Catch up on the week’s top Sauk Valley news for April 12-18 in minutes. Hear the week’s 5 most popular stories, read aloud for you

A single-family home in Sterling that sold for $445,000 tops the list of the most expensive residential real estate sales in Lee County / Whiteside over the past week

Here's a list of Lee, Whiteside and Ogle County property transfers for April 6-10, 2026.

The Sterling Municipal Band will present its annual spring concert at 7 p.m. Friday, April 24, at New Life Lutheran Church in Sterling. The concert is presented by the city of Sterling.

OSF HealthCare is welcoming Chris Herbert to OSF Saint Katharine Center for Health – Sterling, where he will begin seeing patients April 23.

The Whiteside Forum will host Jessica Tosh on Sunday, April 26, to address the topic of homelessness. Tosh serves as a corps officer at the Salvation Army Sterling-Rock Falls Corps Community Center.

Local physicians say loneliness, anxiety, and lifestyle shifts are contributing to long-term health risks for millennials

As tornadoes hit Northern Illinois, millions are turning to livestreaming weather creators instead of traditional forecasts — raising new questions about how people stay safe

Emergency crews from throughout northwestern Illinois were in Lena Friday night in the wake of a severe storm that rolled through the village around 3:40 p.m. Friday.