimately they are a private business.”

The Bears purchased the Arlington Park property that formerly housed the Arlington International Racecourse for $197 million in 2023, shortly before Warren replaced Ted Phillips as team president and CEO. The Bears proposed building a 60,000-seat fixed-roof stadium within a $5 billion mixed-use development.

Not long after closing on the land in Arlington Heights, the team began exploring options for a new stadium site when it announced its plans to build at the Arlington Park site were “at risk” as negotiations over property taxes reached a $100 million impasse.

Shortly before the 2024 draft, the Bears shifted their focus to building their new stadium on the lakefront south of Soldier Field and announced they would invest more than $2 billion in private money into the construction and development of the stadium and surrounding areas.

Although the team has maintained that the construction of a new stadium will be privately funded, concerns over the burden placed on taxpayers to fund the infrastructure around the stadium led to an impasse. That led the Bears to explore Arlington Heights once again as an option, which Warren announced during league meetings in April. Ahead of the Bears’ home opener against theMinnesota Vikingson Sept. 8, Warren released a letter to fans, saying the team’s sights were set on building in Arlington Heights. He has said throughout the year that the goal was to break ground before the end of 2025.

However, the Bears have been in a battle with lawmakers over tax breaks and securing $855 million in public funding for costs related to building the new stadium.

“We have not asked for state taxpayer dollars to build the stadium at Arlington Park,” Warren said. “We asked only for a commitment to essential local infrastructure [roads, utilities, and site improvements], which is more than typical for projects of this size. Additionally, we sought reasonable property tax certainty to secure financing. We listened to state leadership and relied on their direction and guidance, yet our efforts have been met with no legislative partnership.”

The Bears’ current lease at Soldier Field runs through 2033. On Saturday night, the 10-4 Bears will host the Green Bay Packers in a high-stakes meeting that will heavily determine Chicago’s path to the postseason.br/]

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