Roughly four acres were burned and a home damaged in a brush fire in Lake in the Hills that officials said started as a controlled burn.

Catch up on the week’s top McHenry County news in minutes. Hear the week’s 5 most popular stories, read aloud for you, for the week of March 1-7

A proposal to build a gas station on land near Lake in the Hills currently zoned residential has some neighbors fighting the plans.

The Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District responded to a fire Tuesday blamed on smoking materials.

Lake in the Hills said a fuel supplier accidentally delivered the wrong variety of fuel, resulting in repair costs of more than $320,600 for public works vehicles that were damaged.

Everyone was a winner at this year’s Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Chamber of Commerce’s Olympic-themed awards dinner, where gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded to the nominees.

A man was charged after a search of a Lake in the Hills residence that prompted a brief shelter-in-place order Thursday.

An arrest warrant has been issued for a former Lake in the Hills woman who is accused of threatening to harm McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi Freese, court records show.

About 250 students walked out of Huntley High School Friday in protest of ICE, the latest in a series of such high school rallies in the McHenry County area and beyond.

A Lake in the Hills storage building holding snowmobiles, boats and personal watercraft was severely damaged in a fire early Wednesday morning.

A Lakewood man has pleaded guilty in a drunk-driving crash that killed his passenger and was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Michael C. Montero, 35, of Lake in the Hills is accused of sexually assaulting two children.

Huntley School District 158 has a new school board member, who was named to replace former board President Andy Bittman, who quietly resigned over winter break.

Local officials are investigating the cause of a chemical smell in the air reported Sunday morning.

Community Unit School District 300 is seeking a new principal for Jacobs High School in Algonquin as its current principal moves into a districtwide role.

The Lake in the Hills Police Department is moving into its new station later this week.

A former Huntley woman who with her husband was convicted in 2018 in what authorities called a “drug-dealing enterprise” has pleaded guilty in a new drug-related case.

Andy Bittman was elected to the Huntley District 158 school board after opposing COVID-19 rules, but abruptly resigned in late December. Board President Paul Troy recognized him while acknowledging their heated exchanges.

An attempted murder charge against a Lake in the Hills man was dismissed in exchange for a guilty plea to aggravated domestic battery in case where police tried for about 90 minutes to make contact.

Edwin Garcia, 21, of Lake in the Hills is charged with aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer; authorities said he fled without his lights or and didn't have valid plates.

Andy Bittman, who became Huntley District 158 school board president after his 2023 election - only to see a competing majority beat his slate in 2025 - quietly resigned over winter break.

Real estate news: The single-family house located at 1133 Heavens Gate in Lake In The Hills was sold on Dec. 30, 2025, for $535,000, or $195 per square foot.

Three people, including two minors, were injured after a car crashed into an Algonquin home Friday night, leaving it severely damaged, officials report.

From the deaths of prominent citizens to the far-reaching impacts of the first year of President Trump's second term, here is a look at some of the biggest stories that happened in the McHenry County area in 2025.

Next summer, area residents and visitors will be able to gather for a new festival in Algonquin following the end of Founders Days.

The west leg of Miller Road at Randall Road in Lake in the Hills near Crystal Lake is set to reopen Friday for the holidays.

Downed live wires in front of a home in Algonquin caused electrical sparks and a fire Wednesday morning, officials report.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker made a quiet appearance in Crystal Lake last week visiting local nonprofits and leaders to learn about food insecurity in McHenry County.

McHenry County businesses are having another go at Small Business Saturday this weekend after last week’s promotion was mostly derailed by almost a foot of snow that blanketed the region.

Matthew Mosur regularly drove by a vacant, 113-year-old Algonquin home that caught his eye. In June, he bought the house and took on the challenge of renovating it.

Algonquin–Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District was called to a fire at house under construction Wednesday afternoon.

There are several Turkey Trots Thanksgiving morning where you can get in some exercise and also help a worthy cause.

Village Road and Angela Lane in the Crystal Lake area will see intermittent lane closures starting Tuesday morning.

McHenry County faith leaders from a variety of traditions reflected on gratitude and welcoming strangers at an interfaith Thanksgiving program.

District 300 is switching up the attendance boundaries for Jacobs and Hampshire high schools to account for expected growth in the area with new housing on the way.

With Huntley out of the running, the smaller town of Marengo is looking at whether it could be a stop along the Chicago-to-Rockford rail line. But leaders have a lot of questions.

Lake in the Hills has given the OK to a new development called Silverthorne’s Cheswick Meadows, which consists of 24 single-family homes. The plan was first approved about 20 years ago.

A Crystal Lake middle schooler will be making his debut on the silver screen next week playing a role in a remake of the iconic 1987 “The Running Man” movie that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Crystal Lake's Kevin Byrnes struggled to adjust after his military service in Iraq, Afghanistan and other war zones. Now he's finding success with his company Smash'd Burgers.

Options & Advocacy, a Crystal Lake nonprofit that helps people with autism and other disabilities hosts a fundraising gala on Nov. 15 in Lake in the Hills.

Donations for state Rep. Suzanne Ness’s 5th annual Diaper Drive will be collected through Monday, Nov. 3 at locations throughout her 66th House District.

Most McHenry County communities will have their sanctioned trick-or-treating hours on Halloween Friday.

A fire, apparently started in a bathroom, left a Lake in the Hills home uninhabitable early Monday.

Drivers who have to use the detour for the Miller Road closure in Lake in the Hills will be getting a holiday gift from McHenry County.

A man is believed to have suffered a medical emergency when he crashed into an Algonquin home and suffered injuries Wednesday afternoon, officials say.

A Lake in the Hills man is trying to win enough supporters of his custom bobblehead sock monkey Lego creation to have it turned into an official set.

Drivers passing through Randall Road in Lake in the Hills could experience more bottlenecks this week.

A car rear-ended a school bus Thursday on Algonquin Road in Lake in the Hills.

Lake in the Hills has added regulations to address what officials called the “emerging trend” of food trucks.

A member of the Algonquin-based Community Unit District 300 school board who made a controversial comment after Charlie Kirk’s death was stripped of her board president seat.