Local news after CBS World News 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Mail-in voting window closing; voting in-person is still an option
With the window for mail-in voting closing, in-person voting is still underway. LaSalle County Clerk Lori Bongartz says her office at the Etna Rd. courthouse in Ottawa will take you from 8am to 7pm Thursday and Friday, 8am to noon Saturday, 10am to 4pm Sunday, and 8am to 4:30pm Monday. Sometimes, there are lines. Bongartz…… read more »
Peru opens Plank Rd.-Peoria St. roundabout–partially
Peru Mayor Scott Harl expects traffic to flow well at the new roundabout at Plank Rd. and Peoria St. The Plank Rd. connections were opened yesterday after a ribbon cutting. Harl says Peoria St. won’t open until the street is striped. He hopes that’s tomorrow. The centerpiece at the roundabout is a fountain with colored…… read more »
William “BJ” Elias of Streator, 52, unable to appear in court Thursday due to poor health
A former Streator funeral director, 52 year old William BJ Elias, could not be in court Thursday due to health issues. Elias allegedly pocketed money that clients gave him to pre-pay their funerals. He was released from the hospital Thursday morning at 4AM for an undisclosed illness and could not physically stand before Judge Cynthia…… read more »
City of Ottawa took another step toward stopping heavy rains from releasing a mixture of rainwater and some sewage directly into the Illinois and Fox Rivers
The Ottawa City Council authorized a grant agreement Wednesday morning between the City of Ottawa and the Illinois Department of Commerce to help fund a project to separate storm sewer flows. Ottawa Mayor Dan Aussem discussed the situation: Four overflow points were identified by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to close first because they are…… read more »
LaSalle County coronavirus case count up by 85; fatal case count climbs to 66
UPDATED LaSalle County has 751 active COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday afternoon. That’s with 85 newly confirmed cases added to the count—a record for the county for one day. LaSalle County Health Department Health Educator Jenny Barrie says the fight can’t ease up now. She says the solution is wearing masks, keeping a distance from…… read more »
Rick Koshko
Rick Koshko lived the first half of his life in southern Illinois, then moved to Ottawa early in his broadcasting career. His first thoughts of broadcasting as a career occurred to him at age five–when it was bed time and he realized the guy on the radio didn’t have to go to bed yet. Some irony: for most of the time he’s worked in radio, Rick has had to get up very early in the morning to be on the air, sometimes in addition to being up late at night like he wanted.
Rick is a graduate of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s broadcasting program. He speaks Esperanto, likes astronomy (SkyCaramba), and makes a hobby of photography.