BCR

Bureau Valley and Princeton are just 16 miles apart and yet they will both host Class 2A boys basketball regionals. Here’s a look at those two sites plus all the other area regionals.

A contractor for the city of Princeton is ready to tackle the Marion Street storm sewer project, and work may begin as soon as Monday.

The Richard A. Mautino Memorial Library in Spring Valley will be hosting author and local historian Richard Joyce as he discusses his latest book “Spring Valley Is a Mining Town” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25, at the library, 215 E. Cleveland St.

Bureau County area scores for Feb. 21, 2025

Princeton High School’s Scholastic Bowl team battled its way to a second-place finish at the Streator Hexagonal Tournament on Saturday, which is the successor of the Streator Rotary Tournament.

Bureau Valley High School finished in third place at the 2025 Lincoln Trail Conference Scholastic Bowl Meet on Feb. 8 at Black Hawk College’s East Campus.

The city of Princeton honored Pete Nelson for his more than 20 years of service to the city as a city clerk, planning and zoning administrator and human resources manager.

The Princeton Christian Academy Eagles defeated No. 2 seed Ladd to capture the 2024-25 BVEC girls basketball tournament championship Thursday night at LaMoille.

Bureau County-area girls basketball standings, including Bureau Valley, Hall, Princeton, L-P, Mendota, PC and St. Bede on Feb. 21

The following cases were considered by the Bureau County Grand Jury on Feb. 18, 2025.

BCR area girls basketball regional update on Feb. 20

The Princeton Tigresses had mixed emotions following Thursday’s 40-27 loss to top-seeded Rock Island in the championship game of the Class 2A Princeton Regional at Prouty Gym. They had lost by 31 points to the Pioneers in the title game a year ago and by 25 points last month.

A look at area boys basketball standings on Feb. 20

The stage is set for a regional rematch for the championship of the Class 2A Princeton Regional at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Tigresses (20-9) beat Sandwich 50-35 in Tuesday’s semifinals while top-seeded Alleman (23-9) dispatched Bureau Valley 54-26 in the opener.

Jackson Mason had 12 points and Noah LaPorte added 11 to lead the Tigers to a Three Rivers East victory in Erie on Tuesday. The Hall and LaMoille boys were also in action.

The River Bend Food Bank will bring its mobile food pantry 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, to the Bureau County Fairgrounds, 811 W. Peru St., Princeton.

Jesse scored seven points in the fourth quarter to give the Tigresses just the spark they needed in a 50-35 Class 2A regional semifinal win over Sandwich Tuesday at Prouty Gym. They will Alleman, which beat Bureau Valley 54-26, for the regional championship on Thursday.

Bureau Valley and Princeton will be playing in opposite semifinal contests in the Class 2A Princeton Regional. The Storm will face top-seeded Rock Island Alleman at 6 p.m. followed by the Tigresses vs. Sandwich at 7:30 p.m. Host St. Bede will meet Marquette at 7:30 p.m. in 1A.

Princeton High School will host two postseason scholastic bowl competitions: the 2A Masonic Bowl Sectional beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 22, and the IHSA 2A Scholastic Bowl Regional starting at 5 p.m. on March 10.

The Princeton Veterans will continue its huge garage sale from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, at the American Legion Post 125, 1549 W. Peru St., Princeton.

Sean Philip Bridals is closing in Princeton, but will reopen at a new location. 

Making a return trip to State are juniors Augustus Swanson (120) and Casey Etheridge (165) and seniors Ace Christiansen (144) and Cade Odell (285). They will be joined by freshman Kane Dauber (132).

Princeton senior Noah LaPorte became the school’s all-time scoring leader, boys or girls, when he eclipsed the 1,506 points scored by Tiah Romagnoli from 1996-99, now with 1,510 points. Here are the top 25 all-time scoring leaders for Princeton.

John Smith touched many lives in his life’s work as teacher, coach, mentor, bus driver, detasseling crew leader, landlord and friend.

Junior Augustus Swanson (120), sophomore Kane Dauber (132) and senior Ace Christiansen (144) each placed third while junior Casey Etheridge (167) and Cade Odell (285) placed fourth. The Princeton boys beat Winnebago while Bureau Valley fell in the LTC tournament.

Bureau Valley finished with six 3-pointers on the way to a 54-42 win over Somonauk-Leland to advance to Tuesday’s semifinals of the Class 2A Princeton Regional at 6 p.m. against top-seeded Rock Island Alleman.

February’s Friends of the Hennepin Canal hike will be from Lock 30 to Lock 32.

Dave Nanninga attended the BCR’s Tribute to Sports program in June of 2004 to see the Mineral Leopards district champion basketball teams enshrined in the Bureau County Sports Hall of Fame. That sparked him to launch the Glory Days website to honor closed schools like Mineral.

The Princeton Theater Group is pleased to announce the return of The Manhattan Dolls to the Grace Theater for two special performances at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, and 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22.

The first fry will be held on Friday, March 21 followed by another on Friday, April 4. Both will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. A donation of $15 per person is asked. Carryouts will be available.

Bureau County scores for Feb. 14

Friday's sectional wrestling and boys basketball games, including LaMoille and St. Bede in Friday's roundup

The Tigers also came out on a mission to revenge two previous losses at the hands of the rival Hall Red Devils. It was mission accomplished as the Tigers dominated the night, riding a 12-0 run to an early 18-2 lead on the way to a 51-29 runaway victory in TRAC East play.

Bureau Valley, which finished 11-0 in its first run in the Lincoln Trail this year, is scheduled to face No. 4 Princeville in Saturday’s semifinals at 6:30 p.m. The winner advances to Wednesday’s finals at 7:30 p.m. against the winner between No. 2 Abingdon-Avon/No. 3 Annawan.

The Bureau County Animal Control Office is seeking more information about the shooting death of two dogs.

The Model Train Fair and Farm Toy Show to be held at Bureau County Fairgrounds has been postponed to Saturday, Feb. 22, because of the weather forecast. 

Bureau County area scores for Feb. 13

State wrestling finals berths will be on the line for Princeton, St. Bede and PCH boys at the Geneseo Sectional and for Princeton and PC girls at the Geneseo Sectional this weekend.

The IHSA has announced the seeds for the upcoming boys subsectionals. Here’s a look at the Bureau County area seeds. Regional pairings will be released at 4 p.m. Friday.

Here's a look at Bureau County girls statistical leaders for Bureau Valley, Hall, Princeton and St. Bede on Feb. 13

A preview of BCR area girls basketball regionals, including the Class 1A St. Bede, 2A Princeton and 2A Erie-Prophetstown regionals.

Area girls teams ranked were No. 5 Sterling (25-5) and No. 7 Dixon (25-5) in 3A, No. 4 Byron (28-2) in 2A and No. 8 Wethersfield i24-4) in 1A and the Sherrard boys in 2A.

BCR sports editor Kevin Hieronymus projects the seeds for the upcoming Class 1A and 2A boys basketball subsectionals based on strength of schedule and head-to-head play against the field. The seeds are scheduled to be released Thursday, with the pairings announced Friday.

Bureau County Metro Center - The Bureau County Metro Center (BCMC) is excited to announce a Youth Volleyball Clinic on Saturday, April 5th, designed to introduce and inspire young athletes to develop volleyball skills in a fun and supportive environment.

A look at Bureau County area cancellations and postponements for Feb. 12

The BV boys clinched the LTC championship at 11-0 while the St. Bede girls win their regular-season finale over Mercer County

The Princeton High School Junior Varsity Scholastic Bowl team went undefeated, securing victories in all eight of their matches.

The LaMoille senior took a lob pass at the 3-point line on an inbounds play with 14.1 seconds left, turned to the basket and stepped just inside the free throw line and banked in a twisting shot to give the Lions what would be the game-winning basket in a 79-75 win over Bureau Co

Bureau County area scores for Feb. 11

The Lincoln Trail Conference girls basketball tournament finals have been postponed from Wednesday to Thursday due to the forecast for a winter storm. United and Knoxville are scheduled to play for third place at 6 p.m. followed by Abingdon-Avon vs. Wethersfield for the title.