Dixon Rural and Dixon City firefighters and Advance EMS were dispatched at 12:46 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, to a structure fire at 1706 Spring St., Nachusa, according to a news release from Dixon Rural Fire Chief Dustin Dahlstrom.

Sterling's Police and Fire departments vied for donations Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, outside of the Sterling Walmart. Volunteering for the Salvation Army, the team that garners the most donations will receive a trophy.

Rock Falls officials say they’re reviewing all options to pay the $31.5 million in damages that a Whiteside County jury on Friday awarded to the family of a Sterling firefighter killed in the line of duty four years ago

The blaze broke out early Tuesday morning, Nov. 18, 2025, at 912 Locust St., Sterling, according to a Sterling Fire Department news release.

There were no injuries after a shed fire Monday, Nov. 17, 2025, in rural Polo, Polo Fire Protection District Chief Jim Ports said.

A Whiteside County jury has awarded $31.5 million to the widow and two young daughters of a Sterling firefighter killed in the line of duty four years ago

A Whiteside County jury is on track to begin deliberating Friday to decide whether two Rock Falls fire officials’ actions at a 2021 fire contributed to a Sterling firefighter’s line-of-duty death

The widow of Sterling Fire Lt. Garrett Ramos, who was killed in the line of duty, testified at the Whiteside County Courthouse on Wednesday, telling a 12-member jury how her husband’s death has affected her and their two young daughters

Retired Sterling Fire Chief Michael Dettman and Brittney Ramos, widow of Garrett Ramos, testified Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, in the Ramos wrongful death trial in Morrison.

Memories of Sterling Fire Lt. Garrett Ramos’ life were displayed on a projection screen for a Whiteside County jury Monday during the sixth day of a civil trial to decide if Rock Falls fire officials are to blame for Ramos’ December 2021 line-of-duty death

Calling their firefighting strategy “inappropriate”, a Detroit-based fire investigator on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, blasted Rock Falls fire officials for how they handled a Dec. 3, 2021, fire that led to the death of a Sterling fire lieutenant.

The Sterling Fire Department was dispatched Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, to a structure fire at C&K Undercar Specialists.

Firefighters from several departments tend to a fire at C&K Undercar Specialists in Sterling on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025.

Dixon Fire Capt. Aaron Brown described what he saw during a fatal 2021 fire during his testimony in a Whiteside County courtroom Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, the second day a 12-member jury heard testimony in a wrongful death lawsuit.

Retired Rock Falls Fire Chief Cris Bouwens takes the stand Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, in the Garrett Ramos wrongful death trial underway at the Whiteside County Courthouse in Morrison.

When the first Sterling fire engine arrived at the scene of a rural Rock Falls garage fire Dec. 3, 2021, Sterling Fire Lt. Garrett Ramos was on it. Just two hours after he arrived, firefighters would be removing his body from the basement – his death caused by asphyxia.

After a full-day’s work, a Whiteside County jury was seated Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, to hear a wrongful death civil case that could see the jury asked to award tens of millions of dollars to a Sterling firefighter’s widow and children.

The jury hearing the Garrett Ramos wrongful death lawsuit began hearing testimony Tuesday, Nov. 4, in Whiteside County Circuit Court in Morrison. Ramos, a Sterling fire lieutenant, was killed in a December 2021 house fire in rural Rock Falls.

A pool of nearly 80 potential jurors was waiting it out in a Whiteside County courtroom Monday as jury selection began in a wrongful death civil case that could see the jury asked to award tens of millions of dollars to a Sterling firefighter’s widow and children

A civil trial will begin Monday in Whiteside County Circuit Court to determine whether the widow of a Sterling firefighter, killed in the line of duty in 2021, should be paid damages in connection with his death

All residents were able to safely evacuate the building before fire crews arrived

During a Riverfront Commission meeting Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, Ron Clewer of developer Gorman & Co. said discussions on JCB Investments’ proposed entertainment complex at 201 Locust St. are on hold until spring 2026 because of high interest rates and other financial challenges.

Meet Scott Melton, who was sworn in Sept. 2, 2025, as Sterling's deputy fire chief.

A Whiteside County judge has rejected a plea agreement that would have put a Sterling man behind bars for 8 years in connection with an October 2024 fire that destroyed a Galt home and injured two people

For the past two years, the Sterling, Dixon City, Dixon Rural, and Rock Falls fire departments have worked to align their command structures, allowing leaders to take over seamlessly during major calls.

Sterling, Dixon, Dixon Rural and Rock Falls firefighters spend a day with hands-on command training Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, in Dixon.

The Sterling Fire Department was called at 9:09 a.m. Friday, Sept. 19, to a reported residential structure fire at 309 W. Seventh St., according to a news release

No one was injured in the blaze on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, the sixth fire at this location this year, according to a Sterling Fire Department news release.

The Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call around 3:30 p.m. Monday reporting a two-vehicle crash on U.S. 30 at I-88 mile marker 44’s westbound on-ramp.

Melton has dedicated 32 years to the Erie Fire Department as a volunteer, rising through the ranks to become fire chief.

In a news release issued Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, Dixon Police Chief Ryan Bivins said David Dykema, 52, of Dixon, had been found deceased in Whiteside County.

If approved, Barrel & Boards would offer year-round family-friendly entertainment, including on-site food courts, a brewery, a winery, 20,000 square feet of games, including bocce ball and pickleball courts, a boutique bowling alley, and virtual reality video games.

A Sterling Fire Department investigator and a Sterling police detective completed an investigation into the Monday, June 30, 2025, fire and found the blaze to be accidental in nature, according to a news release.

The Sterling Fire Department is awaiting federal funding approval for upgrades to its radio communications.

Organizers hope to gather enough school supplies Saturday, June 21, to assist 1,500 students in Ogle, Lee and Whiteside counties.

Sterling High School students Nico Battaglia, Brinley Francis and Esra Ramirez were named recipients of the 2025 Garrett Ramos Scholarship during the June 2, 2025, Sterling City Council meeting. Ramos died in the line of duty on Dec. 4, 2021.

A Sterling man has been sentenced to up to 9 years in prison after admitting he set fire to his Sterling apartment last fall as officers arrived to investigate an aggravated battery reported at that address

Read the transcript from our latest podcast: New Sterling fire chief David Northcutt talks with Shaw Local reporter Brandon Clark about the job and his plans for Sterling.

Shaw Local News Network reporter Brandon Clark recently interviewed the Sterling Fire Department's newly appointed fire chief, David Northcutt. The pair discussed Northcutt's extensive history in emergency services and his future plans for the department.

According to a joint news release, dispatchers had received a report shortly before 11 a.m. that a woman had entered a silo near city hall and was on its roof, about 50 feet off the ground.

Home checked for possible occupants; no one killed or injured, according to deputy fire chief.

When crews arrived at 8:05 a.m. Monday, April 14, they found a two-story residence with a heavy fire on the second floor, Dixon Rural Fire Chief Dustin Dahlstrom said.

No residents were injured; however, a family dog died as a result of the fire.

Rock Falls Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Kyle Sommers said the departments are losing $825,000 in federal Community Project Funding appropriations they had planned to use to build a burn tower where firefighters from both communities could train in live-fire conditions.

A Whiteside County judge has ruled that enough evidence exists to move forward with a criminal case that accuses a Sterling man of setting an October fire that destroyed a Galt home.

The decision to waive the bid process and accept a proposal from Jefferson Fire and Safety for the purchase of a customized Rosenbauer King Cobra firetruck with a 101-foot articulating aerial ladder came after a series of reports on the state of the department’s apparatus.

Sixteen fire departments were involved in the fire call.

Sterling Deputy Fire Chief David Northcutt said the new truck is needed to replace Truck/Tower 4, the department’s only truck with an aerial ladder.

A structure fire along state Route 38 near Ashton resulted in “a total loss” as crews battled against strong winds Wednesday afternoon, Ashton Fire Chief Bernard Richter said.

Several fire departments responded to an emergency call reporting a possible structure fire early Thursday morning.