The results are in for the 35th annual Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition. The Band of Misfit Boys won the 35th annual Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition with their sculpture titled “Hooty and the Blowfish.” The Band of Misfit Boys will advance to the 2022 U.S. Nationals Snow Sculpting Competition in Lake […]
By Bob Balgemann Reporter Top officials of five local and two regional boards and organizations have come together to discuss with the city and Boone County Board possible changes to current impact fee ordinances. Greg Brown, representing Belvidere Community Unit School District 100, told the city’s Committee of the Whole […]
By Anne Eickstadt Editor The Village of Poplar Grove recently announced the distribution of more than $100,000 to businesses within the village limits. As supporters of small business, President Owen Costanza and Village of Poplar Grove officials realized the importance of getting crucial dollars back to those businesses who were […]
By Bob Balgemann Reporter Typically, when someone addresses city officials during the public comment portion of a meeting agenda, there is no response from the mayor, aldermen or staff. That’s how it was Jan. 4, after aldermen Ric Brereton, Wendy Frank and Marsha Freeman, along with former Alderman Clint Morris, […]
By Anne Eickstadt Editor A funeral ceremony for Boone County Sheriff’s K9 Loki took place on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021, at 10 a.m. The ceremony took place in front of the Boone County Public Safety Building, 615 North Main St. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the public was strongly encouraged not […]
By Anne Eickstadt Editor “It breaks our hearts,” said Chief Al Hyser, “when we have put out a fire in an apartment and the residents look at us and say, ‘What do we do now? Where do we go?’ They have just lost everything and had no insurance to protect […]
By Bob Balgemann REPORTER Updates on recent activity at the city’s police and fire departments, as well as a follow-up on dispersing $350,000 to small businesses suffering from the impact of COVID-19, were provided Dec. 28 at a Committee of the Whole meeting. The city received its full $350,000 request […]
By Anne Eickstadt Editor Monday, Dec. 28, began with the promise of a beautiful sunny day – in late December in Northern Illinois – which meant temperatures below freezing. Nevertheless, the Belvidere Police Department, in partnership with Immanuel Lutheran Church, Empower Boone, the Northern Illinois Food Bank and the Volunteers […]
By Anne Eickstadt EDITOR The Feed the Need donations made to the Belvidere Police Department by generous members of the community were delivered to locations that, despite the pandemic, still remain open to provide food for members of the community. The VAC of Boone County was happy to accept the […]
By Bob Balgemann REPORTER Two weeks before the Dec. 21 city council meeting Ida Public Library wasn’t going to get the 2.52-percent increase, or $18,301, it had requested in its 2020-21 tax levy. That happened because council on Dec. 7 voted 7-2, with one absent, to keep the city levy […]