Government
Gas 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…
Read MorePolice reform bill a topic at county board
The Monroe County Board met the morning of March 1 at the courthouse in Waterloo, with the state’s recent passage of a criminal justice and police reform bill among the…
Read MoreLawmakers talk vaccine with Columbia Chamber
State Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) and state Rep. David Friess (R-Red Bud) spoke at a virtual Columbia Chamber of Commerce meeting last Friday, mainly addressing the topic of vaccine distribution…
Read MoreIllinois budget relies on federal aid
Gov. JB Pritzker delivered a combination State of the State and budget address last Wednesday in a pre-recorded speech filmed at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. The former aspect…
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