Iowa State University awarded degrees to 1,751 graduates this fall.

Loras College students were recognized for academic achievement during the recent semester.

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point honored more than 2,872 undergraduate students for attaining high grade-point averages during the fall semester of the 2025-2026 academic year.

The Illinois Music Education Association Junior All-State Conference will be held in Peoria from Jan. 28 to 31.

Ogle County students were recently named to the Carthage College fall 2025 dean’s list in recognition of their outstanding academic achievement.

Abigail Fletcher was recently named to the Saint Mary’s College dean’s List for the fall 2025 semester.

Rochelle-area students were recently named to the Carthage College fall 2025 dean’s list in recognition of their outstanding academic achievement.

Kishwaukee College recently announced the graduates for the fall 2025 semester.

Plainfield School District 202 has announced that 16 of its students will participate in the annual Illinois Music Education Association All-State conference.

The Will County Coroner's Office has identified Makenna Maurisak, 24, as the driver killed in the Thursday morning collision.

Wartburg College has recognized 570 students who were named to the 2025 fall term dean’s list.

Students in Kane and Kendall counties only need to complete one application to be considered for one of the hundreds of available awards.

Stillman Valley’s Grace Haas graduated from Mount Mercy in December 2025 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Clarke University recently announced that 237 students earned a spot on the dean’s list for the fall 2025 semester, including Byron’s Jennifer DeHahn.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has recognized students named to the dean’s list for the fall semester of the 2025-2026 academic year.

The Rotary Club of Oregon recently received a grant from Rotary District 6420. The funds, totaling $2,057, were used to support the club’s “Keeping Kids Warm” project.

The redesign is meant to consolidate the previously disconnected collection of offices occupied by the school’s deans, counselors, social workers, and mental health professionals into a shared, centralized space.

ACES Academy is receiving national recognition for its work with parents in better understand the learning options available for their children, the school said.

Students can participate in internships at local businesses such as Pace Bus, Silver Cross Hospital, the Joliet Public Library, YMCA, and more. The application deadline is Feb. 20, 2026.

Among those honored were Gwendolyn Hodson and Jack McKanna of Mt. Morris.

After more than a decade of whole milk being absent from school cafeterias, legislation allowing for more milk options awaits the president’s signature.

Operated primarily by volunteers, the New Lenox Township Food Pantry, 1080 Cedar Road in New Lenox, serves families who are challenged by food insecurity.

Over 300 guests packed the venue. Organized and brought to life entirely by the Joliet Township High School young entrepreneurs and presented with support from Midland States Bank.

Children’s Road To Success Daycare in Crest Hill held its inaugural “Preschool Program Showcase and Winter Ball” on Dec. 12 in Joliet.

Joliet Central High School Students of the Month are selected based on character, responsibility and academic performance or improvement.

Joliet West High School Students of the Month are selected based on character, responsibility and academic performance or improvement.

Coe College is recognizing its highest performing students as members of the dean’s list.

Police from local communities hosted Shop With a Cop events in Lockport, Plainfield, and Bolingbrook over the past week allowing children in need to shop for Christmas.

Ogle County students were named to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater dean’s list for the 2025 fall semester.

Hufford Junior High Orchestra

After the mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Congress appropriated $1 billion to permanently bring 14,000 mental health professionals into the schools that needed it the most.

Under the direction of Joliet Central Welding and Electronics instructor Nicole Gubbins, students brought the decades-old teaching tool back to life.

The Lee-Ogle-Whiteside Regional Spelling Bee will be Thursday, Feb. 19, at Dixon High School. Sponsors are the First National Bank in Amboy, Sauk Valley Media and Lee-Ogle-Whiteside Regional Office of Education.

Torrie Nelson of Sterling was named to the fall 2025 dean’s list at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais.

“This report provides the most detailed picture to date of how alcohol use and misuse affect the health and safety of Illinois residents,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said.

Students at Joliet Central are preparing to finish their Community Emergency Response Team training, making them one of three inaugural high school classes to complete the program.

The Improv Workshop with Stephen Osborne is back by popular demand at Dixon Stage Left.

The Alpha Wolf Club student leaders program at Wesmere Elementary School in Plainfield has launched a new student podcast for 2025-26.

Joliet Township High School CEO students are hosting a community Christmas event at Joliet Central on Dec. 12.

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.

All four Plainfield District 202 high schools have announced the schedule for the holiday collage concerts this December.

“It’s always a work in progress, but we’re making good growth," Joliet District 86 Superintendent Dr. Theresa Rouse said in reviewing the results of the district's scores on the state report card.

Plainfield North freshman Charlie Scott Long has a very different part-time job than most high school students: professional actor. The 14 year old is currently working in the Marriot Theatre in Lincolnshire's production of Finding Nemo the Musical.

The new Portillo's restaurant, located at the corner of 135th Street and Illinois Route 59 in Plainfield, is drive-thru only. Other pick up only locations are in Joliet, Rosemont and Orland Park.

Plainfield East High School band and choir students departed Sunday morning for Disney Word to perform in the Thanksgiving Day Parade and at EPCOT.

Guest speaker Chris Baker, tattoo artist and owner of Ink180 Ministry, will discuss how traffickers use social media to target victims.

Hands-on experience in fundraising, grantmaking, and community impact provided through the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley's Youth Engagement Program.

Valley View School District's high school students and teachers will not see their schedules extended next year as a provision of the new contract reached with the teacher's union in October.

The online application goes live on Saturday, November 15, visit cffrv.org to access the scholarship application.

USF is making connections at Catholic schools in far southwestern Illinois to attract students from that region to the university.