Utica

There’s a wide range of comfortable lodging destinations where you can refresh and recharge for another fun-filled day of hiking, boutique shopping and artisan spirit sampling.

A wiener dog race is set Saturday in Ottawa, the state's largest wine festival will be this weekend in Utica and a Stage 212 in La Salle performance takes its inspiration from Oregon Trail as there's no shortage of unique activities in the Illinois Valley.

Crews are in the beginning stages Wednesday of painting the Utica water tower on top of Clarks Hill. Crews will be doing repairs to the interior and exterior of the tower before painting. When finished, the tower will have a new logo on it.

The two-day Illinois Valley Local Artists Festival featuring art, music and community is planned from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, and Sunday, Sept. 22, at Jamie’s Outpost, 602 S. Clark St., Utica.

Vintage Illinois is the state's largest wine festival.

Peru held an American flag raising ceremony and placed a temporary memorial at the roundabout while Waltham School in Utica placed 2,977 flags outside the school remembering those lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001.

Crews are replacing train tracks Monday at the Route 178 crossing in Utica. Last week, Illinois Department of Transportation announced the replacement of the CSX Railroad crossing in Utica. The work is expected to take 10 days.

A fire on the 900 block of 25th Street in La Salle was extinguished without any injuries Sunday night, Assistant Chief Dale Tieman said in a news release.

The Utica Public Library will hold a fall story and a craft program for ages 3 through 7 at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7.

The Market on Mill Street project in Utica is moving along well, but contractors need to maintain that pace to be ready for the Burgoo Festival.

Starved Rock Family Campground has added a glamping tent with more to come.

Music Suite 408 and North Central Illinois ARTworks are launching the Illinois Valley Community Mariachi Ensemble.

YANA! (You Are Not Alone) will host Kathy Salvi, the newly elected Chairwoman of the Illinois Republican Party, at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27, at Jamie’s Outpost, 602 S. Clark St., Utica.

Waltham Elementary anticipates expenses of $6 million against projected revenues of just $4.6 million. That would leave Waltham about $1.4 million in the red.

A new partially built wall can be seen at the Market on Mill retail plaza on Tuesday in downtown Utica. The outdoor retail plaza is expected to be complete before the Burgoo Festival in October.

Construction is bustling at the future retail plaza site in Utica. Crews are working to finish the $1.8 million project before the village’s Burgoo Festival, which attracts thousands of visitors downtown. Soon, the village will open Market on Mill, offering an open-air shopping venue with portable retail stalls. In the meantime, Mill Street will be closed from Church to Grove streets.

La Salle County schools have their own approaches to cellphone use in schools, as calls for restrictions on cellphone use in schools have increased in the past year nationally.

The Tri-County Drug Enforcement Narcotics Team garnered its largest street-level seizure in years, and as a result a Chicago man faces a long stretch in prison if convicted of selling it to an undercover cop in Utica.

Here are the La Salle County marriage licenses for July 16 through July 31, 2024.

Two years ago, Utica officials applied for a grant to lay sidewalks from Johnson Street south to the police department. That was denied. They’re trying again.

Christmas 4 Kids La Salle County will host a fundraiser 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, at Jamie’s Outpost Parlor, 602 Clark St., Utica.

A 38-year old Oswego man was identified as the man who fell and died Saturday at Illinois Canyon in Starved Rock State Park.

The Illinois Valley Parkinson’s Support Group will host its monthly meeting from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Monday, Aug. 5, at the Utica Fire Station on Route 178, just south of the Casey’s.

The Dave Carey Memorial Fund announced its continued support of the Utica Little League, marking the second year in a row of substantial contributions.

A 29-year-old Cicero man was arrested Thursday after police said he delivered a mixture of heroin/fentanyl to Tri-County Drug Enforcement Narcotics Team agents.

Deb Myers of Utica was separated from full brother Keith before he was born. Sixty-seven years later, they finally met.

Construction of the Market on Mill, Utica's outdoor retail plaza, has begun in earnest.

Crews continued work Wednesday on the site of the Utica retail plaza near the intersection of Mill and Grove streets. Workers have started replacing water lines, adding rock and preparing to redo the Market on Mill area. The project is scheduled to be completed just before Burgoo.

The Illinois Valley PADS homeless shelter is another step closer to its goal after the La Salle City Council voted in favor of the city donating $4,000 to the creation of new websites.

It’s that time of year in La Salle County, when planes and helicopters, and even drones will make their way over the rural fields.

La Salle, Peru and Utica firefighters responded to a garage fire Monday in the 800 block of Lafayette Street in La Salle. The fire began just before 1 p.m. No one was injured, but the garage was a total loss.

Here are the La Salle County marriage licenses for July 1 through July 12, 2024.

Bruce & Ollie’s Corn and Potato Roast is scheduled 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, July 26, at the business on the corner of Church and Mill streets in Utica.

Utica has canceled its July meetings of the Planning Commission and the Committee of the Whole, previously set for Thursday, July 25.

A 76-year-old DeKalb man was taken by ambulance to OSF St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Ottawa after falling about 25 feet down a slope near La Salle Canyon at Starved Rock State Park and into a creek, conservation police said.

Utica, Oglesby Fire and EMS along with Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation Police responded Wednesday to rescue a man who slipped and fell about 25 feet at La Salle Canyon at Starved Rock State Park. The man was not cited.

Crews begin construction Monday on the site of the Utica retail plaza near the intersection of Mill and Grove streets. Workers poured a sidewalk and have started the preliminary work on the Market on Mill area. The project is scheduled to be completed just before Burgoo.

From lemonade stands to rafting on the Vermilion River, residents found a way to cool off on a hot day in the Illinois Valley.

You Are Not Alone announced a special event in collaboration with Save Our American Republic at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 16, at Jamie’s Outpost, 602 S. Clark St., Utica.

Utica will launch work on the Market on Mill project the week of July 22.

La Salle County has had its share of disasters – tornadoes, floods, five-alarm fires – but hasn’t had a command vehicle for the Emergency Management Agency to coordinate a response. It soon might.

The Starved Rock Native American Artifact Show will return for its 21st year.

Over a holiday in which an Ottawa man died in a fireworks accident, Peru police ticketed six people for illegal fireworks and La Salle police issued a citation.

Crews installed four 70 feet, by 70 feet modular classrooms Monday, July 8, 2024, on the property next to Waltham School in Utica. The school, built in 2018, has outgrown its student capacity.

From whimsical cupcake creations to hand-crafted chocolates and ice cream, there are many treat shops waiting to satisfy any taste.

A 25-year-old man died from a fireworks accident early Friday in a rural area between Utica and Ottawa.

The village of Utica celebrated Independence Day with its annual firework celebration Friday.

Looking to celebrate Independence Day? Here are some of the festivals, parades and fireworks planned from Wednesday, July 3, through Sunday, July 7, in La Salle, Bureau, Marshall and Putnam counties.

Here is a schedule of fireworks in La Salle, Bureau and Putnam counties, as well as some neighboring communities for the 2024 summer season.

The Starved Rock Country Community Foundation awarded more than $37,000 to 12 students recently at its annual scholarship reception in Ottawa.