Keegan Shirley (left), of Dixon, and Jonathan Ulrich, of Beloit, Wisconsin, race to roll a 1,000 pound straw bale Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, at StrawFest in downtown Mt. Morris. StrawFest was a part of the ninth annual U.S. National Straw Sculpting Competition. (Alexa Zoellner)
Alexa Zoellner reports on Lee, Ogle and Whiteside counties for Shaw Media out of the Dixon office. Previously, she worked for the Record-Eagle in Traverse City, Michigan, and the Daily Jefferson County Union in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin.