Utica

The La Salle County Board was in a penny-pinching mood Tuesday. The board put a dozen pending expenses under the microscope and some petitioners walked away empty-handed.

How much longer will it take for an ambulance to get you to the emergency room? With the Peru hospital closed, some EMS services expect longer transfer times.

OSF Healthcare will be hosting two job fairs from 2 to 6 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 30 and Monday, Feb. 13 at the Grand Bear Lodge Grand Ballroom, located at 2643 IL-178 in Utica.

The Illinois and Michigan Canal turns 175 this year and Utica hopes to join the celebration by re-watering its portion of the canal.

For the first time, the Starved Rock calendars completely sold out and the proceeds raised $3,224 that will go to the Starved Rock Foundation to use for park improvements.

A spaghetti fundraiser is scheduled 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10, at Canal Port Bar and Grill, 148 Mill St., Utica, to support Lt. Jason Quinn of the Utica Police Department, who experienced a life-changing event.

Events are planned this weekend in the Illinois Valley to celebrate the new year.

Starved Rock and Matthiessen state parks were projected to fall just short of a combined 3 million visitors. Only in 2017 (nearly 3.4 million visitors) and 2016 (nearly 3.3 million) have the two parks collectively brought in more tourists.

Covia, the former Unimin Corp., reached a settlement with the Waltham Elementary School District. The short-term impact is an 11-cent increase for Utica-area taxpayers.

Four communities - Ottawa, Oglesby, Streator and Princeton - will have contested mayoral races, including three-candidate races in Ottawa and Oglesby.

Santa Claus waves to people from the top of a Utica fire truck on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022.

La Salle County YANA will host the newly-elected and first female House Republican Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) and state Rep.-elects Jed Davis and Brad Fritts at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 20, at Jamie’s Outpost, 602 Clark St., Utica.

The outdoor shopping plaza planned for the north end of Mill Street in Utica is expected to be delayed several months.

Utica’s moratorium on vacation rentals is coming to an end. The village has spruced up its ordinance and soon will field requests for new bed and breakfasts, for example.

Five local chambers of commerce have teamed up to present a program Tuesday, Jan. 10, on customer service excellence, as professional keynote speaker Laurie Guest will be delivering her presentation, “The 10-cent Decision: How Small Change Pays Off Big” in Utica.