Government
Columbia public safety outgrows its space
Columbia’s population has nearly doubled in the past 30 years, and emergency departments would like to see the public safety complex that houses the police, fire and EMS agencies reflect…
Read MoreFormer Columbia mayor pleads guilty in federal court
Former Columbia Mayor Kevin Hutchinson pleaded guilty Monday morning at U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois in East St. Louis of lying to investigators who were examining…
Read MoreIllinois updates reopening plan
Gov. JB Pritzker announced an updated version of his Restore Illinois reopening plan that should get the state closer to pre-pandemic life sooner while not going as far as some…
Read MoreGas crisis discussed in Waterloo
A gas committee meeting took place in Waterloo Thursday morning to discuss ways to tackle an exorbitant natural gas rate charged to the city for February. Many communities in the…
Read MoreBusiness as usual in Columbia
The first meeting of the Columbia City Council with Gene Ebersohl as interim mayor was business as usual. In an administrative action, the first agenda item vote corrected an inadvertent…
Read MoreSchimpf on the campaign trail
It was delayed by a week due to snow, but Republican gubernatorial candidate Paul Schimpf made his first campaign stop in Waterloo on Feb. 23. Schimpf, a former state senator,…
Read MoreReflecting on a year of COVID
On March 16, 2020, Gov. JB Pritzker announced that all gatherings of 50 or more people must be canceled, closing schools and many businesses in the process. That same day,…
Read MoreAssessments up slightly this year
The Republic-Times is publishing 2020 property tax assessments for Monroe County in this week’s paper. For a list of locations that sell the newspaper, click here. Monroe County Assessor Carl…
Read MoreCan the coroner also be mayor?
A question on some voters’ minds ahead of the April consolidated election may be whether Columbia mayoral candidate Bob Hill can serve in that role and his current one as…
Read MoreEbersohl chosen interim mayor of Columbia
In a brief meeting Wednesday night, Columbia Ward III Alderman Gene Ebersohl was chosen to be the city’s interim mayor until a new mayor is sworn in after the April…
Read MoreWaterloo talks Moore Street, golf carts, gas
The Waterloo City Council last Monday night approved the appropriation of nearly $1 million toward a street resurfacing project that could take place later this year if all goes well. …
Read MoreValmeyer to upgrade streets
The Valmeyer Village Board unanimously voted to start the process of upgrading the town’s streets at its meeting last Tuesday. The move comes after engineering firm TWM completed a study…
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