Western Illinois Today

The MC Art Collective is gearing up for its fourth annual Art Gala next weekend. The event auctions off artwork from Mercer County School District students, alumni, and more. Doors open at the Aledo Opera [FULL STORY]

MercyOne Genesis Aledo First Med Pharmacy will have reduced hours this weekend while it installs new computer software. The pharmacy will close at 2 p.m. on Friday and remain closed on Saturday. It will reopen [FULL STORY]

MercyOne Genesis Aledo is replacing its urgent care/walk-in service with an appointment-based same-day acute clinic schedule on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays starting next week. The change takes effect on Monday, Sept. 28. Patients can still [FULL STORY]

A Viola man facing multiple charges, including child sexual abuse material, will return to court in November. 22-year-old Marcellus Trice appeared in Mercer County Circuit Court last week, where a pretrial conference was continued to [FULL STORY]

The Mercer County unemployment rate is 3.4%. The number is for July and compares to a 4.6% figure that was recorded at the same time a year ago, according to data from the Illinois Department [FULL STORY]

A New Windsor woman accused of stealing $900,000 during her time as a Rock Island County employee will return to court next month. 63-year-old Leisa Streeter appeared in Rock Island County Court on Thursday, where [FULL STORY]

The Rockridge Jr/Sr High School campus was evacuated on Thursday morning after a gas line was hit. The Rockridge School District announced on social media that buses would be taking all students home from the [FULL STORY]

A Matherville woman facing three felony meth-related charges has been released from custody and will return to court next month. 40-year-old Ashley Engels was granted pretrial release with GPS tracking last week. She was originally [FULL STORY]

The deadline to be part of the Mercer County School District’s Homecoming parade is approaching. The parade is scheduled for Sept. 24, but organizer Rusty Ruggles says the deadline to turn in an entry form [FULL STORY]