Congressman Kinzinger to Hold Office Hours in LaSalle and Bureau Counties Thursday

In presidential election years it’s easy to get lost in the dozens of issues candidates bring up on a daily basis.

If you want to know where your representative in Washington stands on them, next week you’ll have a couple hours to do that without leaving the Illinois Valley. You don’t need an appointment to share your questions or concerns with staff members of 16^th District US Representative Adam Kinzinger.

The traveling office hours will both be held on the morning of Thursday the 25^th. In LaSalle, he’ll be at the Earlville City Clerk’s office from 9 until 10. Then the Congressman will head to Bureau County where his office hours at the Walnut Village Hall will last from 11 until noon.

Record High Reached at Illinois Valley Regional Airport on Friday

Cars, power lines, and even people weren’t the only things being blown away yesterday. In some spots, record highs were blown away as well in the Illinois valley.

Wind gusts broke the 60 mile-per-hour mark, and the thermometer broke the 60-degree mark. According to Weather Underground, the high of 61 degrees at Illinois Valley Regional Airport was a record for Peru.

The record is unofficial though, because the airport doesn’t take readings for the National Weather Service.

Two Teens Didn’t Wait to Feed Their Needs for Speed

When the roads are as rough as they were Friday, speeding is a very bad idea.

A 16-year old girl from Ottawa was stopped yesterday afternoon on North 17^th Road near East 21^st for allegedly driving 89 mph in a 55 mile-per-hour zone.

She wasn’t the only one. Shortly after midnight this morning a 16-year old guy was on Bloomington Street near 12^th Street in Streator when he was stopped for going 85 mph in a 35 mile-per-hour zone.

Both teens were released with notices to appear in court.

2016 Congressional Art Competition Open to Entries from the Illinois Valley

Do you have a talented young artist in your household? They have a chance to have their work displayed in the halls of Congress.

Congressman Adam Kinzinger is now accepting applications for the 2016 Congressional Art Competition. All high school students in Kinzinger’s 16^th district can turn in artwork to his office in Ottawa until April 15^th.

First place artists will have their work put on in the U.S. Capitol building. Three runner-up pieces will be displayed at the Congressman’s district offices.

The winning artist also gets two tickets to Washington, D.C. to the official art show opening and reception.

Peru and Ottawa Felt the Heaviest of Friday’s Wind Gusts with Gusto

You didn’t need to be a meteorologist to know Friday was incredibly windy, but just how hard did the wind blow?

When it comes to the Illinois Valley, Ottawa takes the title of “Windiest City.” According to the National Weather Service in Chicago, a 68 mile-per-hour wind gust blew through Friday afternoon. Peru had some pretty exceptional winds as well though, with winds blowing up to 61 miles-per-hour. Morris had a fairly breezy day in comparison as winds there only reached 54 mph.

As for Illinois overall, Chicago still retains the title, as winds hit 73mph there yesterday afternoon. Fortunately, the weekend won’t be as eventful wind-wise as gusts aren’t expected of more than 15 miles-per-hour.

Midland Holding Community Summit to Present Potential of a Referendum

Midland Schools have structural issues and money will be needed to fix them.

A community summit is happening Saturday morning to talk about the planning process of a referendum. You can learn about the school board’s recommendation for a new elementary school or an alternate option if the tax referendum fails.

The elementary building in Lacon is closed for the rest of the school year because of lead and mold concerns. Saturday’s summit is at the middle school in Sparland and runs from ten until noon.