WVLI News Update

Notable Night Sky News Time now to find out what's happening overhead this week.  MSMF Scholarship Winners The Merchant Street Music Fest Music Education Scholarship Winners were announced Saturday at the fest in Kankakee.  King said they received over 30 applicants for the music education scholarship this year and plan to offer the scholarships again next year.  Heat Advisory again today A h...

Drought concerns deepen Despite recent rains, drought concerns continue to worsen across the county. The latest map released Thursday by the US Drought Monitor now puts 10 percent of Kankakee County in the "severe drought" category, with just over 70 percent of the county in "moderate drought" and the remaining 20 percent listed as "abnormally dry". That's a sign...

Jasper County Fair continues today in Rensselaer  The Jasper County fair is running all this week in Rensselaer Indiana. With a look at today's events.   The fair runs through Saturday at the fairgrounds in Rensselaer. Kankakee Municipal Band summer concert series continues tonight The Kankakee Municipal Band Summer Concert Series continues tonight at the Palzer Band Shell in Bird Park.   The...

Heat and Health With temperatures in the 90's and a heat index over 100 for the next few days, it’s important to take the necessary precautions to avoid illnesses such as heat exhaustion.  Chapman added you should avoid sun exposure for long periods of time when extreme heat watches and warnings are in place. If you do need to be out in the sun, Chapman says you should wear a hat, along with...

Bourbonnais hires news Police Chief The Village of Bourbonnais has a new Police Chief. During last night's Village Board meeting, Mayor Jeff Keast announced his pick for law enforcement's top spot in the Village.   That vote was not without its controversy as the majority of the trustees stated while giving their vote they had concerns about the way the search was conducted. Many feeling...

Friday night crash kills one Illinois State Police report a two-car crash on Route 45/52 near Manteno Friday evening killed a Minooka man. According to reports, it was just after 8:30 Friday night when the car driven by 54-year-old Marc Eyman of Minooka was westbound on 10-thousand North Road, failed to stop at 45/52 and was hit broadside by a northbound car. Reports say both cars ended up in a fi...

Iroquois County Fair Friday The Iroquois County Fair continues today.  The Iroquois County Fair runs through Sunday at the fairgrounds just outside  Crescent City. What to do this weekend around Kankakee County  It's another weekend and time to find out about some of the activities going on around the area with Nicole Gavin, Executive Director of Visit Kankakee County Drought concerns deepen...

Milner Media Farm Services Director Mike Perrine passes at 83 Word reached us Wednesday afternoon of the passing of Milner Media Farm Services Director Mike Perrine. Mike's radio career spanned some six decades, including a stint with Tribune Radio Networks, where he worked alongside industry giants Max Armstrong and Orion Samuelson. In 1995 Mike came to the Kankakee area to begin his time as...

Crime Stoppers Tip of the Week Local law enforcement agencies are investigating two burglaries that happened early Sunday morning.   Tips to Crime Stoppers are anonymous and could result in a cash reward. Iroquois County Fair continues It’s day two of the Iroquois County Fair in Crescent City. The Iroquois County Fair runs through Sunday at the fairgrounds just outside  Crescent City.  Herscher re...

Iroquois County Deputies announce weekend arrests Iroquois County Sheriff's Police report a pair of weekend arrests. Friday night deputies were called to Loda for a disturbance. While investigating the disturbance, Iroquois County Sheriff's Police made contact with 33-year-old Skylar Cannon of Hoopeston. Cannon was found to be driving an allegedly stolen car. Cannon was arrested by deput...

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Drought concerns grow across the region   Drought concerns are growing again across the area. The latest map just released today by the US Drought monitor puts about 19 percent of the county in "moderate drought". That number is unchanged from last week, but the other 81 percent of the county is now considered "abnormally dry", up from 64 percent last week. The latest map has s...

Busy weekend at "The Grove" in Bourbonnais Things are going to be busy at the Grover behind Village hall in Bourbonnais this weekend. Village of Bourbonnais Marketing and Community Engagement Director Lindy Casey says it all starts tonight with "Dinner and Movie on the Green".  Casey says food and desert trucks will be available from five til eight tomorrow night as well. Then...

Crime Stoppers tip of the Week Local law enforcement continues to look for clues about who was involved in a fatal shooting the first of the year. Kankakee County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Trent Bukowski has our Crime Stoppers Tip of the Week Newton County Punkin' Vine Fair continues today The Newton County Punkin Vine Fair continues today. Fair Publicity Director  The fair runs...

Bourbonnais Trustees hear appropriations ordinance During Monday night's Bourbonnais Village Board meeting, trustees heard the first reading of an ordinance that would set the legal spending limits on all funds in the village for the next fiscal year.   Latz said the main reason for the about 300-thousand dollar drop in the budget was the completion of the Grove project behind Village Hall. A...

Newton County Fair starts today The Newton County Punkin Vine Fair starts today.  The fair runs through Saturday at the fairgrounds just outside Kentland.  Haas holds school supply drive 79th District Illinois State Representative Jackie Haas starts her 2nd Annual School Supply Drive today.   School supply items can be dropped off at Representative Haas’s new office inside the first floor of the C...

Sheriffs department reminds you "don't drink and drive" You should think twice before getting behind the wheel after you’ve had a few drinks this 4th of July weekend. Kankakee County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Trent Bukowski says they will have extra patrols out on the roadways looking for impaired drivers. City of Kankakee to celebrate the 4th It’s the 4th of July holiday weekend, and...

Authorities release names in murder/suicide Bradley Police have released the names of the three people found dead in a home early Monday morning. According to the press release, all three victims were related. 89 year old Wayne McCarty, 88 year old Patricia McCarty, and 61 year old Michael McCarty. All three victims were pronounced dead at the scene of what police say appears to be a murder suicid...

Busy travel season underway More than 72-million Americans are expected to travel for the Fourth of July holiday.  Triple-A says most will travel by car with the busiest travel days being tomorrow and Sunday, July 6th.  The TSA expects to screen more than 18-million air travelers between today and next Monday. Feds want jail time for one of ComEd four Federal prosecutors are calling for one of the...

DHS chases suspect through St. Anne St. Anne Police report an attempted traffic stop by the Feds early Sunday morning ended up in a chase. In a Facebook post, St. Anne Police say it was early Sunday morning when agents from the Department of Homeland Security tried to stop a car. Instead of stopping, the suspect allegedly backed into the officers car and sped away. While there's no word of wh...

Friendship Festival Friday activities The 50th Annual Bourbonnais Friendship Festival continues today and runs through Sunday at The Grove in Bourbonnais.  Fishing Derby starts today The 42 Annual Kankakee River Fishing Derby kicks off today and runs through next Sunday. President of the Northern Illinois Anglers Association, Ken Munjoy, says the derby is very family oriented. To find out how to r...

Friendship Festival continues today in Bourbonnais The 50th Annual Bourbonnais Friendship Festival continues today and runs through Sunday at The Grove in Bourbonnais. Justin Munson with today’s lineup of events. Thursday gas prices Gas prices continue to climb as the summer travel season approaches. Triple-A says the average cost for a gallon of regular no-lead gas is running three-dollars-49 cen...

IL Fire Marshal urges firework safety The Illinois State Fire Marshal is urging fireworks safety over the July 4th holiday.  The National Fire Protection Association says fireworks started more than 31-thousand fires in 2022.  These fires caused an estimated six deaths, dozens of injuries and 109-million-dollars in direct property damage.  These fires aren't only caused by commercial firework...

Former GCMS teacher ordered held until trial A former Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley teacher charged with sexually abusing a student will remain in custody.  Robert Dinkins was denied pre-trial released while appearing in Ford County court yesterday.  He was arrested earlier this month in Macon, Georgia on charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.  An investigation was launched in March after the pa...

Notable Night Sky News w/Madeline Shepley Let's find out now what's going on in the sky this week. With our Notable Night Sky News, here's Madeline Shepley, Astronomy Professor and Director of the Strickler Planetarium at Olivet IL unemployment unchanged Illinois' unemployment rate remains the same.  The Illinois Department of Employment Security says the state's jobless r...