Medical Marijuana Sales Start Monday in Ottawa

You’ll be able to buy medical marijuana in Ottawa starting Monday.

In addition to Ottawa, seven other locations in Illinois will be authorized to sell.  They’re in Marion, Mundelein, Canton, Quincy, Addison, North Aurora and Schaumburg.

To be able to buy, you have to be one of the three-thousand-plus patients with a special ID card.

Dedication this weekend for new veteran’s memorial in Hennepin

The names of Hennepin veterans will be forever memorialized after a ceremony Saturday afternoon.

You’re invited to a Veteran’s Memorial Dedication at 1 at Walter Durley Boyle Park in Hennepin. The memorial has been a year in the making and will include names of Hennepin veterans both past and present.

Several veterans are invited as featured speakers during the dedication and a reception will follow the ceremony at the Hennepin Pool.

Another successful Signature Chefs Auction in the books

Here’s another reason to be proud that you call the Illinois Valley home.

Over $133,000 was raised at Thursday night’s 15th Annual Signature Chefs Auction at Celebrations 150 in La Salle. The total exceeded the fundraising goal of organizers.

Several restaurants from the Illinois Valley showcased their goods while the crowd bid on items as part of silent and live auctions. Money raised goes to the March of Dimes and their continued goal of improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

Divisive oil pipeline draws one word response from Illinois Valley congressman

Usually when politicians send press releases to the media, they’re very wordy. That definitely wasn’t the case with the latest press release from Congressman Adam Kinzinger.

Friday morning, President Barack Obama officially rejected the Keystone Pipeline XL proposal. Kinzinger’s response is a simple, “crazy.”

Kinzinger and many other Republicans think the pipeline means more jobs and lower gas prices. The president thinks it would damage the environment.

The idea calls for building a pipeline from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast to transport oil from north of the border.

Regional approach to economic development gaining steam

If you had a dollar for every time you heard talk of Illinois Valley cities and counties working together to attract jobs, you’d be a rich man or woman. There however finally seems to be a legitimate push at creating a regional approach to economic development.

County boards in La Salle, Putnam and Bureau County have joined several cities in the Illinois Valley area in pledging financial support for the new Economic Development Corporation of North Central Illinois. The corporation’s coordinator, Deb Ladgenski says government support has also led to financial support from private business.

Ladgenski says the corporation has raised more than 75 percent of its $400,000 goal of financial investments. The $400,000 would cover the first three years of expenses for the economic group. Expenses will include start-up costs and staff salaries.

Miller Group Media is among the dozen or so private businesses that have pledged financial support to the regional economic group. Miller Group Media includes WLPO, 99.3 WAJK, 96.5 the Wolf along with the NewsTribune, AgriNews and 815 Life.

Numbers pile up of deer taken down by archery hunters in the Illinois Valley

One month into the archery season, hunters in the Illinois Valley have gotten the better of deer 785 times.

La Salle County hunters have taken down 352 deer since October 1st. That’s 17th out of 102 counties in the state.

Bow hunters in Bureau County have snared 300 deer in the last month while 133 deer have met their maker in Putnam County. Hunters in Pike County are having a field day with 903 deer, tops in the state.

The archery deer season lasts into January.

Gas prices rise in the Illinois Valley as November begins

Those pre-Halloween days of less than two dollars a gallon gas are over in the Illinois Valley.

According to GasBuddy.com, the cheapest gas in Ottawa now is $2.17 a gallon. You could find it a week ago at the same stations for $1.96. You can find $2.07 gas in Peru while most stations in La Salle, Utica, Spring Valley and Princeton are all selling unleaded for $2.09 a gallon.

The average price statewide for unleaded is $2.35 a gallon, up a nickel from a week ago.

Accident cluster keeps emergency crews busy

It was not a fun night to be driving between Ottawa and Utica. A total of four people were taken to hospitals after three separate crashes in less than two hours Thursday night.

The first crash happened around 6:45 on westbound Interstate 80 about three miles east of Utica. A semi and three cars were involved. One person was taken to the hospital from that crash.

Nearly an hour later, two semis collided about a half mile from the first crash on westbound Interstate 80. One of the drivers was taken to the hospital. And then about a half hour after the second crash, two cars crashed on the eastbound lanes of I-80 near the prior two crashes.

The mess caused westbound lanes of traffic on Interstate 80 between Utica and Ottawa to be closed down for a few hours. Luckily none of the injuries are thought to be serious.

Beside the state police, firefighters from Utica, Wallace and Ottawa all responded to the crashes.