Sterling had nine top 3 finishes to place third as a team at the Western Big 6 Conference meet on Thursday in Galesburg.

Eastland baseball behind three hits from Brayden Jackson and softball with a stellar outing from Keara Kaus win in the NUIC. Plus more baseball, softball and girls track and field results in Thursday's Sauk Valley Media sports roundup.

Sterling batted around before recording an out in the second inning Thursday on its way to a 13-0, five-inning Western Big 6 win over Rock Island Alleman.

A Whiteside County judge will decide Friday, May, 9, whether Kyle Cooper’s trial will begin Tuesday, May 13. That decision will follow a hearing on whether the Illinois Attorney General's Office will be able to intervene in the case on behalf of the Illinois State Police.

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69, is a member of the Augustinian religious order, a missionary and lived at the friary on the campus of Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox for one year in the 1980s

The number of reports of stolen vehicles and burglaries in Sterling also increased in 2024, according to the report.

Also, get ready for two events on June 7: the fourth annual Bellson Music Fest at the RB&W District in Rock Falls and the 40th annual Sauk Valley Child Fair, with the theme Candy Land, from 9 a.m. to noon at Sauk Valley Community College, Dixon.

On Talk-Line for May 7: Dixon Family YMCA Chief Executive Officer Andy McFarlane and 2025 Reagan Run Committee representative Jim Lillyman discuss the upcoming 5K run/walk taking place on Saturday, July 5, and the changes being made.

Read the transcript from our May 7 Talk-Line podcast: Dixon Family YMCA Chief Executive Officer Andy McFarlane and 2025 Reagan Run Committee representative Jim Lillyman on the upcoming Reagan Run and changes coming for this year