The Daily Journal, which is a partner in the Wifi Kankakee project, is putting up some wifi cameras in the area. Here’s a link to one that I’m told is pointed at the gazebo in downtown Kankakee. When prompted, enter “wifi60901″ as the username and leave the password empty.

I can’t see this myself, as it only works on a PC, and I’m on a Mac.

Congrats to Kendra Curtis of Kankakee, who won Week 1 of the Friday Night Lights football contest. Kendra correctly picked the winners of 11 of the 12 area high school football games. One other player had 11 correct guesses, but the tiebreaker was based on the contestants’ prediction of the score of the Bradley-Bourbonnais vs. Kankakee matchup. Kendra’s guess of 20-14 was closest to the final score of 17-14.

Also finishing in the top five this week were: (2) Larry Jordan of Clifton, (3) Todd Ronna of Chicago, (4) Brent Boehrnsen of Donovan, and (5) Richard DeBouck of Kankakee.

More results, plus the scores of The Daily Journal sports staff, can be found on the Leaders page of the contest.

If you’re not already registered for this contest, go to www.myKankakeeCounty.com/win. You have to submit your picks for Week 2 by 6:30 p.m. Friday. The prize this week is a coupon for one free full entree (serves 4-6 people) from Dinner By Design’s Take & Bake freezer. Kendra won a free oil change from Car Care Auto Center. The grand prize for the 14-week contest is a tailgate party for 15 people sponsored by Netherton’s Body Shop.

I only got 6 correct picks this week, but given my method, that’s not surprising. Knowing nothing about football I selected the team that came first alphabetically in each game. This week I think I’ll pick the team that comes last alphabetically and see if I do any better.

Just in case you happen to have plans to attend this week’s Republican Party convention in the Twin Cities, check out this humorous primer on the area that appeared in the Sunday Chicago Tribune.

I enjoyed it, but I might be biased. As some of you know, I’m a Minnesota native who grew up in Plymouth, a western suburb of Minneapolis, went to college in St. Paul and lived in Rochester (home of the Mayo Clinic and notable for being in the only county in the state without a natural lake) for eight years before moving to Kankakee County.

To describe my reaction at moving to the Land of Lincoln, I once wrote that “corruption is an institution here, but you can buy beer at Kmart on Sundays.”

In Minnesota, only liquor stores can sell liquor and they aren’t open on Sunday. If you’re desperate, you can drive to Wisconsin. I still think it’s cool that I can put “beer” on my grocery list.

Tonight marks the annual return of high school football, and MyKankakeeCounty.com has a new contest to help celebrate. Click here to register and make your picks for Week 1 of Friday Night Lights. The contest runs throughout the regular varsity foodball season, and there are weekly prizes and a grand prize. You can also form private groups, and see how your picks compare to the sports staff of The Daily Journal. The cutoff time for making your picks is 6:30 p.m. today.

Just a reminder that the second installment of Kankakee County property taxes are due Tuesday (Sept. 2, 2008).

Payments can be made at most local banks, some credit unions, by mail or in person at the Kankakee County Treasurer’s office between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at 192 N. East Ave., Kankakee. Mailed payments must have a postmark of Sept. 2 or earlier.

If you’re looking for someplace to cool off this weekend, don’t go to OAK Orthopedic Sports Arena. There’s a note on their Web site that they will be closed Aug. 30 through Sept. 1, 2008.