PERU – The Starved Rock Lodge Trolley made its annual round of donations to a local homeless shelter and organization for the disabled. As part of efforts to support local organizations, Marketing Director Kathy Casstevens says from Black Friday to Christmas Eve, the lodge gathers monetary ...Read more
PERU – A family who lost their home to a tragic fire in Peru is receiving generous support from the community. Katherine Twardowski and her two sons lost their home last week Thursday to a fire that heavily damaged their home in the 1600 block of 5th Street. A go-fund-me page was ...Read more
LASALLE – Motorists in Illinois will face higher penalties for violating Scott’s Law in the new year. Illinois State Police Director Brendan F. Kelly says 2019 has been an especially tragic year. 27 ISP stationary squad cars have been struck by vehicles, higher than the number of all ...Read more
MENDOTA – Food distribution in time for Christmas happened Sunday in Mendota at the First Presbyterian Church Micro Pantry. Over 30 families were assisted in making sure their Christmas dinner needs were met thanks to many donated hams, sides and other items. Also, unexpectedly, toys were ...Read more
DEKALB – A single vehicle crash took the life of a Sycamore high school student and his mother Saturday in rural DeKalb County. The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office say that 17-year-old Kal-El Sexton was driving on Plank Road near Lukens Road when for unknown reasons the vehicle left ...Read more
VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) – A northern Indiana wildlife center’s staff is mourning the death of an owl that was its longtime winged ambassador. The eastern screech owl named Drew was found dead in mid-December in his enclosure at Humane Indiana Wildlife in Valparaiso, where the ...Read more
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A new survey of bankers indicates a waning economy in rural parts of 10 Plains and Western states, and weak farm income is hurting producers’ ability to borrow money from banks. The Rural Mainstreet survey shows its overall index fell to to 50.2 this month from 54.2 ...Read more
CHICAGO (AP) – Chicago police have reduced taxpayer-funded security for a former city mayor but eliminated detail for current city officials. The Chicago Tribune reports the Chicago Police Department conducted threat assessments for former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Clerk Anna Valencia and ...Read more
WAVERLY, IL (AP) – A nonprofit teacher-training program is using a $750,000 addition to the state budget to speed up certification to address a rampant teacher shortage. Golden Apple is recruiting college students not studying education and professionals with bachelor’s degrees ...Read more
CHICAGO (AP) – Officials say the Illinois Republican Party is ramping up efforts to make voters aware that an anti-Semitic activist and Holocaust denier who won the GOP nomination in 2018 is once again a candidate for the U.S. Congress. Several people told the Chicago Sun-Times that Arthur ...Read more
National News
