Crews are close to completing a new solar farm located in the 9900 block of Illinois Route 71 on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 in Granville. The Corn Belt Granville substation will provide energy to 650 members. The 1.5 megawatt farm sits on 9 acres with a total of 2,678 panels. The substation has only a single transmission feed with no redundancy. The solar farm and battery energy storage system will provide backup power to the substation during transmission outages. The solar farm will use a single-axis tracking system, allowing the solar panels to track the sun from east to west. This provides 5% to 6% more energy than a fixed array while utilizing a smaller footprint.

La Salle, Bureau and Putnam County are in the midst of a winter weather advisory. The advisory is supposed to last through late tomorrow afternoon.

U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood has announced millions of federal dollars secured for three projects in the 14th District: A Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation building in Shabbona, a food pantry in La Salle and a health center in Mendota.

Dr. David Lawrence, principal of St. Bede Academy in Peru, Friday announced St. Bede’s honor roll for the first semester of the 2025-26 school year.

La Salle firefighters responded to a fully engulfed two-story home in the 800 block of Bucklin Street on Friday, Jan. 23. A woman, her son and their dog evacuated safely before crews arrived. Firefighters from La Salle, Peru, Oglesby and Utica fire departments worked together to battle the blaze in subzero temperatures. Peru Fire Department provided an aerial truck to help crews reach the roof. Firefighters broke windows and cut a hole in the roof to access the seat of the fire. Bucklin Street was closed between 8th and 9th Streets during firefighting operations.