Putnam County Junior High School announced its honor roll for the fourth quarter of the 2025-2026 school year.

The event is by appointment only. Passport agency specialists will be on hand to help walk you through the process and submit your materials.

Discussion of healthcare, federal spending priorities and education were among some of the hot topics highlighted at a town hall Wednesday, as Jim Marter, R-Oswego, sought to get to know voters better in Illinois’ 14th Congressional District ahead of the November election.

Since the Iran war began on Feb. 28, gas prices have risen by well over $1 nationwide, and in March, they jumped up by nearly 21% compared to the previous month, the Associated Press reported. Just this past week, prices rose an average of 56 cents per gallon in Illinois.

The Marshall-Putnam County Fair is taking applications for its annual beauty pageant in July.

While some movement in a school district’s teaching staff is normal, poor teacher retention hurts student achievement and hits districts financially, studies show. It can cost nearly $12,000 to recruit, hire and train a new teacher.

The projects across the 14th Congressional District, which would come under federal Community Project Funding initiative, range from protecting clean drinking water to strengthening access to quality health care in rural communities to public transit systems.

A tornado warning was issued at 7:45 p.m. Friday for Bureau and Putnam counties, though officials in both had no immediate confirmation of a touchdown. A rotating cloud may have set off the alert.

Finding the Geographical Center of the Illinois Valley. See the geographical centers of La Salle, Bureau and Putnam Counties — and pinpoint where the three counties meet in geographic balance

Democratic congressional members from Illinois are questioning President Donald Trump’s fitness for office and calling his threats to destroy Iran as a country "dangerous."

A program called One Click College Admit offers free admission – without the essays or recommendations needed – to most of the state’s public universities and all of its community colleges

Putnam County Community Theatre has announced audition dates open to incoming third through eighth-grade students for its “Aladdin Jr.” Summer Theatre Camp.

The seat has been held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood of Naperville since 2019. Underwood is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.

March 17 marks the 2026 primary, where La Salle, Bureau and Putnam county voters can pull a Democratic or Republican ballot to pick who appears on the ballot come November. All voters, partisan or not, can weigh in on referendum questions.

The Illinois Valley is full of historic homes and the history behind them. Finding a home built prior to the Civil War is rarer than you think in Northern Illinois. Do you know what year your home was built?

At the time of the alert, a severe thunderstorm with radar-indicated rotation was located over Lake Wildwood, about 8 miles northeast of Lacon, and moving east at 35 mph.

The Putnam County Public Library District will screen of “American Stories: A Reading Road Trip” at 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 4 at the McNabb branch.

The Putnam County Public Library District invites the public to a free indie lens pop-up screening of “The Inquisitor” at 4 p.m. Thursday, March 5 at the Condit branch.