The Harlem Wizards played a game against local Princeton Elementary School teachers and principals on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025 at Pannebaker Gymnasium at Logan Jr. High School. The Harlem Wizards began in 1962 by founder Howie Davis. The event was a fundraiser for the PES PTO to support school activities like field trips, assemblies, and teacher stipends. The Harlem Wizards won the game by a score of 87-76.

The Princeton-Illinois chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution held its annual Day of Service to celebrate the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution’s 135th anniversary on Oct. 3.

The St. Matthews Saintly Spaghetti Supper Committee presented a $2,017.62 check to Royal Family Kids Camp.

Keegan Fogarty didn’t come to the University of Iowa to start a business. But a connection with the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center early in his college journey sparked a passion that shaped his Hawkeye experience and put him on a path to launch a company, General Robotics

The Friends of Princeton Public Library are having a Fall Book Sale on Nov. 13-15. Over 6,000 quality used books, both hardcover and paperback will be for sale.

Heritage Tractor will host a Halloween Howl event from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 25, at all its dealership locations.

The Princeton High School Music Boosters are holding their annual citrus, meat and cheese fundraiser to support the school’s band and choir programs.

Many Illinois communities are adding back a 1% grocery tax that will otherwise expire on Jan. 1. Is your town among them?

The annual Oktoberfest celebration took place on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, at Rotary Park in Princeton. The event featured German music from the Heidelberg German Band, food trucks, sausage toss competition, stein holding competition, lederhosen bike ride and more.

Freedom House was recently awarded $15,000 by the Community Foundation of Central Illinois to support the organization’s youth therapy and counseling sessions.

Bureau County will host a free electronics recycling event from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Bureau County Highway Department, 595 Elm Place, Princeton.

Princeton High School recently announced that 10 students received First-Generation Recognition, School Recognition, and Rural and Small-Town Recognition awards from the 2025 College Board National Recognition Program.

Hundreds of protesters gathered at Rotary Park for the No Kings protest on Saturday, Oct 18, 2025, in Princeton. Millions of people across the United States are rising again to show the world that America has no kings, and the power belongs to the people.

The Princeton High School drama department will present “Little Women” by Kate Hamill at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2, in the school’s Sally Skinner Auditorium, 103 S. Euclid Ave.

Students in Mrs. Angie Thompson’s third-grade class at Lincoln Elementary School, attended a drum circle on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025 at Greenfield Retirement Home in Princeton. The drum circle was hosted by Eric Swanson of Chicago, through his business Drum Impact. The students learned how to make rhythm, play instruments, music therapy, collaboration and converse with the residents.

The Princeton Fire Department recently held its annual open house from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 11.

The River Bend Food Bank will partner with Bureau County Food Pantry, Old Wheels Club, and First Lutheran Church to hold a mobile food pantry at 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 30, at the Bureau County Fairgrounds, 811 W. Peru St., Princeton.

The Princeton Public Library, 698 E. Peru St., will host several programs and events in October.

The Bureau County History Center unveiled a new exhibit offering an intimate look at the photography collection of H.W. Immke, whose private grief deeply influenced his work.

The Rotary Club of Princeton recently volunteered to remove the Newell Bryant Museum’s wooden wheelchair ramp.

Around 60 people gathered during A Night of Hope and Unity in honor of Charlie Kirk's birthday on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, at City Hall Park in Princeton. The hour-long rally paid tribute to Charlie, along with standing up against school shootings, violence and division.

The Rotary Club of Princeton recently announced that applications are available for its Love Our Community grant.

Casey Etheridge, the son of Scott and Andrea Etheridge of Princeton, was selected as the class of 2026 Princeton High School Sons of the American Revolution Outstanding Citizen Award winner.

This award is sponsored by the Princeton-Illinois Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Catch up on the week’s top Illinois Valley news in minutes for Oct. 5-11. Hear the week’s 5 most popular stories, read aloud for you

The advancements aim to make resource access easier, more flexible, and more engaging for community members.

The annual Shadows of the Blue and Grey Civil War reenactment was held this weekend at City County Park in Princeton. The two-day event is an annual Civil War living history battle reenactment that is held the second weekend in October. The re-enactment features a medical presentation, artillery drills, the Gettysburg Address and a Civil War battle re-enactment, a dance, and more.

The school selected Landon Davis and Lydia Johnson for September and Ryan Jagers and Caroline Keutzer for October.

Crews from Doyle Signs erected Aldi signs on the sides of the new store located at the intersection of Backbone and North Main Street on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, in Princeton. The store is expected to open on Nov. 13. The store will be 12,000 square-feet of retail space. A Jersey Mikes Subs has also been confirmed on the site. Construction on Jersey Mike's should start next week. Jersey Mikes is slated to open in the spring of 2026 in Princeton.

Tickets for each show are $15 and can be purchased online at festival56.com or by calling the box office at 815-879-5656. A four-ticket Sound Stage Pass is also available for a $10 savings.

The Prairie Arts Council is hosting an October exhibit featuring artist Matthew Adams at the Prairie Arts Center Gallery, 24 Park Ave. E., Princeton.

The Bureau County Retired Teachers Association President Bonnie Driver, invites area retired educators to the next meeting at noon on Wednesday, Oct. 15, at the Princeton Public Library, 698 E. Peru St.

Bureau County will host a free electronics recycling event from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Bureau County Highway Department, 595 Elm Place, Princeton.

The 2025 Homestead Festival Car Show was conducted Sept. 7 in Princeton.

A Princeton man was found deceased on Sunday after entering the Illinois River, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said in a Monday news release.

Dan Smith, a longtime community volunteer and youth sports coach, has been appointed to the Princeton Park Board.

Lydia Johnson, a senior at Princeton High School, has been named a Commended Student in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program, Principal Andy Berlinski announced.

The City of Princeton held its Halloween parade on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in downtown Princeton.

Stage 212 in Princeton announced its 2026 season, “Nostalgia Reimagined: Escaping Into Connection,” featuring four diverse productions exploring connection, memory, and imagination.

Take a peek inside the Nightmare on Fairgrounds Road Haunted Attraction on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, at the Bureau County Fairgrounds in Princeton. Every year, the old, creepy barns at the Bureau County Fairgrounds are transformed into the stuff of nightmares. The Nightmare on Fairgrounds Road is in its 22nd year. This year’s event features haunted barns, a bonfire, and souvenirs. The popular haunted house is open Fridays and Saturdays from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Bureau County Fairgrounds in Princeton. Admission is $20 for kids aged 8 and older.

A motorcyclist died after a single-vehicle crash on Route 6 east of the Interstate 180 overpass late Thursday night, according to a Bureau County Sheriff’s Office press release.

The Bureau County Democrats will hold a “No Kings 2.0″ protest from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, at Rotary Park, 13593 Bicentennial Drive, Princeton.

Festival 56 has appointed Marc Bitler as its new Producing Artistic Director, marking his return to the Princeton theater company after a decade away.

Enjoy tricks, treats and scares at the Bureau County Fairgrounds this weekend!

The Bureau County Sheriff’s Office is partnering with Law Enforcement Partners of Bowling Green, Kentucky, to produce a 2026 department calendar.

The ban, effective immediately, prohibits all outdoor burning activities such as landscape waste, garbage and recreational fires. It will remain in place until sufficient rainfall alleviates the dry conditions.

OSF HealthCare in Princeton is expanding access to primary care in Princeton with the addition of Dr. Adam Kress, who began seeing patients on Sept. 14.

Princeton High School held its annual homecoming parade on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, on South Main Street in Princeton. The Tigers will host the Monmouth-Roseville in football on Friday.

The sessions aim to help participants incorporate healthcare providers’ recommendations into healthier daily habits.

Steven Olson, a band instructor from Princeton High School and Logan Junior High School, has won his three first games on the popular game show Jeopardy. Olson is scheduled to appear at 4:30 p.m. today (Wednesday) on WQAD, Channel 8 on the Princeton Comcast network.