The city of Rochelle presented a facade grant for $2,550 on Monday, Dec. 22, to Tecalitlan Restaurant at 1071 N. Caron Road.

At a special meeting Tuesday, Dec. 23, the Rochelle City Council voted unanimously to appoint City Engineer Sam Tesreau as interim city manager following the resignation and impending departure of City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh.

December is almost over. We participated in the annual Christmas Walk parade. Our float was decorated with Christmas lights, a Snoopy doghouse and the Peanuts characters.

Kishwaukee College will host Discover Kish from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7, at the college.

Rochelle presented a facade grant program check for $1,550 on Monday, Dec. 22, to Salon Idyll at 400 Lincoln Highway.

The Rochelle Township High School Speech team competed in the Byron Christmas Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 20. The team placed third out of the 13 teams participating.

The city of Rochelle public works department will pick up Christmas trees at the curb from Jan. 2-16.

Here's a list of Ogle County property transfers for Dec. 15-19, 2025.

The city of Rochelle on Dec. 9 announced the resignation and impending departure of City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh, who has accepted a position as city administrator of Washington, Illinois.

Rochelle historian Tom McDermott tells the story of German immigrants Rudolf and Else Metzger and their journey to Rochelle.

Overall, 184 students completed a program or certificate requirement for the fall 2025 semester.

The Rochelle City Council and Ogle-Lee Fire Protection District Board of Trustees recently approved a $669,000 purchase for the third phase of their joint fire training facility at 920 S. Main St. in Rochelle.

The Kishwaukee College Foundation awarded $124,250 in program enhancement funds to Kishwaukee College departments for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Julie Dudziak won the $2,500 prize.

Rochelle Community Hospital on Thursday, Dec. 18, hosted its fifth annual holiday drive-thru dinner and distributed 200 meals to people in need.

Matthew S. Robinson, 29, was sent back to the Ogle County Jail on Wednesday, Dec. 17, as he faces charges of dissemination of images of child sex abuse and possession with the intent to disseminate images of the sexual abuse of children.

Randy Belmonte-Lopez, 36, faces two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

Superintendent Jason Harper said Monday, Dec. 15, that the 2026-27 schedule underwent no major changes from the previous year. Aug. 10 will be the first day of the 2026-2027 school year.

Levi Waddle, a senior at Rochelle Township High School, was recently named the December Rochelle Rotary Club Student of the Month.

The Flagg-Rochelle Community Park District Board of Commissioners unanimously approved an $11,260 proposal Monday, Dec. 15, from Bruns Construction for concrete work at the driving range at Skare Park.

The Rochelle Rotary Club recently announced its November Student of the Month: Ashley Villanueva of Rochelle Township High School.

The Rochelle Area Community Foundation announced Tuesday, Dec. 16, a new designated fund, Future of Focus House, that will be aimed at continued improvement of the Ogle County facility that recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.

What do we really want from our leaders? Maybe we just don’t care what they say or do as long as we agree with them in some way.

The city of Rochelle presented a $3,525 facade grant Monday, Dec. 15, to the Vince Carney Community Theater at 108 S. Main St. in Rochelle.

The Rochelle Township High School speech team hosted the RTHS Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 13. Rochelle earned fourth place.

Rochelle United Methodist Church has offered an inter-denominational Blue Christmas service to the community for the past few years, and is offering one again this year on the evening of Dec. 21, which is the Longest Night.

The Genoa-Kingston girls basketball team traveled to Rochelle Monday night for a nonconference matchup.

Here's a list of Ogle County property transfers for Dec. 8-12, 2025.

Fehr Graham, a Midwest engineering and environmental firm, recently announced the hiring of Survey Technician Charlie Rice.

The Community Action Network of Rochelle hosted its annual Holiday Shopping Trip for children in need in the community Thursday, Dec. 11, at First Presbyterian Church.

Ongoing construction at Tilton Elementary School is on schedule as the district works to complete a $14.237 million renovation and expansion project that began this summer and will be completed in phases through summer 2026.

The Rochelle Area Community Foundation recently announced the results of its 2025 Giving Tuesday campaign, raising a total of $27,800 to support community programs and charitable funds throughout Rochelle and the surrounding area.

José “Carlos” Ordaz, a longtime Rochelle resident and Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway worker of 30 years, was recently featured along with Rochelle in the Rieles y Raíces exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago.

The Rochelle Lions Club recently donated new winter coats, hats and gloves to Lincoln Elementary School.

While most Ogle County residents were figuring out how to get rid of the nearly 12 inches of snow that fell across the region Nov. 29, 2025, sculptor Fran Volz of Rockford was getting inspired.

CHS Rochelle recently presented a donation of $21,733.05 to the Ogle County Educational Cooperative from its annual charity golf outing earlier this year.

OnCall Imaging at 1609 First Ave. in Rock Falls recently began its third year in business. The 8,000-square-foot imaging center offers MRI, CT, X-ray, DEXA, mammogram and ultrasound services.

Mark Cooper, 48, was sentenced in absentia Tuesday, Dec. 9, following an outburst at his sentencing hearing, during which he verbally berated the judge and threatened to spit on a deputy.

The Rochelle City Council voted 6-0 on Monday, Dec. 8, to approve a special-use permit for an adult-use cannabis infusion business at 600 N. 15th St., which is zoned I-2 (general industrial).

Rochelle children over the past 20-plus years never had to wonder why Santa Claus looked a little different than he did the last time they saw him. That Santa Claus was Steve Strang. This Christmas season will be Rochelle’s first without him.

Rochelle City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh will be leaving his position in mid-January to manage a new community, a Tuesday city of Rochelle news release said

The Rochelle Township High School competition cheer teams placed on Saturday, Dec. 6, at the J-Hawk Competition in Rockford.

Here's a list of Ogle County property transfers for Dec. 1-5, 2025.

Rochelle FFA horse judging teams recently competed at the Kewanee Hog Capital Horse Evaluation competition.

The Kiwanis Gold K Club of Rochelle would like to extend a sincere thanks to the Rochelle community for making their recent annual Peanut Days an outstanding event.

Rochelle Township High School on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, hosted its first RTHS Trades Day, an opportunity for students to meet with local stakeholders and workers from various industries.

The city of Rochelle hosted its annual Old Fashioned Christmas Walk on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in downtown Rochelle.

Camren Hastings, 18, is charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm, a Class 1 felony, and aggravated use of a firearm as a person under the age of 21, a Class 4 felony.

The Rochelle Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, is continuing its efforts to honor local veterans through the Wreaths Across America program.

A Small Business Bingo event held Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, at Flight Deck Bar & Grill in Rochelle saw nearly 300 attendees and raised $4,680 to be split between Shining Star Children’s Advocacy Center and HOPE of Ogle County.