Local Headlines

UTICA – The driver escaped injury but the vehicle was a total loss after a fire along I-80 Friday night.   Just before 10 PM Utica and Wallace Fire Departments were called to the westbound lanes near mile marker 85 where they found a pickup fully engulfed.    The pickup was towed from

NORMAL, Ill. (AP) — Illinois State University says this year’s freshman class is its largest in 33 years. The university has 3,860 freshmen for the 2019-2020 academic year. ISU President Larry Dietz says it’s “proof that students recognize the high quality of educational,

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Schools in Illinois are receiving emergency materials to stop victim bleeding in case of serious accident or incident. The Illinois Terrorism Task Force announced Wednesday that it distributed more than 7,000 so-called Stop the Bleed kits after a recommendation from the

MENDOTA – The Mendota Education Association took an “intent to strike” vote on Thursday. According to officials, the vote was met with a 97% approval of the membership. If a deal is not reached by October 16, the teachers will go on strike. The items that are still on the table for

    The Illinois 4-H Foundation annually recognizes 4-H volunteers for exemplary service. This year, 80 new members were inducted into the Illinois 4-H Hall of Fame during a celebration Tuesday, Aug. 13 at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield. “These volunteers fully embody what

The Illinois Valley Community College agriculture program, in partnership with Case IH and University of Illinois Extension, will conduct a field day at the campus farm along the west side of Orlando Smith Road from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Sept. 18. The field day is open to the public and

TRIUMPH – Property owners in rural LaSalle County near Triumph have begun discovering a number of dead fish in area streams on Thursday.   A few dead fish could be spotted from bridges in and around Ophir township.     A neighbor of rural Mendota resident Bob Johnson asked him Thursday

  OTTAWA – The matriarch American bison at Buffalo State Park has passed away. According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, on Thursday, Holly the bison, was euthanized due to a serious illness. Holly was born in 1999 and came to Buffalo Rock in 2005. She gave birth to a

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A central Illinois owner of an outfitter service has pleaded guilty to federal charges that included deploying an electronic bird caller to lure geese into shooting range. A statement from the U.S. attorney’s office in Springfield says 58-year-old Rick A. Hamm, of

      INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana health officials say they’ve confirmed that a resident died from severe lung injury linked to vaping. The death announced Friday by the Indiana State Department of Health is the state’s first and the country’s third tied to