In 1869 a curriculum was created allowing the Rochelle school to award high school degrees.  The first graduating high school class of 1874 consisted of three students, Emma Stratford, May Parks and Kitty Parker. Three young ladies and zero young men. But this is the story of sport, more specifically girls’ sports at Rochelle High School. 

It seems as if every community, big or small, has been impacted by the problems associated with substance use and drug overdose. Within these communities, these problems extend into the family unit, with people becoming addicted and dying because of drugs.

At the June 20 meeting of the Rochelle Kiwanis Golden K Club, Rochelle Fire Department Firefighter/Paramedic and Kishwaukee Education Consortium Fire Science/EMT Program Co-Coordinator and Lead Instructor Ben Johnson made a presentation on the KEC program he teaches at.

In this article, let’s consider healthcare in America.  So many people are against socialized medicine being started in this country that it seems unlikely that we will ever see it.  Yet we should not confuse socialized medicine with socialism that we see in other countries. 

In October of last year, the Ogle County Health Department received a CDC Addressing Conditions to Improve Population Health (ACTion) grant for $500,000 each year from 2023-2026 to increase access and availability to healthy and nutritious foods, education for home-based food production, food pantries, and mini food centers (refrigerated and dry food).

The Village of Progress and Kreider Services have plans for The Hill Street Neighborhood development in Mt. Morris in the coming years. The duplex apartment project is planned to serve both people with disabilities and people from the general population.

Crop insurance remains a crucial safeguard for farmers, tracing back to the Great Depression and evolving into a vital tool amidst today's market and weather volatility.

Ethanol represents a significant market for my Ogle County family farm. We can deliver corn to seven ethanol plants within a 70-mile radius, and distillers’ grains are a valuable input for our livestock enterprises.

Rochelle Little League held the 2024 Major League Boys City Championship series at Floyd J. Tilton Park this week. Kiwanis took home the tournament title this season, defeating Firemen on Monday and Tuesday and concluding the season with a 16-2 record. 

Carolyn Mae (Kruger) Wetzel, 90, of Clinton, Wisconsin, Azura Memory Care, formerly of Ashton, Illinois, passed away on June 21, 2024. 

Former Rochelle softball standout Bella Lodico set a series of goals for herself after completing her sophomore season at Benedictine University. After transferring in from Judson University, where she played her freshman season, Lodico primarily pitched as a reliever with the Benedictine University softball team, finishing 2-0 with a 3.72 ERA over 16 appearances.

The Rochelle Township High School end-of-year assembly was held May 17. Prizes were awarded to students with perfect attendance for at least one quarter of the school year.

On June 18 at about 6 a.m. the Ogle County Special Operations Unit, with the assistance of the Northwest Illinois Critical Incident Response Team, Stillman Fire, Rochelle Fire, REACT, and MD1 executed a search warrant at 439 S. White Rock Road in Chana. Upon completion of the search, the Ogle County Special Operations Unit seized 111 grams of a substance containing cocaine, three firearms, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition of various calibers. The owner of this residence, Scott I. Nelson, was subsequently arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver 100-400 grams, a class-X felony; and three counts of possession of a firearm without a FOID, a class-A misdemeanor.  Nelson was transported to the Ogle County Jail, appeared in court on June 20, and was released.

On June 21 at 9:16 a.m. Jeffrey A. Frye, 68, of Rochelle was cited for disobeying a traffic control device. He signed a promise to comply and was given a July 5 Ogle County court date.

An open house celebrating the Prabhakars’ 50 years of love and fruitful life in Rochelle will be held on Saturday, June 29 from 1-4 p.m. at the Flagg Township Museum.

The 2024 season at Spring Lake Pool has been in full swing since opening June 5, Flagg-Rochelle Community Park District Director of Recreation Maureen Stevens said June 20. 

At its meeting Monday, the Rochelle City Council unanimously approved an ordinance accepting a bid from Larson & Larson Builders for a $251,950 Rochelle Police Department locker room improvement project.

Are you having trouble finding places to get some assistance for your mental health Nowadays, many places have waiting lists, and some places can be very expensive. This can be very frustrating when you need help right away.

As an educator, I’m constantly reminded of things that we as a society used to do decades ago that we don’t need to do anymore.

Rochelle wrestler Kaiden Morris was part of an elite crew of athletes who represented the state of Illinois during the 2024 USA Wrestling Junior National Duals in Tulsa, Oklahoma this past week.

Rochelle Little League held the Major League Girls Division championship on Friday, with Salinas Chiropractic defeating First State Bank 3-1 to clinch this season’s title and finish the season undefeated. The tournament semifinals were held on Thursday evening.

Consistency has been former Rochelle softball standout Jordin Dickey’s calling card over her last two seasons with the Highland Community College softball team.

Earl Bray age 88 of LaFollette, passed away on Thursday, June 20, 2024, at his home. 

Nancy Lee Ann Capes, 69, loving wife, mother and grandmother, passed away Thursday, June 20, 2024 at her home with her family by her side. 

On June 18 at approximately 10:54 p.m. deputies initiated a traffic stop at the intersection of North Illinois Route 2 and Mud Creek Road for a registration violation. Upon further investigation, deputies arrested Ryan Klotz, 39, of Rockford, for driving while license revoked. Ryan was released on a notice to appear with a future court date given.