Woodlands in northwestern McHenry County, spanning 55 acres and containing trees believed to be up to 400 year old, are now permanently protected under the McHenry County Conservation District.

Jayden Wright scored 16 points, including 4 of his team's 13 3-pointers, and Benet beat Crystal Lake South 66-30 in the Day 2 finale of Jacobs' Hinkle Holiday Classic on Monday night in Algonquin.

Naperville North made 13 of 17 shots from 3-point range to beat Cary-Grove 65-48 on Day 2 of Jacobs' Hinkle Holiday Classic on Tuesday, snapping the Trojans' eight-game winning streak.

A 4-year-old Cary-area boy injured over Labor Day weekend in a lawnmower accident at his home has hit major recovery milestones including returning to preschool and completing four surgeries.

Two weeks after her wedding last year, Kendall Albright of Crystal Lake found a lump and was soon diagnosed with breast cancer. Saturday she was honored at the Bears game after treatment at Advocate Good Shepherd.

The builders looking to renovate McHeny's First Midwest Bank into apartments will not get the $3 million in public incentives that were sought.

McHenry County seniors wishing to participate in the Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral program can sign up starting Jan. 1.

A West Dundee man accused of using Facebook Messenger to solicit a 14-year-old Fox River Grove child to perform a sex act has been sentenced to prison for four years, court records show.

A national publication, Food Bank News, named Northern Illinois Food Bank CEO Julie Yurko was named 2025 Food Bank Leader of the Year.

After a successful giveaway on Thanksgiving eve, Breaking Bread Catering & Deli will be giving out another 100 free loaves of bread ahead of Christmas.

James R. Gibbons of Marengo man was ordered to be held in jail on charges of possessing images depicting child sexual abuse. He's known for giving history presentations across northern Illinois.

Jacobs committed 28 turnovers in a 73-60 loss to Larkin in the first round of the Hinkle Holiday Classic on Saturday. Elijah Bell led the Golden Eagles with 24 points, including 20 points in the second half.

Johnsburg kept its undefeated season alive with a hard-fought 52-46 win against Rockford Christian on Saturday to capture the Richmond-Burton Christmas Tournament championship.

Jace Nelson scored 14 points, including two dunks, to lead four Richmond-Burton players in double figures as the Rockets opened Marengo's E.C. Nichols Holiday Classic on Saturday with a 53-32 win over Marian Central.

A man who is accused of threatening on YouTube videos to shoot Barrington Hills police officers – and who had been deemed unfit to stand trial – has been restored to fitness, a McHenry County judge has ruled.

Funeral arrangements have been set for Santina Perri, an Itasca woman who was killed near Harvard, allegedly by her husband of almost 50 years.

One woman was killed and another was critically injured in a fire Friday in the Lotus Woods area near Spring Grove and Fox Lake.

Sophomore Isaac Muze bounced back from a scoreless performance in his previous game to score seven of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, as Huntley rallied to beat visiting Hampshire 43-40 in Fox Valley Conference action Friday night.

A man was airlifted after a crash near Richmond Friday morning and ending up 20 feet off the road in an embankment, officials said.

The Lomeli family has operated Lomeli’s International Supermarket in Round Lake for 26 years. Now they're opening Lomeli's Fresh Market at the former home of Island Foods in Island Lake.

Developers are one step closer to building single-family homes on an empty plot of land in Crystal Lake once set to be an Amazon warehouse. How much will they sell for?

Gewalt, 21, of McHenry, will be displaying her figuring skating skills at McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce’s first-ever Heart of the Fox event

Authorities confirmed Wednesday that the woman an Itasca man is accused of shooting dead near Harvard was his wife.

Sonny Shanahan and Danny Spychala helped lead Crystal Lake Central's boys basketball team to a 67-28 win over host Harvard in a nonconference game Thursday night. With the victory, the Tigers matched their total of each the past two seasons.

Crystal Lake South's Gaby Dzik, Makena Cleary and Laken LePage stepped up on offense in the second half, but the Gators fell just short against Wauconda 54-50 in the championship of the Northern Illinois Holiday Classic on Thursday.

A man accused of fatally shooting his wife near Harvard did not dispute the state’s order Thursday to detain him in McHenry County jail while he awaits trial.

About 95 acres of land in McHenry -- deemed unbuildable but which could be used for future parkland -- has been donated to the city by a developer.

McHenry County jail detainees deemed unfit to stand trial are receiving specialized psychiatric care while waiting for an open bed in a mental health facility.

Alden-Hebron sophomore guard Hayden Smith has been a scoring machine for the Giants, including a 38-point performance against Hiawatha last week and 48 points in a win over Westlake Christian on Tuesday. Smith is the Northwest Herald Athlete of the Week.

The last Luminary Nights event in downtown Crystal Lake is Thursday, Dec. 18.

The 2026 McHenry Music Festival will combine country, southern rock and metal acts - possibly for the last time

Ashley Vilona, emergency department manager at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, has been recognized as the 2025 Nurse Leader of the Year for Advocate Health’s Illinois Division.

The McHenry County Board voted down four of five requests for solar farms, many in the McHenry and Johnsburg areas.

Junior guard Ethan Taxis scored a game-high 20 points and made a driving shot in the final phase of the fourth quarter to lift Plano over Marengo 60-59 in a Kishwaukee River Conference boys basketball matchup Wednesday evening.

A few months after an Applebee’s closed down in McHenry, its former building is getting prepped for a new tenant, a Yummy Bowl Mongolian Stir-Fry and Sushi.

Hunters in Illinois took a preliminary total of 81,225 deer during the seven-day 2025 Illinois firearm deer season that concluded Dec. 7

Woodstock North guard Zaiden Vess scored a career-high 24 points against Johnsburg on Monday, and while the Thunder remain winless, the team stays positive. Plus, news on injured Richmond-Burton guard Gavin Radmer in the Northwest Herald boys basketball notebook.

Heightened security and metal detectors will be removed from Crystal Lake park board meetings starting in January after a divided board voted to scale back the measures.

The new law creating the new Northern Illinois Transit Authority is drawing mixed reviews from suburban lawmakers along party lines.

A 75-year-old Itasca man has been charged in the shooting death of a woman Saturday near Harvard, police said. The man also sustained a self-inflicted wound, according to authorities.

Gracey LePage sparked the Crystal Lake South defense, which forced several second-half turnovers and helped the Gators overcome a cold shooting night in the team's 54-44 win against Grayslake North in the semifinals of the Northern Illinois Holiday Classic.

Johnsburg-area residents who oppose a proposed solar farm near the Ringwood and Spring Grove roads intersection made their final push to the McHenry County Board before it’s due to vote on the project Tuesday evening.

The Marengo-based law firm of former McHenry County Board chairman and state lawmaker Jack Franks was part of a multimillion-dollar settlement against Monsanto over its use of "forever chemicals."

The McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce has announced which Riverwalk Shoppes are returning in 2026 and what new offerings shoppers will have when they open in May.

A Wisconsin man who bought the rifle Kyle Rittenhouse used when he was accused of shooting three people during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2020 has been charged in an armed robbery in Harvard.

Five people were injured in a rollover crash along Route 31 Monday morning in Crystal Lake, officials report.

Josh Kaunas scored 22 of his career-high 29 points in the second half to lead Johnsburg to a 69-54 win over visiting Woodstock North in a Kishwaukee River Conference game Monday night.

Two people were injured in a car crash involving a semi-truck that shut down a portion of Kishwaukee Valley Road Monday morning near Marengo, officials report.

Authorities say two people were shot near Harvard, one fatally, and have identified the deceased.

Flu activity is high in McHenry County, according to the department of health.