The Winter Olympics are just a few weeks away, with opening ceremonies set for Feb. 6 in Milan, Italy.

As space allows, I’ll spotlight some of the Illinois natives who will compete for the U.S. It certainly won’t be a daily feature, as we’re not exactly a hotbed of skiing and bobsledding talent. But there is an established youth hockey culture here, which allows us to start with a 2018 gold medal winner: Kendall Coyne-Schofield, who grew up in Palos Heights and attended Sandburg High School in Orland Park.

This will be her fourth Olympics (silvers in 2014 and 2018) and her first since becoming a mother in 2023.

UNWANTED MEDS: On Jan. 2, I encouraged readers to properly dispose of old prescription drugs by finding a proper location via the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s site finder, tinyurl.com/DEAfinder, or locating a pharmacy participating in the Drug Reuse Opportunity Program (ilrxdrugrepository.org). Readers suggested another common option is local police or the county sheriff’s office. That’s definitely something I should’ve included; part of preparing to move last summer included rounding up a shocking quantity of expired prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs and putting them in the proper receptacles at the local police station.

Many of the websites used to indicate which authorities accept what materials are outdated, so this is an instance where a quick phone call might be the best bet for accurate information.

GET SCREENED: Speaking of resolutions, here’s one shared from state Sen. Don DeWitte, R-St. Charles, via a Monday morning email. DeWitte, who in July announced he’d not seek reelection in 2026, shared news of successful prostate cancer surgery on Dec. 23. Late September blood testing showed elevated PSA levels, then there was an MRI and biopsy.

“The good news is that because of early detection and the fact that the cancer never had a chance to spread, my prognosis is excellent. The surgical resolution puts me at 99% cured. The remaining 1% will be continued blood monitoring of PSA and other normal maintenance, with no chemo or radiation follow-up therapy anticipated. …

“More importantly, I encourage all of you to aggressively monitor your health, and if you are male, I would urge you to take your prostate health seriously. It is only through early detection from attentive medical experts that my condition was diagnosed so early and resolved so quickly and effectively. A rising PSA, available through normal annual blood tests, is the earliest indicator that something might not be quite right. The survival rate for those with prostate cancer is very high if caught early. Survival rates drop significantly with later detection and if cancer spreads to other organs. Early detection makes the difference. Get your PSA checked.”

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.