Local

“I’m excited to go on with the next chapter of my life, but I’ll always cherish the moments I had at MCHS,” said Erinne Smith, moments before walking out the doors of the school for the last time as a student Friday night.

A bill sponsored by State Rep. Pam Roth (R-Morris) regulating hydraulic fracturing is likely to come for a vote before the legislative session ends at the end of the month.

The FEMA Disaster Recovery Center in Morris will close at the end of the business day today, Saturday, May 25.

The loan agreement between the city and the owners of the Morris Holiday Inn Express has been amended to accommodate new owners.

Over 110 area families took part in the mobile food pantry in Mazon on Wednesday, April 10, which was sponsored by Morris Kiwanis Club.

The groundbreaking for the next Grundy-Three Rivers Habitat for Humanity house took place Thursday evening, with the family and Morris, Grundy County, state and Habitat for Humanity officials taking ceremonial digs in the ground where the house will be built on the 900 block of east North Street.

When he noticed his friend choking Thursday, Nettle Creek School student Josh Skrapits acted on instinct. He jumped up and began performing the Heimlich Maneuver on him.

The Gebhard Woods Dulcimer & Traditional Music Festival had big plans this year for its 25th anniversary, but due to flood damage at Gebhard Woods State Park, the festival is being canceled this year.

As the YMCA works on a five-year plan for a facility in Morris, it’s trying to build a more physical presence in the town in which it will eventually have a location.

At Iowa State University, where he will be a junior next year, Nicholas Terhall is president of his residence hall, a member of student government, a participant in the honors program... and, now, the recipient of a leadership scholarship.

House Bill 1, which would allow those with serious illnesses to obtain small amounts of cannabis for pain relief, passed the state senate last Friday, and is currently sitting on the desk of Gov. Pat Quinn.

Agency offers information on what to expect

ONARGA  — Over in mid-state Onarga, the softball field there is called White Field. After the Gardner-South Wilmington opened up the Class 1A Gilman Sectional there with a 20-2 win over Westminster Christian on Wednesday, the Lady Panthers just may be referring to it as White Hot Field.

OTTAWA — Wednesday’s Class 3A Ottawa Baseball Regional semifinal game could be viewed as a microcosm of the seasons that the involved teams have put together.

For the third time, Bill Luft rode his motorcycle into Marseilles for the National Veterans Awareness Ride to lay a wreath at the memorial wall for those lost in Middle East conflicts.