Government
Columbia 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…
Read MoreCOVID crisis continues
Monroe County has now had 2,867 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began after reporting 238 since Dec. 15. It reported 261 the previous week. There were 31 new cases Tuesday,…
Read MoreCOVID deaths continue as Monroe County awaits vaccine
Monroe County’s death toll from the novel coronavirus is up to 55 following 10 more local deaths in recent days. The uptick in deaths comes as the Monroe County’s case…
Read MoreNew county board seated
A new Monroe County Board was seated Monday morning at the courthouse, with Vicki Koerber being unanimously approved as chairman. Commissioner Dennis Knobloch was approved as vice chairman of the…
Read MoreApril candidate filings begin Monday
It has been just over a month since Election Day, and Monroe County is already gearing up for its municipal election. Candidates for local office in the April 6 contest…
Read MoreColumbia OKs handful of measures
The Dec. 7 meeting of the Columbia City Council was held with all members attending remotely due to an employee at City Hall recently testing positive for COVID-19. Columbia City…
Read MoreWaterloo OKs land annexation, sidewalk project
The Waterloo City Council approved the annexation of nearly 20 acres into the city for a new development during Monday’s council meeting. The annexation agreement between the city and BMW…
Read MoreMore local deaths as COVID crisis continues
Six more Monroe County residents died from COVID-19-related causes in the past week as the county passed 2,000 total cases. The two newest deaths were a 73-year-old man and a…
Read MoreEnd of the road for Elmore
Republican Bob Elmore’s term on the Monroe County Board ended Monday, and in his six years he oversaw a host of changes in the county’s government. That did not go…
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