(Gibson City-jm) -- Homes and businesses are drying out after almost a foot of rain fell in Gibson City yesterday. The heavy rain flooded a large portion of the town causing evacuations. Crews from Mahomet were called in to assist with the evacuations. A boil water order has been issued until further notice because of power being shut off to the water plant. Flooding was also reported in Paxton, Rantoul, Elliott, Ludlow and Fisher.
(Undated-jm) -- The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 3,114 new Coronavirus cases and 24 additional deaths. That brings the state’s total number of cases to 1,454,208 and deaths to 23,575. The seven day positivity rate rose to 5.8 percent. Locally, Vermilion County reported 83 new cases bringing their total to 10,659. Champaign County reported 64 new cases and 2 additional deaths bringing their total number of cases to 22,551 and deaths to 164. Ford and Iroquois Counties did not have a report Thursday.
(Farmer City-jm) -- An area group that supports law enforcement is hosting an event to show support for law enforcement. The Back the Badge event will take place tomorrow in Farmer City. The event will feature live music from Mitch Rossell (Rose-sell) with special guest Alexis Wilkins. Other bands performing will be 3 Gun Whiskey, the Thomas Tillman Band and Matt Poss Band. Organizer Matt Stuckey talks about his organization and the event…
Back the Badge Fest Organizer Matt Stuckey. Tickets are $20 for general admission or $30 for VIP. Officers can get in for free if they show their badge.
(Champaign County-jm) -- Several Champaign County neighborhoods are being used for a research project, testing for the SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater. In January, a team from the University of Illinois launched a composite sample project that shows if there are high rates of detecting the virus in sewage water. During the Springtime, campus town was seeing high rates for the virus, and then also in Urbana. Right now, Rantoul is seeing a high rate of infection of the Delta variant.
(Springfield-jm) -- Last week Governor J-B Pritzker made an announcement taking steps to slow the recent spike in Coronavirus cases. Ford County Public Health Community Educator Megan Reutter details the Governor’s announcement…
Ford County Public Health Community Educator Megan Reutter.
(Undated-jm) -- Those needing help paying their utility bills have some assistance. The East Central Illinois Community Action Agency is offering energy assistance. Those in Ford County can go to the Paxton office located at 101 West Ottawa. Those in Iroquois County can go to the Gilman office at 219 North Central.
(Washington-jm) -- Corn and soybeans are up from the previous month - among the highlights from USDA's latest Crop Production Reports. Rod Bain reports…
(Fisher-jm) -- The 4th Annual Fisher Lucky Foot Festival will take place on Saturday, August 14th. Spokesperson Joe Wier talks about what you can expect at this year’s festival…
Fisher Lucky Foot Festival Spokesperson Joe Wier.
(Urbana-jm) -- The Champaign County Board listened to Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman's plea and is working toward several solutions to create a better corrections department. The Champaign County Board committed to improving a sign-on bonus for correctional officers and housing more inmates out of the county due to COVID-19 and low staffing issues. A final vote on the solutions will be made next week.
(Urbana-jm) -- The first candidate has emerged for the Champaign County Executive position. Current Champaign County board member and board vice president Steve Summers announced he will run for the Democratic ticket for the position currently held by Darlene Kloeppel who announced she will not run for re-election.
(Washington-jm) -- USDA's forecast for corn production was a lot different from what most traders expected. Gary Crawford reports…
The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive at Marketplace Mall in Champaign today from 11-4.
The Rantoul Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting their Freedom Fridays Live Music with Mid October this evening from 6 to 9 pm.
The 4th Annual Fisher Lucky Foot Festival will take place on Saturday with a youth run at 8:30, kids activities 9-noon, car show 10-3:30, bags tournament 1-5, live music with Tony Lindsay 2-6 and The Caleb Cook Band from 6-10. WPXN will be broadcasting live with Becky Puetz from 8-30 to 10-30 Saturday morning.
Paxton IGA will be hosting their cookout benefiting the Class of 2024 on Saturday from 10 to 2.
The Shop in the Park in Cissna Park will take place on Saturday from 9 to 1.
Back the Badge Fest will take place Saturday from noon to 10 pm at the Farmer City Raceway.
