Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual State of the Cities luncheon on Wednesday at Grand Bear Resort at Starved Rock in Utica. Mayors from Peru, La Salle, Ottawa, Oglesby, Utica Spring Valley and Streator spoke to more than 200 people on the local, social and economic climate along in their communities.


MABAS Division 25 hosted a Vehicle and Machinery Operations Class on Sunday at Senica’s Towing in La Salle. Over the past two weekends 14 firefighters from MABAS 25 departments spent more than 40 hours learning the technical aspects of auto extrication and machinery rescue.