News across Greater Champaign
IEMA officials: FEMA aid for Paxton, other Illinois communities comes down to Trump
PAXTON — On the official start of fall, city leaders met at Paxton City Hall with state lawmakers and emergency management officials on the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 22, to talk about this past summer — namely, what all agreed was an uncommonly cruel one in terms of severe stormy…
Mental Health Fair puts campus support within reach
On Tuesday, the Illini Union held a Mental Health Fair as part of Illini Wellness Week to connect students with campus resources and organizations focused on student well-being. The fair, held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., featured a range of organizations students could stop by and…
NuEra Champaign offers medical cannabis following law change
Patients with qualifying conditions can now purchase medical cannabis at nuEra’s Champaign dispensary as of Sept. 10, following changes to cannabis law in Illinois. After the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation issued 37 new medical licenses to Illinois…
Rantoul/PBL girls golfer Grace Mullins ties for 12th at Illini Prairie Conference Tournament
MAHOMET – Grace Mullins of the Rantoul/Paxton-Buckley-Loda girls golf team finished within two strokes of placing in the Illini Prairie Conference Tournament on Tuesday. Mullins finished in a three-way tie for 12th place with a score of 103 along with Prairie Central’s Saydee…
Ratboys return to PYGMALION with indie rock sound
Having performed at stages as big as Lollapalooza, Ratboys have come a long way from their folk dorm room beginnings. Now, the band will return to Champaign-Urbana to headline PYGMALION on Saturday at the Rose Bowl Tavern. Its members include Julia Steiner, Dave Sagan, Marcus…
150 YEARS STRONG
ELLIOTT — Paxton has its Swedes. Gifford has its Germans. Elliott has its Norwegians. When it came time to build a church in rural Elliott, the majority Norwegian population chose a site about a mile and a half south of the Ford County community and named it after Erik…
76 fuel station coming to Paxton
PAXTON — Two raised signs — one 80 and the other 25 feet high — could soon be put around the Interstate 57 interchange in Paxton to advertise the 76-brand fuel station and still-undisclosed fast-food restaurant set to open there. The Paxton Planning and Zoning Commission has…
County board expecting to see red ink in budget
PAXTON — The Ford County Board is expecting to approve a deficit budget in November, even after further adjustments are made to reflect more accurate revenue projections. It remains to be seen exactly how much red ink will be included in the budget once it is up for approval —…
Probation department to move to downtown
PAXTON — The relocation of the Ford County probation department’s offices to a former dental office in downtown Paxton gained the approval of the county board via a unanimous vote during an adjourned meeting Friday evening. The board voted 8-0, with four members absent, to…
Mandated reporter training now required of subs, volunteers while visitors now required to show ID
PAXTON — To protect the safety of its students, the Paxton-Buckley-Loda school district will begin requiring all substitute teachers and volunteers to complete mandated-reporter training for the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services and all visitors to provide…
Resident says retention basin flooding neighborhood, asks PBL to address it
PAXTON — A woman who lives near Paxton-Buckley Loda Junior High School told school board members on Wednesday, Sept. 16, that a retention basin north of the school has been overflowing during heavy rains, repeatedly flooding her property and others in her neighborhood. Catherine…
Enrollment rises at PBL, reversing downward trend
PAXTON — The Paxton Buckley Loda school district’s student enrollment was up slightly to start the 2026-27 school year. As of the sixth day of classes, there were 1,233 students enrolled in the district’s three schools — up by six from the sixth-day enrollment total from a year…