Government
Bost among objectors in chaotic day at U.S. Capitol
U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, a Republican who represents Monroe County as part of Illinois’ 12th congressional district, was among several GOP lawmakers in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday who unsuccessfully objected…
Read MoreMayor grateful for support after wife’s death
Waterloo Mayor Tom Smith, still grieving over the Christmas Eve death of this wife to cancer, offered a tearful message of thanks to the community for its outpouring of support…
Read MoreBigger plans for Schimpf?
State Sen. Paul Schimpf (R-Waterloo) confirmed on his official campaign social media pages Monday night that he is considering a run for Illinois governor. That news has been rumored in…
Read MoreLiefer ‘hit the ground running’
After about a month on the job, Lucas Liefer’s prediction that his experience as assistant state’s attorney would help him in his new role has proven true. “The transition was…
Read MoreColumbia receives clean audit
The first meeting of the Columbia City Council in 2021 consisted of a review of city finances and accounting from the previous year. Jim Schmersahl of Schmersahl Treloar & Co.…
Read MoreCensus success, bottoms buyout topics for Monroe County Board
The Monroe County Board learned that its residents were tops in Illinois for self-responding to the 2020 U.S. Census during Monday’s regular meeting at the courthouse. The count was completed…
Read MoreNew laws in 2021
The Illinois General Assembly had an abbreviated year because of the pandemic. The Legislature suspended its session because of COVID on March 16, only returning for a few days from…
Read MoreJudge Hitzemann begins term
After serving as Monroe County State’s Attorney for four years, Chris Hitzemann is just over three weeks into his first term as the county’s judge on the 20th Judicial Circuit…
Read MoreColumbia talks property, trail futures
The rumor mill has been churning in Columbia of late as demolition of three houses in the 1000 block of South Main Street, opposite of Dairy Queen and near the…
Read MoreJail expansion plans discussed
A $14 million Monroe County Jail expansion was chief among items related to the sheriff’s department discussed at Monday’s meeting of the Monroe County Board. Mike Schneider of Quadrant Design…
Read MoreApril election candidates file
The 2021 municipal election will see some contested races in Columbia and a new city council member in Waterloo, at least based on initial filing results. Candidates for the April…
Read MoreOver $700M cut from state budget
Gov. JB Pritzker announced last Tuesday that he has ordered $711.2 million dollars be cut from this year’s budget as a “first step” in closing a $3.9 billion revenue shortfall…
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