A Sterling Fire Department investigator and a Sterling police detective completed an investigation into the Monday, June 30, 2025, fire and found the blaze to be accidental in nature, according to a news release.

Semi driver Eric Dodge of Ashton speaks four months after a near-fatal crash in which his truck veered off Interstate 88 between Rock Falls and Dixon, launched over Bollman Road overpass and landed in a cornfield.

A Sterling man has been sentenced to up to 9 years in prison after admitting he set fire to his Sterling apartment last fall as officers arrived to investigate an aggravated battery reported at that address

Home checked for possible occupants; no one killed or injured, according to deputy fire chief.

When crews arrived at 8:05 a.m. Monday, April 14, they found a two-story residence with a heavy fire on the second floor, Dixon Rural Fire Chief Dustin Dahlstrom said.

No residents were injured; however, a family dog died as a result of the fire.

Rock Falls and Sterling firefighters and CGH EMS were called at 9:37 p.m. Sunday, April 6, 2025, to 222 Ave. D in Rock Falls for a reported structure fire with a possible explosion.

Rock Falls Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Kyle Sommers said the departments are losing $825,000 in federal Community Project Funding appropriations they had planned to use to build a burn tower where firefighters from both communities could train in live-fire conditions.

A Whiteside County judge has ruled that enough evidence exists to move forward with a criminal case that accuses a Sterling man of setting an October fire that destroyed a Galt home.

Sixteen fire departments were involved in the fire call.

Rodney Swan has been held in the Whiteside County Jail since mid-January, when he was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is accused of shooting himself in the thigh when a loaded gun tucked into his waistband discharged as he was pulling up his pants.

Several fire departments responded to an emergency call reporting a possible structure fire early Thursday morning.

Woman was charged Dec. 1, 2023, with one count of arson, accused of setting a car on fire in Rock Falls.

The Sterling Fire Department, Rock Falls Fire Department, Sterling Police Department and CGH EMS were dispatched at 1 p.m. Friday to the Sterling Steel property, 101 Ave. K, for a report of a man under a railcar.

Sterling Deputy Fire Chief David Northcutt recently spoke about the department’s plans to upgrade equipment.

Local agencies and state officials were left in a cloud of uncertainty Tuesday after an order from the White House to pause the distribution of all federal grants and loans.

The cookoff is open to the public, and spectators can pay $10 to taste as much chili as they want before casting a vote for their favorite.

One dead following Sunday house fire in rural Sterling.

Firefighters discovered a body Monday at the scene of a fire that broke out Sunday afternoon in rural Sterling, Whiteside County Sheriff John Booker has confirmed.

The two fire departments also encourage residents to sign up for Community Connect, an online program where users can input information to assist departments during an emergency.

Sterling and Rock Falls fire held a safety event Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, at the Northland Mall.

Dixon City firefighters were called at 2:03 a.m. Friday to 417 W. Second St. for a report of a structure fire called in by a passerby.

Eleven families were on the receiving end of $8,000 worth of generous donations from the community for gifts, food and household items.

Rock Falls Police and Fire departments spent the afternoon Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, delivering gifts to 11 families during Operation Santa.

Wallace Head Start's “Breakfast with Heroes” event invited members from both Rock Falls and Sterling’s police and fire departments to share a bagel breakfast with students to help foster positive connections with them.

Fire damaged a Sterling apartment building Tuesday night, causing three people to suffer smoke inhalation symptoms and two cats to be resuscitated.

Due to the smoke plume, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency will be monitoring air quality and will follow up with a report through the EPA.

The Sterling City Council designated the last of the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funds Monday, choosing to put the remaining funds toward building demolition costs and a new fire department training center.

Wednesday morning's fire damage was limited to Country Inn and Suites' room 102, with water damage reaching the hallway.

Steven W. Coleman was sentenced Thursday for three counts of murder, three aggravated arson charges, and a residential arson charge. All seven sentences will be served consecutively to each other.

Brian McPhillips, 32, of Sterling was driving east on U.S. 30 near Riverdale Road when he attempted to pass an eastbound semi, met a westbound semi and collided with both, according to a Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Sterling and Rock Falls firefighters were called at 10 p.m. Tuesday to the burning home in the 5400 block of Anne Street, Galt, in rural Sterling.

Alan Marshall, arrested on three counts of arson, now has been charged with two counts of aggravated domestic battery, domestic battery and unlawful restraint in connection with events leading up to a Sept. 25 fire at a Sterling duplex in the 600 block of West Fifth Street.

Sterling police say three arson arrest warrants have been issued for a Sterling man who is accused of running from police Wednesday during a domestic battery investigation and then barricading himself in his West Fifth Street apartment shortly before fire broke out there.

The U.S. House of Representatives is set to consider helping to fund a training center for the Rock Falls and Sterling fire departments to the tune of $825,000 when it returns to session next month.

Nearly eight months after a fire burned down Moore Tires, the company is nearly finished constructing its latest addition to the new repair and service shop at 2400 First Ave./state Route 40 in Rock Falls.

To build a training facility that, decades down the road, still effectively serves Sauk Valley firefighters and, by extension, residents. That’s the goal members of the Garrett Ramos Training Facility Cooperative set for the Rock Falls and Sterling fire departments.

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee voted to approve an appropriations bill Wednesday that includes $825,000 in Community Project Funding for the Rock Falls Fire Department to build a burn tower where firefighters can train in live-fire conditions.

A Morrison man was seriously injured Monday when his motorcycle and a vehicle collided in rural Sterling.

Fire at 1501 First Ave. was contained in the attic.

Firefighters battled a house fire Wednesday, June 26, 2024 at 1501 First Avenue in Sterling. Multiple departments responded to the scene including Sterling, Rock Falls, Dixon, Amboy, Morrison and Prophetstown.

Fire crews from Sterling, Rock Falls and Dixon fire departments responded to a residential structure fire late Monday night.

Fifteen fire departments, one from as far away as Clinton, Iowa, assisted in fighting the blaze that broke out in an outside pile of recycling remnants and took four hours to extinguish.

U.S. Army Cpl. Richard Seloover, who was 17 at the time, went missing in action on Sept. 6, 1950; he was accounted for on Jan. 10, 2024, after scientists at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identified his remains.

Melissa Schultz, Haunted Haven’s owner, says she and her husband, Joseph Norton, discovered the fire. They had gone to the Haunted Haven barn Monday to pick up some tools and a lawn mower when they noticed smoke coming from the second floor.

May 1, 2024 was an eclectic day for Sauk Valley Media's Paschal. See the photos from this week's Shutter to Think.

Sterling and Rock Falls fire departments placed nearly two dozen buoys in the Rock River Wednesday, May 15, 2024. The departments took over the placement from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources several years back.

I really like days like this where the stories are diverse and one has to adapt to what is presented. Plus, there was a giant imaginary rabbit.

Juvenile, who escaped prior to firefighters’ arrival, was transported to CGH Medical Center, evaluated and released.

Sterling and Rock Falls firefighters were in the midst of training in Rock Falls when a call went out for a fire across town Wednesday, May 1, 2024.