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As Americans and residents of the United States prepare for some festive Fourth of July celebrations, they can keep these interesting facts related to Independence Day in mind.

Americans celebrate Independence Day every July 4. The holiday has become synonymous with summer fun, as grand fireworks displays and backyard barbecues are integral components of many people's July 4 celebrations.

As Americans and residents of the United States prepare for some festive Fourth of July celebrations, they can keep these interesting facts related to Independence Day in mind.

· There have been many iterations of the American flag. The American flag has become an iconic symbol of freedom recognized across the globe since the United States declared their independence from Great Britain in 1776. But few July 4 celebrants may know that the current version is the 27th iteration of the American flag. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the current version of the flag officially became the flag on July 4, 1960.

· More than half of all Americans own an American flag. A 2023 poll from WalletHub found that 57 percent of Americans own an American flag. And that's not the only way Americans show their national pride, as the same poll found that roughly one in three Americans intended to purchase patriotic merchandise for July 4.

· The United States is not the only place to celebrate American independence. Such celebrations occur in various countries, including Australia, Denmark, Ireland, and Norway. The festivities in Rebild National Park in Denmark is believed to be the largest celebration of American independence outside the United States.

· The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council estimates that 150 million hot dogs are consumed on July 4. Though there's no corresponding estimate related to how many hamburgers Americans eat on July 4, various reports suggest Americans eat roughly 50 billion burgers annually, so it's fair to conclude many a burger will be consumed this Independence Day.

· July is a popular month for nations to celebrate their independence. In addition to the United States, various countries, including Algeria (July 5), Argentina (July 9), The Bahamas (July 10), Belarus (July 3), Burundi (July 1), Canada (July 1), Cape Verde (July 1), Colombia (July 20), Kiribati (July 12), and Liberia (July 26), celebrate their Independence Day in July.

· John Adams, a Founding Father of the United States and the second president in the country's history, felt Americans should celebrate their independence from Great Britain on July 2. That's because the Continential Congress voted for independence on July 2, 1776. However, the Declaration of Independence was not approved for two more days, thus making July 4 the day to celebrate America's independence from Great Britain.

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Ivy Harris of Salem will be departing soon for a Christian mission trip to Australia. She will be a sophmore at Indiana University Southeast this fall and is the daughter of Roy and Gretta Harris of Salem.

Ivy describes below how she came to be involved in this exciting experience:

Personal information about yourself:

I graduated Salem High School in 2023, and I just finished my first year of college at IU Southeast. I’m pursuing a business degree concentrated in accounting. I entered IUS on sophomore standing because I took dual credit and AP classes in high school; I’ll be graduating in three years rather than four.

On campus I'm involved in a Christian organization called Cru. I learned about this organization at the Student Involvement & Resource Fair during my first week of college, and I joined right away. It was important to me to have a community of Christian friends during my time at IUS. It’s common for believers to fall away from faith during their college years, and I didn’t want to be a part of that. This organization is on 8,919 campuses worldwide, and it offers a variety of mission trip opportunities all over the globe.

How did you get involved with the mission trip:

I felt like the Lord was calling me to go on my first mission, and my friend from IUS also felt the same way. We were on the Cru website scrolling through the different options and Australia stood out to both of us. We both applied online and decided to go through this together. After the application was reviewed by the mission leader, she called to give me more details about the trip and so we could ask each other any questions. Then, a week later, I got the email of acceptance to go on the mission trip.

Details about the venue:

The trip is in Sydney, Australia July 11-27. The team will be meeting and spending the night in Las Angeles, CA on July 10 to do some team building, then we will leave in the evening of July 11 to fly to Sydney. The team includes three staff members and there are seven of us students. The team is made up of staff and students in Cru from several different states including Texas, Minnesota, Florida, and North Carolina. In L.A., we’ll be staying at Aloft El Segundo Hotel. In Australia, we will be staying at Quest Macquarie Park, which is an apartment hotel.

Duties and activities expected of you:

My team and I will be partnering with the Cru staff and student leaders at the University of Sydney and Macquarie University (Power To Change is Cru’s official name in Australia). We will be welcoming and reaching out to international students on their campuses. There are 87,000+ international students in New South Wales. Most of those international students are from China, Korea, India, Malaysia, and Vietnam. We will be evangelizing to these students and encouraging them to check out their campus’ Cru organization. On Mondays through Fridays we will be 9-5 working at the campuses, with some additional evening activities. Saturdays are for team outings/development. Sundays are for church and rest.

Info about the sponsoring organization:

Cru’s mission statement is to win, build and send Christ-centered multiplying disciples who launch spiritual movements. Cru was originally founded as Campus Crusade for Christ in 1951, when Bill and Vonette Bright began the ministry on the UCLA campus. God gave Bill a vision of the total fulfillment of the Great Commission throughout the world, starting with college students. Cru helps the body of Christ to do evangelism and discipleship in a variety of creative ways such as campus ministries, Cru’s city ministry, FamilyLife, Athletes in Action, Cru Military, and the “JESUS” film. Cru has more than 16,000 staff members in over 190 countries.

Personal experience with traveling and expectations:

This will be my first time out of the country and also my first time on a plane.
I hope to return with powerful stories of how I saw God moving during this mission trip.I’m excited to go to a new place and to focus solely on God for two and a half weeks. Although, I'm a little nervous about the flight as I've never been on a plane before.

I’m looking forward to building friendships with my team and sharing the gospel with the students in Australia.

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The Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) submitted an inventory of lost farmland report to the Legislative Council. In 2023, the Indiana General Assembly passed House Enrolled Act 1557, which tasked ISDA to complete an inventory of lost farmland in Indiana from 2010-2022.

ISDA determined through the inventory of lost farmland that there has been an overall reduction of farmland acres of approximately 1.5-2% from 2010-2022. This represents a loss of approximately 350,000 acres. The results show that agricultural land was most likely to be lost in areas around the edges of cities and suburban areas. The primary cause of reduction in farmland was due to residential use.

“Agriculture is, and always has been, the lifeblood of the Hoosier state,” said Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. “Data is critical for all levels of government when making decisions that may affect our rural communities and food security.”

ISDA used two sources of data – (1) parcel data from the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) and (2) the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Crop Data Layer (CDL). Both datasets have different qualities that make them desirable for attempting to discern both the quantity of land use change and the causes of land use change.

“The inventory of lost farmland was an opportunity for ISDA and legislators to gain access to reliable data, where up until now, we could only make assumptions,” said Don Lamb, director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. “This information is important to have for policy development as we work to balance economic growth, food security and the preservation of agricultural land, because we know when agriculture is strong, Indiana is too.”

Despite the loss in acreage, yield data from USDA NASS shows that Indiana’s production of its cash crops has increased. In 2012, Indiana produced over 597 million bushels of corn for grain, and in 2022 yielded over 1 billion bushels. Indiana produced nearly 219 million bushels of soybeans in 2012 and saw that number increase to over 326 million in 2022.

ISDA outlined several recommendations within the report to the Legislative Council, including that legislation be passed directing ISDA to update the inventory of lost farmland every five years, starting in 2029 for a report to be published in 2030.

To view the full 2010 to 2022 report or narrative, click here or visit isda.in.gov.

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Following is the schedule of events for the 194th Annual Pekin 4th Of July Festival:

WEDNESDAY, JULY 3

7:00 a.m. til 10:00 a.m. ............. Breakfast at the Pekin Park Shelter House by Main Street Meats
8:00 a.m - 10:00 am.............. Registration for 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament at the Basketball Court
10:00 a.m................................... 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament Starts (until the last game finishes)
at the Basketball Court
8:00 a.m. til 12:00 p.m. ............. Set up for Craft Vendors/Flea Market, Food Vendors, and Rides
Homeland Security and Health Department Inspections
5:00 p.m. til Fireworks .............. Food Court Open
5:00 p.m. til Fireworks .............. Craft Vendors/Flea Market Open
5:00 p.m. til Fireworks .............. Bluegrass Rides Open , DJ Eric by the Stage
5:00 p.m. til 8:00 p.m. ............... Sign-ups for the Watermelon and Corn on the Cob Eating Contest at the Pekin Community Betterment Organization Booth
5:30 p.m. ..................................... Dessert Auction Begins
Immediately after the Dessert Auction Recognition of the reigning Firecracker and Dynamite Winners
7:00 p.m. til 10:00 p.m. ............. Juice Box Heroes perform on the Pekin Park Stage
8:30 p.m. til 9:00 p.m. ............... Intermission for the Juice Box Heroes and Dessert Auction with Sam Hurst
10:00 p.m. ................................... Fireworks by Straight Shooters

THURSDAY, JULY 4

7:00 a.m. til 10:00 a.m. ..................... Breakfast at the Pekin Park Shelter House by Main Street Meats

8:00 a.m. ............................................ Parade line-up at Eastern High School

10:00 a.m. .......................................... Parade-Tisha Coles, Coordinator with Family and Friends

Theme- 2024 - "Celebrate Days Gone By"

Grand Marshals - Steve Burnett and Gary Nale

12:30 pm. ........................................... Invocation by Dr. Jeremy Goen-Pekin Church of Christ Minister

Presentation of “Colors” and Pledge of Allegiance led by Dr. Jeremy Goen

Star Spangled Banner- Allison Hein

Reading of the Preamble of the Declaration of Independence - 2024 Eastern High School Valedictorian- Glenn Gosnell

Back Home Again in Indiana - Allison Hein

Welcome Patrons - Taylor Humphrey-Arnold, Pekin Community Betterment Organization President

Grand Marshals Induction

11:00 a.m. til 5:30 p.m. ..................... Food Court Open

11:00 a.m. til 5:30 p.m. ..................... Craft Vendors/Flea Market Open

11:00 a.m. til 5:30 p.m. ..................... Bluegrass Rides Open, DJ Eric by the Stage

1:30 p.m. ............................................ Dollars for Scholars of Eastern High School on the Pekin Park Stage

2:30 p.m. ............................................ Prince and Princess Contest on the Pekin Park Stage

- Darlene Hall, Coordinator

Immediately following the Prince and Princess Contest- 2nd Annual Watermelon Eating Contest and

2nd Annual Corn on the Cob Eating Contest

4:00 p.m. ............................................ Queen Contest on the Pekin Park Stage -Darlene Hall, Coordinator

5:00 p.m. ............................................ 2024 Queen Crowning Announcement

Immediately following - Gun Raffle drawing

Immediately following - Special Thanks and Closing by Taylor Humphrey-Arnold, President PCBO 2024

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Here is an opportunity for you to make a lifelong friend from abroad by hosting an exchange student for 3, 5, or 10 months! Enrich your family with another culture. Now you can host a high school exchange student (girl or boy) from Belgium, France, Germany, Ukraine, Scandinavia, Spain, Japan, Italy or other countries. Single parents, as well as couples with or without children, may host.

Contact Amy at 1-800-736-1760 (Toll-free), visit host.asse.com or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information or to select your student.