After a devastating fire, Reeses Barkery is moving temporarily to the former Cold Blooded Parties Reptile Zoo. Reeses owners had already purchased the McHenry Flying Dragons building, set to become downtown McHenry coffee and tea shop.

Firefighters battled a blaze in windchills reaching 30 degrees below zero early Saturday morning at a home near McHenry.

A Crystal Lake man, who is set to face a 4½-year prison sentence for a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme next month, was able to push his local case accusing him of defrauding a McHenry veterans’ association to March.

Several school districts across McHenry County are announcing closures or e-learning days Friday as an extreme cold warning is forecast to start Thursday night into Friday morning, bringing in dangerously low wind chills.

McHenry City Council members have asked the staff asked to find economic development help for Niko Kanakaris' redevelopment of Vickie's Place, as TIF is not available for site.

Two Republican Party candidate forums will take place in McHenry County Thursday, Jan. 22 and Sunday, Jan. 25

Niko Kanakaris has a contract to buy Vickies Place and is asking McHenry for sales tax rebate to offset renovation costs.

While two longtime businesses assess their futures after a serious fire, the McHenry community is stepping up to help them get back on their feet.

Riverside Bake Shop and Reeses Barkery are figuring out next steps after a devastating fire at the building they share in downtown McHenry over the weekend.

A Lake County man with a past felony conviction was found guilty of gun and drug charges after authorities said he hid a Glock pistol in the back of a squad car during a McHenry traffic stop.

Jerry Eiserman will be honored with a prestigious McHenry Chamber Award at the business group's Annual Gala on Jan. 24.

Riverside Bake Shop in downtown McHenry caught fire early Sunday afternoon.

A rural residence in Hampshire that sold for $2.38 million tops the list of the most expensive residential real estate sales in McHenry County during the past week.

A McHenry man walking across Route 120 in McHenry died after being struck by a car Thursday afternoon, police report.

The McHenry County Board might soon be asking drivers to slow down on a few roads around the county.

McHenry's GameStop among several closed across the state in recent days

Real estate news: A single-family house located at 3233 North Bayview Lane in McHenry has a new owner since Dec. 17, 2025.

Indivisible McHenry County held what organizers say was 14th protest in past year, brings out residents with family affected by ICE

More than 600 people came out Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, on Route 31 in McHenry for an anti-ICE protest, organized by Indivisible McHenry County. The national organization encouraged protests over the weekend in response to the death of Renee Good Wednesday in Minneapolis.

Catch up on the week’s top McHenry County news in minutes. Hear the week’s 5 most popular stories, read aloud for you, for the week of Jan. 4-10

Football fandom is split between the Bears and the Packers in the McHenry County area, which has some official Packer bars.

A former McHenry man and registered sex offender is accused in Arkansas of kidnapping, sexually assaulting a child and threatening her with a firearm, according authorities there.

A crash Wednesday morning has shut down a stretch of Route 23 near Marengo.

An Antioch man was fined $300 for emitting black smoke called “rolling coal” from his pickup truck at protestors during an anti-Trump rally in McHenry last year.

Authorities said a man is in a medically induced coma and may lose his eye from a fight outside a bar in McHenry on New Year’s Eve, for which a local man has been charged.

Richmond added an outdoor ice rink to McConnell Park, a first for the small community, using tax revenue from the local cannabis dispensary.

Professional mixed martial arts “superfights” with athletes from around the country return to McHenry County Saturday in McHenry after a successful debut in Crystal Lake last year.

Kids Garage McHenry, which has opened just outside the city, gives kids a place to play, explore and burn energy.

McHenry Elementary School District 15’s sale of Landmark School has not yet been finalized but is still moving forward.

From county fair cows to pet emus, here are some of our favorite McHenry County-area animal pictures of 2025 from Shaw Local staff and contributors.

The Richmond Township supervisor and clerk, who were elected, as well as the office manager, all resigned on the same day.

From the deaths of prominent citizens to the far-reaching impacts of the first year of President Trump's second term, here is a look at some of the biggest stories that happened in the McHenry County area in 2025.

A loud boom Thursday evening in the McHenry that some say shook their homes prompted hundreds to take to social media for answers. But so far they have materialized.

McHenry will get feedback from business owners and work on signs to help direct people to available parking.

A selection of the top feature photos in the Northwest Herald in 2025, by Shaw Local photographers.

The Wirtz legacy of dressing McHenry residents comes to an end on Dec. 30, when Tony and Laurie Wirtz retire, closing the tailor shop Tony has ran for 36 years.

Vickie's Place on the Fox River in McHenry is closing Sunday after 40 years. But a new owner already has plans to reopen. Find out who is it.

The builders looking to renovate McHeny's First Midwest Bank into apartments will not get the $3 million in public incentives that were sought.

Gewalt, 21, of McHenry, will be displaying her figuring skating skills at McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce’s first-ever Heart of the Fox event

About 95 acres of land in McHenry -- deemed unbuildable but which could be used for future parkland -- has been donated to the city by a developer.

The 2026 McHenry Music Festival will combine country, southern rock and metal acts - possibly for the last time

Ashley Vilona, emergency department manager at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, has been recognized as the 2025 Nurse Leader of the Year for Advocate Health’s Illinois Division.

The McHenry County Board voted down four of five requests for solar farms, many in the McHenry and Johnsburg areas.

A few months after an Applebee’s closed down in McHenry, its former building is getting prepped for a new tenant, a Yummy Bowl Mongolian Stir-Fry and Sushi.

The McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce has announced which Riverwalk Shoppes are returning in 2026 and what new offerings shoppers will have when they open in May.

A man convicted in a New Year’s Day 2005 drunken-driving crash in Chicago that killed a taxi driver and passenger has been charged with DUI and causing a crash near McHenry.

The lineup for 2026 is out, but what Wayne Jett won’t yet announce is whether the McHenry Music Festival will return in 2027.

Severe cold headed into the area for the weekend has cause some disruption to weekend plans.

McHenry suspended its leaf pickup, hopes to get remaining leaves in the spring, but offers yard waste pickup through end of the week.

A pair of young deer who got stuck in ice on Pistakee Bay were moved to safe ground by McHenry County Fire Protection District personnel.