Although National Tourism Week ends Sunday, it’s really the beginning of perhaps the most important season in the Stateline area.

A study released a week ago by Tourism Economics shows that the impact of tourism on Wisconsin’s economy was $16.8 billion in 2012, up 5 percent from the previous year.

In Illinois, the tourism industry generated nearly $31.8 billion in revenue in 2011, an increase of 8.4 percent, according to the most recent report from D.K. Shifflet and Associates for the U.S. Travel Association.

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The controversy ignited over a proposal by New Life Assembly of God to build a 60-foot cross on its property began to smolder as quickly as the community got wind of the project.

Strong feelings aren’t new in Janesville, even for those not directly impacted. Just think of the long-running sidewalk controversy. Nearly everyone has an opinion, even if they already live in a neighborhood with sidewalks.

Word of the plan to construct the 60-foot lighted steel cross on church property first broke April 12 in a Gazette story.

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In the midst of the national debate sparked by the shooting rampage in Newtown Conn., Illinois now must decide how it wants to deal with the issue of its citizens carrying concealed weapons.

Wisconsin passed concealed-carry legislation a little more than a year ago, making Illinois the last state without a concealed-carry law.

That will change in five months, after a three-judge Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel voted last month 2-1 that the Illinois ban on carrying firearms outside one’s home is unconstitutional.

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Unlike in bigger cities, pedestrians in Janesville take their safety into their own hands when crossing the street. That was highlighted Jan. 2, when a vehicle struck a 13-year-old Franklin Middle School student as she crossed the street in front of the school.

When you’re in cities like Madison, Milwaukee or Chicago, it’s common for cars to stop as you make your way to the other side of the street.

In fact, it’s the law in Wisconsin, but it’s a law few drivers seem to be aware of.

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It’s not unusual for writers to immerse themselves in a topic to fully understand the story they’re trying to tell.

Be careful what you wish for.

While working on this week’s cover story on how the influenza outbreak is affecting residents of Walworth County, staff writer Todd Mishler was stricken with flu-like symptoms for several days himself.

Mishler had plenty of company. He reports that from Oct. 1 through Jan. 4, the state reported more than 2,800 confirmed cases of influenza, with more than 760 of them requiring hospitalization. There were fewer than 400 hospitalizations last year altogether.

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If our recent poll on WalworthCountySunday.com is any gauge, a whole lot of presidential campaign money is being spent on a very few undecided voters.

We asked readers to tell us if they’ve made up their minds about who will get their vote for president or if they remain undecided.

It turned out only five of those who voted in the poll are undecided, or about 5 percent.

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